Hepatitis Weekly articles from April 2003

Hepatitis Weekly archives from April 2003

Ethnicity plays a role in T-cell response to hepatitis C virus.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - African-Americans have a more robust antiviral T-cell response to hepatitis C virus than Caucasian Americans, although that T-cell response is dysfunctional,...

Lamivudine causes drug-resistant mutants in children with chronic hepatitis B.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Children infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) who don't respond to interferon therapy are likely to develop drug-resistant mutants when they subsequently take...

Researchers have devised HCV replicons that thrive in cell culture.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have devised HCV replicons that thrive in cell culture. According to recent research from the United States, "hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype I (subtypes la and 1b) is responsible for...

HCV antibody and RNA can be extracted from gauze used in oral treatment.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HCV antibody and RNA can be extracted from gauze used in oral treatment. "We investigated whether the presence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can be detected in hemostatic gauze used during...

Pegylation and microsphere encapsulation extends interferon-alpha activity.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pegylation and microsphere encapsulation extends interferon-alpha activity. "Interferon-alpha (IFN) was pegylated and encapsulated in biodegradable microspheres to achieve a long-acting formulation....

Natural lymphoblastoid alpha interferon prevents liver cancer.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Natural lymphoblastoid alpha interferon prevents liver cancer in patients infected with hepatitis B virus. According to recent research from Singapore, "hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive...

More study of the pharmacokinetics of lamivudine for hepatitis B virus is needed.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- More study of the pharmacokinetics of lamivudine for hepatitis B virus is needed. "Lamivudine has recently been registered for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B patients. The main therapeutic...

Overlapping syndromes complicate the diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Overlapping syndromes complicate the diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis. "The pattern of some autoimmune hepatitis can be difficult to classify, sometimes due to the overlap of these with primary...

Several genes may be reliable markers for primary liver cancer.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Several genes may be reliable markers for primary liver cancer. "Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common primary cancer associated frequently with hepatitis C virus (HCV). To gain insight into...

Familial and sexual contact are major reasons for HBV infections in Brazil.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Familial and sexual contact are major reasons for HBV infections in Brazil. "Furnas dos Dionisios is an Afro-Brazilian black community whose descendants were mainly fugitive slaves that established...

Virus-specific T cells originate in the lymph nodes during lamivudine therapy.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Virus-specific CD8 T cells originate in the lymph nodes during lamivudine therapy. "Lamivudine treatment in chronic hepatitis B leads to the reconstitution of virus-specific T cells in the...

Nebraska outbreak called country's largest.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An outbreak of hepatitis C at a Fremont, Nebraska, clinic is the largest in the country involving this strain and possibly in the world, an official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and...

Pegasys a more tolerable treatment, study reveals.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two weeks after initiating treatment with Pegasys, a new study has found that hepatitis C patients experienced significantly less fatigue, pain, physical, and emotional limitations and had improved...

Cadmium inhibits spontaneous liver cancer formation in some animal models.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cadmium inhibits spontaneous liver cancer formation in some animal models. According to a study from Japan, "cadmium is known to be a potent carcinogenic and mutagenic metal. However, we...

Clinicians need to be alerted about the presence of stellate-cell lipidosis.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Clinicians need to be alerted about the presence of stellate-cell lipidosis. According to recent research from the United States, "hepatic stellate-cell lipidosis due to hypervitaminosis A can lead...

Idoxifene and estradiol enhance antiapoptosis in rodent liver cells.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Idoxifene and estradiol enhance antiapoptosis in rodent liver cells. According to recent research from Japan, "oxidative stress plays a causative role in the development of hepatic fibrosis and...

A new technique uses gene transfer to improve liver cell transplantation.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new technique uses gene transfer to improve liver cell transplantation. According to a study from the United States, "a strategy for inducing preferential proliferation of the engrafted...

Successful split liver organ engraftment will require improved methods.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Successful split liver organ engraftment will require better methodologies. "We report a case of split liver transplantation for two adult recipients. The liver graft (1285g) was split on the...

Hepatitis C virus core protein may play a role in malignant lymphoma formation.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hepatitis C virus core protein may play a role in malignant lymphoma formation. According to a study from Japan, "hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major causative agent for chronic liver diseases...

