Hepatitis Weekly articles from June 2000

Hepatitis Weekly archives from June 2000

Daily Combination Therapy for Hepatitis C Virus Works Well.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- A collaborative research effort led by investigators at the Hepatitis Resource Network in Tacoma, Washington, has determined that daily use of interferon (IFN) and ribavirin works as well as or better than a...

New Hepatitis C Subtype Variant Found in Japan.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- The report of a new hepatitis C virus (HCV) variant was published recently in the journal Virus Genes. Investigators at Toshiba General Hospital in Tokyo, Japan, described the genotypic characteristics of...

Scientists Study Hepatitis B Carrier Characteristics in New Zealand.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers at the Hepatitis Foundation in New Zealand have not only determined the carriage rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in a community in the North Island, but also the common markers associated with this...

Trial Participants Try Intradermal Immunization.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to a Canadian study, higher-dose intradermal administration of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine may be a cost-effective, viable method for inoculating vaccine recipients. Currently, the...

Disinfection of Disposable Laparoscopic Devices Yields Poor Results.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- As medical costs soar and hospitals attempt to use available resources without jeopardizing patient safety, the issue of reusing disposable laparoscopic devices has moved to the forefront. A study recently...

Liver Target Needed for Effective Antiviral Response.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- New evidence from a study conducted by researchers at the University of Ulm in Germany finds that the microenvironment of the liver needs to be primed in order to be more effectively targeted by hepatitis B...

Nitric Oxide Study Demonstrates Importance for Interferon Efficacy.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- Additional evidence from a study conducted at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California, shows that nitric oxide plays an important role in the effectiveness of therapy against...

Hepatitis Surface Antigen Particles Display Unique Lipid Composition.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- Results from a study recently reported in the Journal of Biochemistry suggest that lipids in hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) particles are not organized in a bilayer structure as expected. "The...

Drug-Induced Hepatitis Difficult to Detect with Lymphocyte Transformation Test.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- Lymphocyte transformation tests (LTT) are neither highly sensitive nor specific for detecting drug induced hepatitis, researchers report. "Lymphocyte transformation tests have been used for the diagnosis...

Data Suggest Treatment Provides Improved Quality of Life and Liver Histology.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- A host of studies on the investigational treatment Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a) in patients with chronic hepatitis C were presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW), held in San Diego, California, during May...

State Officials Call Hepatitis C Infection a Hidden Epidemic.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- As many as four million people in the U.S., 100,000 in Massachusetts alone, have the hepatitis C virus, and most of them are not even aware of it, a Massachusetts state health official said May 23, 2000. ...

Lidocaine Test is Accurate Measure of Liver Function.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- The lidocaine (MEGX [monoethylglycinexylidide]) test of liver function is a useful measure for predicting the chances of post-transplant complications and prioritizing patients awaiting transplant, study...

Misperceptions About Value of Vaccines May Lead Parents to Question their Use.
June 5, 2000... 2000 JUN 5 - (NewsRx.com) -- An alarmingly high percentage of parents hold misperceptions about the value and safety of vaccines, which may lead them to refuse some or all immunizations for their children, says Bruce G. Gellin, MD, MPH,...

Genetics a Factor in Susceptibility.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- A Mayo Clinic study has shown that genetic coding plays a significant role in susceptibility to acquiring autoimmune hepatitis, according to a report published in Immunological Reviews. In this study,...

Diseased Tissue Could Provide Clues to Lymphocyte Cycle.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers suggest that an investigation of the life cycle of intrahepatic lymphocytes in the liver tissue of individuals infected with the hepatitis C virus could provide clues as to how these cells...

Alternative Enzymes Cause Lipid Peroxidation in Animal Model.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- New findings from a study conducted in Australia indicate that enzymes other than CYP2E1 play a role in liver disease related liver peroxidation. According to I.A. Leclercq and associates at the...

Interferon-{{gamma}} Significant in Chronic Liver Disease.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- New findings from a study recently published by researchers in Italy suggest that interferon-{{gamma}} (IFN-{{gamma}}) may be significant to the pathogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis. According to...

Hepatitis A Peptide-Lipid Interactions Determined by Membrane Net Charge.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in Spain have characterized the nature of the interaction of an important hepatitis A virus peptide known as multiple antigentic peptide (MAP(4)VP3) with lipid membranes using a special...

Assay Designed to Test in vitro Potency of Vaccines.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in France have developed an assay to help determine the in vitro potency of yellow fever vaccines before they go to market. "Quality control of yellow fever vaccines performed by Control...

Study Confirms Need for Biopsy in Diagnosing Liver Patients.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers from the University of Naples in Italy reported the results of a study showing that liver biopsy remains the method of choice for diagnosing chronic liver disease. Presenting their report at...

Genetics Control Cell Proliferation in Liver in Mice.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to researchers at Albany Medical College in New York, hepatocytes proliferate in the livers of young p53 knockout mice (p53-/-) because of the loss of p53 expression. At the American Association...

Positive Pre-Clinical Results for Nitric Oxide-Releasing Product Announced.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- NicOx S.A. (NICOX), Sophia-Antipolis, France, announced positive pre-clinical results in mouse models of liver disease with a new nitric oxide-releasing derivative of ursodeoxycholic acid (NCX 1000) at the...

