Hepatitis B News and Research

Latest Hepatitis B News and Research

Lasers used to zap viruses out of blood

A father-son research team working from separate laboratory benches across the country has discovered a new use for lasers - zapping viruses out of blood.

5 Sep 2007

Discovery of monoclonal antibodies which may make a successful Hepatitis C vaccine a reality

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infects up to 500,000 people in the UK alone, many of the infections going undiagnosed.

4 Sep 2007

Hepatitis E virus in Europe

Hepatitis E virus infections can be fatal in pregnant women, but until recently doctors thought the disease was confined to China, India and developing countries.

4 Sep 2007

Research looks at hepatitis C recovery

More than 3% of world population is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The outcome of HCV infections is either self recovery or chronic hepatitis, and many of the chronic infections will develop into liver cirrhosis or liver cancer.

30 Aug 2007

Case report on a shining significance in living donor transplantation

Touching stories of living donor transplantation are continuously happening in hospitals.

30 Aug 2007

High-risk behaviors among injection drug users in Afghanistan

In a report that is among the first to describe the prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis B and C viruses in Afghanistan, a researcher from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine voiced concerns that increasing injection drug use and accompanying high-risk behavior could lead to an HIV epidemic in Afghanistan.

29 Aug 2007

Discovery may lead to fast and cheap method of making vaccines

Researchers may be able to tinker with a single amino acid of an enzyme that helps viruses multiply to render them harmless, according to molecular biologists who say the discovery could pave the way for a fast and cheap method of making vaccines.

29 Aug 2007

Oglufanide disodium in new hepatitis C trial

Physicians at Southern Health have started a phase IIa clinical trial designed to test the efficacy of a new strategy for defeating hepatitis C viral infection, one of the toughest infectious diseases in the modern world.

26 Aug 2007

HPV vaccine not effective for treating pre-existing HPV infection

For women with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, use of the HPV-16/18 vaccine will not accelerate reduction of the virus and should not be used to treat the infection, according to a study in the August 15 issue of JAMA.

16 Aug 2007

FGFR4 gene plays a complex role in obesity, fatty liver and diabetes

Researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences and Technology at Houston have found that a gene in the liver and elsewhere in the body, when inhibited or increased, affects fatty liver and diabetes but does not alleviate both diseases at once.

11 Aug 2007

Researchers turn mouse into factory for human liver cells

Oregon Health & Science University researchers have figured out how to turn a mouse into a factory for human liver cells that can be used to test how pharmaceuticals are metabolized.

11 Aug 2007

New test to detect early stage liver cancer

Cancer of the liver is very difficult to detect, and it is a major cause of death in Asia and Africa, with rising incidence in Western countries as well.

9 Aug 2007

HMGB1 protein shown to act as an accelerator - activating the body's defenses

Toll-like receptors are the guard dogs of the immune system, sniffing out bacteria and viruses then activating the body's immune system for an attack on these invaders.

3 Aug 2007

Coffee and liver cancer

After lung and stomach cancer, liver cancer is the third largest cause of cancer deaths in the world.

2 Aug 2007

Researchers track how a single molecule of RNA or DNA unwinds

The process by which genes are duplicated is mysterious and complex, involving a cast of characters with diverse talents and the ability to play well with others in extremely close quarters.

27 Jul 2007

Mummies provide clues to combat hepatitis B

Mummies that have recently been unearthed in South Korea may provide clues on how to combat hepatitis B, according to Prof. Mark Spigelman of the Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

26 Jul 2007

Koronis Pharmaceuticals issued U.S. patent for KP-1461 therapeutic in development for treatment of HIV

Koronis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,244,732 that discloses the composition of KP-1461 -- the Company's lead antiviral therapeutic currently in a Phase 2 trial for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

23 Jul 2007

Scientists clarify molecular basis of interferon action

Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have made a significant discovery relating to viral infections in humans.

20 Jul 2007

Scientists invent novel low-viscosity gel for regenerating human tissue

University of Delaware scientists have invented a novel biomaterial with surprising antibacterial properties that can be injected as a low-viscosity gel into a wound where it rigidifies nearly on contact--opening the door to the possibility of delivering a targeted payload of cells and antibiotics to repair the damaged tissue.

19 Jul 2007

Protecting HIV patients from Hep B

Since the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) are so similar, individuals infected with one of these viruses are at a significantly increased risk for contracting the other.

19 Jul 2007