Hepatitis Weekly articles from December 2000

Hepatitis Weekly archives from December 2000

Hepatitis C Infection of Immune Cells in Mothers Predicts Transfer to Newborns.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, NewsRx staff medical writer -- Factors such as genotype and viral load set a course for the progression of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in pregnant women. Only infection in...

Incidence of Liver Disease Following Allogeneic Transplant Suggests Need for Follow-Up.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Spain have developed a list of liver diseases that sometimes follow allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. The list was compiled as the result of a retrospective study of 106...

Fatigue Common in Hepatitis C Patients, Especially Women.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Women with chronic hepatitis C are more likely to suffer from fatigue, a new study conducted by researchers in France indicates. Age, cirrhosis, and purpura are also factors associated with fatigue...

Key Factors for Hepatitis C Virus Training Programs Outlined by Foundation.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many factors are critical for providing effective training about hepatitis C virus (HCV) to patients and their caregivers. Recently, staffers at the HealthPartners Research Foundation in...

Increased Cytokine Level Explains Treatment Failure in Viral Hepatitis.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Although interferon (IFN)-alpha beta is a beneficial drug for treating patients with viral hepatitis, some patients do not respond to IFN-alpha beta treatment. Medical investigators at Virginia...

Data Presented on Hepatitis E Vaccine Tested in Rhesus Monkeys.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Preliminary data from studies of a 53 kDa protein vaccine against hepatitis E virus indicate it produces an immunogenic response in rhesus monkeys. Researchers with the U.S. National Institutes of...

Hepatitis B Infection Linked to Chromosome 21 in European and African Families.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- There appears to be a genetic link in families that have trouble clearing the hepatitis B virus (HBV). That link is a change, or polymorphism, on chromosome 21. "Three hundred million people...

Proteins May Explain the Persistence of Hepatitis C.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A receptor for complement protein C1q that binds with hepatitis C nucleocapsid core protein has been identified. Y.S. Hahn and colleagues at the University of Virginia previously showed that of the...

Comprehensive Online Resource Launched.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Millions afflicted with chronic illnesses ranging from breast cancer and hepatitis C, to AIDS/HIV and leukemia, now have another option for access to comprehensive, reliable clinical trials and...

Transgene Expression Vectors are Safe in Highly Cirrhotic Livers.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists suggest, based on studies performed on animals, that gene therapies involving adenovirus vectors can be safely used in patients with severely cirrhotic liver disease. This is important...

Transcription-Mediated Amplification Detects Hepatitis C.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study presented at the 51st American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) Meeting during November 2000 reported on results using a hepatitis C virus (HCV) test, which uses a cutting-edge...

New Rules Under Consideration.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- After more than two years of fighting with the U.S. government, the country's organ transplant network is expected to approve new rules for distributing scarce livers among thousands of waiting...

Patent Issued for Liver Precursor Cell.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Incara Pharmaceuticals Corp. (INCR), Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, announced issuance of a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for an isolated hepatocyte precursor capable of...

Scientists Identify and Purify Progenitor Cells in Liver.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- After studies spanning more than a decade, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have become the first to identify and purify hepatic stem cells, progenitor cells capable of...

Injection Drug Users in Methadone Treatment More Likely to Reduce Risk Behaviors.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Injection drug users who stay in methadone treatment, or who interrupt and return to treatment, engage in fewer behaviors that increase risk of acquiring hepatitis viruses or HIV, public health...

Emtricitabine Shows Marked Anti-Hepatitis B Activity in Dose-Selection Trial.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VIRS), reported on the anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity of Coviracil(R) (emtricitabine) in a Phase I/II dose-selection trial involving patients chronically infected...

Recombinant Lactoferrin in Works for Hepatitis C Treatment.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTL), Leiden, The Netherlands, and Pharming Group N.V. (PHAR), Rehovot, Israel, announced the signing of an agreement to jointly evaluate and potentially co-develop...

Combination Typhoid Fever/Hepatitis A Vaccine Shown Effective, Well Tolerated.
December 4, 2000... 2000 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Good news for travellers to regions endemic for typhoid fever and hepatitis A: there may be one less shot in the arm in your future. Researchers with SmithKline Beecham Biologicals, Rixensart,...

Hepatitis B Virus Reactivation Rate is High in Patients Receiving Cancer Treatment.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Sonia Bell-Nichols, staff medical writer -- The risk for hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation is high in patients who undergo cytotoxic chemotherapy for cancer, scientists in Hong Kong say. ...

Hepatitis C-Related Cirrhosis Outcome Worse with HIV Infection.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study suggests that HIV coinfection worsens the outcome of hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis. Reporting at the recent American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) 2000...

New Drug "Cocktail" a Success Following Liver Transplantation.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases 2000 Annual Meeting in Dallas, October 29-31, Dr. Didier Samuel of the Hospital Paul Brousse in Villejuif, France, discussed a study that...

