Hepatitis Weekly articles from July 2000

Hepatitis Weekly archives from July 2000

Tissue Harmonic Imaging Gets OK for Liver Screening.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Research collaborators from Japan and the United States recently presented findings at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine's 44(th) Annual Meeting that suggest that tissue harmonic imaging (THI)...

Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy Helps Determine Severity of Hepatitis E Virus Infection.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- A recent study found that the severity of hepatitis E virus (HEV) can be determined by assessing hepatic extraction fraction (HEF) via hepatobiliary scintigraphy and that hepatocellular death results from...

Fulminant Viral Hepatitis Due to Combined Infection.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- A recent study confirmed that most cases of fulminant viral hepatitis result from hepatitis B virus (HBV) in combination with hepatitis D, C, or G (HDV, HCV, or HGV) infection. Fulminant hepatitis is a...

Three-Dimensional Images Better for Ablative Therapies.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Liver tumors are sometimes treated using a technique called focal ablation. This technique is enhanced by using three-dimensional ultrasound (3DUS) rather than two-dimensional ultrasound, according to...

Pilot Study Makes Strides in Acute Liver Failure Epidemiology.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers have developed a system that will serve as a feasible model for epidemiological studies on acute liver failure (ALF). The model also determined similarities among patients with unknown etiology. ...

Trial Begins with New Liver Assist Device.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania have initiated a clinical study of a bio-artificial liver assist device that is intended to support patients with acute liver failure until human...

Liver Transplant Patients Receive Preference for Pediatric Donor Livers.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- The Board of Directors of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), meeting in Richmond, Virginia, approved a policy to give liver transplant patients less than 18 years old preference over adult patients...

Researchers Measure Effectiveness of Combination Therapy.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, has announced recruitment of patients for a study that will test whether a new combination therapy may be more effective than the current, leading therapy for...

Ursodeoxycholic Acid Augments Interferon Treatment in Non-Responders.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- A new study published in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology reports that ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), when used in combination with interferon-(alpha) (IFN-(alpha)), can successfully treat...

Serum Albumin and Decompensation History are Reliable Indicators of HCV Disease Outcome.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Mayo Clinic researchers have developed an analytical model for predicting which disease markers are more predictive for disease outcomes related to the hepatitis C virus. According to these researchers,...

Researchers Study Tumor Necrosis Factor-(alpha) Regulation.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Important research findings suggest that tumor necrosis factor-(alpha) metabolism in alcoholic hepatitis patients is influenced by nuclear factor-kB activity and increased expression of this factor's mRNA. ...

Interferon-(alpha)2b and Ribavirin Evaluated in HCV/HIV Infected Patients.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in France have found that combination therapy is useful in hepatitis C virus (HCV)/HIV coinfected patients. They conducted a safety and efficacy study of a "combination therapy of...

Test Predicts Risk Due to Interferon Treatment.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- One of the few side effects of interferon (IFN) therapy when used for treating viral hepatitis is depression. According to A. Scalori and associates in Sondrio, Italy, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality...

Study Says Tattoos Not a Risk Factor for Viral Hepatitis.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- New study findings study indicate that tattoos are not a risk factor for acquiring viral hepatitis. A.L. Silverman and associates at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, conducted the study...

Perioperative Blood Transfusion Increases Risk of Cancer Relapse.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Perioperative blood transfusion during curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma increases the risk of intrahepatic recurrence, according to a study from Japan. "This study retrospectively evaluated...

Orthotopic Transplant More Effective than Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients with Cirrhosis.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Despite some misgivings in the medical community about its use on cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) generally leads to better outcomes than tumor...

Bone Marrow Produces Mature Liver Cells in Humans.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Mature liver cells in humans are generated from bone marrow-derived stem cells, a Yale University-New York University team has discovered, paving the way for improved treatment of liver damage and disease. ...

Prednisolone Before Interferon Helps Eliminate Precore Stop Mutants.
July 3, 2000... 2000 JUL 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in Japan have reported in the Journal of Hepatology new research findings indicating that prednisolone therapy prior to the use of interferon (IFN) enables better elimination of precore stop...

Hepatitis B and C Viruses Remain Significant Threats to Canadians.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV) continue to pose a threat to Canadians, presenting the need for further preventive measures. To assess HBV, HCV, and hepatitis A virus (HAV) risk, as well as the...

