Hepatitis Weekly articles from June 2001

Hepatitis Weekly archives from June 2001

Humans And Monkeys Shed HAV In Feces For Extended Periods.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Both humans and monkeys continue to shed hepatitis A virus in their fecal matter after active infection is no longer evident, according to the results of...

Infection May Associate With Liver Cancer In Chronic Hepatitis C.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists in Japan report TT virus infection correlates with irregular liver cell regeneration in chronic hepatitis C patients and may be associated with...

Immune Response To Hepatitis A Falls In Taiwanese Population.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - The authors of a Taiwanese study say factors leading to a better standard of living in Taiwan have decreased the number of young people with immune response...

Interferon Dampens Limb Blood Flow, Exercise In Chronic Hepatitis C.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - New research evidence points to interferon therapy as limiting exercise tolerance and decreasing circulation in patients with chronic hepatitis C. ...

FDA Approves New Vaccine.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Twinrix(R) [Hepatitis A Inactivated & Hepatitis B (Recombinant) Vaccine], manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, received approval on May 14, 2001, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

Thrombomodulin Associates With Disease Factors In Hemodialysis Patients.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Soluble thrombomodulin, primarily expressed in the presence of endothelial injury, is also a marker for viral hepatitis, liver dysfunction, blood pressure,...

Ethnobotanist Warns Of Mixing Herbs With Traditional Medications.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- If you take herbs for medical purposes, tell your doctor. If you are a physician or nurse treating a patient, ask what herbs the patient might be taking and consider the consequences related to...

Higher Age At Vaccination Confers Better Protection Against Hepatitis B Virus.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A follow-up study of Italian children who received the hepatitis B vaccine showed that most still had protective hepatitis B surface antigens (HBs) five...

Laparoscopy Provides Early Indication Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma In HCV.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Laparoscopic findings may yield important information about the potential for developing liver cancer in patients with hepatitis C virus-associated liver...

Modified Procedures Used In Living-Donor Organ Graft Recipients.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Living-donor liver transplantations can be performed successfully with modifications to current surgical procedures, according to researchers in the U.S....

Steroid-Free Treatment May Decrease Hepatitis C Incidence.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A steroid-free treatment of rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin (rabbit ATG, Thymoglobulin(R)) may decrease the incidence of organ rejection, diabetes, and hepatitis C in liver transplant recipients. ...

Fibrosis Progression In Children With Hepatitis C Occurs Slowly, Discontinuously.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "The natural history of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C acquired in infancy is not known. This study aimed to analyze fibrosis progression in untreated children with chronic HCV infection and no...

Viral Particles Detected In Papules Of Oral Lichen Planus.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Researchers report finding TT virus in the lesions of oral lichen planus but say the virus is not necessarily a cause of the lesions. Oral lichen...

Approval Sought In Japan For Combination Therapy.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ICN) and Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) have submitted a New Drug Application (J-NDA) to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW) seeking marketing approval...

Higher Dose Of Novel Interferon May Help Relapsers, Non-Responders.
June 4, 2001... 2001 JUN 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Elevated doses of a new form of recombinant type 1 interferon may help chronic hepatitis C patients whose responses to lower doses of the therapy cannot be...

Study Urges Stronger Testing For Hepatitis B In Prospective Liver Donors.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Screening tests used for selecting prospective liver donors in the United Kingdom are insufficient, warn researchers at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. ...

Cancer Risk Reduced With Interferon For HCV-Related Cirrhosis.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Interferon therapy does not necessarily increase overall survival in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver cirrhosis, but it does reduce...

HCV RNA May Distinguish Recurrent Infection From Rejection.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels may be useful for differentiating recurrent infection from early signs of rejection in liver transplant recipients. ...

Study Finds Troubling Trends In Hepatitis C Screening, Diagnosis, And Referral.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- People who might be infected with the potentially fatal hepatitis C virus are not getting tested early or often enough, possibly because neither they nor their primary doctors are raising the...

New Combination Treatment For Hepatitis C May Be More Effective Than Standard Care.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New findings from a large international study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggest that a combination treatment with a new long-acting interferon drug and...

Role Of New Virus In Hepatitis Pathology Remains Unclear.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Investigators at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and at DiaSorin, Inc., report a new virus called SEN-V has been discovered in some blood...

Serious Liver Toxicity Can Be A Side Effect Of AIDS Therapy.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A retrospective study encompassing 21 clinical trials and 9,003 adult AIDS patients has found that 10% of patients experienced serious liver toxicity as a side effect of AIDS treatment. The...

Anti-HBV Programs For Injection Drug Users Are Being Implemented Effectively In Community Settings.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hepatitis B vaccination programs for injection drug users can be successfully implemented in community settings such as syringe exchange programs and jails. Hepatitis B vaccination has been...

