| 초록 |
The natural course of chronic hepatitis C can be classified into several phases. These phases include persistent phase, asymptomatic phase, and active or aggressive phase. Chronic persistent hepatitis progresses very slowly, if any. On the other hand, chronic aggressive hepatitis frequently develops liver cirrhosis soon. The difference between these two probably depends on the host immune system that is related to age, rather than the duration of infection. Our longitudinal study revealed that chronic persistent hepatitis often transforms to active or aggressive hepatitis at around the age of 45. |
