Hepatitis Weekly articles from October 2002

Hepatitis Weekly archives from October 2002

Histamine dihydrochloride may augment interferon in patients with hepatitis C.
October 7, 2002... 2002 OCT 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Patients who take interferon for chronic hepatitis C could benefit by adding histamine dihydrochloride to their treatment regimens. The members of an...

Psychological disorders more frequent in HCV-positive Vietnam veterans.
October 7, 2002... 2002 OCT 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A study of more than 60,000 Vietnam veterans has shown that those who were infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) were more likely to have psychiatric, drug, or...

DNA and hepatitis B virus vaccine evaluated in colorectal cancer patients.
October 7, 2002... 2002 OCT 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - The jury is still out on whether or not DNA vaccines are effective cancer fighters. "Despite an abundance of preclinical data, relatively little is known...

Gene polymorphism sways response to interferon in chronic hepatitis C.
October 7, 2002... 2002 OCT 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Hepatitis C virus genotype has long been held accountable for interferon responsiveness in chronic hepatitis C. Now, new evidence points to polymorphisms on a...

Vaccination now required for elementary, secondary school enrollment.
October 7, 2002... 2002 OCT 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New Mexico and Mississippi join 38 states (plus the District of Columbia) that now require the chickenpox vaccine for day care, public school, or both. In addition, several states now have similar...

Lipid Sciences reports second-quarter results.
October 7, 2002... 2002 OCT 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lipid Sciences, Inc., (LIPD), a development-stage biotechnology company specializing in products for the treatment of major medical indications by removing lipids from plasma proteins, reported results...

Newly found avian virus related to swine and human hepatitis E virus.
October 7, 2002... 2002 OCT 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - The newly discovered avian hepatitis E virus (avian HEV) shares a close genetic relationship with swine and human forms of the virus, scientists in the U.S....

Letter of intent for potential investment announced.
October 7, 2002... 2002 OCT 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hemispherx Biopharma has received a letter of intent for a potential multimillion-dollar investment in the company by the Royal Family of the United Arab Emirates. Hemispherx president and CEO...

PKIDs begins HIV and hepatitis prevention work in China.
October 7, 2002... 2002 OCT 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. nonprofit organization PKIDs (Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases) has announced the creation of a new PKIDs in China. Work begins this fall to educate communities in China about...

Liver failure a possibility after discontinuing therapy for hepatitis B.
October 14, 2002... 2002 OCT 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A report from Singapore suggests patients who receive lamivudine or other nucleoside analogues for chronic hepatitis B face the possibility of developing liver...

Hepatitis C nonresponders benefit from interferon by avoiding cancer.
October 14, 2002... 2002 OCT 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Even if patients with chronic hepatitis C don't respond to interferon, they may benefit from retreatment by becoming less susceptible to forming liver cancer,...

Keratoconjunctivitis sicca a major complication of chronic hepatitis C.
October 14, 2002... 2002 OCT 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - The results of a population study have demonstrated significant numbers of Greek chronic hepatitis C patients are affected by keratoconjunctivitis sicca. ...

Monocyte activation increases in chronic hepatitis C patients given therapy.
October 14, 2002... 2002 OCT 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists have determined blood cells on the frontlines of war against disease don't lose their abilities in patients infected with chronic hepatitis C. ...

Triangle submits NDA for Coviracil.
October 14, 2002... 2002 OCT 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (VIRS) announced submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for marketing approval of Coviracil for the treatment of HIV...

Micrologix acquires antiviral product and technology portfolio.
October 14, 2002... 2002 OCT 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Micrologix Biotech, Inc., (MGIXF) has acquired a broad portfolio of antiviral technologies and product candidates formerly owned and/or being developed by Origenix Technologies, Inc. "These...

FDA approves new treatment.
October 14, 2002... 2002 OCT 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval September 20, 2002, of Hepsera (adefovir dipivoxil) tablets for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (HBV) in adults with evidence of...

Company announces improved interferon alpha.
October 14, 2002... 2002 OCT 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nautilus Biotech announced that it has developed a set of improved IFN-alpha molecules, engineered to have a substantially increased half-life in order to minimize side effects and maximize therapeutic...

Onyx and Bayer initiate phase II studies of Raf kinase inhibitor.
October 14, 2002... 2002 OCT 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (ONXX) announced that its partner Bayer Corp. (BAY) has initiated a single-agent phase II clinical study of a new cancer agent, BAY 43-9006, a Raf kinase inhibitor, for the...

Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy appropriate for use in the elderly.
October 14, 2002... 2002 OCT 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Older patients with primary liver cancer can benefit from percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT), researchers in Japan report. Due to the number of...

Intermittent SNMC as effective as daily therapy for lowering liver enzyme levels.
October 21, 2002... 2002 OCT 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Thrice-weekly injections of glycyrrhizin are just as beneficial for lowering liver enzyme levels in chronic viral hepatitis patients as daily injections are,...

