Hepatitis Weekly articles from March 2002

Hepatitis Weekly archives from March 2002

Choosing amantadine for hepatitis C therapy could be impractical.
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Physicians in Switzerland don't believe a combination of amantadine and interferon is any better than standard interferon/ribavirin combination therapy for...

Therapeutic effectiveness can be predicted early in chronic hepatitis C.
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - In as little as 2 weeks, doctors can predict whether or not an individual with chronic hepatitis C will respond to interferon therapy, medical researchers in...

Fibrosis and cirrhosis marked by circulating levels of TIMP-1 and MMP-2.
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Circulating levels of two extracellular factors could actually help doctors evaluate progression of fibrosis or cirrhosis in their patients with chronic...

Study examines hepatitis A, B, and C in South African healthcare workers.
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Preemployment screening as well as vaccination, training and standardized postexposure policies could help reduce the risk of occupational exposure to viral...

Interleukin-2 useful for treating those coinfected with HIV, hepatitis C.
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - There have been some reports that coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) worsens liver disease in patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV)....

Idun Pharmaceuticals clinical trial demonstrates safety of drug.
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced the results of its Phase I clinical trial of IDN-6556. The drug was safe and well tolerated in a clinical study involving 50 normal adults. Evaluation of...

Electroporation-assisted gene therapy kills cells in primary liver cancer.
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Ligands that do not affect normal liver tissues can promote apoptosis in cancer cells when administered via electroporation-assisted gene therapy. The...

Russia gets help on weapons control.
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A foundation led by Ted Turner and former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn will spend $6 million helping Russia reduce threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Included in the funding will be $1.3...

Drinking alcohol doubles the risk for liver cancer in hepatitis patients.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A new study of 464 men and women with hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary form of liver cancer, has provided more evidence that drinking can heighten the risk...

Review looks at progression factors after hepatitis C exposure.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A host of factors can determine prognosis after a person becomes infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). A large-scale population study of individuals in...

Rising papillomavirus-related oral warts rate may be positive sign.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The incidence of oral warts is rising in HIV infected patients although this may actually be a positive sign, according to researchers in the United States....

DNA array makes new information available about hepatitis C and genes.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - With the advent of microarray technology in recent years, studying genetics has become a less difficult proposition. Using cDNA array analysis, scientists in...

Hepatitis C prevalent in patients receiving transfusion for sickle cell.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Patients with sickle cell disease may be at greater risk for acquiring viral hepatitis from the blood transfusions they sometimes need, but testing has shown...

Dr. Nassim Usman named chief scientific officer and VP, R&D.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (RZYM) has promoted Dr. Nassim Usman to chief scientific officer and vice president, research and development. Dr. Usman is a pioneer in developing the chemistry and...

SciClone reports fourth quarter and year end 2001 losses.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SciClone Pharmaceuticals (SCLN) reported that its net loss for the fourth quarter was $1,715,000, or $0.05 per share, compared with a net loss of $117,000, or $0.00 per share, for the same quarter of...

Achillion inks agreement to evaluate next-generation antihepatitis and HIV agents.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ViroLogic, Inc., (VLGC) has inked an agreement with Achillion Pharmaceuticals, a privately held pharmaceutical company, to use ViroLogic's drug-resistance assays to evaluate Achillion's lead product...

Mexico approves natural interferon.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Viragen, Inc., (VRA) and Viragen International, Inc., (VERP) have announced that its natural human interferon-(alpha) has been approved for sale in Mexico. The Mexican regulatory authorities...

Blood lactate measurement could lead to earlier identification of transplant candidates.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Arterial blood lactate measurement could rapidly and accurately identify patients who might die from paracetamol-induced acute liver failure, conclude authors of a study in the February 13, 2002 issue...

Improvements needed for collecting postmortem samples from potential donors.
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Sampling and testing mechanisms designed to catch transmittable viral infections in potential organ and cornea donors need improvement, a group in France...

Hepatitis B and HIV coinfection warrants careful monitoring.
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Medical researchers have cautioned that the advent of better antiretroviral medications not only has extended survival in patients infected with human...

Steroids extend organ survival in post-transplantation autoimmune hepatitis.
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Steroid therapy is the best treatment choice for extending graft survival in patients diagnosed with de novo autoimmune hepatitis after liver transplantation....

When rheumatological symptoms remain a puzzle, hepatitis C may be the cause.
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A medical team in Italy says that when the cause of rheumatological symptoms is unknown, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection should be considered. The...

Immune cell counts have little effect on hepatitis C diversity.
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Immune cell levels have only a limited effect on the genetic features of hepatitis C virus (HCV) populations in HIV patients, according to researchers in...

Unusual virus identified in aborted calf.
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A group of viruses that can move from one animal species to another and cause a wide range of diseases has been found in the lungs of an aborted calf fetus. The findings by researchers in the...

Company announces 4Q, year-end 2001 financial results.
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vical, Inc., (VICL) announced that financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2001, were consistent with the company's latest forecast, during a period highlighted by...

Early detection and treatment key in iron overload, concomitant conditions complicate outcome.
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Carol K. Kohn, senior medical writer - Early detection and adequate treatment can enhance survival in hereditary hemochromatosis, iron overload, say researchers in Denmark. "Adequate phlebotomy...

Some liver cells more amenable to transduction.
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - More often than not, normal liver cells will accept adenoviral-mediated gene transfer more readily than injured liver cells will, researchers at Duke...