Come explore the fascinating world of cellular RNA Molecules with Mount Holyoke College Biochemistry 330 students.
Ana was 22 years old when she found out she had it… Hepatitis C! Unlike others her age, she hadn’t yet had a boyfriend, gotten tattoos in non sterile conditions, damaged her liver by excessive drinking in college, or shared needles to inject drugs, all of which are ways one can get the disease (1). All she had done was receive a kidney (a solid organ) from her uncle who was born in 1962 in Japan, one of the few industrialized countries with high Hepatitis C rates (2). She first noticed the massive bruises on her arms and legs 6 months ago followed by the yellowing of her eyes (jaundice). Her doctor thought it was her body rejecting the kidney and causing her to have reduced platelets but after getting a biopsy, it turned out her liver had become cirrhotic and was failing. Cirrhosis is a chronic disease that leads to inflammation which, over time, replaces healthy liver cells with scar tissue. It takes about 20 to 30 years for this to happen (or faster if alcohol is drunk or if someon...
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