Genes affect hepatitis drugs' potency
A SLIGHT difference in a person's genetic code could determine whether they respond to a gruelling round of treatment for hepatitis C infection or not, researchers said yesterday.
Tests looking for that deviation could be used to help decide which patients are most likely to benefit, they said. The finding may also explain why some racial and ethnic groups fare more poorly on standard treatments than others.
"This discovery enables us to give patients valuable information that will help them and their doctors decide what is best for them," genetics researcher David Goldstein of Duke University in North Carolina said.
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne liver disease that can lead to chronic liver problems, liver cancer, cirrhosis and death.
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