Hepatitis C and health-related quality of life
Patients with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) have a significant decrease in their health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL), although treatment success can mitigate this negative effect. These are among the findings of a systematic review of relevant literature published in the April 2005 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Publishe...Schepens scientists regenerate optic nerve for the first time
Boston, Mass. For the first time, scientists have regenerated a damaged optic nerve -- from the eye to the brain. This achievement, which occurred in laboratory mice and is described in the March 1, 2005 issue of the Journal of Cell Science, holds great promise for victims of diseases that destroy the optic nerve, and for sufferers of central nervous system injuries. "For us, this is a dream bec...Cancer in patients with hepatitis C
People infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) have a higher risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma, according to a recent study of the Swedish population. These findings are published in the March 2005 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc, the journal is availab...Scientists replicate hepatitis C virus in laboratory
For the first time, scientists have replicated hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the laboratory. The ability to replicate HCV in cell culture will allow researchers to better study the life cycle and biology of this virus and to test potential antiviral compounds, which may lead to new therapies for the liver disease that results from infection with HCV. Scientists at the National Institute of Diabete...Hepatitis B viral load, genotype affect liver cancer risk, study finds
Infection with a specific subtype of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and a high viral load are associated both independently and additively with an increased risk of a type of liver cancer, according to a new study in the February 16 issue of the ...... Chronic infection with HBV has been established as a cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a type of liver cancer. More than 350 million people world...Depression caused by common treatment for hepatitis C may affect outcome
ATLANTAAn article appearing in the January 2005 issue of Brain, Behavior and Immunity suggests that developing depression while on interferon-alpha plus ribavirin may impact how well the medications work. ... ...In a study conducted in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine, Charles L. Raison, MD, Andrew Miller, MD, and colleagues, observed tha...No advantage of combination drug therapy for chronic hepatitis B Infection
This release is also available in <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/staticrel.php?view=LancetKVd...">German. Results of an international study in this week's issue of THE LANCET suggest that pegylated interferon alpha offers the best treatment option for people with chronic hepatitis B infection....... Patients successfully treated for chronic hepatitis B are less likely to develop cirrhosis,...Shepherds whistle while they work and brains process sounds as language
The human brain's remarkable flexibility to understand a variety of signals as language extends to an unusual whistle language used by shepherds on one of the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa. ... And the way the brain processes these whistles is similar to the way it goes about deciphering English, Spanish or other spoken languages, according to research being published in tomo...Anniversary of one of the largest hepatitis A outbreaks in the US brings experts together
Alexandria, VA December 13, 2004 As a result of hepatitis A outbreaks across the country, former United States Surgeon General, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, and the National Partnership for Immunization are joining forces to educate the public about the disease and prevention through vaccination. This initiative comes on the one-year anniversary of one of the largest hepatitis A outbreaks in U.S. hist...Hepatitis C at epidemic levels among young injectors in London
Levels of hepatitis C among young injecting drug users across London are reaching epidemic levels report researchers from Imperial College London, the Health Protection Agency and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine....... , four in ten new young injectors now has hepatitis C, while three per cent are now infected with HIV....... Hepatitis C, which can cause serious and sometimes f...Serum caspase activity and liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis C
Caspase activity in the sera of patients with chronic hepatitis C infection (HCV) may be a more sensitive measure of liver injury than conventional surrogate markers like aminotransferases, according to a new study published in the November 2004 issue of Hepatology. ......Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), published by John Wile...Occult hepatitis B in dialysis patients
Some kidney dialysis patients contract hepatitis B virus (HBV) during the course of their treatment, possibly from other members of the dialysis population with occult HBV. People with occult HBV test negative for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) but positive for HBV-DNA, which is detected through sensitive tests not typically performed on dialysis patients. ......A recent study found that the preval...Britain should adopt universal hepatitis B immunisation
Britain should adopt universal hepatitis B immunisation, says a senior doctor in this week's BMJ....... The United Kingdom is one of the few developed countries that have not implemented universal immunisation. Because the burden of hepatitis B was low and individual rights were considered paramount, a policy of selective immunisation of high-risk groups, such as health care workers, homosexual m...Studies demonstrate positive data in treatment of hepatitis C
BOSTON Data from two ongoing studies testing new approaches for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) this afternoon. ...Presented by principal investigator Nezam Afdhal, M.D., Chief of Hepatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard...Drug combination shows promise in treating hepatitis C
