Hepatitis Newsline
By MELLY ALAZRAKI Posted 4:45 PM 04/14/10:
Achillion (ACHN), a small biopharmaceutical that focuses on infectious disease, knows the story about hepatitis C very well. A liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV), viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer and the most common reason for a liver transplant. An estimated 4.1 million Americans are infected with the HCV with 17,000 new cases annually. And the disease causes an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 deaths annually in the U.S.
Currently, few therapeutic options exist, and that's where Achillion comes in. Existing treatments aren't always effective and have considerable side effects. Achillion is among the drug companies developing a new class of drugs known as protease inhibitors, which target an enzyme that breaks down the protein and facilitates production of the new viruses. By blocking the virus's functioning, protease inhibitors interfere with continued infection.
KTLA News 9:21 a.m. PDT, September 4, 2010
PHOENIX, Ariz.
Standup comedian Robert Schimmel, who was a frequent guest on Howard Stern's radio show and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" has died from injuries he suffered in a car accident in Phoenix.
Schimmel's spokesman, Howard Bragman, said the 60-year-old died Friday evening in a Phoenix hospital.
The car accident happened Thursday. Schimmel was a passenger in a car driven by his 19-year-old daughter Aliyah.
Aliyah Schimmel apparently swerved to avoid another car and her car rolled over off to the side of the freeway.
She remains hospitalized in stable condition.
Robert Schimmel lived in Scottsdale.
Besides his standup appearances, he's famous for his 2008 memoir, "Cancer on $5 a Day." It chronicles his battle with non- Hodgkin's lymphoma.
The New York Times, August 8, 2010
Betty Stevenson, a hepatitis C patient and former heroin addict, speaking about how the Oasis program helped save her life.
The new drugs, which could start reaching the market as early as next year, could help subdue a virus that infects roughly four million Americans, most of them baby boomers, and 170 million people worldwide.
"I almost think this will be revolutionary, to be honest," said Dr. Fred Poordad, chief of hepatology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. "We are chomping at the bit to try to treat as many patients as we can.?
About two dozen pharmaceutical companies are now pursuing drugs for hepatitis C, which an executive at Vertex Pharmaceuticals recently called ?one of the largest pharmaceutical opportunities this decade."
Hepatitis A, B or C Facts and Figures
Unfortunately, those of us who have been diagnosed with hepatitis often don't initially know which kind of hepatitis our doctors are talking about.
This is a common occurrence and typically happens because the doctors haven't gotten complete and thorough results from the bloodwork*.
*Here is a link to help with understanding blood testing for Hepatitis.
Hepatitis literally means "inflammation of the liver" from the Greek "hepar," meaning liver, and "titis," meaning swelling or inflammation.
So generally speaking, if you are diagnosed with hepatitis, it means your liver is swollen, inflamed, enlarged, irritated, or all of the above.
Additionally, it may not be functioning to the best of its abilities, removing toxins, metabolizing food and medications, and distributing energy to your body.
There are 5 main reasons for this condition:
(though others are possible)
1) a viral infection?viral hepatitis A,B, and C
(or very rarely hepatitis D-H)
2) excessive alcohol use/abuse
3) drug intoxication/interactions
4) overweight/obese physical condition
5) autoimmune disorders
Hepatitis A, B, and C are diseases caused by 3 different viruses, yet they can result in similar symptoms, although the modes of transmission are different.
For the purposes if this website, we?ll talk about 3 Hepatitis conditions:
Hepatitis A, B, and C are caused by viruses, though each are different.
Hepatitis A can be a serious condition, but typically lasts 6 months or less and is preventable by vaccine. Hepatitis A appears as an acute condition, meaning it lasts 6 months or less.
