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77 more hepatitis cases may trace to clinic, officials say
LAS VEGAS -- Seventy-seven more people that were treated at a Las Vegas outpatient clinic have been diagnosed with hepatitis C, health officials said. Authorities can't say for sure how the 77 people were infected, said Brian Labus, senior epidemiologist

77 more hepatitis cases may trace to clinic at center of Las Vegas outbreak, officials say
AM LAS VEGAS-Seventy-seven more people that were treated at a Las Vegas outpatient clinic accused of reusing syringes on thousands of people have been diagnosed with Hepatitis C, health officials said. Authorities cannot say for sure how the 77 people

77 more hepatitis cases may trace to clinic, officials say
Seventy-seven more people that were treated at a Las Vegas outpatient clinic have been diagnosed with hepatitis C, health officials said.Authorities can't say for sure how the 77 people were infected, said Brian Labus, senior epidemiologist with the


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Highly Effective Against HCV Genotype 1
When tested on people with Hepatitis C genotype 1, R7128 proved to be an effective addition to combination therapy after just four weeks' time. In addition to its anti-viral effect, polymerase inhibitor R7128 received good marks for safety and minimal...

Investigational Drug Beats Standard Therapy in Hepatitis C Study
A Phase IIa trial investigating triple combination therapy with PEGASYS, COPEGUS and Roche's investigational drug R1626, demonstrated a higher response rate than traditional combination therapy alone. While R1626's effectiveness and high barrier to resistance makes it a top Hepatitis C...

Hepatitis C Complications Helped by Maintenance Interferon
A four-year study confirms that low-dosage maintenance interferon therapy prevents disease progression in those with portal hypertension or cirrhosis from Hepatitis C....

J Hepatol 1998 Jul;29(1):29-35

Effect of ribavirin on virus load and quasispecies distribution in patients infected with Hepatitis C virus.

Lee JH, von Wagner M, Roth WK, Teuber G, Sarrazin C, Zeuzem S

Medizinische Klinik II, Klinikum der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitat, Frankfurt a.M., Germany.

BACKGROUND/AIMS:

The combination of ribavirin and interferon alfa has potent synergistic effects in the treatment of chronic Hepatitis C. The antiviral mechanism of ribavirin is unknown. We investigated whether a transient initial antiviral effect of ribavirin was sufficient to improve the response to interferon.

METHODS:

Fifteen HCV-infected patients (ten male, five female; mean age 45.4+/-11.0 years) treated with ribavirin (1000-1200 mg) and 17 untreated patients with chronic Hepatitis C (11 male, six female; mean age 45.6+/-9.9 years) were investigated. All patients were either non-responders to (n=19) or relapsed after (n=13) previous interferon treatment. Serum HCV-RNA concentrations and HCV quasispecies distribution were serially measured over 4 weeks by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis, respectively.

RESULTS:

In six of the 15 patients treated with ribavirin, but in none of the controls, serum alanine aminotransferase levels declined by at least 30%. Pretreatment HCV-RNA levels ranged from 5.0x10(5)-5.0x10(7) copies/ml. After initiation of ribavirin treatment, minor (0.5-1.0 log) or no changes (<0.5 log) in total Hepatitis C viremia were observed in ten and five patients, respectively. In HCV-infected patients without treatment 7/17 patients had minor and 10/17 no changes in viremia. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of the hypervariable region-1 of HCV was successful in 13/15 treated and in 17/17 untreated patients. Changes in HCV quasispecies according to the single-strand conformation polymorphism band pattern occurred in only one patient treated with ribavirin and in three of the untreated patients.

CONCLUSIONS:

Ribavirin monotherapy has no initial antiviral effect on total Hepatitis C viremia nor on HCV quasispecies. Unlike the rapid emergence of antiviral drug-resistant strains in HIV-infected patients, no viral escape phenomena are observed in HCV-infected patients treated with ribavirin.

PMID: 9696489, UI: 98359678

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