Gastroenterology

It may be the second most common genotype of hepatitis C but for patients diagnosed with genotype 3 it is also proving to be considerably harder to treat than genotype 1 which has a cure rate near 90%.

Several prior studies have noted that Roux-Y gastric bypass surgery often leaves patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, but new research from Switzerland indicates that different flavors of the procedure expose patients to greatly different risks.

There are several differences between the colorectal cancer tumors of younger and older patients, according to findings presented at the 2015 European Cancer Congress in September.

Gastrointestinal cancer survival is improved when patients begin an aspirin regimen after their diagnoses, according to results of a study presented at the 2015 European Cancer Congress in Vienna, Austria.

Due in part to the high prices direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C infection, many Medicaid programs are not offering them to injection drug users, nor are some states and institutions seeking these patients out for testing to see if they have the virus. But a new study shows that even when drug-users do not give up their habit, they can be safely and effectively treated for the lethal virus.

Coconut oil can control the overgrowth of the fungal pathogen Candida albicans (C. albicans) in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Study results suggest that changes in sexual function resulting from surgery to treat ulcerative colitis don't necessarily coincide with changes in sexual satisfaction.

I'm always fascinated by the Medscape physician reports every year and seeing how unhappy physicians are. How burnt out they are. How dissatisfied with their careers they are.

In the past, patients deemed obese (especially those who were morbidly obese) may have been passed over for a life-saving liver transplant. A recent study showed they may be just as viable candidates for the procedure as others in the patient population.

Patient with autoimmune diseases, like psoriasis, and infected with herpes zoster – commonly known as shingles – have a 50% higher risk of suffering a stroke.

Obese people are generally less healthy than those of normal weight, but that should not be a barrier to liver transplantation, researchers said at the 2015 Liver Meeting (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA.

As the incidence of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection spirals, physicians should emphasize the importance of antibiotic stewardship.

Donor livers are scarce, donated organs are precious, and transplant surgeons make the final call on whether to transplant. When the question of whether to give a liver to a patient who uses marijuana, drinks too much alcohol, or even smokes tobacco comes up, the issue gets tricky.

The annual US cost of HCV treatment before direct-acting antivirals was $7 billion and since then it has grown to $21 billion, but that cost should drop when generics arrive, to $14 million annually by 2030. Making it a rare disease over the next 25 years will take $106 billion, researchers project.

Researchers see promise in vitamin E treatment for NASH.

All is not lost when hepatitis C genotype 1 patients fail to benefit from treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). Reporting at the 2015 Liver Meeting (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA, Fred Poordad, MD, of the Texas Liver Institute/University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, TX, and colleagues said they had success retreating patients who had failed DAAs.

Physicians voiced concerns about the booming advertisements for pharmaceuticals as the catalyst for the high demand for expensive treatments at the Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA).

One of the largest populations of patients with hepatitis C is those who use injectable drugs. Despite this, many of these patients do not receive the medications they need to treat their conditions.

Georgraphy matters in getting a liver transplant. Boston researchers found that living a long distance from a transplant center increased a child's risk of dying while on an organ waiting list, even though that distance did not mean a longer waiting time.

When a doctor's prescription is denied by an insurance company it can create issues not only for that doctor but also the patient beyond what the medication is being prescribed for.

Management of alcoholic hepatitis consists of a multidisciplinary approach including alcohol cessation, fluid and electrolyte correction, treatment of alcohol withdrawal, and pharmacological therapy based on the severity of the disease.

Study results presented at the 2015 Liver Meeting suggest that the investigational once-daily tablet elbasvir/grazoprevir can safely and effectively treat Hepatitis C virus in intravenous drug users, considered to be "difficult" cases, in part due to the risk of re-infection.

An estimated 10 million people in China have hepatitis C but the only treatment available there is interferon/ribaviron. Though the drug-approval process in China is slower than in other nations, a phase 3 trial of two Bristol-Myers Squibb direct-acting antivirals has been completed, putting access to DAAs closer.

With more treatments on the market for hepatitis C, the costs of treatment have actually gone up in recent years. However, if more patients receive the care they need those costs could eventually go down.

A regimen of grazoprevir, elbasvir, and a Merck agent known as MK-3682, or a second agent called MK-8408 (or both), showed "strong results" company researchers said in data presented at the 2015 Liver Meeting (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA.

Although there are now effective treatments for several genotypes of hepatitis C, certain patient groups continue to present challenges for the pharmaceutical and medical communities. Work is being done to overcome those challenges around the world.

A human-cell-based liver support system meant to keep patients alive despite acute liver failure did not help overall survival in a trial, but showed promise for a subset of patients. Those patients were younger and not as sick-though all subjects enrolled had alcoholic hepatitis.

Hepatitis C genotype 3 can be hard to cure, but researchers presenting a study at the Liver Meeting (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA, said they have found a regimen that works.

Egypt has the highest prevalence of hepatitis C in the word and most of it (90%) is genotype 4. Researchers presenting a study at the Liver Meeting (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA, reported success in a trial of ravidasvir

The high costs of direct-acting antivirals to treat hepatitis C infection is no secret, but neither is the fact that the drugs are cost-effective. Pennsylvania researchers found insurers were lagging in approving payment for the drugs in their four-state region, with Medicaid programs the worst offenders.