Hepatitis News

September 2006

Steven Tyler Reveals Battle With Hepatitis C
"Steven Tyler has revealed he was diagnosed with hepatitis C three years ago after having the illness for a long time without any symptoms. In an interview to air today (Sept. 26) on "Access Hollywood," the 58-year-old Aerosmith frontman said the infection was now "nonexistent" in his bloodstream after 11 months of treatment, including the drug Interferon."

The silent epidemic: Conference to look at HIV, hepatitis C treatment
"Sebastian Battle was in the doctor's office for a checkup after a car wreck when he was told he was HIV positive. His doctor told him he had two years to live. That was in 1991. "It was very callous and unfeeling," said Battle, now 42. Battle, who contracted the disease through unprotected sex, is a former laboratory worker. He became a patient advocate a year ago."Patients need to know they don't have to die.""

Untreated infection a ticking time bomb
"When the test returns positive for hepatitis C, patients often start counting backward. "I got the call from my doctor, and my life flashed all the way back to that tattoo place in San Francisco," said 40-year-old Kate Wilcox. "And I knew that guy didn't sterilize his equipment before he started working on my arm." It was the mid 1980s when she got the tattoo, a renaissance design with angels and halos. Ten years later, not knowing she was infected, she learned about the symptoms and the risks during a public health talk on hepatitis C."

Former Charger Kicks Hepatitis C
"As a kicker for the Chargers, Rolf Benirschke has had his share of challenges on the field and off, including a bout with colitis. But his recent struggle with Hepatitis C kicked off the biggest challenge of his life. Hepatitis C is a sometimes fatal liver disease that affects 4 million Americans. Ironically, Benirschke contracted the disease while being treated for ulcerative colitis."

Novelos Therapeutics Enrolls 1st Patient in Hepatitis C Trial with NOV-205
NEWTON, Mass., Sept. 28, 2006 - Novelos Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development of therapeutics to treat cancer and hepatitis, today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in a hepatitis C trial with NOV-205, the company's second compound. The initial U.S.-based double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1b trial will evaluate NOV-205 versus placebo as monotherapy in 30 chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 patients who previously failed treatment with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin. A link to the trial description and contact information is available at www.novelos.com on the 'Clinical Trials' page.

Treatment of acute hepatitis C produces good response rates in HIV-positive patients
"HIV positive individuals who receive treatment soon after becoming infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) have a high likelihood of sustained response, according to a study presented on Thursday at the 46th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco."

Center to offer hep. C testing - The York Spanish American Center program will be free. Hispanics are at a high risk for the disease.
"Susie Lugo walked up and down South Queen Street, stopping people with tattoos and anyone else who would listen to her talk about hepatitis C risk factors. On Thursday, she is starting a free and confidential testing program at York Spanish American Center. It will be the first such community testing offered in York that she knows of for what has become a major health problem in Hispanic and black populations in America."

List of Cancer-Causing Agents Grows
"The Department of Health and Human Services released its Eleventh Edition of the Report on Carcinogens today, adding seventeen substances to the growing list of cancer-causing agents, bringing the total to 246. For the first time ever, viruses are listed in the report: hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and some human papillomaviruses that cause common sexually transmitted diseases. Other new listings include lead and lead compounds, X-rays, compounds found in grilled meats, and a host of substances used in textile dyes, paints and inks."

The full report is available at the NTP website http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov.

Hepatitis C virus therapies
"The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is believed to have infected approximately 170 million people worldwide. Often referred to as the silent killer, patients can remain asymptomatic for decades before developing liver cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma. Approximately 40-50% of liver transplants in the US are the result of HCV infection. Six major HCV genotypes (HCV1-6) have been identified, which vary in their geographic distribution and response to treatments."

