Preface

Chapter 7 **Periodontal Implications of Hepatitis C Infection 119**

Ion Rogoveanu

**Section 4 Hepatitis C Treatment Strategies 161**

**and Model Validation 183**

Lankford and Hien Tran

**Acting Antivirals 163**

Sidra Rehman

Petrovic

**VI** Contents

Petra Surlin, Dorin Nicolae Gheorghe, Liliana Foia, Amelia Surdu, Vasilica Toma, Sorina Mihaela Solomon, Dan Nicolae Florescu and

Snezana Jovanovic-Cupic, Ana Bozovic, Milena Krajnovic and Nina

**Interferon, Ribavirin, and Telaprevir: Mathematical Modeling**

Philip Aston, Katie Cranfield, Haley O'Farrell, Alex Cassenote, Cassia J. Mendes-Correa, Aluisio Segurado, Phuong Hoang, George

Chapter 8 **Hepatitis C: Host and Viral Factors Associated with Response to Therapy and Progression of Liver Fibrosis 139**

Chapter 9 **Safety, Tolerability, and Associated Side Effects of Direct-**

Chapter 10 **Hepatitis C Viral Dynamics Using a Combination Therapy of**

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and associated hepatic comorbidities are still challenging, and disease burden remains significant around the world. Over the last decade, we have seen little curtailment in hepatitis C-related sequelae where the advent of direct-acting anti‐ virals (DAAs) has clearly brought good news, as it may be possible to achieve a sustained virologic response—"a virologic cure"— in the majority of patients with chronic HCV infec‐ tion. Clinicians are now seeing outcomes they never thought possible, and experts are opti‐ mistic that more complex and challenging patients will respond to therapy. All this has amalgamated efforts to purge the viral scourges, to cure the infection, and in parallel to ac‐ complish the potential global goal of HCV eradication over the next few years.

*Hepatitis C—From Infection to Cure* is divided into four sections. The first section is the intro‐ duction, while second section sheds light on the propagation of HCV infection, molecular mechansims, and cell signaling cascades involved in the propagation of the disease. This section also presents HCV lymphotropism and its pathogenic relevance. The third section consists of chapters related to hepatitis C-associated clinical implications, especially perio‐ dontal implications and metabolic factors influencing the clinical course of hepatitis C and response to HCV treatment. The forth section overviews the current and emerging anti-hep‐ atitis C regimens considering safety, tolerability, and associated side effects related to DAAs.

This informative book provides clinicians, physicians, healthcare providers, researchers, medical residents, and students with up-to-date, credible, and unbiased information/guid‐ ance for the treatment of hepatitis C, as well as knowledge of the latest developments and emergence of new treatment strategies to help stem infection. I am extremely grateful to all the contributors from different parts of the world who are excellent researchers, renowned clinicians/physicians, and emerging scholars in the field of hepatitis C virology, pathology, and therapeutics. I hope that their novel ideas and excellent scientific findings present a broad spectrum of academic and community-based knowledge of hepatitis C disease pro‐ gression, associated clinical implications, and therapeutics to healthcare providers, nonspe‐ cialists, and general readers.

A journey is easier when you travel together and interdependence is certainly more valuable than independence. During this work I have been accompanied and supported by my col‐ leagues at the College of Pharmacy, Umm- Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia and I am grateful for the opportunity to express my gratitude to all of them.

Finally, I dedicate this book to my father, Mr. Muhammad Hafeez , who is always with me at every step of my life, and all that I am or hope to be I owe to him, and my mother Tasneem Sardar, as there is none in all this cold and hollow world, no fount of deep strong deathless love, save that within my mother's heart. I cannot finish without saying how grateful I am to my beloved wife, Miss Sidrah Hafeez, who provided me with a loving environment to ac‐ complish this task and encouraged me to do my best in all matters of my scientific life.

**Imran Shahid, Ph.D**

**Introduction**

**Section 1**

College of Pharmacy Umm-Al-Qura University Makkah, Saudi Arabia

**Section 1**
