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Abstract: A predator-prey system is used to model the time-dependent virus and lymphocyte population during a liver infection. We show mathematically that the resulting reaction-diffusion equation has non-trivial stationary solutions whenever the underlying domain is sufficiently large or fissured. The non-trivial stationary solutions are interpreted as chronic liver infections. Thus qualitative differences between acute and chronic hepatitis infections become dispensable. Finally, numerical simulations for the chronification are presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In a study involving 40 patients with chronic hepatitis C viral infection (HCV), supplementation with a silybin-phospholipids and vitamin E complex (SPV complex) for a period of 3 months was found to exert hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic effects. Patients taking the supplement (n=30) experienced reductions in serum levels of ALT and AST, gammaGT, alkaline phosphatase, total cholesterol, fasting glucose, insulinemia, HOMA value, C-reactive protein, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and IL-6. The authors conclude that supplementation with a combination of silybin (active agent found in milk thistle) and vitamin E may, "…be useful in clinical practice in patients with chronic hepatitis C who cannot undergo conventional antiviral therapy." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]