Factors Affecting Spontaneous Clearance of Hep C Identified

For individuals with acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, female gender, IL28B CC genotype, and HCV genotype 1 are independently linked to spontaneous clearance, according to research published online Aug. 2 in Hepatology.

Women have higher rate of spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus

A study of patients infected with acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection found that women had higher rates of spontaneous viral clearance—undetectable levels of the virus without initiating drug therapy. Findings published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, indicate that the gene IL28B (rs12979860) and HCV genotype 1 are also independent predictors of spontaneous HCV clearance.

Hepatitis C: Unexpected results from a clinical trial of coffee

Germs such as hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infect and injure the liver. Long-term or chronic infection with either of these viruses can cause inflammation and healthy liver tissue is replaced with useless scar tissue. Prolonged increased levels of liver enzymes in the blood occur, suggestive of ongoing liver injury. Gradually the liver becomes increasingly dysfunctional and serious complications develop. As liver injury spreads throughout this organ, the risk of some liver cells developing abnormally and transforming into pre-cancer and cancer increases.

Liver Cancer Due to Chronic Inflammation: Tumor Growth Follows Programmed Cell Death (Apoptosis)

Liver cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma, HCC) usually arises as the result of a chronic, inflammatory liver disease. The most common causes here are excessive alcohol consumption as well as a high-fat diet and also chronic infection with the hepatitis viruses B and C. In the course of the inflammatory process, the liver cells (hepatocytes) die more frequently due to programmed cell death. The result is increased cell growth, also referred to as compensatory proliferation, which can lead to tumour development.

Study examines ways to restore immunity to chronic hepatitis C infection

The hepatitis C virus hijacks the body's immune system, leaving T cells unable to function. A new study in animal models suggests that blocking a protein that helps the virus thrive could restore immune function, allowing the body to fight infection. The work, led by teams at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and Emory University, was published online Aug. 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C, and inflammatory biomarkers in individuals with alcohol problems: a cross-sectional study

Background

Assessing whether hepatitis C (HCV) co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is associated with increased inflammation is complex. The liver, integral to inflammatory biomarker synthesis, is compromised by HCV and alcohol abuse. Using single liver-synthesized biomarkers (e.g. C-reactive protein) to represent inflammation may not be appropriate in HIV/HCV co-infection. We hypothesized that 1) detectable HIV/HCV RNA was independently associated with increased inflammation; 2) a composite inflammation measure describes inflammation differently from single inflammatory biomarkers.

Interferon-free combo controls difficult Hep C cases

HealthDay News -- Among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) who have unfavorable treatment characteristics a two-drug interferon-free regimen was effective at maintaining a sustained virologic response, researchers found.

A 24-week combination regimen of sofosbuvir and weight-based or low-dose ribavirin was associated with a sustained virologic response to treatment of 68% and 48%, respectively, among patients deemed unlikely to respond to treatment, Anuoluwapo Osinusi, MD, MPH, from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and colleagues reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Combination drug regimen may benefit patients with hepatitis C

Treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection with the interferon-free regimen of sofosbuvir and ribavirin resulted in a high sustained virologic response rate in a patient population with unfavorable treatment characteristics, according to a study in the August 28 issue of JAMA.

Medivir Announces Interim Results from Cohort 2 of the COSMOS Study Evaluating Simeprevir and Sofosbuvir in HCV Patients with METAVIR Scores F3-F4

Regulatory news:

Medivir AB (OMX: MVIR) (STO:MVIR-B) today announced interim results from the second Cohort in the ongoing COSMOS study evaluating a once daily combination of simeprevir and sofosbuvir in hard to cure hepatitis C (HCV) patients.

New Drug Combo Helps Hard-to-Treat Hepatitis C

Combining an old drug with an experimental one may cure many cases of hard-to-treat hepatitis C -- without the harsh side effects of the standard regimen, a U.S. government study finds.

Experts said the study, reported in the Aug. 28 Journal of the American Medical Association, is an important research step. It focused on patients who often do not respond well to the current hepatitis C drug regimen because they already had liver damage, harbored a particularly stubborn strain of the virus or had other "unfavorable treatment characteristics."

