Tatsuo Miyamura M.D. PhD. (Jikei University, Japan)

Stanley M.Lemon M.D. PhD.(The University of North Carolina, USA)

Christopher M. Walker PhD. (The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, USA)

Takaji Wakita M.D. PhD. (National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan)

Written by top researchers who have lead this field since the discovery of hepatitis C virus

Part I. Chronic Hepatitis C.- 1. Natural History of chronic hepatitis C (Jake Liang and Marc Ghany).- 2. The Multifaceted Features of HCV Infection beyond the Liver (Kazuhiko Koike).- 3. Hepatic Fibrosis in Hepatitis C (Melissa A. Sheiko and Hugo R. Rosen).- 4. Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Hepatitis C Virus (Sheng-Han Wang, Shiou-Hwei Yeh, and Pei-Jer Chen).- 5. HCV, Alcohol, and the Liver (Terence N. Bukong, Banishree Saha, and Gyongyi Szabo).- 6. Extrahepatic Replication of HCV (Wen-Chi Su, Keigo Machida, and Michael M.C. Lai).- Part II. HCV Infections in Special Populations.- 7. Hepatitis C virus infection in pregnancy and children (Jessica Wen, Samantha Ohmer, Jonathan Honegger).- Part III. Approaches to Therapy.- 8. Host Genetics and Responses to Antiviral Therapy in Chronic Hepatitis C (Yasuhito Tanaka and Masashi Mizokami).- 9. Viral Variation and Response to Therapy (Shinya Maekawa and Nobuyuki Enomoto).- 10. HCV NS3/4A Protease Inhibitors and the Road to Effective Direct-acting Antiviral Therapies (Nicolas Tremblay, Alex Young Park, and Daniel Lamarre).- 11. Modeling HCV Dynamics in Clinical Practice to Personalize Antiviral Therapy (Piero Colombatto, Ferruccio Bonino, Luigi Civitano, Filippo Oliveri, Gabriele Ricco, Sergio Iannazzo, and Maurizia R. Brunetto).- Part IV. Prevention and Control of HCV Infection.- 12. Prophylactic Vaccines for the Hepatitis C Virus (Andrea L. Cox).- 13. Global control of hepatitis C infection (Tatsuo Miyamura).

This book helps scientists, clinicians and other interested individuals understand recent clinical advances and challenges for the future. It covers many basic aspects of the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C, HCV infections in particular populations, approaches to therapy, and prevention and control of HCV Infection. The book provides a succinct review of the large amount of data generated by multiple groups over the past two decades that has revealed the natural history of HCV infection. Similarly, it summarizes current understanding of the origins of HCV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma, cirrhosis and hepatic fibrosis. Extra-hepatic manifestation and metabolic disorders related to HCV infection are described. In this volume, these clinically important aspects of HCV infection are comprehensively described. Highlights are description of newly developed direct- acting antivirals. The authors represent a worldwide distribution of leaders in the field reflecting the global nature of HCV infection. Based on recent data concerning the genetic- and geographical diversity of HCV, and increased global disease burden of HCV infection, challenges for global control of HCV infections are described.