Hepatitis C Newsletter Feb 2011

Read the hepc.bull - online monthly newsletter (.pdf)
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February 2011

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In This Issue

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Sexual Transmission

Is HCV transmitted sexually? The answer
is not as clear as we would like. Transmission
in monogamous, heterosexual couples is
considered to be 3% or less. There have been
outbreaks of HCV in mostly HIV-infected
males who engage in homosexual sex (MSM
or Men who have Sex with Men) in Europe,
but not in the US.

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Hep C Cocktails?

The pharmaceutical companies are taking
part in a race to bring the best Hep C drug to
market. According to an article on the Forbes
blog last November, Wall Street believes that
Vertex has a new product similar to Merck’s
new drug, but that Vertex’s seems to work a
bit better and that it should sell better. Both
companies presented data at a recent conference,
and await FDA approval. Merck’s Boceprevir
is the only drug that has shown to
enable previous non-responders to take a
shorter therapy regime. (Both drugs can be
effective with short treatment in treatmentnaïve
patients.) Vertex is convinced that
Telaprevir shows the best results, boasting a
cure rate of up to 75%.

Dear Editor

Questions Asked and Answered

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Hep C & Me: Cured!

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That is right, ladies and
gentlemen, boys and girls! I
wish I could share this news
with my family, but my family, it turns out,
are my friends, and you, my audience. For
those of you who have been following me,
I thank you for all of your praise and support.
I could not do it without each and
every one of you.

HEPATITIS C NUTRITION: THE MEAN BEAN COUNTER

By Douglas Laird

Why does opening my fridge door sometimes
feel like “An Inconvenient Truth”?
Well, it’s complicated.
Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth
summarizes years of technical work by scientists
in 100 short minutes. To put it mildly,
this can be somewhat overwhelming to a science
newbie. Similarly, when I open my
fridge door it is easy to feel the tasks necessary
to long term survival are burdened with
pedantic philosophy. Reading the news on the
latest scientific study always seems to contradict
the last thing I learned. Add the marketing
claims of more organic, less fat, or extra
light versions that overwhelm the brain with
thoughts of natural consequences. The idea of
thinking global and acting local on every issue
can overpower a person who has a disease
noted to include apathy, anxiety, and depression
as symptoms!

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AND MORE !