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Hepatitis News:
May 2006
Largest U.S.
Hepatitis C Trial Provides Insight Into Optimizing Treatment for Patients
"Researchers who participated in the WIN-R trial, the largest hepatitis C study
ever conducted in U.S. patients, reported key factors affecting treatment
outcomes in five data presentations here at the Digestive Disease Week (DDW)
annual meeting, and provided important insights for optimizing treatment with
PEG-INTRON® (peginterferon alfa-2b) and REBETOL® (ribavirin, USP) combination
therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a
potentially deadly liver disease."
InterMune announces hepatitis C research
"Drug maker InterMune Inc. said Tuesday preclinial data show the company's
hepatitis C virus protease inhibitor, ITMN-191, is active against variants of
the disease that are less sensitive to other experimental hepatitis protease
inhibitors in development."
Vertex jumps on hepatitis C drug advancement
"According to Vertex chief executive officer Joshua Boger, Vertex
Pharmaceuticals Inc.has already started a large-scale Phase IIb trial clinical
trial in the U.S. that will test to see how long VX-950 can keep the body clear
of the liver-destroying virus."
Enzyme-blocking Drug Offers Hope for Hepatitis C Sufferers
"ViroPharma, Inc. said Sunday that data from a phase 1b trial of an
enzyme-blocking drug showed a 97 percent success rate in preventing the
Hepatitis C virus from replicating itself."
Difficulty in treating older hepatitis C patients with Interferon and Ribavirin
"A study in Japan examining the effects of combination therapy on older patients
with hepatitis C found more adverse effects necessitating discontinuation of
treatment, lowering of dosages, and lower long-term benefits in this age group."
Hepatitis C Update
"A new study shows viral hepatitis C--a deadly liver infection--is becoming more
prevalent in those over 40--among the baby boomers who are aging."
Celera To Announce Test for Cirrhosis in Hepatitis C Patients
"Maryland-based Celera Genomics on Wednesday was expected to announce a genetic
test that it says could predict if a patient with hepatitis C is likely to
develop cirrhosis of the liver, the New York Times reports."
Human Genome
Sciences Presents Interim Results of Phase 2 Trial of Albuferon(TM) with
Ribavirin in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Who Failed to Respond to Previous
Therapy
"Human Genome Sciences, Inc. today reported the interim results of a Phase 2
clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of Albuferon(TM)
(albumin-interferon alpha 2b) in combination with ribavirin in patients with
chronic hepatitis C (HCV) who failed to respond to previous interferon
alpha-based treatment regimens."
Hepatitis
C Patients Benefit From Combination Of VX-950 And Pegylated Interferon
"The experimental oral protease inhibitor VX-950, dosed in combination with
pegylated interferon alfa-2a (PegasysR; peg-IFN), is potent and well tolerated
in patients with chronic genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection,
researchers announced at the 41st Annual Meeting of the European Association for
the Study of the Liver (EASL)."
Saint Louis University hunt for
a Hepatitis C vaccine
"Human clinical trials involving investigational vaccines to prevent Hepatitis C
are rare. In the fall of 2003 there was a first-ever study at Saint Louis
University Center for Vaccine Development, and an earlier small study at Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine."
Employer pays $24,000 for Hepatitis C firing
"ST. LOUIS - A former convenience store employee who was fired for having
Hepatitis C has been awarded $24,000 in a lawsuit settlement, the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission said Thursday."
Roche study shows hepatitis C patients need six months of treatment
"Roche has posted results from a new trial showing that 24 weeks of therapy with
Pegasys combined with ribavirin is more effective than 16 weeks for patients
infected with hepatitis C genotypes 2 and 3."
AVI BioPharma shares plunge on hepatitis C data
"Shares of AVI BioPharma Inc. lost a third of their value on Wednesday after the
company reported disappointing clinical trial data for its experimental
treatment against the hepatitis C virus."
Clinical Trials, Cohort Studies, Pilot Studies
The prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in the United States, 1999 through
2002. Armstrong GL, et al. Ann Intern Med. 2006 May 16;144(10):705-14.
Prevalence and characteristics of peripheral neuropathy in hepatitis C virus
population. Santoro L, et al. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2006
May;77(5):626-9. Epub 2006 Feb 7.
