Research & Treatment News
August 29, 2011
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Showing potential to be a monotherapy for chronic Hepatitis C infection, the FDA has awarded Pharmasset with fast track status for its drug in development, PSI-938.
Pharmasset hepatitis drug may get faster review
The Associated Press August 24, 2011
PRINCETON, N.J.
Pharmasset Inc. said Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration has awarded fast track status to its hepatitis C drug candidate PSI-938.
The FDA's decision will allow Pharmasset to submit its marketing application step by step instead of all at once. Regulators will also have the option to review the application in six months instead of the usual 10 months.
Continue reading this entire article:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9PAHRT01.htm
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August 24, 2011
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For people new to treatment and those who have failed a previous treatment attempt, Vertex's Incivek can now be prescribed to Canadians with chronic Hepatitis C.
Vertex Pharma Says Health Canada Okays INCIVEK For People With Hepatitis C
8/22/2011
(RTTNews) - Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX: News ) Monday said Health Canada has approved INCIVEK, or telaprevir, tablets for people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C with compensated liver disease, including cirrhosis.
INCIVEK is approved for use in combination with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin, two other medicines approved to treat hepatitis C. It is indicated for people who are new to treatment, and for people who were treated previously but who did not achieve a sustained viral response.
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http://www.rttnews.com/Content/CanadianNews.aspx?Id=1697262&SM=1
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August 18, 2011
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Hepatitis C patients in the UK can now increase their odds of beating the virus with Victrelis.
Pill targeting hepatitis C launched
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
A new pill that directly targets hepatitis C for the first time has been launched in the UK.
In clinical trials, adding Victrelis to standard therapy increased the number of chronic patients freed from the virus up to threefold.
Continue reading this entire article:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/pill-targeting-hepatitis-c-launched-16034629.html
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August 16, 2011
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One of the biochemical consequences of physical activity helps those with Hepatitis C maintain their liver's health.
by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.
We've all heard it before - the key to longevity is eating right and exercising. This sentiment has been repeated so many times that its meaning doesn't seem to carry much weight anymore. Since lifestyle choices can be extremely influential on the progression of chronic Hepatitis C infection, people with this virus are especially likely to receive advice on nutrition and exercise. Instead of allowing food and activity advice to get lost into a repetitive fog, a new perspective on one of these elements may inspire a renewed commitment to liver health.
Aside from receiving orders on how to live one's life, more detailed information about why certain lifestyle adjustments help fight Hepatitis C can motivate people to create new habits. This is particularly poignant when realizing how regular exercise initiates a chemical change in the body that is paramount to staying healthy with Hepatitis C.
Antioxidants and Hepatitis C
In learning how to navigate wellness with a progressive liver virus like Hepatitis C, discovering the role of antioxidants to combat cellular oxidation is inevitable.
Cellular oxidation occurs when oxygen or disease excessively breaks down a substance, producing free radicals (negatively charged electrons no longer attached to their atoms). Free radicals create chemical instability that invites another atom or molecule to easily bond with it. The result of this invitation is a cellular-altering chemical reaction that is capable of damaging cell walls, cellular structures and the genetic material inside cells. This process (cellular oxidation) is readily seen in Hepatitis C's deterioration of liver tissue.
The antithesis of oxidation, antioxidants reduce, neutralize and prevent the damage inflicted by free radicals. They primarily accomplish this feat by safely interacting with free radicals to end the oxidative process before damage is inflicted.
Glutathione
Sometimes referred to as the king of antioxidants, glutathione is a vital, potent substance for maintaining liver health. It differs from other antioxidants in that it is actually resides inside cells, so it is in the best position to neutralize free radicals. Clinical studies have demonstrated that many with Hepatitis C have alarmingly low levels of glutathione. This could be because:
1. The continual damage by Hepatitis C consumes glutathione, thus increasing demand for it.
2. Hepatitis C leads to a deficiency of raw materials needed to synthesize glutathione.
3. The Hepatitis C virus could interfere with glutathione formation.
Any combination of the above three reasons could be the cause of low glutathione in the presence of chronic Hepatitis C. Regardless of how it occurs, insufficient glutathione levels reduce the liver's ability to protect itself, enhancing the probability of liver damage.