ST. LOUIS--Interim study results indicate a certain drug combination treatment may suppress the hepatitis C virus more quickly than another....... Researchers at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and six other research sites throughout the country found that combining the drug Pegasys® with ribavirin resulted in a greater reduction in hepatitis C viral levels than patients treated wit...The protective effects of heparin in preventing miscarriages in lupus patients
New York, NY, October 19, 2004 Researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City have identified a potentially valuable therapeutic pathway for preventing miscarriages in certain lupus patients. ...... Their research on the recurrent pregnancy loss that afflicts systemic lupus erythematosus patients was published in the October 17, 2004, online edition of Nature Medicine. Th...African-Americans respond poorly to hepatitis C treatment
DURHAM, N.C. African-Americans have a significantly lower response rate to treatment for chronic hepatitis C than non-Hispanic whites, according to a new study led by Duke University Medical Center researchers....... Some African-Americans 19 percent did respond to the drug combination of peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin. But in non-Hispanic whites with the same disease, the hepatitis C gen...Childhood vaccination coverage affected by temporary suspension of hepatitis B vaccine
A temporary suspension of the initial dose of hepatitis B vaccine appears to have contributed to fewer newborns being vaccinated for hepatitis B in 2000 than in 1998, according to a study published in the May 19 issue of (JAMA)....... In 1991, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that all children receive 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine by 19 months of age, part of...Advances emerging in hepatitis management
New Orleans, LA Hepatitis, a potentially serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver, is a major problem worldwide. Hepatitis A is generally food-borne, while hepatitis B and C spread primarily through parenteral or sexual routes. Hepatitis B and C can be life-long, potentially deadly chronic infections. In studies presented today at Digestive Disease Week in New Orleans, researc...Synbiotic modulation of gut flora improves minimal hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhotic patients
Some cirrhotic patients develop brain dysfunction, called hepatic encephalopathy, which causes deficits in behavior, intelligence, consciousness and neuromuscular function. When the dysfunction is minor, it is called minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). Since ammonia has been shown to play a key role in overt hepatic encephalopathy, treatment options for MHE have also focused on reducing ammonia...Drugs experts call for government backing to stop the spread of hepatitis C
A team of drugs researchers from Imperial College London want prevention campaigns supported by stronger government public health policies to help stop the continuing spread of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) among injecting drug users. ... ...In a study, published in this month's Addiction, researchers conducted qualitative interviews with 59 injecting drug users, and found many were ignorant of the...International hepatitis C study examines new approaches to treatment
A new study seeks to answer one of the most challenging and important questions in hepatitis C therapy today: What is the best option for patients in whom one of the most widely prescribed treatments has failed? The study will evaluate different regimens of combination therapy in patients with hepatitis C who failed to generate a sustained virological response after treatment with Peg-Intron/Reb...Northwestern Memorial launches trial to determine most effective treatment for hepatitis C
Northwestern Memorial Hospital is the only Chicago-area hospital currently participating in a national research study to directly compare the two commercially available regimens of pegylated interferon alpha therapy plus ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C and determine if one of the therapies has a better response rate than the other. ..."A head-to-head study of two comparable regimens is still un...Study findings offer new hope for the estimated 300,000 Americans infected with HIV and Hepatitis C
A Mount Sinai School of Medicine researcher reported results from a study with a drug combination that showed the highest hepatitis C treatment response rates ever reported in patients infected with hepatitis C and HIV virus at the 11th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) this week. ...... The multinational APRICOT (AIDS PEGASYS™ Ribavirin International CO...Persistently abnormal liver function tests: Marker of occult hepatitis C?
Patients with persistently abnormal liver function tests but no serologic evidence of liver disease may nevertheless have hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, according to a study published in the January 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, available online now.... ...Such occult (meaning hidden or concealed) infection is not supposed to occur--the conventional wisdom is that the virus...New investigational vaccine to prevent hepatitis C tested for first time in humans
ST. LOUIS - With an estimated 170 million people around the world already infected with hepatitis C, Saint Louis University is testing, for the first time in humans, an investigational vaccine that researchers hope will prevent infection with the virus. The successful development of such a vaccine would represent a major step in combating this growing health problem.... ...Saint Louis University...Newer formulation of heparin improves outcomes for suspected heart attack patients
ORLANDO, FLA. A newer, more convenient formulation of the blood thinner heparin appears to improve outcomes with fewer complications -- when combined with a platelet receptor blocking drug and invasive management -- for patients who come to emergency rooms with a suspected heart attack....... Duke University Medical Center cardiologists said that the results of their analysis of more than 10,000...Are hepatitis A vaccine boosters unnecessary?