Liver TX for hepatitis C cirrhosis in a low prevalence population: risk factors
and status at evaluation.
Melum E, Schrumpf E, Bjoro K. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2006 May;41(5):592-6.
Interferon gamma-1b for the treatment of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C
infection. Muir AJ, Sylvestre PB, Rockey DC. J Viral Hepat. 2006
May;13(5):322-8.
Comorbid medical and psychiatric conditions and substance abuse in HCV infected
persons on dialysis.
Butt AA, Evans R, Skanderson M, Shakil AO. J Hepatol. 2006 May;44(5):864-8. Epub
2006 Feb 20.
Prospective study of viral clearance and CD4(+) T-cell response in acute
hepatitis C primary infection and reinfection. Aberle JH, et al. J Clin
Virol. 2006 May;36(1):24-31. Epub 2006 Feb 17.
Myocarditis and heart failure associated with hepatitis C virus infection.
Matsumori A, Shimada T, Chapman NM, Tracy SM, Mason JW. J Card Fail. 2006
May;12(4):293-8.
Hepatitis C virus infection in a resident elderly population: A 10-year
follow-up study. Monica F, et al. Dig Liver Dis. 2006 May;38(5):336-40. Epub
2006 Apr 14.
Should aged patients with chronic hepatitis C be treated with interferon and
ribavirin combination therapy?
Hiramatsu N, et al. Hepatol Res. 2006 May 3; [Epub ahead of print]
Acute hepatitis C virus infection in incarcerated injection drug users.
McGovern BH, et al. Clin Infect Dis. 2006 Jun 15;42(12):1663-70. Epub 2006 May
11.
Evolution of hepatitis C viral quasispecies and hepatic injury in perinatally
infected children followed prospectively. Farci P, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci
U S A. 2006 May 17; [Epub ahead of print]
Immunogenicity and safety of a novel therapeutic hepatitis C virus (HCV) peptide
vaccine: A randomized, placebo controlled trial for dose optimization in 128
healthy subjects. Firbas C, et al. Vaccine. 2006 May 15;24(20):4343-53. Epub
2006 Mar 20.
Portal Hypertensive Gastropathy in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients with Bridging
Fibrosis and Compensated Cirrhosis: Results from the HALT-C Trial.
Fontana RJ, et al. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006 May 11;101(5):983-92. Epub 2006 Mar
30.
Monoaminergic neurotransmission is altered in hepatitis C virus infected
patients with chronic fatigue and cognitive impairment. Weissenborn K, et
al. Gut. 2006 May 8; [Epub ahead of print]
Relationship of Smoking and Fibrosis in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C.
Dev A, Patel K, Conrad A, Blatt LM, McHutchison JG. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol.
2006 May 5; [Epub ahead of print]
Clinical implications of hepatitis C virus infection in MALT-type lymphoma of
the ocular adnexa. Ferreri AJ, et al. Ann Oncol. 2006 May;17(5):769-72. Epub
2006 Mar 8.
Antibody to hepatitis B core antigen is associated with the development of
hepatocellular carcinoma in hepatitis C virus-infected persons: a 12-year
prospective study. Tanaka K, Nagao Y, Ide T, Kumashiro R, Sata M. Int J Mol
Med. 2006 May;17(5):827-32.
Improvement in quality of life measures in patients with refractory hepatitis C,
responding to retreatment with Pegylated interferon alpha-2b and ribavirin.
Mathew A, Peiffer LP, Rhoades K, McGarrity TJ. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2006
May 12;4(1):30 [Epub ahead of print]
Treatment of chronic hepatitis C in non-responsive patients with pegylated
interferon associated with ribavirin and thalidomide: report of six cases of
total remission. Caseiro MM. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2006
Mar-Apr;48(2):109-12. Epub 2006 May 8.
Determinants of quality of life in chronic liver patients. Gutteling JJ, et
al. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2006 Jun 1;23(11):1629-35.