Early Recurrence Detection Means Better Prognosis After Liver Transplant.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Autoimmune hepatitis recurrence is a threat after liver transplantation, but early detection can result in favorable outcomes, Mayo Clinic researchers have...

Enzyme Linked to Angiogenic Growth In Primary Liver Cancers.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists believe excess production of the enzyme heparanase causes cancer invasion and angiogenesis in primary liver cancer. Primary liver cancer,...

Hepatitis E May Be Circulating In Japan At Low Level.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Epidemiological data suggest a low level of hepatitis E virus may be circulating in Japan although the virus is not endemic, or common to that country. ...

Study Shows 17 Conditions Affect Millions.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study conducted by the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) shows that gastrointestinal diseases present a monumental burden of more than 283 million cases with a cost of U.S.$42...

Adenovirus-Delivered Suicide Gene Under AFP Control Is Non-Toxic And Effective.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Deborah W. Heinrich, PhD, staff medical writer - Researchers from the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain developed a nontoxic, effective vector for gene delivery in the treatment of...

Liver-Specific Promoter/Enhancers Confer Increased Transgene Expression.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Deborah W. Heinrich, PhD, staff medical writer - A joint study by researchers from University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain and the University of Connecticut, USA resulted in the creation of...

Add 'Infotherapy' To Your List Of Medical Terms.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NewsRx Network, Atlanta, Georgia, the leading provider of life science databases and daily and weekly health news, now has coined a new medical word: "infotherapy." The new word is the...

Cancer Risk Similar In Primary Biliary And HCV-Related Disease.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Patients with higher-stage primary biliary cirrhosis have the same risk for developing primary liver cancer as do patients with hepatitis C virus...

Family History, Genes Increase Risk In Young Adults With Hepatitis C.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Young adults infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) may stand a greater risk for developing liver cirrhosis if they have a family history of liver disease...

Benefits of Living Donor Procedures Depend On Several Factors.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A report issued by medical investigators in Europe proposes that several factors weigh heavily on life expectancy and cost-effectiveness in living-donor...

Strategy Is Becoming More Common For Preventing HIV Transmission.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A survey has found that syringe exchange programs are an increasingly common HIV prevention approach that offer a range of public health services in addition to syringe exchange. According to...

Hepatitis D Virus Takes Over Transcription.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have discovered how hepatitis delta virus (HDV), an RNA virus that strengthens the disease associated with the hepatitis B virus, makes use of its host's transcription machinery,...

Study Suggests Increased Likelihood That Heroin Users Will Inject The Drug.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Addiction treatment data from New Jersey suggest a substantial increase in the likelihood that young heroin users will inject the drug. This apparent increase reverses a 15-year decline in...

Combination Therapies Get Mixed Results In Latest Studies.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two studies have investigated Peg-Intron (peg-interferon alfa-2b) and Rebetol (ribavirin, USP) combination therapy for treatment of hepatitis C virus. In a study led by Ira M. Jacobson, MD,...

Drug Increases Cytokines That Fight Viral Infection.
June 11, 2001... 2001 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers with SciClone Pharmaceuticals (SCLN) has published a new study in the May 2001 issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Viral Hepatitis, which adds further support to the biological role...

Study Finds Troubling Trends In Hepatitis C Screening, Diagnosis, And Referral.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- People who might be infected with the potentially fatal hepatitis C virus are not getting tested early or often enough, possibly because neither they nor their primary care doctors are raising the...

True Hepatitis B Virus Genome Transfer Accomplished In Germany.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Due to new adenovirus vectors developed in Germany, researchers studying hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection will now be able to investigate its true...

Nearly One In Five U.S. Gay Men Infected With Hepatitis B Virus By Age 22.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Despite the availability of an effective vaccine for nearly two decades, few adolescent and young adult men who have sex with men (MSM) are vaccinated against hepatitis B. As a consequence,...

FDA Approves Combination Vaccine Against Hepatitis A And B.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new combination vaccine that protects individuals 18 years of age or older against diseases caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV) and the...

Retinopathy Patterns Observed In Some Hepatitis C Patients On Interferon.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, senior medical writer - Medical investigators in Japan say interferon (IFN)-alpha therapy is the most likely cause of a pattern of retinopathy observed in patients being...

Necrotic Hepatitis Develops In Patient Taking Anticoagulant Phenprocoumon.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Physicians in Germany have reported on a patient who developed necrotic hepatitis after taking the anticoagulant phenprocoumon. They say doctors should...

Nucleic Acid Extraction Automation Improves Speed, Cost.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Full automation of nucleic acid extraction from blood samples is now possible with little or no loss in subsequent testing accuracy. "Automation of...

