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The latest research & treatment news about Hepatitis C infection, diagnosis, symptoms and treatments here at Hepatitis-Central.com.

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Extended Drug Therapy for Hepatitis Is Challenged
Patients who do not initially respond to standard drug therapy for treatment of hepatitis C are unlikely to respond to long-term maintenance therapy as well, according to a new study. Yet many patients who do not at first respond to drugs are placed on

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) Release: Data Demonstrating Significant Efficacy of Viread(R) in Treating Chronic Hepatitis B Published in New England Journal of Medicine
FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced the publication of detailed 48-week data from two Phase III pivotal clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of its once-daily Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) for the

Interferon as long-term treatment for hepatitis C not effective
Results of the 3-year study, called the HALT-C (Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis) Trial, appear in today's issue of . The researchers found no difference in the rate of progression of liver disease among patients who received

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Hep C Study Reveals Taribavirin a Good Alternative to Ribavirin
At the end of a 48-week, Phase IIb study, taribavirin shows similar effectiveness as ribavirin in reducing Hepatitis C viral load. However, participants taking taribavirin had a significantly lower rate of anemia....

Schering-Plough Developing Potent Protease Inhibitor for Hepatitis C
An ongoing Phase IIa study on Schering-Plough's next generation Hepatitis C protease inhibitor is encouraging. According to the company, SCH 900518 is 10 times more potent than other medications in this class and is active against highly resistant Hepatitis C...

New Drug Finds Viral Hiding Spots
A new, experimental drug helps the immune system locate a virus by flagging cells that have turned inside out. Hepatitis C is among the viruses that could benefit from Bavituximab's unique strategy of exposing a virus in hiding....

What are the clinical consequences of acute Hepatitis B infection?

95% of adult patients who develop acute Hepatitis B will recover so that only less than 5% become persistently infected.

Fulminant hepatitis which has a high mortality rate unless liver transplantation occurs actually happens in only 1% or less of patients with acute Hepatitis B.

Of those patients who are persistently infected, the majority will be asymptomatic carriers although some patients will develop chronic hepatitis.

It is the group of patients who develop ongoing chronic hepatitis who are at risk of developing cirrhosis and ultimately dying from liver failure due to this.

All patients with chronic Hepatitis B, whether they have chronic hepatitis or are asymptomatic carriers, are at risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma.

However in Western societies the majority of patients who do develop liver cell cancer have pre-existing cirrhosis.

Serology

Serologically in chronic Hepatitis B what one sees is a high titer of Hepatitis B surface antigen over weeks to years. This is unlike the case in acute Hepatitis B where surface antigen levels drop off within a period of weeks and become undetectable with the appearance of surface antibody.

Chronic carriers do not develop protective levels of Hepatitis B surface antibody. Core antibody is detectable in chronic carriers, usually this is of the IgG fraction. Core IgM antibody can be found in either acute Hepatitis B or in the reactivation of Hepatitis B in a chronic carrier.

Also characteristically in chronic Hepatitis B carriers, Hepatitis Be antigen and Hepatitis B viral DNA remain detectable in serum over months to years. In liver cells Hepatitis B DNA exists in a non-integrated or episomal form. After a period of many years, for reasons that are not totally understood, Hepatitis B DNA integrates into the host genome and at that point viral replication drops off.

Hepatitis B DNA is no longer detectable in serum and e antigen converts to e antibody.

However patients do remain Hepatitis B surface antigen positive. The spontaneous clearance of Hepatitis B surface antigen occurs in Eastern populations at 0.5 to 0.8% per annum.

In Western societies this is slightly higher at 1-2% per annum, but overall spontaneous clearance of Hepatitis B surface antigen is uncommon.

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Updated 05 Dec 2008