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The Hepatitis C Trust is a registered charity in England and Scotland that campaigns on various issues related to hepatitis C. In particular, the charity aims to increase awareness and testing; to provide services on a national and local level to people with, affected by, or at risk of contracting hepatitis C; and to campaign for greater public understanding of the impact of hepatitis C. [1] It is the only national hepatitis C-specific charity in the UK and has offices in London and Edinburgh.
Formed in 2001 by Charles Gore, the trust was the first charity in the UK to be set up in response to hepatitis C.[ citation needed ] He had contracted the virus himself and was moved to act as a result of the general lack of information and apathy he encountered during his own eventual diagnosis and treatment. [2] Gore is also the founder of the World Hepatitis Alliance, organiser of World Hepatitis Day on 28 July each year.
Until her death in 2007, The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick was a patron and supporter of the trust. Roddick was convinced she had contracted hepatitis C through contaminated blood from a large blood transfusion in 1971 after the birth of her younger daughter, more than 30 years before she was diagnosed.[ citation needed ]
The trust currently provides the secretariat of the All Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group, [3] consults with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) [4] and the Department of Health, UK, [5] is a founder member of the European Liver Patients' Association (ELPA) [6] and the International Alliance of Patient's Organizations (IAPO) [7] and plays a lead role in the organisation of World Hepatitis Day in the UK.
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Hepatitis is acute if it resolves within six months, and chronic if it lasts longer than six months. Acute hepatitis can resolve on its own, progress to chronic hepatitis, or (rarely) result in acute liver failure. Chronic hepatitis may progress to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), liver failure, and liver cancer.
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include fever, dark urine, abdominal pain, and yellow tinged skin. The virus persists in the liver, becoming chronic, in about 70% of those initially infected. Early on, chronic infection typically has no symptoms. Over many years however, it often leads to liver disease and occasionally cirrhosis. In some cases, those with cirrhosis will develop serious complications such as liver failure, liver cancer, or dilated blood vessels in the esophagus and stomach.
Hepatology is the branch of medicine that incorporates the study of liver, gallbladder, biliary tree, and pancreas as well as management of their disorders. Although traditionally considered a sub-specialty of gastroenterology, rapid expansion has led in some countries to doctors specializing solely on this area, who are called hepatologists.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer in adults and is currently the most common cause of death in people with cirrhosis. HCC is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.
Alcoholic liver disease (ALD), also called alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD), is a term that encompasses the liver manifestations of alcohol overconsumption, including fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and chronic hepatitis with liver fibrosis or cirrhosis.
Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, although availability of donor organs is a major limitation. The most common technique is orthotopic transplantation, in which the native liver is removed and replaced by the donor organ in the same anatomic position as the original liver. The surgical procedure is complex, requiring careful harvest of the donor organ and meticulous implantation into the recipient. Liver transplantation is highly regulated, and only performed at designated transplant medical centers by highly trained transplant physicians and supporting medical team. Favorable outcomes require careful screening for eligible recipients, as well as a well-calibrated live or deceased donor match.
Dame Anita Lucia Roddick was a British businesswoman, human rights activist and environmental campaigner, best known as the founder of The Body Shop, now The Body Shop International Limited, a cosmetics company producing and retailing natural beauty products which shaped ethical consumerism. The company was one of the first to prohibit the use of ingredients tested on animals in some of its products and one of the first to promote fair trade with developing countries.
Viral hepatitis is liver inflammation due to a viral infection. It may present in acute form as a recent infection with relatively rapid onset, or in chronic form, typically progressing from a long-lasting asymptomatic condition up to a decompensated hepatic disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Autoimmune hepatitis, formerly known as lupoid hepatitis, plasma cell hepatitis, or autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, is a chronic, autoimmune disease of the liver that occurs when the body's immune system attacks liver cells, causing the liver to be inflamed. Common initial symptoms may include fatigue, nausea, muscle aches, or weight loss or signs of acute liver inflammation including fever, jaundice, and right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Individuals with autoimmune hepatitis often have no initial symptoms and the disease may be detected by abnormal liver function tests and increased protein levels during routine bloodwork or the observation of an abnormal-looking liver during abdominal surgery.
Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), previously known as primary biliary cirrhosis, is an autoimmune disease of the liver. It results from a slow, progressive destruction of the small bile ducts of the liver, causing bile and other toxins to build up in the liver, a condition called cholestasis. Further slow damage to the liver tissue can lead to scarring, fibrosis, and eventually cirrhosis.
Hepatomegaly is enlargement of the liver. It is a non-specific medical sign, having many causes, which can broadly be broken down into infection, hepatic tumours, and metabolic disorder. Often, hepatomegaly presents as an abdominal mass. Depending on the cause, it may sometimes present along with jaundice.
Dame Sheila Patricia Violet Sherlock DBE, FRCP FRCPE FRS HFRSE FMGA FCRGA was a British physician and medical educator who is considered the major 20th-century contributor to the field of hepatology.
Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondary, in which the cancer spreads from elsewhere in the body to the liver. Liver metastasis is the more common of the two liver cancers. Instances of liver cancer are increasing globally.
Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection.
World Hepatitis Day, observed on July 28 every year, aims to raise global awareness of hepatitis — a group of infectious diseases known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E — and encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Hepatitis affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, causing acute and chronic disease and killing close to 1.34 million people every year. Hepatitis can cause inflammation of the liver both acutely and chronically, and can kill a person. In some countries hepatitis B is the most common cause of cirrhosis and may also cause liver cancer.
Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage to the liver leads to repair of liver tissue and subsequent formation of scar tissue. Over time, scar tissue can replace normal functioning tissue, leading to the impaired liver function of cirrhosis. The disease typically develops slowly over months or years. Early symptoms may include tiredness, weakness, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, nausea and vomiting, and discomfort in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. As the disease worsens, symptoms may include itchiness, swelling in the lower legs, fluid build-up in the abdomen, jaundice, bruising easily, and the development of spider-like blood vessels in the skin. The fluid build-up in the abdomen may develop into spontaneous infections. More serious complications include hepatic encephalopathy, bleeding from dilated veins in the esophagus, stomach, or intestines, and liver cancer.
Shiv Kumar Sarin is an Indian physician; an outstanding hepatologist, gastroenterologist, translational scientist, accomplished researcher, mentor, and a gifted teacher. Under the aegis of Delhi Govt., he set-up the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS); the largest liver hospital and a deemed Liver University, and a WHO Centre. He is a prolific researcher with an H-index of 113. He has received Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, The World Academy of Science Prize, and Padma Bhushan in 2007. He served as Chairman Board of Governors of Medical Council of India and shaped the New Medical Education Vision, including NEET and NEXT exams. He is a leader in science and served as the President of the Asian Pacific Association for study of Liver and is currently the President of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) of India (2021-2024).
Eleanor Barnes is a British physician at the John Radcliffe Hospital and a Professor of Hepatology and Experimental Medicine at the University of Oxford. She has studied hepatitis C and the development of the development of HCV vaccines. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and serves as the lead for hepatology at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network.
The European Liver Patients' Association (ELPA) is an international non-governmental organisation best known for its role in patient advocacy concerning liver diseases. ELPA is an umbrella organisation representing more than 30 members stemming from 25 European and non-European countries.
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