Why Exercise Boosts Glutathione
Armed with the understanding that people with Hepatitis C have a lot to gain from greater amounts of glutathione, our attention turns to making that happen. Because glutathione is produced in the body, it is not easily absorbed when taken orally. Instead, supplementing with glutathione precursors like N-Acetyl L-Cysteine (NAC) can be used by the body to increase production of glutathione.
Another way to boost glutathione levels is to get plenty of exercise. This is because exercise exponentially increases the amount of adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) in the body's cells. Known by scholars as the chemical basis for energy and chemical reactions in the body, ATP is needed to produce glutathione.
Aerobic exercise involves repeated, rhythmic movement of the body's large muscle groups and maximizes the amount of oxygen in the blood. Muscle activity longer than 90 seconds depends on aerobic cellular respiration. As it turns out, aerobic exercise is the most efficient way (via aerobic cellular respiration) for the body to manufacture ATP. Thus, aerobic activity indirectly boosts the body's glutathione levels, improving a liver's resilience against free radicals and Hepatitis C damage.
Understanding the science behind a physician's seemingly standard recommendation can change a patient's perspective. With renewed appreciation of the chemistry behind rigorous physical activity, hopefully those with Hepatitis C will view exercise more as a prescription than a mere suggestion.
References:
http://proteinpowder.mercola.com/Miracle-Whey-Protein.html, "How to Burn Toxins Out of Your Body as You Eat Breakfast", Dr. Joseph Mercola, Retrieved May 2, 2010, proteinpowder.mercola.com, 2010.
http://www.hepatitis-central.com/mt/archives/2007/02/why_antioxidant.html, Why Antioxidants are Important for Hepatitis C Patients, Nicole Cutler, L.Ac., Retrieved May 2, 2010, Natural Wellness, 2010.
http://www.hepatitis-central.com/mt/archives/2007/07/hcv_and_the_bod.html, HCV and the Body's Most Important Antioxidant, Nicole Cutler, L.Ac., Retrieved May 2, 2010, Natural Wellness, 2010.
http://www.lef.org/protocols/immune_connective_joint/immune_system_01.htm, Immune System Strengthening, Retrieved May 2, 2010, Life Extension Foundation, 2010.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8946988, Hepatic glutathione deficiency in chronic hepatitis C: quantitative evaluation in patients who are HIV positive and HIV negative and correlations with plasmatic and lymphocytic concentrations and with the activity of the liver disease, Barbaro G, et al, Retrieved May 2, 2010, The American Journal of Gastroenterology, December 1996.
Posted by Editors at 11:28 AM --- Printer-friendly version
August 15, 2011
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Researchers in different countries make two liver cancer discoveries, progress that could have a positive impact on people with advanced chronic Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C.
by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.
Millions of Americans are currently living with chronic Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C, viral illnesses that can cause significant damage to the liver. Unfortunately, chronic viral hepatitis is the most prominent risk factor for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a primary liver cancer. Extraordinarily hard to treat, hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most perilous types of cancer possible. However, two newly released studies that examined liver cancer on molecular levels could lead to improved treatments - a potential relief to many people with advanced Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C.
About Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Primary liver cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the cells of the liver. It occurs when liver cells develop mutations in their DNA - material that contains genetic instructions for every chemical process in the body. DNA mutations cause changes in these instructions. If this instructional change results in cells growing out of control, they can form a cancerous tumor.
Additional facts about primary liver cancer include:
• Beginning in the hepatocytes, HCC is the most common form of primary liver cancer.
• Worldwide, chronic infection with hepatitis causes 80 percent of all primary liver cancers.
• Worldwide, more than 500,000 people die each year from primary liver cancer.
• HCC is the third leading cancer-related cause of death and the seventh most common form of cancer worldwide.
HCC is typically diagnosed late in the course of viral hepatitis infection. New, progressive treatments are slowly becoming available for primary liver cancer; however, the five-year survival rate is only about 10 percent.
Two Liver Cancer Studies
Published in different medical journals in July of 2011, two completely separate research teams discovered something new about liver cancer:
1. Genetic Variant - As published in the July 3, 2011, online edition of Nature Genetics, Japanese researchers analyzed 467,538 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 212 Japanese individuals with chronic Hepatitis C with HCC and 765 individuals with chronic Hepatitis C without HCC. They found that a common genetic variant (within the DEPDC5 locus) increases susceptibility to HCC. According to the study's authors, this discovery deepens our understanding of the mechanisms triggering HCC and provides a valuable target for new primary liver cancer therapies.
