Hepatitis News:
May 2007
Nautilus
Biotech Begins Phase I Clinical Trial in the USA for Subcutaneous
Belerofon(R), its Long-Lasting, Interferon-Alpha Drug
"Nautilus Biotech has announced that it has initiated a Phase I
clinical trial for subcutaneous Belerofon(R), its long-lasting human
Interferon (IFN) alpha. Belerofon has therapeutic potential for the
treatment of a number of conditions, including chronic Hepatitis C."
Hepatitis
C Virus Can Block Other Hepatitis C Variants from Infecting The Same Cell
"There's infection and then there's superinfection - when a cell
already infected by a virus gets a second viral infection. But some
viruses don't like to share their cells. New research from Rockefeller
University shows that the hepatitis C virus, which infects cells in the
liver and can cause chronic liver disease, can block other hepatitis C
variants from infecting the same cell."
Altered
Immune Response to Viruses Like HIV And Hepatitis C Found By New Study
"After a viral infection, a small percentage of the T cells
generated to kill virus-infected cells remain on guard to establish
long-term immunity. These so-called memory T cells, which derive from a
family of immune cells known as CD8 T cells, engage in a self-renewal
process that is essential to their persistence. This ongoing process
ensures effective protection against any repeat infection by the same
virus, even decades later."
Prisoners
40% More Likely Than Others to Carry Hep C: Study
[Australia] "A study of hepatitis C carriers in South Australian
prisons has revealed that new prisoners have a 40 per cent higher
likelihood of carrying the virus than the general population. Female
inmates have a 65 per cent higher rate. Epidemiologist Doctor Emma Miller
says the high rate is because 70 per cent of people entering the state's
prisons are injecting drug users."
Methadone
Patients: Modern Day Lepers
"The legislature has passed - and the governor has signed - a
bill making it virtually impossible for methadone treatment centers to
open in new locations in West Virginia. That means more than 500 Mercer
County residents - addicted to opiods - will continue to get up at 4:00 am
every morning and begin a fifty mile pilgrimage to either Beckley, WV or
Cedar Bluff, VA to get their much needed medicine, which by the way, will
cost them anywhere from ten to fifteen dollars a day."
Novelos
Therapeutics and MUSC Present Two Posters at AACR 2007
"Novelos Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused
on the development of therapeutics to treat cancer and hepatitis, today
announced that the company, in collaboration with Dr. Kenneth Tew and Dr.
Danyelle Townsend of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), is
making two poster presentations at the ongoing American Association for
Cancer Research annual meeting."
Hep
Team Kicks Off New Campaign
"Summer is approaching, which means (among other things) that
Chicago's Hep Team-in partnership with the Chicago Department of
Public Health and various community-based organizations-is going to hit
the season's LGBT-related events in an attempt to make sure that the
area's men who have sex with men (MSM) are protected against hepatitis A
and hepatitis B."
Jill
Porter - Hero paramedic gets her pension, but City Hall still doesn't get
it
"THE BATTLE began seven years ago on the cold, hard
floor of City Hall, where paramedic Mary Kohler slept for two weeks to
call attention to the plight of rescue workers with hepatitis C. She was
weak, sick from the blood-borne disease she knew she'd contracted
somewhere along the way - delivering babies, giving mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation, bandaging wounds - during 11 years on the job."
Vigil
to Mark Hep C Awareness Month
[Canada] "May is Hepatitis C Awareness Month. On May 1, the
Prince George New Hope Society marks the occasion with its first annual
Hepatitis C Candlelight Vigil in Prince George. Alison Paul of the
Hepatitis C Council of B.C. says the statistics - scary as they are -
speak for themselves. Our province has been hard hit by the devastating
disease, said Paul."
Upping
the Ante: SLU Liver Center Leads Record Number of Hep C Research Protocols
"While many research institutions are suffering from funding
cuts, Drs. Bruce R. Bacon and Adrian M. Di Bisceglie are chugging away
with their usual tenacity. As co-directors of the Saint Louis University
Liver Center, Bacon and Di Bisceglie are overseeing one of the biggest
influxes of research dollars in their tenure as SLU hepatologists -
totaling more than $1 million. All of the research protocols have one
thing in common: They're investigating new ways to treat -- and hopefully
cure -- hepatitis C, called the "silent killer" because patients
display no outward symptoms, allowing the disease to worsen over time,
eventually leading to cirrhosis and premature death."