Concern over rising Hepatitis-C cases [India]
"In a recently-conducted IMA meeting at Ludhiana, a session on ''Rise in Hepatitis C'' was conducted under the chairmanship of Dr Rajoo Singh Chinna, Prof and HoD, Department of Gastroenterology at DMCH. During the session, talk on prevalence, transmission and treatment of Hepatitis C was given by Dr Gursaran Kaur Sidhu, chief physician, Sidhu Hospital, Doraha. It was observed that incidence of Hepatitis C was markedly on the rise world-wide and especially in India."

Marijuana helps patients stay on medication
"Recovering drug addicts who are infected with hepatitis C virus may stick to their medications better if they are allowed to use marijuana, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. Smoking or eating cannabis may help them tolerate the side effects of the antivirals, which can clear the virus but often cause fevers, chills, and muscle and joint aches, the researchers said."

Hepatitis C can pose particular health problems for people who areHIV-Positive 3
"Gay HIV-positive men are being warned about the dangers of contracting hepatitis C on the eve of Hep C Awareness Week. Hep C is usually transmitted via blood to blood contact, and while this can happen during sex it is not classified as a sexually transmissible infection. The virus is not usually found in semen, saliva or menstrual fluid."

Clinical Trials, Cohort Studies, and Pilot Studies

Potential role of hepatic progenitor cells expression in cases of chronic hepatitis C and their relation to response to therapy: a clinicopathologic study. Tsamandas AC, et al. Liver Int. 2006 Sep;26(7):817-26.

Clinical features of hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma and their association with alpha-fetoprotein and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II. Yano Y, et al. Liver Int. 2006 Sep;26(7):789-95.

Viral hepatitis and proteinuria in an area endemic for hepatitis B and C infections: another chain of link? Huang JF, et al. J Intern Med. 2006 Sep;260(3):255-62.

Pulmonary alterations in patients with chronic HCV infection. Erturk A, et al. Dig Liver Dis. 2006 Sep;38(9):673-6. Epub 2006 Jun 21.

Distinctive natural history in hepatitis C virus positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: analysis of 156 patients from northern Italy. Visco C, et al. Ann Oncol. 2006 Sep;17(9):1434-40. Epub 2006 Jun 9.

Hemophilic siblings with chronic hepatitis C: familial aggregation of spontaneous and treatment-related viral clearance. Fried MW, et al. Gastroenterology. 2006 Sep;131(3):757-64.

First phase viral kinetic parameters and prediction of response to interferon alpha-2b/ribavirin combination therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Makiyama A, et al. Hepatol Res. 2006 Sep 1; [Epub ahead of print]

A randomised study of peginterferon and ribavirin for 16 vs 24 weeks in patients with genotype 2 chronic hepatitis C. Yu ML, et al. Gut. 2006 Sep 6; [Epub ahead of print]

Virological effects and safety of combined double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) and interferon therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C: A preliminary study. Yamashita T, et al. Hepatol Res. 2006 Sep 5; [Epub ahead of print]

Causes of death after diagnosis of hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection: a large community-based linkage study. Amin J, et al. Lancet. 2006 Sep 9;368(9539):938-45.

Different viral kinetics between hepatitis C virus genotype 1 and 2 as on-treatment predictors of response to a 24-week course of high-dose interferon-alpha plus ribavirin combination therapy.

Yu ML, et al. Transl Res. 2006 Sep;148(3):120-7.

Decline in haemoglobin A1c values in diabetic patients receiving interferon-alpha and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C. Greenberg PD, et al. Transl Res. 2006 Sep;148(3):120-7.

Peripheral neurotoxicity of pegylated interferon alpha: a prospective study in patients with HCV.

Briani C, et al. BMC Public Health. 2006 Sep 13;6(1):229 [Epub ahead of print] 2006 Sep 12;67(5):781-5.

Association Between ABO Blood Group and Fibrosis Severity in Chronic Hepatitis C Infection.

Poujol-Robert A, et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2006 Sep;51(9):1633-1636. Epub 2006 Aug 22.

