Keeping hepatitis c out.

A new treatment might stop hepatitis C virus from infecting newly transplanted livers in some people with the disease, a study in a small group of patients shows. By modifying immune cells taken from healthy donated livers and injecting the cells directly into transplant recipients, Hideki Ohdan of Hiroshima University in Japan and colleagues lessened the amount of virus circulating in the organ recipients' blood. One patient shows no detectable virus after treatment, the team reports October 1 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver and the most common reason for a liver transplant. But because transplant patients take immune-suppressing drugs, the virus can openly attack the new liver.