Hepatitis-Induced Liver Disease is Major Cause of Death in Turkmenistan.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Viral hepatitis is responsible for a large number of chronic liver disease (CLD) deaths in Turkmenistan, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers. To identify the frequency...

Childhood Hepatitis A Vaccine Deemed Cost-Effective.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers say that since childhood hepatitis A vaccine costs less than $50,000 per years of live saved (YOLS) it is cost-effective in the United States, particularly in areas with high rates of hepatitis A...

Hepatitis B Vaccination in Prisons May Be Cost-Effective.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers say that vaccinating prisoners for hepatitis B may economically benefit society as a whole. M. Pisu and colleagues with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia,...

Induction Therapy Increases Mortality in Some Transplant Recipients.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Research findings presented at the Transplant 2000 conference, held in Chicago, Illinois, indicate that induction therapy may negatively affect survival in liver transplant patients. "Early rejection...

Treatment with Nucleoside Analogue Followed by Hepatitis Vaccine Shifts Serologic Phenotype.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Treatment with the nucleoside analogue, L-FMAU, followed by vaccination changed hepatitis B infection status from chronic to recovering in the WHV/woodchuck model, researchers in the United States reported....

Hepatitis B Virus Protein Expression Causes Cell Death.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- A study presented at the 91(st) Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research suggests that hepatitis B virus (HBV) X protein is responsible for cell damage that leads to cellular death. ...

Drug Resistance Threatens to Reverse Medical Progress.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Increasing levels of drug resistance are threatening to erode the medical advances of recent decades, according to a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO). "We currently have effective...

Hepatitis C Infection Rate is Five Times Higher for U.S. Veterans.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to the Hepatitis C Coalition, the infection rate for U.S. veterans is five times that of the general public. It is estimated that 10% of the surviving Vietnam veterans are infected with hepatitis C....

Solvent/Detergent Virus Inactivated Plasma Can Cause Fibrinolysis.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- The use of solvent/detergent virus inactivated plasma (ESDEP) in liver transplantation can cause fibrinolysis. "To minimize the risk of transmission of lipid coated viruses (hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C...

Antibodies Against Hypervariable Region 1 Neutralize Hepatitis C Virus.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Antibodies against hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) neutralize the virus in an epitope-independent manner, researchers in Japan and the United States have found. "Antibodies...

Childhood Cancer Survivors with Viral Hepatitis May Suffer Liver Disease Later.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital researchers recently reported in the journal Blood that survivors of childhood cancer and aplastic anemia who become infected with the hepatitis C virus may later be at...

Tumor Necrosis Factor-(alpha) Cited as Factor in Liver Injury.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Results of research performed on mice suggest that although both tumor necrosis factor-(alpha) (TNF-(alpha)) and Fas ligand (FasL) are both expressed when liver cells are injured, TNF-(alpha) is the primary...

Epidemiology of HBV Infection in HIV(+) Intravenous Drug Users Studied.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Prior hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is common in HIV infected intravenous drug users (IDUs), researchers in Spain report. "HBV and HIV share common routes of transmission," wrote M.L. Rodriguez-Mendez...

Rates for Liver Cancer Deaths in Europe Vary by Country.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in Switzerland have recently completed a study that documents the trends for death from primary liver cancer in major European countries. According to these researchers, death rates vary due...

Anti-Rejection Drug May Stimulate Hepatitis B Virus Re-Infection.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Certain anti-rejection treatments following liver transplantation, most notably OKT3, can cause liver re-infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), according to a report in Clinical Transplantation. R.A....

Link between Hepatitis C Virus and Proliferative Diseases Studied in France.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- A national study designed to investigate the association between hepatitis C virus infection and lymphoproliferative (LPD) diseases in patients in France was recently published in the American Journal of...

Children with Hepatitis Have Higher Infection Rate.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- For some time now, members of the medical community have been investigating a recently identified virus known as the TT virus. It has been associated with liver diseases in humans. Researchers at the...

Researchers Study Hepatitis C Virus Risk Factors in Rural Korea.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Although blood transfusions have been linked with the transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV), researchers say that this is not a strong risk factor for virus transmission in the rural area of Korea they...