Treatment of hepatitis C virus genotype 4 with peginterferon alfa-2a: Impact of bilharziasis and fibrosis stage. Derbala MF, et al. World J Gastroenterol. 2006 Sep 21;12(35):5692-8.

Basic and Applied Science, Pre-Clinical Studies

Virus-specific T-cell responses associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) persistence in the liver after apparent recovery from HCV infection. Quiroga JA, et al. J Med Virol. 2006 Sep;78(9):1190-7.

CD4+ immune escape and subsequent T-cell failure following chimpanzee immunization against hepatitis C virus. Puig M, et al. Hepatology. 2006 Sep;44(3):736-45.

Identification of conserved residues in the E2 envelope glycoprotein of the hepatitis C virus that are critical for CD81 binding. Owsianka AM, et al. J Virol. 2006 Sep;80(17):8695-704.

Polymorphism of interferon-gamma gene at position +874 and clinical characteristics of chronic hepatitis C.

Dai CY, et al. Transl Res. 2006 Sep;148(3):128-33.

NIM811, a cyclophilin inhibitor, exhibits potent in vitro activity against hepatitis C virus alone or in combination with alpha interferon. Ma S, et al. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2006 Sep;50(9):2976-82.

GenotypingHepatitis C Viruses from South East Asia using a Novel Line Probe Assay That Simultaneously Detects 5'UTR and Core Regions. Noppornpanth S, et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2006 Sep 6; [Epub ahead of print]

Identification of hepatitis C virus (HCV) 2a-derived epitope peptides having the capacity to induce cytotoxic T lymphocytes in human leukocyte antigen-A24(+) and HCV2a-infected patients.

Wang Y, et al. Cell Immunol. 2006 Sep 8; [Epub ahead of print]

Low density lipoprotein receptor transcripts correlates with liver hepatitis C virus RNA in patients with alcohol consumption. Carriere M, et al. J Viral Hepat. 2006 Sep;13(9):633-42.

Regulation of the CYP1A1 gene by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin but not by beta-naphthoflavone or 3-methylcholanthrene is altered in hepatitis C virus replicon-expressing cells. Anderson GR, et al. Mol Pharmacol. 2006 Sep;70(3):1062-70. Epub 2006 Jun 20.

Stoller EP, et al. Alcohol Alcohol. 2006 Sep-Oct;41(5):546-52. Epub 2006 Jul 19.

Drug abuse, innate immunity and hepatitis C virus. Zhang T, et al. Rev Med Virol. 2006 Sep-Oct;16(5):311-27

From Trials to a Real Hospital Setting: Effectiveness of Pegylated Interferon-alpha-2b/Ribavirin Combination Therapy for Naive Chronic Hepatitis C Patients. Piai G, et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2006 Sep;51(9):1619-26. Epub 2006 Aug 22.

Quality of life in hepatitis C. Strauss E, Dias Teixeira MC. Liver Int. 2006 Sep;26(7):755-65.

Cost effectiveness of interferon alpha or peginterferon alpha with ribavirin for histologically mild chronic hepatitis C. Grieve R, et al. Gut. 2006 Sep;55(9):1332-8. Epub 2005 Jun 30.

Social structural and behavioral underpinnings of hyperendemic hepatitis C virus transmission in drug injectors. Brewer DD, et al. J Infect Dis. 2006 Sep 15;194(6):764-72. Epub 2006 Aug 17.

Hepatitis C virus infection among methamphetamine-dependent individuals in outpatient treatment. Gonzales R, et al. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2006 Sep;31(2):195-202. Epub 2006 Jul 18.

Public Announcements

"Hepatitis C does not discriminate. It affects people of all ages, gender, and sexual orientations."
Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD on Hepatitis C

Hepatitis News

September 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 does not discriminate. It affects people of all ages, gender, and sexual orientations." Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD on Hepatitis C

"Hepatitis C does not discriminate. It affects people of all ages, gender, and sexual orientations."
Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD on Hepatitis C