2. Cancer Stem Cells - As published in the July 8, 2011 edition of the journal Cell Stem Cell, Hong Kong researchers found that mice implanted with liver cancer enriched with CD24 cancer stem cells were resistant to chemotherapy. The researchers described CD24 to be like a switch on some cancer stem cells. Once switched on, they activate a protein called STAT3, which instructs the cell to form tumors, spread and be drug resistant.
In people with liver cancer, the investigators determined that those with high concentrations of CD24 had a 67 percent chance of cancer recurrence in the first year after surgery, compared to 21 percent recurrence in those with a low CD24 count. Thus, research focusing on inhibiting CD24 cancer stem cells and the protein STAT3 could represent a new therapeutic avenue for treating primary liver cancer.
Between interpreting genetic variants and measuring cancer stem cells, molecular biologists are making headway against primary liver cancer. Currently, hepatocellular carcinoma looms as a potentially fatal end to advanced chronic Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C infection. But the two research studies described above could change this by leading to better therapies that improve the prognosis of primary liver cancer.
References:
http://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/abstract/S1934-5909%2811%2900291-8, CD24+ Liver Tumor-Initiating Cells Drive Self-Renewal and Tumor Initiation through STAT3-Mediated NANOG Regulation, Terence K.W. Lee, et al, Retrieved July 10, 2011, Cell Stem Cell, July 2011.
http://www.hepb.org/professionals/hepb_and_liver_cancer.htm, Hepatitis B and Primary Liver Cancer, Retrieved July 10, 2011, Hepatitis B Foundation, 2011.
http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/news/2011/0708_2011_b.html, Gene Variation Linked to Liver Cancer in Hepatitis C Patients, Retrieved July 10, 2011, hivandhepatitis.com, 2011.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/liver-cancer/DS00399/DSECTION=causes, Liver Cancer, Retrieved July 10, 2011, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2011.
http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.876.html, Variation in the DEPDC5 locus is associated with progression to hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis C virus carriers, Daiki Miki, et al, Retrieved July 10, 2011, Nature Genetics, July 2011.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/07/cancer-liver-stemcells-idUSL3E7I710L20110707, Experts find rogue stem cells in liver cancer, Tan Ee Lyn, Retrieved July 10, 2011, Thomson Reuters, 2011.
http://www.riken.go.jp/engn/r-world/info/release/press/2011/110704_2/index.html, Genetic variant linked to development of liver cancer in hepatitis C virus carriers, Retrieved July 10, 2011, Riken, Japan, 2011.
http://www.uptodate.com/contents/staging-and-prognostic-factors-in-hepatocellular-carcinoma, Staging and prognostic factors in hepatocellular carcinoma, Steven A. Curley, MD, FACS, Retrieved July 10, 2011, UpToDate, Inc., 2011.
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/understanding-liver-cancer-basic-information, Understanding Liver Cancer - The Basics, Retrieved July 10, 2011, WebMD, LLC, 2011.
Posted by Editors at 11:33 AM --- Printer-friendly version
August 9, 2011
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Despite a less than uplifting prognosis for those with chronic Hepatitis C, it is not a death sentence.
by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.
Receiving a diagnosis of chronic Hepatitis C can easily feel like a death sentence. That's understandable considering that this infectious disease is hard to cure, is capable of progressively damaging the liver and can lead to a handful of fatal conditions. However, a new study demonstrates that Hepatitis C is far from a fatal illness, as it is surprisingly less lethal than most people realize.
An estimated four to five million Americans are currently living with Hepatitis C. With so many people affected, there is a growing demand to learn as much as we can about this virus and dispel the myths surrounding it.
About Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a contagious virus that infects the liver, possibly leading to permanent liver damage, cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. This virus is notoriously challenging for two main reasons:
1. It's hard to detect - Because its symptoms are either non-existent or vague and easily mistaken for something else, Hepatitis C is easy to miss. Many infected individuals first learn that they have Hepatitis C after years or even decades of living with it. Unfortunately, a large percentage of newly diagnosed individuals already have advanced liver disease upon learning they have Hepatitis C.
2. It's hard to treat - Hepatitis C is a particularly tenacious virus, hence the vast resources the pharmaceutical industry has plunged into improving their weapons against it. For decades, the standard treatment for Hepatitis was interferon and ribavirin - a drug combo that effectively eliminated the virus in about 50 percent of patients. New medications recently approved are expected to increase those odds; however, Hepatitis C is still extremely adept at evading treatment.
