On the HCPLive Hepatitis C page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into HCV can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on hepatitis C virus research, treatment, and drug development.
July 3rd 2024
Emergency department admissions were linked to not receiving hepatitis C care among hospitalized patients who inject drugs or are living with hepatitis C.
Q&A With Ana Maria Crissien From Scripps Green Hospital: Studying Regression In Liver Disease
A considerable amount of research has been done looking at how liver disease can progress in patients, but a recent study looked at possible regression in conditions like cirrhosis and fibrosis.
HCV: Making it Rare in the US Will Cost $106 Billion, Study Finds
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.
Treating HCV Patients Who Fail Direct-Acting Antivirals
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.
Corticosteroids Superior to Pentoxifylline for Alcoholic Hepatitis
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.
Merck's Combo Hepatitis C Treatment Effective in Drug Users
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.
Drug Trial Brings China Closer to Getting Access to HCV Antivirals
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.
New Regimen Shows Promise for HCV Genotypes 1, 2, and 3
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.
Alcoholic Hepatitis: Filtering Device Helped Younger, Less Ill Patients
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.
Panvirals: Good News from ASTRAL-1
Researchers who conducted the ASTRAL-1 trial of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir attending the Liver Meeting (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA, presented results of a study on an antiviral that works on five types of hepatitis C virus. The study findings were released last month by manufacturer Gilead.
Insurance Lagging on Paying for HCV Antivirals
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.
Study: Compound Cures Hepatitis C in Less than 3 Weeks
Results from a small study conducted in China suggest that a novel combination treatment could cut by 75% the treatment time of current HCV medications, which themselves cut in half the time for successful treatment only a decade ago.
Second Study Confirms Safety and Efficacy of Interferon-free HCV Combination
Study results show that the interferon-free regimen of simeprevir plus sofosbuvir achieves high rates of sustained virologic response and has a strong safety profile for patients with hepatitis C.
Findings about WWII-Era Spread of Hepatitis C Could Inform Future Prevention Efforts
Researchers say that identifying HCV transmission hotspots and gaining a more comprehensive understanding of exactly how hepatitis C virus is transmitted during times of significant spread could facilitate public health initiatives to reduce the prevalence of HCV in people who contract it through intravenous drug use.
Panel Recommends Treatment with New Drugs for Nearly All Who Have Chronic Hepatitis C
October 29th 2015A joint panel of liver disease experts recently updated industry guidelines for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) to remove priority tables and stick with a recommendation that nearly all patients with chronic infection of the virus be treated with direct-acting drugs.