Hepatitis C

The International Network for Hepatitis C in Substance Users points to economic and pseudo-scientific barriers that keep drug-using hepatitis sufferers from receiving new, effective treatments, including an assumption that illicit drug use reduced the efficacy of certain medications

Pharmacogenetics may be the key to providing individualized treatment to patients who become anemic after hepatitis C treatment, according to a recent review

“Although further development of faldaprevir in combination with deleobuvir was terminated due to a strategic decision,” the present study provides valuable information about “antiviral therapies that include a combination of DAAs with a PI and a non-nucleoside thumb-pocket 1 polymerase inhibitor.”

Although direct acting antivirals (DAAs) have revolutionized the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV), a small fraction of patients still experience treatment failure.

In many cases, the latest treatments for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are at least 90% effective at curing the infection; however, there still remains a subset of patients who don’t respond to the new medications.

It’s no secret that excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous to the liver; that’s exactly why patients with hepatitis C are advised to steer clear of it.

Despite the arrival of direct acting antivirals, there are limit options for patients with genotypes 2 and 3 of HCV infection. A drug combo using interferon appears to work, a study finds.

Beyond high cost, people with hepatitis C face several barriers to treatment, and those arise from various sources. Doctors, Medicaid, private health insurance companies, and intravenous drug use can all be obstacles, according to a university study out of Massachusetts that examined treatment approvals for two new drugs.

The list of effective drugs for the once incurable illness of hepatitis C infection keeps growing. But some physicians are frustrated. Here's why.

“Each entry contains contextual information pertaining to the entry such as the HCV genotypic background and links to the original publication,” say the authors.

The news that physicians in Princeton, NJ were confronting an outbreak of hepatitis C in young people who were also using heroin shocked this affluent, mostly white community. Ronald Nahass, MD, talks about how it occurred and what needs to happen next.

A study in women coinfected with hepatitis C and HIV found that use of marijuana was not associated with progression to advanced liver fibrosis.

In study, GPT and GOT levels significantly decreased in the Kuan Sin Yin group as compared to the placebo group, by 29.7% and 24.4% respectively.

Overall sustained virologic response, a marker for a cure, was achieved in 96% of patients with genotype 1b strain of the virus after 12 weeks of Zepatier. In patients infected with genotype 4 of the virus, 94% were cured after 12 weeks of Zepatier treatment.

The good news is that hepatitis C is largely a curable disease. The bad news is that many of the most advanced medications are accompanied by a heavy price tag.

As Northwell Health continues to grow its treatment of liver disease one of the biggest steps it is taking is developing a liver transplant program for patients in the Long Island area and beyond.

Now that most forms of hepatitis C are treatable if not curable other conditions like fatty liver disease are drawing a lot of attention in the field of hepatology. While doctors make this change in direction there is still work being done to manage risk factors in patients at risk of contracting the disease.

It was not long ago that hepatitis C was difficult if not impossible to treat for many patients. Today very much the opposite is true for this patient population.

People with genotype 1 hepatitis C, who make up about 74% of the hepatitis C population in the United States, will soon have a new treatment option available to them.

Studies have shown that adults born between 1945 and 1965 (aka “baby boomers”) are more likely to have come into contact with hepatitis C.

Recent advances in the field of hepatitis C therapy has prompted the European Medicines Agency to update its guideline for designing clinical trials on investigational direct-acting antiviral drugs that target chronic infection of the virus.

Once hepatitis C is cured, patients' risk for portal vein hypertension drops – along with the accompanying complications.

Although direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) cure hepatitis C in over 90% of patients, the drugs don’t eliminate advanced complications.

The regulator placed a clinical hold on human trials involving a new investigational hepatitis C drug that targets microRNA following a report of jaundice by someone enrolled in a study.

An analysis of patients in 183 countries over 23 years revealed that death due to viral hepatitis is becoming more common.

Hepatitis C direct acting antivirals are effective but remain out of reach in many nations, a WHO study showed.

Citing attorney misconduct, a California federal judge overturned a jury award decision that would have required Gilead Sciences to pay $200 million in damages to pharmaceutical giant Merck.

Scientists have identified several new host factors which provide clues about how the cis-acting replication element (CRE) functions in the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Current Medicaid policies restrict treatment to people with advanced hepatitis C. But what would costs be like if there was unrestricted access to medications that have proven to cure the disease?

Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (Epclusa) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a wide range of patients with chronic hepatitis C.