Robert Hindes, MD, is the co-founder and chief medical officer at BeyondWest Pharmaceuticals in Wilmington, Delaware. Prior to starting his own pharmaceutical company, Robert Hindes, MD, served as vice president for clinical development at Pharmasset, and medical lead at Bristol Myers Squibb on clinical trial developments of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antiviral compounds.
Scientists and physicians have conducted extensive studies on the progression of chronic HCV. In cases of persistent HCV viremia, the development of the disease through its initial stages to advanced liver damage, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and ultimately death varies widely from patient to patient. Liver biopsy is the gold standard method of monitoring the activity (or grade) of HCV in a patient and is used to determine the preponderance of inflammatory cell as well as dead and dying hepatocytes in patients with chronic liver disease. The presence and extent of liver damage in individuals with chronic HCV varies, with damage being isolated in the portal and periportal areas in minor cases and extending between portals, a condition known as "bridging fibrosis," in advanced cases.
Scientists and physicians have conducted extensive studies on the progression of chronic HCV. In cases of persistent HCV viremia, the development of the disease through its initial stages to advanced liver damage, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and ultimately death varies widely from patient to patient. Liver biopsy is the gold standard method of monitoring the activity (or grade) of HCV in a patient and is used to determine the preponderance of inflammatory cell as well as dead and dying hepatocytes in patients with chronic liver disease. The presence and extent of liver damage in individuals with chronic HCV varies, with damage being isolated in the portal and periportal areas in minor cases and extending between portals, a condition known as "bridging fibrosis," in advanced cases.