Rights acquired for only FDA-approved natural alpha interferon product.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., (HEB) has acquired certain assets from Interferon Sciences, Inc., (IFSC), including the rights to its patented drug, the Alferon N Injection, approved by the U.S. Food and...

U.S. HIV patent granted for nucleic acid testing.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation (CHIR) announced that it has been granted United States Patent No. 6,531,276. This patent is directed to nucleic acid testing (NAT) methods for HIV-1. In addition to its...

There is a direct interaction between nucleolin and hepatitis C virus NS5B.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- There is a direct interaction between nucleolin and hepatitis C virus NS5B. "Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B is an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), a central catalytic enzyme in HCV replication....

A combination treatment strategy could be key to combating liver cancer.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Treatment strategies that combine oncolytic viral therapy and local immune stimulation may make a difference for staunching the recurrence of primary liver...

Interferon-alpha is effective and safe for children infected with hepatitis C.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Doctors in Japan have concluded that interferon-alpha is a safe and effective therapy for pediatric patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The...

Viral reactivation is a major risk of immunosuppression after transplantation.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Viral reactivation is a major risk of immunosuppression after transplantation. "A case of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation after kidney transplantation is reported. The presence of antibodies...

Short interfering RNAs may be able to extinguish persistent HCV infection.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Short interfering RNAs may be able to extinguish persistent hepatitis C virus infection. "Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease, which can lead to the...

Hepatitis B core antibody-positive and negative donors share similar risks.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hepatitis B core antibody-positive and negative liver donors share similar postoperative risks. According to a study from South Korea, "serologic evidence of resolved hepatitis B virus (HBV)...

Ex vivo functioning liver uses artificial pulsate and artificial blood.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Surgeons at Sapporo Medical University in Japan have created "an ex vivo functioning liver with an artificial perfusate employing artificial blood." A. Nui and colleagues used a liver graft from a...

Early detection of hepatitis B virus related flares can prevent liver failure.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Early detection of hepatitis B virus related flares can prevent liver failure. "Hepatitis flares or acute exacerbations, defined as an abrupt elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) over...

Antenatal hepatitis B screening program effective in Italian women.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Italy's antenatal hepatitis B screening program is effective in preventing perinatal transmission of the disease, an epidemiologic study found. T. Stroffolini and colleagues evaluated the program's...

The synergy of hepatitis B and delta virus antigens activates cell signals.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The synergy of hepatitis B and delta virus antigens activates cell signals. "Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a naturally occurring satellite of hepatitis B virus (HBV). There are few studies of the...

Gene hypermethylation occurs early in hepatitis B virus-related carcinogenesis.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gene hypermethylation occurs early in hepatitis B virus-related carcinogenesis. According to recent research from South Korea, "abnormality of p16 expression is involved in the pathogenesis of...

Jo2 antibody mediates factors that lead to fulminant hepatitis.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Jo2 antibody mediates factors that lead to fulminant hepatitis. "The Jo2 anti-mouse CD95 monoclonal antibody induces lethality in mice characterized by hepatocyte death and liver hemorrhage. Mice...

Patients with hematological cancers are at high risk for hepatitis C virus.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Patients with hematological cancers are at high risk for hepatitis C virus. "Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is becoming a substantial problem in long-term hospitalized patients....

Major depression remains a risk for chronic hepatitis C patients on interferon.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Major depression remains a risk for chronic hepatitis C patients on interferon. "This study examined the incidence, clinical course and its risk factors for major depression in patients with...

A common biomarker for oxidative stress can be affected by several factors.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A common biomarker for oxidative stress can be affected by several factors. According to recent research from Taiwan, "urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) DNA adduct has been used as a...

15% Prevalence of chronic HBV infection found in blood donors in Kumasi, Ghana.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hematologists with the U.K. National Blood Service quantified the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission by transfusion in a hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. According to J.P. Allain and...

Neutrophils, IFN-gamma limit mouse hepatitis virus replication in CNS.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by J.B. Henderson, MS, science editor - Two studies by University of Southern California scientists shed light on factors limiting viral replication in the central nervous system and (CNS) and CNS...