Hepatitis A is transmitted by ingesting fecal matter orally? eating contaminated vegetables and fruits or sexual practices, for example, can be a method of transmission. Hepatitis A, however, is not long lasting or chronic, and generally does not cause long-term damage to the liver.
| Fever | Abdominal Pain | Jaundice (yellowing) |
| Fatigue | Dark urine | Joint pain |
| Loss of appetite | Vomiting | Light colored bowel movement |
Information from the CDC in Washington, D.C., can be seen here:
Information from Dr. Melissa Palmer can be seen here:
Vaccination will not cure a person already infected with Hepatitis.
Chronic hepatitis is defined as an infection that lasts more than 6 months.
Hepatitis B is a more complicated subject and is transmitted 4 main ways:
1) contact with blood and/or blood products,
2) sexual contact,
3) transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, and
4) sharing/contact with household items such as razors, toothbrushes and the like.
Hepatitis B can be an extremely serious condition that can be prevented by vaccination, however, the vaccine will not help unless administered within 24 hours after the initial exposure.
800,000 to 1.4 million people are infected with Hepatitis B in the U.S. and globally, 350 million people are infected with Hepatitis B.
photo Federal Drug Administration
| Fever | Abdominal Pain | Jaundice (yellowing) |
| Fatigue | Dark urine | Joint pain |
| Loss of appetite | Vomiting | Light colored bowel movement |
Information from the CDC in Washington, D.C., is here:
Information from Dr. Melissa Palmer can be seen here:
Vaccination will not cure a person already infected with Hepatitis B unless it is administered within 24 hours of infection.
Chronic hepatitis is defined as an infection that lasts more than 6 months.
Hepatitis C is the most common cause for liver transplantation in the United States. About 4 million people in the U.S. are infected with the Hepatitis C virus, adding to an estimated total of about 350 million worldwide. Hepatitis C can range from a mild illness to a lifelong struggle with liver disease that can result in fatal liver disease and/or liver cancer.
One of the characteristics of Hepatitis C is the virus?s ability to lie dormant for decades, all the while advancing damage to the liver by inhibiting liver function, promoting liver cancer, and causing liver disease, known as cirrhosis. The result can be that a patient may be unaware of the Hepatitis C infection for many years, all the while damage is occurring, possibly irreversibly.
There is no vaccination available for Hepatitis C.
Here is a link to help with understanding blood testing for the Hepatitis C virus.
photo London Times staff
| Fever | Abdominal Pain | Jaundice (yellowing) |
| Fatigue | Dark urine | Joint pain |
| Loss of appetite | Vomiting | Light colored bowel movement |
Information from the CDC in Washington, D.C., is here:
Information from Dr. Melissa Palmer can be seen here:
National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable Applauds National AIDS Strategy's Recognition of HIV/HCV Coinfection
SUMMARY: The National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR) praised the inclusion of hepatitis B and C coinfection in the White House Office of National AIDS Policy's National HIV/AIDS Strategy released last week, given that an about 30% of HIV positive people also have HCV and approximately 10% also have HBV. The advocates also expressed hope that the administration will take a similar comprehensive approach to hepatitis B and C monoinfection, the latter of which affects about 4 times as many people as HIV.
Continue reading complete article at HIVandHepatitis.com here:
Sources:
Center for Diseases Control
Melissa Palmer, MD
Hepatitis A to G, Alan Berkman, MD.
www.hepatitis-central.com
Hepatitis C Resources
Let Billy Drop guide you while exploring the Hepatitis Community experience.
HCV-HIV co-infection:
Co-infection of Hepatitis C
and HIV is a growing problem within the Hepatitis C
and HIV communities.
Some statistics show that nearly 1 out of every 2 HIV positive patients are co-infected with the Hepatitis C virus.Clearly, the possibility of a 50% co-infection rate within the HIV community is not only alarming, but it can also dramatically dictate the course of treatment for the individual infected with both Hepatitis C and HIV.
Additionally, the question of funding and research dollars comes into play. . .
Christopher Kennedy Lawford talks about HEP C/HIV funding and statistics in an interview shot exclusively for theHepatitisCepidemic.com:
Meet Chris >>
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