More UK Gay Men Getting Hepatitis C
[UK] "More gay men are getting hepatitis C through
sex every year, the 13th BHIVA Conference heard in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Between 2002 and June 2006, there were 389 cases of recently acquired
hepatitis C in HIV-positive gay men seen in 15 HIV clinics, said Dr. Murad
Ruf of Britain's Health Protection Agency. The clinics serve 85 percent of
London's HIV-positive population.There were also six cases in HIV-negative
men seen in London genito-urinary medicine clinics."
The Fear That Can Haunt Police on Our Streets
[Australia] "ONE of the Sunshine Coast's top police
officers recently spoke candidly about her concerns many people had lost
their respect for members of the service. Acting Superintendent Anne
Macdonald said she could see a worrying change in attitude, which was
putting her officers in more danger than ever before. Today a local
policeman tells how his life was turned upside down after a brief but
explosive confrontation with one man whose attitude and actions were
indicative of that lack of respect."
clinical trials, cohort studies, and pilot studies
A multivariable model of clinical variables predicts
advanced fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C. Alsatie M, et al. J Clin
Gastroenterol. 2007 Apr;41(4):416-21.
Antiviral Response of HCV Genotype 1 to Consensus
Interferon and Ribavirin Versus Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin.
Sjogren MH, et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Apr 4; [Epub ahead of print]
Comparison of liver histopathology between chronic
hepatitis C patients and chronic hepatitis B and C-coinfected patients.
Lee LP, et al. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2007 Apr;22(4):515-7.
Progression of fibrosis in advanced chronic hepatitis C:
evaluation by morphometric image analysis. Goodman ZD et al. Hepatology.
2007 Apr;45(4):886-94.
Positive CAGE Screen Correlates with Cirrhosis in Veterans
with Chronic Hepatitis C. Kamal A et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Apr 6; [Epub
ahead of print]
Atorvastatin does not exhibit antiviral activity against
HCV at conventional doses: a pilot clinical trial. O'Leary JG, et al.
Hepatology. 2007 Apr;45(4):895-8.
Treatment and retreatment in patients with chronic
hepatitis C: 10 years clinical practice in a single centre. Economou MS et
al. Liver Int. 2007 Apr;27(3):340-6.
Symptomatic and Virological Response to Antiviral Therapy
in Hepatitis C Associated with Extrahepatic Complications of
Cryoglobulimia. Joshi S et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Apr 6; [Epub ahead of
print]
Preventing Relapse of Major Depression During
Interferon-alpha Therapy for Hepatitis C-A Pilot Study. Gleason OC, et al.
Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Apr 12; [Epub ahead of print]
Apolipoprotein-AII Concentrations are Associated With
Liver Steatosis in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C. Petit JM, et al. Dig
Dis Sci. 2007 Apr 11; [Epub ahead of print]
Fatigue and Health-Related Quality of Life
(HRQL) in
Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection. Kallman J, et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2007
Apr 4; [Epub ahead of print]
Treatment of chronic he1patitis C genotype 1 with
peginterferon-alpha2a (40 kDa) plus ribavirin under routine clinical
practice in Spain: early prediction of sustained virological response
rate. Diago M, et al. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2007 Apr 15;25(8):899-906.
Interferon alfa-2b and
ribavirin: new indication. In
children: more risks than in adults. [No authors listed] Prescrire Int.
2007 Apr;16(88):63-5.
Correlation of hepatic steatosis with body mass index,
serum ferritin level and hepatic fibrosis in Japanese patients with
chronic hepatitis C. Sumida Y, et al. Hepatol Res. 2007 Apr;37(4):263-9.
Ultrasound evaluation of perihepatic lymph nodes during
antiviral therapy with the protease inhibitor Telaprevir (VX-950) in
patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. Friedrich-Rust M, et al.