Autoimmune disorder more common in chronic hepatitis C than suspected.
October 21, 2002... 2002 OCT 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - The autoimmune illness immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) has been linked to chronic hepatitis C by researchers at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla,...

Novel 12-month regimen protects youth after hepatitis B vaccination.
October 21, 2002... 2002 OCT 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Just two doses of hepatitis B virus vaccine administered 12 months apart can protect adolescents from viral infection, according to a published report. ...

New combination treatment reported more beneficial than standard therapy.
October 21, 2002... 2002 OCT 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The New England Journal of Medicine (2002;347(13):975-982) carried the first published report showing that a combination treatment with peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys) - a new long-acting interferon...

Few veterans achieve sustained viral response in treatment trial.
October 21, 2002... 2002 OCT 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Few hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive veterans have responded to interferon/ribavirin (Rebron) combination therapy in an investigation sponsored by a team at...

TIGRIS instrument system to be used for clinical diagnostic testing.
October 21, 2002... 2002 OCT 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gen-Probe, Inc., an established leader in molecular diagnostics based on its patented nucleic acid testing technologies, announced results from the initial field evaluation (beta trial) of the...

AIDS researchers split GSK award.
October 21, 2002... 2002 OCT 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Six HIV and AIDS researchers will split $500,000 as the 2002 recipients of the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Drug Discovery and Development Award. The unrestricted research award program is funded by GSK to...

Phase II clinical trial of ISS vaccine initiated.
October 21, 2002... 2002 OCT 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dynavax Technologies, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, announced it has initiated a phase II clinical study to evaluate the ability of its immunostimulatory DNA sequence (ISS) vaccine...

Positive results reported on interferon-alpha variants.
October 21, 2002... 2002 OCT 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GenOdyssee S.A., a biotherapeutics company specializing in discovering and developing drugs from functional genomics, announced preclinical results for its proprietary interferon (IFN) alpha variants...

Rates remain less than half for gay and bisexual men.
October 21, 2002... 2002 OCT 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Though immunization rates for hepatitis A and B among men who have sex with men continue to improve, Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) President Christopher E. Harris, MD, said that the...

Doctors predict success in percutaneous ethanol injection for liver cancer.
October 21, 2002... 2002 OCT 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Doctors in Japan have defined the major factors that predict outcomes in those who receive percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) therapy for primary liver...

Hepatitis C virus response to peginterferon alfa known early in process.
October 28, 2002... 2002 OCT 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Response to treatment can be predicted in as little as 12 weeks in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with peginterferon alfa-2a (40 kDa). Peginterferon...

Careful donor selection improves living liver donor outcomes.
October 28, 2002... 2002 OCT 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Living donor liver transplantations can be a safe and effective means for acquiring desperately needed organs, providing careful donor selection is conducted....

Viral subtype marks clinical picture in chronic hepatitis B population.
October 28, 2002... 2002 OCT 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - An investigation of virus subtypes in Japanese infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) has yielded important information about clinical changes in those...

Tumor pressure a prognostic indicator in hepatocellular carcinoma.
October 28, 2002... 2002 OCT 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Doctors who measure tumor pressure before treating hepatocellular carcinoma could learn important information about their patients' prognoses, researchers say....

Internal hernia a risk for organ failure, death following liver implantation.
October 28, 2002... 2002 OCT 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Using certain precautions when reconstructing arteries during liver implantation would alleviate the risk for internal hernia of the small bowel, doctors have...

InterMune names Sharon Surrey-Barbari senior VP and CFO.
October 28, 2002... 2002 OCT 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- InterMune, Inc., (ITMN) has named Sharon Surrey-Barbari CFO and senior vice president of finance and administration. She will assume responsibility for all financial, strategic planning, investor...

Anti-infective developer reports first quarter 2003 financial results.
October 28, 2002... 2002 OCT 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Micrologix Biotech, Inc., (MGIXF) reported financial results for the first quarter ended July 31, 2002, and provided an update on company activities: * Ended quarter with $37.2 million cash, cash...

FDA approves Hepsera for treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
October 28, 2002... 2002 OCT 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gilead Sciences (GILD) announced that it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its antiviral agent Hepsera (adefovir dipivoxil) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. ...

Greater opportunity for HCV prevention seen among younger drug users.
October 28, 2002... 2002 OCT 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Clinicians who work with younger injection drug users (IDUs) in Canada often get a chance to offer hepatitis C virus (HCV) intervention that is not typical...

Priority Healthcare announces agreement With InterMune.
October 28, 2002... 2002 OCT 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Priority Healthcare Corp. (PHCC) announced that it has signed a multiyear agreement with InterMune to manage the Actimmune access hotline and distribute Actimmune therapy. Steve Cosler, president...

Patent office issues notice of allowance for One-Step safety lancet.
October 28, 2002... 2002 OCT 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has mailed a notice of allowance to SurgiLance Pte, Ltd., the parent company of SurgiLance, Inc., for its patent application on the One-Step safety lancet....