The Study on Hepatitis C and Cause of Death
A retrospective study described in the May 11, 2011, Journal of Hepatology, analyzed specific causes of death among people with chronic Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. The study authors looked at medical records of people with chronic Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C in New South Wales, Australia, over a 14-year span - between 1992 and 2006.
Upon looking at the medical records of over 128,000 people, Scott Walter and colleagues found that Hepatitis C is not as deadly as previously thought. To start with, the researchers found that cancer rates were significantly higher among those with Hepatitis B than those with Hepatitis C. More specifically, having Hepatitis B was found to be significantly more likely to lead to primary liver cancer than Hepatitis C. Most people assume that dying with Hepatitis C is a result of harm the virus has caused the liver. But the Australian researchers found otherwise. In fact, 72 percent of the deaths in subjects with Hepatitis C were from a drug overdose or suicide - not advanced liver disease.
The predominant fear most people have when managing chronic Hepatitis C is that their infection will cause irreparable and life-threatening damage to the liver. Thankfully, this newly released retrospective study demonstrates that the risk of dying from a Hepatitis C complication is relatively low.
During their battle against Hepatitis C, just over a quarter of those who lose their life die from advanced liver disease. Such data should help us direct our attention to the most common reasons those with Hepatitis C die; a drug overdose and suicide. Perhaps funneling resources into drug addiction treatment programs and suicide prevention for those with this disease could make an equally important contribution to the fight against Hepatitis C than the pharmaceutical company's race to defeat this troublesome virus. In addition, this information demonstrates that most people who die with Hepatitis C do not die from Hepatitis C - meaning that being diagnosed with this virus is not a death sentence.
References:
http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/news/2011/0617_2011_a.html, Causes of Death Among People with Hepatitis B and C, James Learned, Retrieved June 22, 2011, hivandhepatitis.com, 2011.
http://www.jhep-elsevier.com/article/S0168-8278%2810%2900945-1/abstract, Trends in mortality after diagnosis of hepatitis B or C infection: 1992-2006, Scott R. Walker, et al, Retrieved June 22, 2011, Journal of Hepatology, May 2011.
http://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/hepc-guide/hepatitis-c-topic-overview, Hepatitis Health, Center, Retrieved June 26, 2011, WebMD, LLC, 2011.
Posted by Editors at 10:01 AM --- Printer-friendly version
August 8, 2011
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In animal subjects, French researchers developing a preventive Hepatitis C vaccine announced success; hopefully human trials will follow.
New Approach a Step Forward for Hepatitis C Vaccine
From U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
August 5, 2011
French researchers on Wednesday reported early results on an experimental vaccine against hepatitis C virus. Several companies are developing therapeutic vaccines for those already infected, focused on T-cells, but there is no preventive vaccine to date. In the new study, the preventive HCV vaccine was successful in mice and monkeys, inducing immune system proteins known as neutralizing antibodies (NAbs).
"For a preventive vaccine, neutralizing antibodies are absolutely essential, and for a therapeutic product they would also be a big advantage," said David Klatzmann, a member of the research team.
Continue reading this entire article:
http://www.thebody.com/content/63378/new-approach-a-step-forward-for-hepatitis-c-vaccin.html
Posted by Editors at 3:18 PM --- Printer-friendly version
August 2, 2011
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In a trial called Zenith, Vertex finds that a combination of four drugs knocked out Hepatitis C in half of participants in just 12 weeks.
Vertex 4-drug hepatitis C combo shows promise
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Treatment combines VX-222, Incivek and 2 older drugs
* Half of patients on treatment rid of virus in 12 weeks
* Vertex shares fall 0.6 percent (Adds analyst comment, safety details, background, updates shares)
CHICAGO, July 26 (Reuters) - As many as half of hepatitis C patients in a small midstage trial who received a four-drug combination, including two Vertex Pharmaceuticals medicines, were able to stop treatment after just 12 weeks, according to interim results from the study.
Vertex on Tuesday released preliminary results of the trial, which added the company's experimental oral drug VX-222 to its recently approved Incivek pill and the traditional standard treatments of pegylated interferon and ribaviron.
Continue reading this entire article:
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/vertex-4-drug-hepatitis-c-combo-shows-promise
Posted by Editors at 10:29 AM --- Printer-friendly version