Ultrasound Med Biol. 2007 Apr 26.
Liver enzyme flares and occult hepatitis B in persons with
chronic hepatitis C infection. Kannangai R, et al. J Clin Virol. 2007 Apr
21; [Epub ahead of print]
Factors Influencing Treatment Efficacy of 24-Week
Combination Therapy with Interferon alpha-2b Plus Ribavirin for Chronic
Hepatitis C. Moriyama M, et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Apr 4; [Epub ahead of
print]
Prognostic Significance of Hepatitis C Virus RNA Detection
by Transcription-Mediated Amplification with Negative Polymerase Chain
Reaction During Therapy with Peginterferon alpha and Ribavirin. Kadam JS,
et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Apr 4; [Epub ahead of print]
basic and applied science, pre-clinical studies
Hepatitis C Hypervariable Region 1: Association of Reduced
Selection Pressure in African Americans with Treatment Failure. Park VM,
et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Apr 5; [Epub ahead of print]
Protection of estrogens against the progression of chronic
liver disease. Shimizu I et al. Hepatol Res. 2007 Apr;37(4):239-47.
Serum levels of anti-NS4a and anti-NS5a predict treatment
response of patients with chronic hepatitis C. Desombere I, et al. J Med
Virol. 2007 Apr 24;79(6):701-713 [Epub ahead of print]
A 7 gene signature identifies the risk of developing
cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Huang H et al. Hepatology.
2007 Apr 26; [Epub ahead of print]
Genome-wide molecular profiles of
HCV-induced dysplasia
and hepatocellular carcinoma. Wurmbach E, et al. Hepatology. 2007
Apr;45(4):938-47.
Evaluation of a cyclophilin inhibitor in hepatitis C virus-infected
chimeric mice in vivo. Inoue K, et al. Hepatology. 2007 Apr;45(4):921-8.
A
self-adjuvanting multiepitope immunogen that induces a
broadly cross-reactive antibody to hepatitis C virus. Torresi J, et al.
Hepatology. 2007 Apr;45(4):911-20.
Genetic and catalytic efficiency structure of an HCV
protease quasispecies. Franco S, et al. Hepatology. 2007
Apr;45(4):899-910.
High-resolution footprinting of the hepatitis C virus
polymerase NS5B in complex with RNA. Deval J et al. J Biol Chem. 2007 Apr
18; [Epub ahead of print]
Mutagenesis of a conserved fusion peptide-like motif and
membrane-proximal heptad-repeat region of hepatitis C virus glycoprotein
E1. Drummer HE, et al. J Gen Virol. 2007 Apr;88(Pt 4):1144-8.
Binding Site Identification and Genotypic Profiling of
Hepatitis C Virus Polymerase Inhibitors. Pauwels F, et al. J Virol. 2007
Apr 25; [Epub ahead of print]
Proangiogenic Cytokines as Hypoxia-Dependent Factors
Stimulating Migration of Human Hepatic Stellate Cells. Novo E, et al. Am J
Pathol. 2007 Apr 13; [Epub ahead of print]
TLR3 signaling in a hepatoma cell line is skewed towards
apoptosis. Khvalevsky E, et al. J Cell Biochem. 2007 Apr 1;100(5):1301-12.
TLR
ligand-dependent activation of naive CD4 T cells by
plasmacytoid dendritic cells is impaired in hepatitis C virus infection.
Yonkers NL, et al. J Immunol. 2007 Apr 1;178(7):4436-44.
hiv/hcv co-infection
Baseline Hepatitis C Virus RNA and Response at Week 4 Are
the Best Predictors of Relapse After Treatment With Pegylated Interferon
Plus Ribavirin in HIV/Hepatitis C Virus-Coinfected Patients. Nunez M, et
al.
Hepatitis C virus
(HCV) coinfection in a cohort of HIV
positive long-term non-progressors: Possible protective effect of
infecting HCV genotype on HIV disease progression. Morsica G et al., J
Clin Virol. 2007 Apr 12; [Epub ahead of print]
Occult hepatitis B virus infection in the setting of
hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
co-infection: Clinically relevant or a diagnostic problem?