Natural Killer Cells Limit Hepatitis B Replication Via Innate Immune Response.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Natural or innate immunity, rather than acquired immunity, could be a key factor in treating patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV). New findings from the Scripps Research Institute show that...

Oxidative Stress Might be Rate-limiting Factor for Successful Hepatitis C Treatment.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Interferon therapy effectiveness against hepatitis C virus (HCV) may be limited in the presence of oxidative stress, new research has found. Y. Sumida and others at Kyoto Prefectural University of...

Screening Hepatitis B Virus Carriers for Alpha-fetoprotein Prolongs Survival.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- People who are known carriers of the hepatitis B virus could benefit in terms of survival by being screened twice a year for a marker in the blood called alpha-fetoprotein. The presence of this marker...

Novel Virus Associated with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study, released for the first time at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) 2000 Annual Meeting in Dallas, October 29-31, suggested that primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC)...

Pancreas and Bone Marrow Can Rebuild Cells.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Previous studies have provided evidence for the existence of liver cell precursors in pancreatic and bone marrow cells. The purpose of a study conducted by Dr. Markus Grompe of the Oregon Health...

Dialysis Practices in Argentina Linked to Hepatitis C Seroconversions.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A major study initiated by the Confederation of the Association for Dialysis in the Republic of Argentina (CADRA) has identified several practices common to dialysis units that experience higher rates...

Hepatitis E Virus Transmission Reported in North Carolina Swine Workers.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A collaborative research project led by medical researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute has presented more evidence that hepatitis E virus (HEV) may be a zoonotic disease. Zoonotic diseases...

Hepatitis C Heightens Risk for Tuberculosis after Renal Transplantation.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hepatitis C virus presents an increased risk for tuberculosis acquisition in patients who have received kidney transplants, medical researchers in Madrid, Spain, reported at a recent conference hosted...

Prognosis Good after Liver Transplant in Patients with Autoimmune Hepatitis.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Anti-rejection drugs are effective for patients receiving liver transplant due to autoimmune hepatitis. Mt. Sinai Hospital researchers in New York reviewed the records of 32 individuals who had...

New Addition to Chronic Hepatitis C Treatment Highly Effective.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The therapy of choice for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C is the combination of interferon alfa-2b (IFN) plus ribavirin (R). However, evidence indicates that a weekly dose of peginterferon alfa-2b...

Patients Newly Diagnosed with Chronic Disease Should Receive Combination Therapy.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Patients who are newly diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C and who have never been treated before should take combination therapy, even though initial costs might be higher, an economic study shows. ...

Young Patients with Cancer and Hepatitis C Fare as Well as Adults.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A pilot study of young cancer patients with chronic hepatitis C who were treated with combination interferon/ribavirin therapy has shown that it is as effective in children as in adults. Children...

Human Monoclonal Antibody Patent Issuance Announced.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTL) (XTL), Rehovot, Israel, announced that it has been issued U.S. Patent No. 6,146,629, (the "629 patent") entitled "Human Monoclonal Antibody Against Hepatitis B Virus...

Ribavirin Works by Causing "Genetic Meltdown".
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The antiviral drug ribavirin works by creating such extreme mutation rates in viruses that it drives them into "genetic meltdown," according to researchers. Uncovering the mechanism by which...

Over 130 Medicines in the Works for Infectious Disease, Diseases of Aging.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results of a new survey show that 84 pharmaceutical companies are currently developing 137 new medicines to prevent and treat infectious diseases, according to the Pharmaceutical Research and...

Study Mulls Hepatitis B Vaccination Rate.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study of three large Vietnamese-American communities found extremely low rates of vaccination among youngsters for hepatitis B, a sometimes fatal liver disease that is prevalent among Vietnamese...

Partnership Combines Drug Delivery Systems.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- FeRx Inc., announced November 28, 2000, a partnership with Elan Corporation, plc, to develop, manufacture, and commercialize FeRx's lead product, MTC-DOX, currently in Phase I/II clinical trials in the...

Women and Children Fare Better.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A major follow-up study of liver transplant patients has shown that age- and disease-related factors are the biggest reasons for death after liver transplantation surgery. However, women and...

Chronic Immune Response is Reaction to Intramuscularly-Administered Vaccines Containing Aluminum.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in France suggest they've ferreted out the cause of macrophagic myofascitis. They say this chronic immune response is linked to intramuscular injection of aluminum-containing vaccines....

Global Partnerships for Health, Biotech Content Announced.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NewsRx.com(TM), Atlanta, Georgia, recently announced partnerships with several international firms, including EBSCO Online, Factiva, and the new iSyndicate Europe-Bertelsmann venture. "iSyndicate...

Studies Indicate Pegylated Interferon is Effective Against Hepatitis C.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new, longer-lasting version of the standard drug for hepatitis C is much more effective in treating the liver disease, two studies show. About four million Americans are infected with hepatitis...

