Hepatitis B Virus News and Research

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Antipodean Pharma commences phase 2 trial in hepatitis C

Antipodean Pharmaceuticals has announced it has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead compound MitoQ (mitoquinone) to investigate the drug's efficacy to reduce liver damage in patients with raised liver enzymes associated with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV).

5 Feb 2007

Hepatitis C virus replication in transfected and serum-infected cultured human fetal hepatocytes

Researchers open the way for improved study of hepatitis C virus by devising a novel virus culture system that allows replication of patient-isolated virus in nontransformed hepatocytes, instead of culture-adapted virus strains in transformed cell lines.

23 Jan 2007

FDA approves Tyzeka for the treatment of adults with chronic hepatitis B

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Tyzeka (telbivudine) for the treatment of adults with chronic hepatitis B (HBV), a serious viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause lifelong infection, scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), and eventually liver cancer, liver failure, and death.

26 Oct 2006

Heart transplant patients who receive a donor heart from a person with hepatitis C have a lower rate of survival

A shortage of cardiac organ donors results in a substantial number of deaths among persons awaiting cardiac transplantation. One potential approach for increasing the availability of donors is to broaden the criteria used to identify appropriate donors.

17 Oct 2006

Racial differences in hepatitis C viral responses

African American patients with hepatitis C (HCV) infections experience a lower response rate to the peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin combination treatment than Caucasian Americans, according to a study published in the August issue of Gastroenterology.

16 Aug 2006

Turning the immune system against cancer

Medicine can now prevent a host of diseases with a mere shot of vaccine. Polio and smallpox are almost non-existent, and mumps and chicken pox are rarely seen nowadays.

4 Aug 2006

FDA approves fully automated screening tests for hepatitis B surface antigen

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the approval of the first fully automated product that combines both screening and confirmatory tests for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).

18 Jul 2006

Statins stop the replication of the hepatitis C virus

A new study shows that statins, which are typically used as anti-cholesterol medications, can inhibit the replication of the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

9 Jul 2006

In vitro fertilisation could be causing genetic errors in embryo

The conditions in which embryos are cultured in the laboratory during in vitro fertilisation could be causing genetic errors that are associated with certain developmental syndromes and other abnormalities in growth and development, such as low birth weight.

19 Jun 2006

Impact of obesity on treatment of chronic hepatitis C

According to a new study, obese patients chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and treated with combination drug therapy may have better outcomes if the underlying abnormalities caused by excessive fat tissue are corrected.

6 Jun 2006

Promising new vaccine delivery approach

The field of vaccine development is getting a boost from new research that has identified a promising vaccine delivery approach, which in animal studies produced long-term immune protection after just one immunization.

31 May 2006

Largest U.S. hepatitis C trial yields treatment insights

Community-Based WIN-R Study Shows Significantly Better Outcomes with Weight-Based Dosing

24 May 2006

Hepatitis B virus prevalent among Asians in NY

Approximately 15% of Asians living in New York City are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus, according to a new study by New York University School of Medicine researchers and their colleagues.

23 May 2006

15% of Asians living in New York City are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus

Chronic hepatitis B infection usually will lead to liver inflammation and can progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer. The reported infection rate is 35 times higher than the rate in the general U.S. population.

12 May 2006

Trial of hepatitis C vaccine underway

Human clinical trials involving investigational vaccines to prevent Hepatitis C are rare. In the fall of 2003 there was a first-ever study at Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development, and an earlier small study at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

8 May 2006

Saint Louis University hunt for a Hepatitis C vaccine

3 May 2006

Outcome of patients with hepatitis B and HIV infections referred for liver transplantation

A new study on HIV patients who also had Hepatitis B virus (HBV) found that better outcomes are possible if they are referred early for transplant and treated with a combination of drugs for HBV. It is essential to monitor the HBV status of these patients, however, in order to control the emergence of drug-resistant HBV infection.

3 May 2006

Similarities and differences in outcomes of cirrhosis due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatitis C

Cirrhosis related to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is associated with fewer complications and a lower mortality compared to cirrhosis from hepatitis C, despite NASH patients' greater risk of dying from cardiovascular events.

11 Apr 2006

New approach to treating hepatitis C virus

Last year Peter Sarnow, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, identified a previously unknown mechanism that the hepatitis C virus uses to replicate, yielding a promising new approach to combating the disease-causing virus.

10 Apr 2006