Basic And Applied Science, Pre-Clinical Studies
Effects of interferon plus ribavirin treatment on NF-kappaB, TGF-beta1, and
metalloproteinase activity in chronic hepatitis C. Guido M, et al. Mod
Pathol. 2006 May 12; [Epub ahead of print]
Epigenetic silencing of interferon-inducible genes is implicated in interferon
resistance of hepatitis C virus replicon-harboring cells. Naka K, et al. J
Hepatol. 2006 May;44(5):869-78. Epub 2006 Feb 28.
The effect of HCV core protein on the expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in
HepG2 cells.
Liu YL, et al. Xi Bao Yu Fen Zi Mian Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2006 May;22(3):343-5.
[Article in Chinese]
Construction and characterization of infectious intragenotypic and
intergenotypic hepatitis C virus chimeras. Pietschmann T, et al. Proc Natl
Acad Sci U S A. 2006 May 9;103(19):7408-13. Epub 2006 May 1
Fas Ligand Is Responsible for CXCR3 Chemokine Induction in CD4+ T Cell-Dependent
Liver Damage.
Cruise MW, et al. J Immunol. 2006 May 15;176(10):6235-44.
HIV/HCV Coinfection
The Association of Cigarette Smoking with HIV Prognosis Among Women in the HAART
Era--A Report From the Women's Interagency HIV Study. Feldman JG, Am J
Public Health. 2006 May 2; [Epub ahead of print]
Severe Liver Disease Associated With Prolonged Exposure to Antiretroviral Drugs.
Maida I, J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2006 May 8; [Epub ahead of print]
Impact of hepatitis C virus coinfection on response to highly active
antiretroviral therapy and outcome in HIV-infected individuals: a nationwide
cohort study. Weis N, et al. Clin Infect Dis. 2006 May 15;42(10):1481-7.
Epub 2006 Apr 12.
Effect of hepatitis C infection on progression of HIV disease and early response
to initial antiretroviral therapy. Sullivan PS, Hanson DL, Teshale EH,
Wotring LL, Brooks JT. AIDS. 2006 May 12;20(8):1171-1179.
Efficacy of early treatment of acute hepatitis C infection with pegylated
interferon and ribavirin in HIV-infected patients. Dominguez S, et al. AIDS.
2006 May 12;20(8):1157-1161.
Assessing the reproductive performance of men co-infected with HIV-1 and
hepatitis C undergoing assisted reproduction. Chu MC, et al. Arch Gynecol
Obstet. 2006 May 5; [Epub ahead of print]
Evaluating the impact of hepatitis C virus (HCV) on highly active antiretroviral
therapy-mediated immune responses in HCV/HIV-coinfected women: role of HCV on
expression of primed/memory T cells.
Al-Harthi L, J Infect Dis. 2006 May 1;193(9):1202-10. Epub 2006 Mar 17.
Complementary And Alternative Therapies
The pharmacological effects of Salvia species on the central nervous system.
Imanshahidi M, Hosseinzadeh H. Phytother Res. 2006 Jun;20(6):427-37.
Miscellaneous Works
A novel ex vivo assay of interferon-based suppression, to predict the outcome of
antiviral therapy for hepatitis C. Yeh CT, et al. J Infect Dis. 2006 May
15;193(10):1365-70. Epub 2006 Apr 12.
Variability of grade and stage in simultaneous paired liver biopsies in
Hepatitis C. Skripenova S, Trainer T, Krawitt E, Blaszyk H. J Clin Pathol.
2006 May 12; [Epub ahead of print]
Evaluation of the performance of 44 assays used in countries with limited
resources for the detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus. Scheiblauer
H, El-Nageh M, Nick S, Fields H, Prince A, Diaz S. Transfusion. 2006
May;46(5):708-18.
Evolution of infection control in Egypt: Achievements and challenges. Talaat
M, Am J Infect Control. 2006 May;34(4):193-200.
Integration of nucleic acid amplification test results into hepatitis C virus
supplemental serologic testing algorithms: implications for donor counseling and
revision of existing algorithms.
Kleinman SH, Stramer SL, Brodsky JP, Caglioti S, Busch MP. Transfusion. 2006
May;46(5):695-702. |
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