Hepatitis C retreatment offers hope if initial one fails

For the 40 percent to 50 percent of patients who aren't cured of hepatitis C after their initial treatment, Dr. Bruce R. Bacon of St. Louis University and his team of researchers have increased the chances of a cure upon re-treatment.

About 11 percent of the 515 people retreated in Bacon's trials were cured using the Food and Drug Administration-approved medication combination, Infergen with an antiviral pill.

Of those with milder strains of hepatitis C, about 35 percent in the trials were cured.