Treating Hepatitis C with Combination Therapy Benefits Patients Coinfected with HIV.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- A new clinical study has found that the leading hepatitis C treatment is effective in patients coinfected with HIV, does not interfere with HIV medications, and may even make it possible for more HIV patients...

Pegintron Approved to Treat Hepatitis C in European Union.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Enzon, Inc. (ENZN), Piscataway, New Jersey, announced that Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) was informed that the European Union Commission of the European Communities has granted marketing authorization to...

Economic Collapse Spawned Dangerous Human Tissue Business.
June 12, 2000... 2000 JUN 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- A storefront dental office in Los Angeles, California, and home-based offices in Florida and in Detroit, Michigan, peddled bone, brain linings, and other tissue from Russia after the country's economic...

Variability in Hepatitis B Viral Loop Region Affects Assay in Carriers.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- by Sonia Nichols, Staff Medical Writer -- Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) cannot be detected in some people who carry the virus because of variability in the some parts of their virus, according to a...

Elecsys Analyser Effectively Detects Anti-Hepatitis A Virus Antibodies.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- The Elecsys analyser is a sensitive and specific diagnostic tool for detecting anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) antibodies in human serum, according to a study presented at the 10th International Symposium on...

Liver Cells Implant and Survive in Rats with Chemically-Induced Disease.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York have found evidence that cirrhotic liver tissue can be transplanted with intact hepatocytes. The researchers, led by S....

Hepatitis C Immune Response Persists, but Humoral Response Decreases with Time.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- In a two-decade follow-up study of women who previously had been exposed to the hepatitis C virus (HCV), investigators in Germany found that while HCV antibodies could not be detected, certain cellular...

Allotypic Differences Detected in Tumor Types.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Scientists in Japan have found that there are allotypic differences between hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and HBV-negative HCC. According to H. Okabe and colleagues at...

Iron Overload Contributes to Liver Cancer Formation.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- More scientific findings have linked iron overload with the formation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hepatitis C associated liver cirrhosis. Stating that the role of iron deposits in...

Subsequent Siblings Not Necessarily Infected with Hepatitis C by Mother.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Just because a first infant is infected by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from its mother does not necessarily mean that any subsequent infants are at a higher risk for becoming infected, investigators report in...

Rare Co-infection Documented in Taiwan.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Scientists have detected cases of hepatitis A and E virus (HAV and HEV) co-infection among residents of Taiwan, though the source of the infections is uncertain. Based on the report by C.H. Wang, a...

Hepatitis E Virus Causes Acute Biliary Infection.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- A recent study determined that one cause of acute biliary infection is hepatitis E virus (HEV). C.H. Wang, a scientist with the Taipei Center for Disease Control in Taiwan, and colleagues, analyzed serum...

Green Onions Likely Source of Hepatitis A Outbreak.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers say that a hepatitis A virus (HAV) outbreak that occurred in the U.S. in late 1998 was probably due to the consumption of contaminated green onions. After 43 people who had dined at the same...

High Alanine Aminotransferase Levels Seen with Cancer Recurrence.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels are used as markers for chronic liver disease. When these markers remain high or increase after a patient has been hepatectomized for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the...

Hepatitis A Vaccine Schedule Determined for Infants.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Initial hepatitis A vaccines should be administered at 18 months and the second at 24 months, recommend researchers in Israel. M.S. Green and colleagues with the Israel Center for Disease Control in Tel...

Hepatitis B Vaccination Prevents Infection in Thousands of Children Annually.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Thousands of U.S. children would be infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) each year if they did not receive vaccination for the illness as infants, a recent study concludes. To determine the prevalence of...

Hepatitis B Virus DNA Persists in Serum Despite Clearance of Viral Antigens.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA may persist in the serum of children who successfully respond to interferon-(alpha) (IFN(alpha)) therapy, researchers in Poland reported. "The aim of this study was to assess...

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Can Be Used to Control Pain of Procedure.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are an effective treatment for relieving pain and promoting patient acceptance of percutaneous liver biopsies (PLBs), say researchers. "PLB, in spite of its...

Hepatitis B Combination Treatment Better, Scientists Say.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to a study presented by Steven-Huy Han et al. at the Transplant 2000 conference, combination therapy using hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) and lamivudine is more effective than using HBIG by...

Hepatitis B Immune Plasma Superior to Hepatitis B Immune Globulin for Immunotherapy.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Hepatitis B immune plasma (HBIP) is a safer and more effective method than the short-lived hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) of controlling HBV infections arising from orthotopic liver transplant (OLT),...

Illegal Drug Use Related to High Risk for Hepatitis A.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) is high among both injecting and non-injecting users of illicit drugs. To assess the prevalence of HAV among known drug users, K. Ivie and colleagues from the U.S....

Primary Hepatitis C Sources Identified.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- A recent study determined that the majority of hepatitis C virus (HCV) cases in the U.S. result from injection drug use and high-risk sexual activity. Between 1991 and 1998, I.T. Williams, from the U.S....

Experts Gather to Sharpen Focus on Prevention Strategies Against Hepatitis A.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- A multidisciplinary group of experts gathered to sharpen the focus on prevention strategies against hepatitis A, which, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), remains one of...

Possible Animal Source of Hepatitis E Virus Identified.
June 26, 2000... 2000 JUN 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- An increased incidence of antibodies to hepatitis E virus (anti-HEV) among pig farmers has led scientists to associate pigs and HEV infection. J. Drobeniuc and colleagues from the U.S. Centers for Disease...