Rodriguez-Torres M et al. J Med Virol. 2007 Apr 24;79(6):694-700 [Epub
ahead of print]
Impact of Hepatitis C on HIV Progression in Adults With
Alcohol Problems. Cheng DM et al. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Apr
9;31(5):829-836. Epub 2007 Mar 31.
Evaluating liver fibrosis progression and the impact of
antiretroviral therapy in HIV and hepatitis C coinfection using a
noninvasive marker. Al-Mohri H et al. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2007
Apr 1;44(4):463-9.
Response rates to pegylated interferon and ribavirin in
HCV/HIV coinfection: a research synthesis. Shire NJ et al. J Viral Hepat.
2007 Apr;14(4):239-48.
The Association of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection
with Spontaneously Resolved Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Level of
Viremia Among Injection Drug Users. Seal KH, et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Apr
19; [Epub ahead of print]
complementary and alternative therapies
Comprehensive Analysis of the Effects of Ordinary
Nutrients on Hepatitis C Virus RNA Replication in Cell Culture. Yano M, et
al. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2007 Apr 9; [Epub ahead of print]
miscellaneous works
Infectivity of hepatitis C virus in plasma after drying
and storing at room temperature. Kamili S, et al. Infect Control Hosp
Epidemiol. 2007 May;28(5):519-24. Epub 2007 Apr 16.
A Systematic Review of Provider Knowledge of Hepatitis C:
Is it Enough for a Complex Disease? Zickmund SL, et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2007
Apr 4; [Epub ahead of print]
Perceptions of orthopaedic surgeons regarding hepatitis C
viral transmission: a questionnaire survey. Wallis GC, et al. Ann R Coll
Surg Engl. 2007 Apr;89(3):276-80.
Progression to cirrhosis in hepatitis C patients: an
age-dependent process. Pradat P, et al. Liver Int. 2007 Apr;27(3):335-9.
Hepatitis-C prevalence in an urban native-American clinic:
a prospective screening study. Neumeister AS, et al. J Natl Med Assoc.
2007 Apr;99(4):389-92.
Individual and Couple-Level Risk Factors for Hepatitis C
Infection among Heterosexual Drug Users: A Multilevel Dyadic Analysis.
McMahon JM, et al. J Infect Dis. 2007 Jun 1;195(11):1572-81. Epub 2007 Apr
16.
Treating hepatitis C in African Americans. Jeffers
LJ.
Liver Int. 2007 Apr;27(3):313-22.
Trends in testing behaviours for hepatitis C virus
infection and associated determinants: results from population-based
laboratory surveillance in Alberta, Canada (1998-2001). Jayaraman GC, et
al. J Viral Hepat. 2007 Apr;14(4):249-54.
Chip-based detection of hepatitis C virus using RNA
aptamers that specifically bind to HCV core antigen. Lee S et al. Biochem
Biophys Res Commun. 2007 Apr 19; [Epub ahead of print]
Development, description, and acceptability of a
small-group, behavioral intervention to prevent HIV and hepatitis C virus
Infections among young adult injection drug users. Purcell DW, et al. Drug
Alcohol Depend. 2007 Apr 25; [Epub ahead of print].
Prevalence and correlates of indirect sharing practices
among young adult injection drug users in five U.S. cities. Thiede H, et
al. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2007 Apr 25; [Epub ahead of print].
Cognitive function, mood and health-related quality of
life in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-monoinfected and HIV/HCV-coinfected
individuals commencing HCV treatment. Thein H, et al. HIV Med. 2007
Apr;8(3):192-202.
The Practice of Percutaneous Liver Biopsy in a
Gastrohepatology Day Hospital: A Retrospective Study on 835 Biopsies.
Actis GC, et al. Dig Dis Sci. 2007 Apr 12; [Epub ahead of print]
Worldwide variation in the relative importance of
hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses in hepatocellular carcinoma: a
systematic review. Raza SA, et al. Br J Cancer. 2007 Apr 9;96(7):1127-34.
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