Sharing of Electric Razors Questioned as Potential Vector of Viral Hepatitis.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Recent letters to the editor published in The New England Journal of Medicine prompted a look into the likelihood of hepatitis transmission via shared electric razors. Dr. Colleen R. Kelly, with the...

Acute Hepatitis B Has Dropped Significantly in the U.S.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Over the past decade, the incidence of acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) has significantly declined in the U.S., though prevention efforts for drug users and those involved in high-risk sex need to be stepped-up,...

Hepatitis A Decreasing Among American Indians.
July 10, 2000... 2000 JUL 10 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers say that since the hepatitis A vaccine became available in 1995, incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) has plummeted among the American Indian (AI) population. After the 1996 recommendation for...

Distinct Membrane Association Patterns Noted in Mouse Hepatitis Virus Proteins.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Recent study findings from researchers at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, have shown that gene 1 proteins in the mouse hepatitis virus can be found in distinctly different areas of cellular cytoplasm. ...

Poor Safety Practices in Pakistan Prompt Government Regulation of Blood Transfusion.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Results of a study indicating blood banking practices in Karachi, Pakistan, were below World Health Organization standards prompted the country's government to pass legislation regulating transfusion safety....

Skin Disorder Linked to Hepatitis C Infection Responds to Interferon + Zinc Treatment.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- The first reported case of necrolytic acral erythema in the United States was recently described in the Archives of Dermatology. The case also prompted the authors to conduct a literature review of...

Acute Hepatic Failure Onset in India is Rapid, Mostly Fatal.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- A recent study published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology suggests that acute hepatic failure (AHF) onset occurs rapidly and with a high mortality rate in India. Moreover, many patients...

Drug Use and Hepatitis Infection Widespread in Irish Prisons.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Drug use and infection with hepatitis C are endemic among Irish prisoners, stressing the need for scrutiny and improvement of the Irish prison healthcare system, according to a study in the July 7 British...

High Rate of GB Virus Type C/HGV in Low-Risk Blood Donors May be Due to Vertical Transmission.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in France suggest that the high rate of GB virus type C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) in low risk blood donors may be due to the high rate of transmission of the virus from mother to infant. ...

New Strain of Hepatitis E Virus Detected in China.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in China have isolated a new strain of hepatitis E virus (HEV). Preliminary characterization of this strain was recently reported in the most recent edition of the Journal of Medical Virology. ...

Lymphocyte Activation Gene-3 Molecule a Useful Vaccine Adjuvant in Mice.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Using both a particulate antigen (hepatitis B surface Ag) and a soluble antigen (OVA) to vaccinate mice, researchers in France have determined that lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) can be used to enhance...

Scientists Link Hepatitis-C-Related Cirrhosis to Cholangiocellular Carcinoma.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to medical investigators, hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis is a major risk factor for primary cholangiocellular carcinoma of the liver (PCC-L). These investigators, lead by M. Kobayashi...

Researcher Sees Role for Lamivudine Therapy in End-Stage Liver Disease Patients.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- A Stanford University researcher sees lamivudine drug therapy as being an option for treating hepatitis B virus patients with end-stage liver disease. According to Emmet B. Keeffe, liver transplantation...

Mutations in Genes Influence Response to Interferon in Hepatitis C Patients.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- New research has shown that genetic changes in the interferon sensitivity determining region of hepatitis C virus genotype 1b do not change frequently. Because of this, patients who are initially...

Viral RNA Stable When Blood Sample Stored Below 25(degree)C.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- HIV-1 and hepatitis C virus (HCV) viral RNA is stable in whole blood and plasma specimens when stored in temperatures up to 25(degree)C, according to industry researchers. Research results were presented...

Th2 Cytokines Influence IFN Response in Hepatitis C Patients.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- The presence of interleukin 10 (IL-10), a cytokine produced by Th2 cells, has a major impact on the response to interferon (IFN) therapy by patients with chronic hepatitis C, investigators reported at the...

Hepatitis-Infected Organs Influence Mortality in Transplant Patients.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Medical practitioners should refrain from transplanting hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected donor hearts in all but the most desperately ill patients, according to a joint study conducted by scientists at Temple...

Hepatitis C Vaccine Represents Major Mutations in Isolates.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- University of California at Davis medical researchers have developed a vaccine for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that includes a significant number of mutations commonly found in a specific portion of the...