COX-2 Expression May Define Prognosis In Primary Liver Cancers.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, senior medical writer - Researchers in Japan have added hepatocellular carcinoma to the growing list of diseases associated with cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity. COX-2...

Liver Metabolism In Animals May Explain Halothane Toxicity In Humans.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Experiments performed in guinea pigs with halothane-induced liver injury indicate an increased ability for their livers to metabolize halothane and may...

Outcomes In Biochemical Responders Good Despite Hepatitis C Virus Persistence.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Despite persistent viremia, biochemical responders seem to fare well after interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C, researchers in Japan indicate. ...

Transplantation Is Effective For Some Patients.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers from the University of Florida and the University of Toronto have found that liver transplantation appears to be a viable alternative for some patients with liver cancer, a group that...

Public Safety Workers May Face More Risk Of Hepatitis B Than C.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Data collected by scientists at the Oregon Health and Science University suggest public safety workers may face more risk for contracting hepatitis B virus...

Human Herpesvirus 6 Prevalent In Children with Non-B Non-C Hepatitis.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists report pediatric patients with non-B non-C hepatitis and other liver diseases are frequently infected with human herpesvirus (HHV)-6, but its...

Injection Drug Users In Dublin, Ireland, Continue To Share Needles.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Despite efforts to educate people about the hazards of needle sharing, young injection drug users in Dublin, Ireland, continue to borrow needles from...

Iron Overload, Hepatitis C Worsen Glucose Tolerance In Blood Disease.
June 18, 2001... 2001 JUN 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Doctors say aggressive treatment of iron overload and hepatitis C virus (HCV) would improve glucose tolerance in patients with thalassemia. ...

Strong Immune Response Observed In Chimps After Hepatitis C Rechallenge.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Surprisingly, researchers have found some chimps retain an immune response to hepatitis C virus (HCV) rechallenge long after their original hepatitis...

Priming With Interferon-Gamma May Increase Response To Interferon-Alpha.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Interferon (IFN)-alpha therapy is effective for treating some but not all patients with chronic hepatitis C. New research indicates these patients might...

Fatigue, Psychological Disturbance Hard To Overcome In HCV Patients.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) find fatigue and psychological disturbances harder to overcome than patients with certain other chronic...

Real-Time PCR Testing Detects CMV-Associated Infantile Hepatitis.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - With as little as one microgram of blood, researchers can use a new diagnostic assay to quantify cytomegalovirus DNA in patients with infantile hepatitis....

Blood Centers Should Not Become Lax In Screening Repeat Donors.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Frequent donations by repeat blood donors do not lessen the possibility for transmission of bloodborne viruses. As a result, investigators suggest...

HBV and Excess Weight Aggravate Dimethylformamide-Related Liver Disease.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Taiwanese workers exposed to N,N-dimethylformamide, a common industrial solvent, experience higher rates of liver disease, and being a hepatitis B virus...

Vascular Invasion Increases Tumor Recurrence Risk After Liver Transplant.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - When determining the suitability of performing liver transplantations on their patients with liver cancer, physicians may want to identify ways to check...

Partial Livers Acceptable Substitute For Whole Livers In Children.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Segmental liver transplantations seem to work just as well as whole liver transplantations in pediatric liver transplant recipients, according to...

New Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, Key Staff Announced.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NewsRx Network, Atlanta, Georgia, the leading provider of life science databases and daily and weekly health news, has announced top staff appointments, including a new editor-in-chief and...

Advanced Age, Small Residual Organs Necessitate Close Monitoring Of Liver Donors.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Physicians who take the right liver lobe from adult living liver donors should monitor these individuals carefully after organ retrieval, especially if...

Doctors Don't Talk Sex With Their Lesbian And Gay Patients.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Four out of 10 health care providers don't ask their gay and lesbian patients about their sexual practices, according to the second annual GayHealth.com online survey. Avoiding the subject of...

Lamivudine For Three Years Yields Success For Patients With Hepatitis B.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Members of the Asia Hepatitis Lamivudine Study Group have shown lamivudine is effective for treating patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) when taken...

New Compound Holds Anti-Hepatitis B Treatment Promise.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new compound has been shown to be active against the hepatitis B virus (HBV) in laboratory experiments, the Hepatitis B Foundation announced June 7, 2001. The drug, called Alkovir(TM), is a...

DAF Incorporated Into Baculovirus Envelope Confers Serum Resistance.
June 25, 2001... 2001 JUN 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Deborah W. Heinrich, PhD, staff medical writer - Incorporation of a complement regulatory protein into the baculovirus envelope confers serum resistance and enhances gene transfer efficiency,...