Authors of a review article in this week's issue of THE LANCET propose that booster vaccinations for hepatitis A virus (HAV) are unnecessary for people with a healthy immune system. The authors highlight how immune memory-the protective capacity of the immune system after specific antibodies have become undetectable-could result in immune protection for up to 25 years....... There are around 1.4...Duke to lead first comparative trial of hepatitis C therapies
DURHAM, NC -- Researchers from Duke University Medical Center and The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will lead the first ever direct comparison of the two leading treatments for hepatitis C infection, a study they hope will help refine treatment practices to maximize benefit for patients.... ...Approximately 3.9 million Americans are infected with the hepatitis C virus, according to...U of Washington establishes $9 million center to study hepatitis-induced liver disease
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a $9 million grant to the University of Washington to support the newly formed Center for Functional Genomics and Hepatitis C Virus-Associated Liver Disease. This center is applying modern genomics, protein studies and computational technologies to study hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver dis...UC Berkeley study indicates promise of Chinese herbal medicine in treatment of chronic hepatitis B
Berkeley - Chinese herbal medicine combined with standard therapy may be more effective than standard therapy alone for treatment of chronic hepatitis B, according to an analysis of randomized, controlled trials led by University of California, Berkeley, researchers. ... ...Researchers analyzed 27 clinical trials in which chronic hepatitis B patients using Chinese herbal medicine alone, or with i...New combination treatment for hepatitis C reported more beneficial than standard therapy
CHAPEL HILL -- The New England Journal of Medicine's Sept. 26 issue carries the first published report showing that a combination treatment with peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys) - a new long-acting interferon drug - and an antiviral medication is more beneficial than the standard combination therapy for people with the most-difficult-to-treat and most common strain of hepatitis C. ... The large in...Know your risk for hepatitis C virus
Orlando, FL -- Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common chronic infectious disease in the United States, affecting an estimated 2.7 million people, or nearly two percent of the population. While HCV causes mild, asymptomatic disease in many persons, chronic HCV infection can cause cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. ... ...Recently, combination treatment for HCV has been ab...Schepens is recipient of the most National Eye Institute funds in 2001
Boston, MA-Ophthalmology Times (OT) recently listed Schepens Eye Research Institute as the recipient of more National Eye Institute (NEI) funding in 2001 than any other eye research organization in the country. The Institute heads a list (published in OT) of the top ten eye research institutes with $12,763,654 in funding, and is followed closely by Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvani...Exposure to hepatitis C has no effect on antiretroviral treatment outcomes in HIV patients
A study of HIV-infected patients in Baltimore, Maryland, revealed that individuals seropositive for hepatitis C had similar clinical outcome measures when treated with antiretroviral drug regimens compared to seronegative patients. These findings will be presented at a July 6 press conference at the XIV International AIDS Conference being held in Barcelona, Spain, July 7-12, 2002....... Scientist...Progress and future directions for management of hepatitis C
Substantial advances in treatment for chronic hepatitis C and a decline in the number of new infections, were highlighted by a panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). ...Nonetheless, a fourfold increase in persons with chronic hepatitis C infection is projected over the next decade, as a result of unsuspected infection from contaminated blood and blood products, occupational e...Drug cocktail prevents hepatitis B virus from recurring after liver transplant
Aiming to prevent recurrence of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) in post liver-transplant patients, UCLA researchers retrospectively reviewed survival rates of hepatitis B liver-transplantation patients. Their findings show that a combination of two drug therapies improved patient survival rates when compared to existing drug therapies given alone and that long-term treatment dramatically decreases r...Study highlights need for hepatitis C vaccine
A US study in this weeks issue of THE LANCET highlights a high rate of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among injection-drug users, and that immunity against persistent HCV infection can be acquired. The authors suggest that vaccines should be tested to reduce the burden of liver disease associated with HCV infection....... Around 4 million people in the USA (and 170 million people worldwide) ha...Highest sustained virologic response in treatment of Hepatitis C ever reported in prospective study
A combination treatment of Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a 40kd) a pegylated interferon, with ribavirin, an orally active anti-viral medication, has shown some of the most effective treatment rates yet for individuals with hepatitis C. The combination treatment yielded a 61 percent sustained virologic response (SVR), the highest SVR ever reported in a prospective trial for a pegylated interferon...