Hepatitis C Infection

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Selenium Supplement [7, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present. IMPORTANT: Selenium is toxic in high doses. Massive overdoses can cause kidney failure, breathing difficulty and death. Selenium should only be taken at healthy levels which the body is able to tolerate.

Recommendation: no recommendation (Available evidene does not support claims that selenium helps to prevent or treat hepatitis)

Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence

Milk Thistle [7, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: weakly in favor (Early reports support claims that Milk Thistle helps treat hepatitis C. However, more research is needed, as current studies have yielded mixed results)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Licorice (Glcyrhiz Gaba) [7, 11, 12, 13, 14]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present. Licorice has been shown to have potentially harmful side effects in people with high blood pressure, liver or kidney diseases)

Recommendation: weakly in favor (Early reports support claims that licorice helps treat hepatitis C. However, more research is needed)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

Chlorella (Green Algae, Chlorella Pyrenoidosa) [7, 8, 9, 10]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: no recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Chlorella helps to treat hepatitis in any way)

Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence

Vitamin K2 [29]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: no recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that vitamin K2 helps to treat hepatitis in any way)

Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Summary References

Treatments:

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15265850?dopt=Abstract

2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18046027?dopt=Abstract

3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19303273?dopt=Abstract

4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9620348?dopt=Abstract

5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11926856?dopt=Abstract

6. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec03/ch027/ch027b.html#sec03-ch027-ch027b-448

7. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009

8. Nakano, S et al. “Maternal-fetal distribution and transfer of dioxins in pregnant women in Japan, and attempts to reduce maternal transfer with Chlorella (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) supplements...” Chemosphere 2005 Dec; 61(9): 1244–55.

9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=11347287&dopt=Abstract

10. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/chlorella

11. Winston, David; Steven Maimes (2007). Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief. Healing Arts Press.

12. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15190039

13. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/licoriceroot/

14. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-licorice.html

15. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/milk-thistle

16. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/milkthistle/ataglance.htm

17. Kroll DJ, Shaw HS, Oberlies NH.(2007). Milk thistle nomenclature: why it matters in cancer research and pharmacokinetic studies. Integrative Cancer Therapies. 6: 110-119.

18. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16279916

19. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu

20. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/selenium?sitearea=ETO

21. http://www.cancer.gov/Templates/doc.aspx?viewid=ED8AD8E8-6AE5-458D-8091-393F4CB73F0D

22. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-selenium.html

23. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9290116

24. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9829869

25. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10335455

26. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2136228

27. http://www.springerlink.com/content/v0r644v4ju5153k2/

28. http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/101/5/283

29. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hep.24430/pdf