Hepatitis News

July 2006

Transition Therapeutics Inc. Announces 12-Week Data from HCV-I.E.T. Phase I/II Clinical Trial Announces 12-week data from an open label, multi-centre Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the interferon enhancing product, HCV-I.E.T., in hepatitis C non-responders.
“Transition Therapeutics, Inc., announces 12-week data from an open label, multi-centre Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the interferon enhancing product, HCV-I.E.T., in hepatitis C non-responders.”

Effect of Tattooing, Body Piercing and Intranasal Drug Use on Risk of HCV and HBV Infection
“In recent years, there has been growing concern among medical professionals and hepatitis B and C community service providers that certain cosmetic procedures, including tattooing and body piercing -- as well as intranasal drug use -- might be associated with an increased risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.”

Beliefs about Disease Severity and Lifestyle Changes among Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C
“It is important that individuals with hepatitis C received accurate information about their disease, so that they may have realistic expectations about outcomes and make appropriate lifestyle changes.”

Major step in fight on hepatitis C
“New research by a Canberra-based academic could help find a more effective treatment for hepatitis C, which infects more than 10,000 Australians a year.”

VIHA targets $1.5 million to halve HIV/AIDS, Hep C
“The Vancouver Island Health Authority will distribute $1.5 million to HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C community programs to reduce infection rates by 50 per cent in the next three years.”

High Body Mass Index and Hepatitis C Are Risk Factors for Posttransplant Diabetes: Presented at WTC
“Patients who are overweight or who have impaired fasting glucose or positive hepatitis C serology before renal transplantation are at high risk of developing new-onset diabetes mellitus, a multicenter observational study suggests.”

Ontario will still spend millions on Hep C victims
“Ontario has no plans to eliminate its $109-million fund for people with hepatitis C, despite Tuesday's nnouncement of a new federal compensation plan for victims of tainted blood transfusions.”

McGuinty Government Commends Federal Hepatitis C Funding
“The Ontario government congratulates the federal government on its new compensation plan for people who contracted hepatitis C through tainted blood prior to 1986 and post 1990, Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman said today.”

Treatment for Hepatitis C Less Than Half as Likely if You Have No Insurance
“Decision Resources, Inc., a research and advisory firm for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that patients without insurance who do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare are less than half as likely as patients with private insurance to undergo treatment for hepatitis C.”

Hepatitis C virus enzyme sites revealed
“U.S. researchers say the crystal structure of one of the hepatitis C viral proteins might offer new opportunities for antiviral drug design.”

AVI BioPharma Announces Hepatitis C Virus Clinical Study Modification
“BioPharma, Inc.announced today that it has entered patients to fill two new cohorts to extend the duration of treatment with AVI-4065 in its hepatitis C virus (HCV) clinical trial.”

Low CD4 cell count and hepatitis C coinfection risk factors for acute kidney failure in HIV-infected patients
“HIV-positive individuals who are receiving treatment with potent antiretroviral therapy have an increased risk of experiencing acute kidney failure if they have a low CD4 cell count, US investigators report in the July edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.”

Hepatitis C ad blitz raises ethical qualms
Some doctors and advocates see a strong profit motive behind an advertising campaign by drugmaker
“As the head of liver transplantation at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Victor J. Navarro has seen many ailing patients with hepatitis C. But they don't look like the man in a half-page, color newspaper ad with a battered and bruised face, his eyes glassy.”

Hepatitis C testing urged
“Each year, roughly 10,000 people die from cancer, liver failure and other complications of the hepatitis C virus. It is the nation's most common chronic blood-borne infection; about three times as many people are carrying the hepatitis C virus as are infected with HIV.”

Cholesterol drugs may treat hepatitis C - study
“Cholesterol drugs called statins may help treat hepatitis C infections, Japanese researchers reported on Friday. Tests in lab dishes suggest that some statin drugs may help stop the hepatitis C virus from replicating, they wrote in the journal Hepatology, published by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.”

Sexual dysfunction common for men with hepatitis C
“Men chronically infected with hepatitis C virus often suffer from sexual dysfunction, and it seems to have nothing to do with their age or with underlying depression, new study results suggest.”

85% of rural Chinese HIV-positives also have hepatitis C
“Rural Chinese villagers with HIV have high rates of undetected hepatitis C (HCV) infection, and are potentially compromising treatment with antiretroviral drugs, according to a study published in the journal AIDS last month.”

Jury indicts hepatitis C inmate for assault after spitting on guards
“A female prison inmate with hepatitis C has been indicted for assault after spitting blood on guards.”

Innogenetics reports preclinical data on prophylactic hepatitis C vaccine and identification of neutralizing HCV antibodies with unique features
“Innogenetics today announced preclinical data from its collaboration with the NIH (National Institutes of Health – USA) in the field of hepatitis C. Results confirmed that the current prophylactic candidate vaccine had limited efficacy in the animal model used.”

Treating hepatitis C recurrence after liver transplantation“A new study on recurring hepatitis C in patients who underwent a liver transplant found that better results were achieved when using a combination of pegylated interferon (a longer-acting form of the drug) and the antiviral drug ribavirin than standard interferon and ribavirin. In addition, failure to respond to the therapy early on was useful in predicting whether it would ultimately succeed.”

Hepatitis C is the most common, chronic blood-borne
viral infection in the U.S.

Caring Ambassadors Hepatitis C Program
604 East 16th Street,
Suite 201
Vancouver, WA 98663
Phone: 360-816-4186
FAX: 360-750-1320
http://www.hepcchallenge.org

Hepatitis News

July 2006

Clinical Trials, Cohort Studies, and Pilot Studies

Basic and Applied Science, Pre-Clinical Studies

HIV/HCV Coinfection

Complementary and Alternative Therapies

Miscellaneous

Hepatitis C is the most common, chronic blood-borne viral infection in the U.S.

Hepatitis C is the most common, chronic blood-borne
viral infection in the U.S.