Hepatitis prevalence not linked to HIV rates.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hepatitis prevalence is not necessarily linked to HIV infection rates. According to recent research from the United States, "cohort studies of young (aged 18-30 years) injecting drug users...

Hepatitis B virus evades immune system by viral apoptotic mimicry.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The hepatitis B virus may evade attack by the immune system through a strategy of viral apoptotic mimicry. "The co-existence of viruses and organisms for millions of years has influenced the...

CD81-binding site mutations don't appear to affect interferon treatment.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mutations at a CD81 cell binding site in hepatitis C virus patients don't appear to affect interferon treatment, study results indicate. "The hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope 2 (E2) protein...

Stem-loop structures needed for expression of full-length HCV genome identified.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Stem-loop structures required for expression of the full-length hepatitis C virus genome were identified in a recent study published in the Archives of Virology. Z.T. Qi and colleagues, Tulane...

Biosensor detects PCR product of hepatitis B virus DNA.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from the People's Republic of China, "A novel hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA biosensor was developed by immobilizing covalently single-stranded HBV DNA fragments to a gold electrode...

Clinical testing of Hepavir B begins.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc., (Metabasis) announced that Ribapharm, Inc., (Ribapharm) has begun clinical testing of Hepavir B, an orally active, liver-specific prodrug of the proven antiviral agent...

Hepatitis B vaccination program a resounding success in Taiwan.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - The hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination program for children in Taiwan has been successful at significantly reducing perinatal and horizontal...

Infectious HCV pseudo-particles may help develop new treatments.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in France think infectious hepatitis C virus pseudo-particles may be helpful in developing new treatments against HCV infection. "The study of hepatitis C virus, a major cause of...

Subgenomic replicons used to isolate, characterize PI-resistant mutants.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "The hepatitis C virus (HCV) serine protease is necessary for viral replication and represents a valid target for developing new therapies for HCV infection," according to virologists in Italy. ...

FDA approval granted for hepatitis C viral load assay.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Diagnostics Division of Bayer HealthCare LLC, a member of the Bayer Group (BAY), announced that it has received premarket approval after expedited review from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

Overexpression of HCV core protein promotes chronic infection.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hepatologists with the University of Dusseldorf have shown that "overexpression of hepatitis C virus core protein inhibits interferon-alpha-induced tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of STAT1 in...

Etiological factors reviewed.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Viruses and chemicals are key factors in the etiology and molecular pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma. "Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies and has...

Growth factors and their receptors serve as combined markers of prognosis.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hepatocyte growth factor, transforming growth factor alpha, and their receptors can serve as combined prognostic indicators in hepatocellular carcinoma, according to a report from INSERM, France,...

Molecular relationship between multiple tumor nodules studied.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Hong Kong pathologists studied "the molecular relationship between multiple tumor nodules in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within individual patients and [evaluated] their clonality,...

Anti-E2/NS1 antibodies' role in natural resolution of HCV infection is minimal.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results of a study of the role of anti-E2/NS1 antibodies in the natural resolution of hepatitis C virus infection indicate they probably play little, if any, part. Writing in the Journal of...

B lymphocyte accumulation in some hepatitis C patients isn't antigenic response.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from the United States, "Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is associated with disturbances of B-lymphocyte activation and function, autoantibody production, mixed...

Impact of estrogens on liver disease progression considered.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "As of this writing, the most common cause of hepatic fibrosis is chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV), the characteristic feature of which is hepatic steatosis," state University of Tokushima...

Certain patients with YMDD variants of HBV may need additional therapy.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results of a recent study suggest that patients with the YMDD variants of hepatitis B virus that emerges after lamivudine treatment may need further therapy. C.L. Lai and colleagues, Queen Mary...

Liver damage risk can be acceptable for hepatitis patients.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The risk of liver damage does not rule out stem cell transplantation for hepatitis patients. "Hepatitis B virus/hepatitis C virus (HBV/HCV) positive patients undergoing hemopoietic stem cell...

3' Nontranslated RNA signals required for hepatitis C virus RNA replication.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a Journal of Virology paper, University of Texas researchers report finding that 3' nontranslated RNA signals are required for hepatitis C virus RNA replication. M.K. Yi and colleagues...