Hepatitis B News and Research

Latest Hepatitis B News and Research

FDA scrutinise companies selling human tissue

Following an inspection blitz by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on companies which handle a variety of human material from deceased donors, no serious problems have apparently been unearthed.

13 Jun 2007

Cholera vaccine in a grain of rice

Japanese scientists have come up with a new strain of rice that carries a vaccine for cholera; they say the breakthrough will provide a cheaper and easier way of distributing the standard injection-based vaccine.

12 Jun 2007

Hepatitis C lookbacks

We can confirm that a review of patients' case notes in hospitals across England and Scotland has been carried out.

8 Jun 2007

Liver cancer drug Nexavar, a major breakthrough

A trial of an experimental drug to treat advanced liver cancer has helped extend patients lives by as much as three months.

4 Jun 2007

When HIV and liver disease co-exist

Since successful antiretroviral therapies have made HIV a treatable condition, more HIV patients who are also infected with hepatitis B or C are experiencing the progression of their liver disease.

3 Jun 2007

Liver cancer patients with high serum levels of hepatitis B virus face poorer outcomes

In the June issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), researchers report their findings from the first-ever study examining the prognostic value of serum HBV DNA levels for patients with liver cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

3 Jun 2007

JRRD releases issue on pain

Effects of depression and pain severity on satisfaction in medical outpatients: Analysis of the Medical Outcomes Study, pg. 143 Patient satisfaction is a critical measure of healthcare quality.

1 Jun 2007

H5N1 influenza virus survivors' antibodies effective at neutralising H5N1 strain

Adults who have recovered from the potentially deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza may hold the key to future treatments for the virus, according to an international team of researchers.

30 May 2007

Blood of bird flu survivors promises new treatment for the deadly virus

Scientists are optimistic that blood donated by four survivors of bird flu will offer some clues as to why some people appear to have protection against the deadly H5N1 virus.

29 May 2007

Wake-up call to physicians caring for hepatitis B patients

Many patients with chronic hepatitis B are deficient in their understanding of the lifelong disease and often do not comply with the drug regimens necessary to control it, according to a new UCLA survey that suggests improved patient involvement in disease management decisions could be the key to fixing this problem.

28 May 2007

Co-infection of HIV and HCV a significant health concern due to increasing prevalence

Researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have found that persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), who also have alcohol problems, were negatively affected by co-infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

28 May 2007

Life-time ban on gay men donating blood

Gay men in the United States will never be allowed to donate blood because of concerns over HIV, hepatitis C and other infections that can be passed on through blood transfusions.

25 May 2007

Magnetic resonance elastography enables noninvasive liver diagnoses

Two recent Mayo Clinic studies have found that magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), a new imaging technique invented at Mayo Clinic, is an accurate tool for non-invasive diagnosis of liver diseases.

24 May 2007

A cure for Hepatitis C using existing treatments

Researchers in the United States say they have discovered that people infected with hepatitis C can be cured with existing treatments.

23 May 2007

Cure for hepatitis C

The use of peginterferon alone, or in combination with ribavirin, points to a cure for hepatitis C, the leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer and the need for liver transplant, a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher said today.

22 May 2007

Newly discovered WU virus may explain some respiratory infections

An ongoing effort to identify the microorganisms that make us sick has discovered a new virus potentially linked to unexplained respiratory infections.

18 May 2007

Demand for VScan diagnostic test kits increases

Medical Services International Inc (Pink Sheets: MSITF) wishes to announce that as the mosquito season begins in different parts of the world; demand for the VScan diagnostic test kits that detect mosquito borne diseases is increasing. In particular, the demand is for VScan test kits that detect Malaria, Dengue Fever and West Nile.

18 May 2007