October 1, 2013

NY-Presbyterian/Columbia reports laparoscopic living donor liver retrieval for adults

HCV_NewsA team of surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center is the first in the country to report a fully laparoscopic hepatectomy - the removal of a portion of the liver - from a living adult donor for adult and teenage recipients. The procedure advances transplant surgery and offers hope for addressing the significant shortage of liver donors.

Treating HCV genotypes 2 and 3 in HIV/HCV co-infected people

fb2013_sept_icon_fb2People co-infected with HIV and HCV, mostly with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 3, responded about as well as HIV-negative people to interferon-based therapy after taking into account other factors associated with poor treatment response, according to an Italian study presented at the 53rd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) this month in Denver. Advanced liver fibrosis was common in the co-infected group, supporting the need for early treatment.

Hepatitis C screening should be expanded in Canada, study says

HCV_NewsIncidents of the disease, a major cause of cirrhosis of the liver, remain underdiagnosed, undertreated say medical experts.

Karen Robson says it is only because of her family physician’s thoroughness that she found out she had Hepatitis C.

Achillion stock plunges as FDA maintains clinical hold on hep C drug

HCV_NewsAchillion Pharmaceuticals Inc <ACHN.O> said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided not to lift a clinical hold it had placed on the firm's hepatitis C drug, sovaprevir, leaving an uncertain fate for the company's most promising drug.

The news caused Achillion's shares to plunge 45 percent in after-market trade on Friday.