Hope you all had a wonderful week, sit back and catch up on what you may have missed over the last week in this issue of Weekend Reading.
In a recent article published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, data suggested that delaying hepatitis C treatment regardless of fibrosis stage may be detrimental to patients, ya think? Reuters Health reported: "Mortality is increased in patients with moderate or severe liver disease related to chronic hepatitis C, and progression from mild/moderate to severe disease cannot be predicted reliably." Here is a quote from Dr. Cepeda, a key author of the study; “Fight to treat your patients as early as possible.” Read the rest of the article, here.
However, according to a report released this month from Trio Health, after patients are prescribed HCV therapy insurance companies are denying coverage, interim data from the study showed HCV treatment non-starts are up, from eight percent in 2014, to over 30 percent in 2016, for the most part because of payer coverage denials. The HCV regimens evaluated in the study include the following: Sovaldi®/Harvoni® (Gilead), Viekira Pak™ (Abbvie), Zepatier™ (Merck), Daklinza™ (BMS) and Epclusa® (Gilead). Read commentary on the report here, Trio press release here.
Annals of Internal Medicine, reported high cure rates, with few side effects, in a review article on various FDA approved regimens to treat chronic hepatitis C. Sustained virologic response (SVR) for genotype 1 (using different approved HCV regimens) was reported at over 95%. Sofosbuvir plus velpatasvir or daclatasvir for 12 weeks in genotype 3 patients without cirrhosis appeared to seem most effective, for geno 3's with cirrhosis, a regimen of velpatasvir-sofosbuvir had higher response rates, the latter is also highly effective (99% response rate) for genotypes 2, 4, 5, and 6, this summary was published in NEJM Journal Watch, read the full text article; Hepatitis C: Down but Not Out - Oral Direct-Acting Agent Therapy for HCV.
Weekly News Coverage
HEP offers hepatitis C research with daily news, a great place to start learning about HCV.
Over at HepCBC, each Friday a nice summary of news is available, read this weeks: Weekly Bull.
Healio
Daily news, updates and more over at Healio.
Check out the following March publications as well.
HCV Next
Healio Gastroenterology
Infectious Disease News
News Re-Cap
Healio
Daily news, updates and more over at Healio.
Check out the following March publications as well.
HCV Next
Healio Gastroenterology
Infectious Disease News
News Re-Cap
Author: Richard Pizzi Family Practice News
Publish date: March 21, 2017 - Hepatitis Outlook Late February 2017
Publish date: March 21, 2017 - Hepatitis Outlook Late February 2017
Here’s a quick look at some notable news items and journal articles published over the past month, which cover a variety of the major hepatitis viruses.
Week Ending March 22, 2017
Infectious Disease Special Edition
Don't miss recent articles written by your favorite bloggers over at HEP blogs.
HepatitisC.net is a great site for patient resources and personal stories with daily articles.
MD Whistleblower
Medical Marijuana Use - Ready, Fire, Aim!
Michael Kirsch, MD
Promoting medical marijuana use is hot – smokin’ hot. States are racing to legalize this product, both for recreational and medical use. In my view, there’s a stronger case to be made for the former than the latter.
Presently, marijuana is a Schedule I drug, along with heroin, LSD and Ecstasy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines this category as drugs with no acceptable medical use and a high potential risk of addiction. Schedule I contains drugs that the FDA deems to be the least useful and most dangerous. Schedule V includes cough medicine containing codeine.
Hepatitis C Foundation
How to Find a Liver Specialist Who Really Knows Hepatitis B
March 22, 2017
By Christine Kukka
If you have chronic hepatitis B or are newly-diagnosed, it’s important to see a liver specialist who has experience with hepatitis B.
Having a specialist with hepatitis B expertise on your team not only safeguards your health, it also lessens the stress of having a chronic liver disease. “My specialist gave me all the possible scenarios, but most importantly, he gave me my life back,” one hepatitis B patient recalled.
Podcast
Date Released: Mar 8 2017
HCV Management In Liver Transplantation
Dr. Robert Brown discusses management of hepatitis C infection in patients undergoing liver transplantation, Dr. Nancy Sokol hosts.
Listen here...
Learning Activity
Watch - Release Date: 3/15/2017
Hepatitis C: New Paradigms for Evaluation & Management
Dr. Naudia Jonassaint discusses the new paradigms in regards to the evaluation and management of Hepatitis C. She reviews the basic epidemiology & scope of Hepatitis C, appropriate screening for Hepatitis C, basic Hepatitis C treatment options , identification of special populations, and post SVR Monitoring
Quick View, watch here...
Healthy You
Behind The Headlines
Overweight young men 'more likely to get severe liver disease'
"Men who are overweight in their late teens have a higher risk of developing liver cancer in later life, new research suggests," reports ITV News. Swedish researchers also found a link to other serious types of liver disease…
Updates On This Blog
HCV vaccines—back to the future?
Effects of Melatonin on Liver Injuries and Diseases
Resistance testing for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C with direct acting antivirals: when and for how long?
Future of liver disease in the era of direct acting antivirals for the treatment of hepatitis C
Study - Statin use may lead to: Decreased fibrosis and Reduced risk of developing liver cancer
Watch - Hepatitis C Overview
Chronic Hepatitis C And Functional Dyspepsia (FD) - A Feeling Of Discomfort In The Upper Abdomen
HCV - Fatty liver disease and genotype 3
HCV Genotypes/Treatment
Is There A Natural Way To Improve Liver Fibrosis?
Check back for updates, enjoy the rest of your weekend.
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