Medical Firm Faked Results of Infectious Disease Testing.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Thousands of inmates were put at risk when a medical lab faked results of tests for diseases like HIV and hepatitis, and there is little evidence the prisoners were re-tested after the fraud was discovered,...

Toronto Drug Group Gives Out Free Crack Pipes to Combat HIV, Hepatitis C.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- A group of illegal drug users and their supporters handed out special crack cocaine pipes on July 8 to combat the spread of disease. The volunteers of the Drug Users' Union of Toronto planned to hand out...

Phase II Study Underway for Combination Treatment.
July 24, 2000... 2000 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com) -- Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced that patient dosing is underway in a Phase II clinical trial of VX-497, a drug for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, in...

Blood Leukocytes Provide Clue to Genotypic Nature of Hepatitis Infection.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- New findings from a study conducted at the Nigata University School of Medicine in Japan reveal that peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) hold the possibility of predicting the development of hepatocellular...

Hepatitis C Virus Infection Prevalent in U.K. Women.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- Almost one in every hundred women in the U.K. may be infected with hepatitis C virus, according to a study in the journal Gut. Infection with the virus does not usually clear up, and up to 80% of...

HIV Infected Hemophiliacs Respond Well to Antiretroviral Therapy.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- HIV infected men with hemophilia respond well to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), indicate data from a two-decade-long study in England. "Many hemophilic individuals infected with HIV died...

Disease Can Not Be Limited to One Diagnostic Category.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- Mayo Clinic researchers say that the criteria for diagnosing autoimmune cholangitis cannot be wrapped up neatly in one package. Instead, the various manifestations demonstrated by this disease represent small...

Infection Persists, But Without Severe Liver Disease for Most Infected with Hepatitis C Virus.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- The majority of adults with hepatitis C virus infection continue to carry the virus but without developing severe (end stage) liver disease, according to an article in the July 26, 2000, issue of The Journal...

Microbe that Causes Ulcers Seen in Many Italian Hepatitis Patients.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- A study conducted by scientists in Italy found that patients with liver cirrhosis may also be plagued by the microbe known to cause gastric ulcers, Helicobacter pylori. The study, reported by A. Ponetto...

Nitrite/Nitrate Test a Good Tumor Marker.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- Over the past several years, scientists have been using several serum or plasma markers to indicate chronic liver diseases. Two of these include alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). ...

Aspartate Aminotransferase Test a Useful Tool for Assessing Liver Disease.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- More evidence demonstrating the value of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) as a tool for assessing the extent of chronic liver disease in patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been found by medical...

Novel Virus Localizes in the Liver of Patients with Chronic Hepatitis.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- New investigation of the TT virus (TTV) has shown that it localizes primarily in the hepatocytes of patients with chronic hepatitis, according to a study reported in Hepatology Research. Medical...

Genetic Tests Making U.S. Blood Supply Safer.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- New genetic tests have made the blood supply in the U.S. safer, allowing donation banks to detect viral infections sooner and keep them from slipping into transfusions, scientists said. Dr. Michael Busch...

Hepatitis C Mortality and Complication Rates in New York Determined.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- New York State Department of Health epidemiologists recently reviewed and compiled the mortality and complication rates for hospital patients with hepatitis C (HepC) virus in Upstate New York. A report of...

Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Binds to CD14(+) Cells, Inhibits Immune Response.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers looking for ways to develop better therapeutic or prophylactic drugs against the hepatitis B virus (HBV) might need to look at the interaction between hepatitis B surface antigen- (HBsAg) and...

Findings Reveal Public Concern.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- Results from two new surveys announced by The Coalition for Transfusion Safety, a consortium dedicated to elevating awareness of the need for safer blood transfusions, uncover significant concerns about the...

Hepatitis B Vaccination for Asian and Pacific Islander Children Emphasized.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- A report in the July 14, 2000, edition of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report says that Asian and Pacific Islander (API) children have a 20 to 30 times...

Human Cellular Genes Required for Hepatitis C Virus Protein Synthesis are Identified.
July 31, 2000... 2000 JUL 31 - (NewsRx.com) -- Immusol, Inc., San Diego, California, announced that it has used its proprietary inverse genomics technology to discover two unique potential drug target genes for hepatitis C. The two human cellular...