Heplink - Hepatitis Links Portal News

Viral Hepatitis

The word "hepatitis" means inflammation of the liver and also refers to a group of viral infections that affect the liver. The most common types are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C.
Viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer and the most common reason for liver transplantation. In the United States, an estimated 1.2 million Americans are living with chronic Hepatitis B and 3.2 are living with chronic Hepatitis C. Many do not know they are infected. Each year an estimated 25,000 persons become infected with Hepatitis A; 43,000 with Hepatitis B, and 17,000 with Hepatitis C.

Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a viral infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus, or HAV. It is not a long-lasting or chronic infection.

Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus, or HBV. Chronic hepatitis B can lead to potentially fatal liver diseases such as cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer.

Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus, or HCV. Chronic hepatitis C can lead to potentially fatal liver diseases such as cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer.

Hepatitis D
Hepatitis D is a serious liver disease caused by the Hepatitis D virus (HDV). It is uncommon in the United States, and only occurs among people who are infected with the Hepatitis B virus. The transmission of HDV is similar to how HBV is spread and requires contact with infectious blood. There is no vaccine for Hepatitis D.

Hepatitis E
Hepatitis E is a serious liver disease caused by the Hepatitis E virus (HEV). Hepatitis E is common in many parts of the world. HEV is similar to Hepatitis A, in that it is spread in similar ways and usually results in an acute infection. It is transmitted from ingestion of fecal matter, even in microscopic amounts, and is usually associated with contaminated water supply in countries with poor sanitation. There is currently no FDA-approved vaccine for Hepatitis E

Liver Cancer
Liver cancer refers to the growth of malignant tumors in liver tissue.

G.J. Dore from the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues evaluated the efficacy of treating recent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in IDUs with acute or early-chronic hepatitis C. The investigators analyzed data from 167 participants in the Australian Trial in Acute Hepatitis C, a prospective study of the natural history and treatment of patients with recent HCV infection, enrolled between June 2004 and February 2008. Most (79%) reported injecting drugs within the previous 6 months. Eligible participants received their first positive HCV antibody test within the prior 6 months and had either acute clinical hepatitis C within the past 12 months or documented HCV antibody seroconversion within the past 24 months. Tell me more...

Like HIV, hepatitis B virus is a sexually transmitted infection, and men who have sex with men are at elevated risk. Prior studies indicate that sexual transmission is uncommon among HBV monoinfected people who suppress serum HBV DNA to an undetectable level with antiviral therapy. However, research has shown that HIV RNA can remain in the semen even after it falls to an undetectable level in the blood with antiretroviral therapy.
Ann Marie Liapakis from New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and colleagues aimed to determine whether HBV DNA -- like HIV RNA -- would remain detectable in the semen of HIV positive and negative men with chronic hepatitis B who achieved serum HBV viral load suppression with nucleotide antiviral therapy that penetrates the semen compartment. Tell me more...

Novartis licenses alisporivir, a new drug that is currently in Phase IIb development, for the treatment of Hepatitis C.
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Novartis /quotes/comstock/13*!nvs/quotes/nls/nvs (NVS 53.73, +0.02, +0.04%) /quotes/comstock/06p!novn (CH:NOVN 57.80, 0.00, 0.00%) said it has licensed Debio 025, or alisporivir, a potential first-in-class antiviral agent currently in Phase IIb development for the treatment of hepatitis C. Debio 025 is the first in a new class of drugs called cyclophilin inhibitors which could become part of the future standard of care for the disease. Tell me more...

Advance that could allow scientists to develop and test new treatments for the disease
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Researchers at MIT and Rockefeller University have successfully grown hepatitis C virus in otherwise healthy liver cells in the laboratory, an advance that could allow scientists to develop and test new treatments for the disease.
About 200 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C, which can lead to liver failure or cancer, and existing drugs are not always effective. To develop better treatments, researchers need to test them in laboratory experiments in liver cells, but it has been difficult to create a suitable tissue model because healthy liver cells tend to lose their liver functions when removed from the body.
Previously, researchers have been able to induce cancerous liver cells to survive and reproduce outside the body, but those cells are not sufficient for studying hepatitis C because their responses to infection are different from those of normal liver cells.
Now, Bhatia, in collaboration with Charles Rice of the Rockefeller University, has developed a way to maintain liver cells for four to six weeks by precisely arranging them on a specially patterned plate. The cells can be infected with hepatitis C for two to three weeks, giving researchers the chance to study the cells' responses to different drugs. Tell me more...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- As many as 5.3 million people in the United States have hepatitis B or C but most are unaware until they develop liver cancer or liver disease, researchers say.
An Institute of Medicine study found hepatitis is not widely recognized as a serious public health problem, and as a result, viral hepatitis prevention, control and surveillance programs have inadequate resources.
The report concludes the current approach to prevention and control of chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C is not working.
The Institute of Medicine recommends increased knowledge and awareness about chronic viral hepatitis among healthcare providers, social service providers and the public; improved surveillance for hepatitis B and hepatitis C; and better integration of viral hepatitis services. Tell me more...

DENVER — Colorado regulators won't license surgery technicians, despite the recent case of a surgery tech who admitted stealing syringes filled with a painkiller and infecting three dozen people with hepatitis C.
The state Department of Regulatory Agencies said in a review announced Tuesday that it found no evidence of widespread competency-related harm caused by surgery technicians.
The review came after a 27-year-old drug-addicted former surgery tech admitted stealing painkiller at hospitals in Denver and ColoradoThat surgery tech, Kristen Diane Parker, awaits sentencing next month after a judge rejected a deal that would have put her in prison for 20 years. Tell me more...

Hepatitis C is known as the “silent killer.” In the early stages, a person may complain of fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle aches or fever, according to medicinenet.com. Yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice) is rare at this early stage of infection. But over time, the liver begins to fail, which brings more problems in itself, and a person infected becomes weak, loses appetite, loses weight, develops rashes on the palms and experiences difficulty with clotting blood. Hepatitis C, which unlike Hepatitis A and B, has no vaccine and no cure. Tell me more...