Description: Infection with the hepatitis C virus is the No. 1 cause of chronic liver disease in the U.S., but it usually takes decades for life-threatening complications to develop. Now, new research suggests that treating people within months of initial infection may be the key to preventing the damaging liver effects of hepatitis C. Researchers from Germany's Medical University of Hannover found that people treated within the first three to six months of infection successfully cleared the virus and did not develop chronic infection, the most harmful and deadly form of the infection. Their study will appear in the Nov. 15 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine but was released early due to its potential impact on treatment.