Outbreak Hits Guinea, Emergency Vaccine Effort Under Way.
December 18, 2000... 2000 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At least 88 people have died from yellow fever in an unusual outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease in central Guinea, reports the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network. The...

Kidney Disorder More Frequently Associated with Hepatitis C Virus Infection.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, staff medical writer -- Patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are more prone to suffer glomerulopathies, or kidney-related disorders, than individuals with other...

Nocturnal Energy Supplementation May Prevent Malnutrition.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, staff medical writer -- Patients with liver cirrhosis could prevent potential malnutrition by taking an energy supplement overnight, researchers say. Cirrhotic patients are...

Newer Version of Hepatitis C RNA Assay Useful for Predicting Interferon Response.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A newer version of an assay commonly used to test for hepatitis C virus (HCV) can predict patient response to interferon therapy better than the older version can, scientists reported in Hepatology...

Risk factors, Regional Differences Account for Mutations Linked to Liver Cancers.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genetic changes in certain genes account for some differences observed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumors. These changes appear to be regional in nature and are linked to independent risk...

Study of Young Adults Finds Combined Hepatitis A and B Vaccine Effective.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Young adults can be effectively immunized by combined hepatitis A and B vaccines, authors of a new study conducted in Taiwan have proposed. This finding is the result of a comparative study of 80...

Co-Infection with Schistosomiasis Doesn't Limit Treatment Effectiveness.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have determined that Schistosoma mansoni co-infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) will not hinder the effectiveness of interferon, which is used in treating HCV. Schistosomiasis, a...

Genome Region Provides No Clue to Treatment in Normalized ALT Patients.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The interferon-sensitivity-determining region (ISDR) of the non-structural region 5A (NS5A) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) supposedly can influence the way patients respond to interferon therapy. ...

More Research Connects IFN Treatment with Psychoses in Hepatitis C Patients.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study adds to the body of evidence that patients with hepatitis C virus infection can sometimes develop psychological symptoms during the course of being treated with interferon (IFN). ...

Mutated Hepatitis C Virus Speeds Research.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists studying the virus that causes hepatitis C have found a way to grow it rapidly in the lab so they can perform genetic studies on it. The inability to replicate the virus quickly and...

Serum Hyaluronan is Prognostic Marker of Disease Progression.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New research has identified serum hyaluronan as a marker for disease progression in liver cirrhosis patients. Markers such as alanine and aspartate aminotransferases have long been used as liver...

Avocados Contain Potent Liver Protectants.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Japan have discovered that avocados contain potent chemicals that may reduce liver damage. The finding could lead to the development of new drugs to treat liver disease, the...

Outbreaks Reported in Kentucky, Colorado.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Public health officials reported December 7, 2000, a hepatitis outbreak in which at least six people in Kentucky were infected. Among those infected with hepatitis A was a worker at a Taco Bell...

Clinical Trials Initiated in China for Adefovir Dipivoxil.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gilead Sciences, Inc., announced December 11, 2000, that it has received approval from the People's Republic of China State Drug Administration of its clinical trial application for adefovir dipivoxil,...

Human Monoclonal Antibody Patent Covers Antibodies Against Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTL) announced that it has been issued U.S. Patent No. 6,146,629, (the "'629 patent") entitled, "Human Monoclonal Antibody Against Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen...

Companies to Co-Develop Lactoferrin to Treat Hepatitis C.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTL) and Pharming Group N.V. (PHAR) announced the signing of an agreement to jointly evaluate and potentially co-develop recombinant human Lactoferrin (rhLF) as a treatment...

New Process Screens Plasma for Human Parvovirus B19.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, researcher has made a surprising discovery that will make blood plasma transfusions even safer. Research by Robertson Davenport, MD, U-M associate professor of...

Animal Model Demonstrates Efficacy of Microdevice System.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, staff medical writer -- Researchers at Becton Dickinson Technologies recently introduced a novel vaccine method which, if it proves to be as effective in humans as it does in...

Silymarin Is an Ineffective Therapy.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Silymarin is not an effective treatment for primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) patients with limited response to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Although UDCA has been established as safe and effective...

Tuberculin Skin Testing is Not Reliable in End-Stage Patients.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In end-stage liver disease patients who are potential candidates for orthotopic liver transplants, tuberculin skin test screening is a common prescreening tool. New research, however, shows that...

Hepatitis and Rubella Screening Policies Not Always Followed in Hospitals.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Some hospitals do not always screen pregnant women the way they should prior to and following delivery, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologists stated recently in the American...

Electricity Increases Strength of DNA-Based Hepatitis C Vaccine.
December 25, 2000... 2000 DEC 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Low voltage pulses of electricity appear to increase the strength of an experimental hepatitis C vaccine more than 10-fold. Researchers from Italy and Merck Research Labs reported their results in...