Investigational oral regimen for hepatitis C shows promise in NIH trial

Side effects minimized with combination therapy in hard-to-treat patients.

In a study of an all-oral drug regimen, a majority of volunteers with liver damage due to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were cured following a six-month course of therapy that combined an experimental drug, sofosbuvir, with the licensed antiviral drug ribavirin. The results showed that the regimen was highly effective in clearing the virus and well tolerated in a group of patients who historically have had unfavorable prognoses.

ART adherence, heart disease key in whether anti-HCV therapy begins

Good adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) raised chances that HIV/HCV-coinfected people would start anti-HCV therapy, according to results of a 479-person study in France. Having children or having cardiovascular disease or respiratory distress lowered chances that anti-HCV therapy would begin.

Hepatitis C drug race: Boehringer Ingelheim reports modest results

New experimental drugs designed to cure the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are showing remarkable success rates. According to The New England Journal of Medicine, pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim reported that its new anti-HCV drug combination showed modest results when compared to competing drugs.

Faldaprevir + Deleobuvir All-oral Regimen Works Well Against Genotype 1b HCV

An interferon-free combination of the direct-acting antivirals faldaprevir and deleobuvir with ribavirin cured hepatitis C in a majority of patients treated for 12 to 40 weeks, but outcomes were significantly better for people with HCV genotype 1b, researchers reported in the August 15, 2013, New England Journal of Medicine.

Novel biomarker could potentially lead to early detection of liver fibrosis

Chronic liver disease is a leading cause of death in the United States, in part because it often causes the formation of harmful scar tissue - a process known as fibrosis. A study published by Cell Press in the journal Immunity reveals the central role the immune molecule interleukin 33 (IL-33) plays in the formation of liver fibrosis. The findings suggest that drugs targeting this molecule could serve as a new treatment strategy to protect against liver fibrosis.

Caffeinated drinks may be good for the liver

Researchers have discovered that an increased caffeine intake may reduce the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, according to a study published in the journal Hepatology.

A team from the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS) and the Duke University School of Medicine used cell culture and mice as models for the effects of caffeine on the liver disease.

Medivir makes strategic decision to focus proprietary hepatitis C R&D efforts exclusively on nucleotide-based polymerase inhibitors

Medivir AB (OMX: MVIR) today announced that it will focus its proprietary hepatitis C (HCV) research and development efforts exclusively on nucleotide-based polymerase inhibitors.

Medivir had been working on the discovery and development of new HCV nucleotide-based inhibitors and NS5A inhibitors (NS5A replication complex inhibitor) to enable additional potential interferon-free combinations.

Interferon-free regimens effective for hepatitis C virus genotype 1

An interferon-free regimen of faldaprevir, deleobuvir, and ribavirin proved to be effective in a phase II clinical trial involving 362 patients with previously untreated chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection, according to a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The new combination therapy achieved sustained virologic response rates of 52%-69% 12 weeks after treatment was completed, reported Dr. Stefan Zeuzem of Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Medical Center, Frankfurt am Main (Germany), and his associates (N. Engl. J. Med. 2013;369:630-9).

Advanced fibrosis raised risk for decompensation in HIV/HCV coinfection

Hepatitis C therapy is necessary in patients with advanced fibrosis who are coinfected with hepatitis C and HIV because they are at risk for liver decompensations, researchers in Spain have suggested.

“Liver fibrosis progresses fast among HIV/HCV-coinfected patients and, as a consequence, after the first decompensation patients die soon,” the researchers wrote in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

More Drugs Show Promise in Fighting Hepatitis C

Faldaprevir and deleobuvir are part of effort to develop treatments that avoid harsh side effects.

An experimental drug duo may cure some cases of the liver disease hepatitis C, without the severe side effects of standard therapy, a new clinical trial suggests.

The study, of 362 people with chronic hepatitis C, found that the new drugs -- combined with one older drug -- cleared the virus from up to 69 percent of patients. And that was without having to use interferon, a difficult-to-take injection drug that is part of the current therapy.