Saturday, March 17, 2018

March HCV Newsletters & America’s Opioid Crisis: Overdoses Still Increasing

March HCV Newsletters & Updates: America’s opioid crisis is still increasing

In March the CDC reported emergency department visits for opioid overdoses rose 30% across the US.

- Particularly hard hit were Midwestern states, with a 70% increase in opioid overdoses. 
- Opioid overdoses increased for both sexes and all age groups. 
- People who have had an opioid overdose are more likely to have another.  
- Repeat opioid overdoses can be avoided through treatment referrals provided during emergency department visits.  
- Timely and coordinated response efforts can also better prevent more opioid overdoses in the community. 
- Learn more about preventing opioid overdoses and what to do if an overdose occurs in order to save a life. 

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns

In The Media
Vox
America’s opioid crisis has become an “epidemic of epidemics”
By Ella Nilsen Mar 6, 2018
Opioid and heroin use is causing a dramatic spike in new hepatitis C infections, as well as dangerous bacterial infections that, if left untreated, can cause strokes and require multiple open-heart surgeries. Doctors and public health officials also fear America is on the brink of more HIV outbreaks, driven by intravenous drug use.

NPR
Jump In Overdoses Shows Opioid Epidemic Has Worsened
Rob Stein
In just one year, overdoses from opioids jumped by about 30 percent, according to the a report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Overall as a nation, we are still failing to adequately respond to the opioid addiction epidemic," says Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University. "It is concerning that 20 years into this epidemic, it is still getting worse. The number of Americans experiencing opioid overdoses is still increasing."

Newsletters
Check out this months newsletters & blog updates with information and support for people living with or treating viral hepatitis.

HepCBC
Read today's news or a nice summary of notable headlines published in the latest issue of The Weekly Bull.

HCV Advocate
Highlights 
HealthWise – Is Hepatitis C Treatment Safe?
By Lucinda Porter, RN – My first article for the HCV Advocate appeared 20 years ago. Hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) wasn’t curable yet. HCV is now easily curable and one would think the problem is solved, but it isn’t. Numerous obstacles stand in the way of eliminating this disease. A large percentage of the population is still undiagnosed because of inadequate HCV screening. Access to health care is uneven, particularly for those who need it the most.”

SnapShots
Review and Editorial Comments by Alan Franciscus Executive Director of the Hepatitis C Support Project, Editor-in-Chief of the HCV Advocate Website

List Of Articles
1- Direct-Acting Antiviral Sustained Virologic Response: Impact on Mortality in Patients without Advanced Liver Disease—L.I. Backus, et. al.

2- Increasing Prevalence of Hepatitis C among Hospitalized Children Is Associated with an Increase in Substance Abuse—A S Barritt, et. al.

3- Population-level outcomes and cost-effectiveness of expanding the recommendation for age-based hepatitis C testing in the United States—J. A. Barocas, et. al.

4- Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir for Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 3 Patients with Cirrhosis and/or Prior Treatment Experience: A Partially Randomized Phase 3 Clinical Trial—D. Wyles, et. al.
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National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable
NVHR Newsletter
NVHR Welcomes Two Federal Actions to Help Prevent and Treat Hepatitis B
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America Liver Foundation 
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The New York City Hepatitis C Task Force
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British Liver Trust
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HEPVOICE - World Hepatitis Alliance
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GI & Hepatology
Newsletter
From the AGA Journals
Sofosbuvir/ledipasvir looks good in HBV coinfected patients
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Hep Magazine
Highlights
Advocacy in Action
Best of You
Is U.S. Lagging in Hepatitis Efforts?
As Injection Drug Use Rises, So Does Hep C
An Early Cure Protects the Liver?
Cured of Hep C, at Risk of Fatty Liver

Blog Updates
Hep Blogs
Factors That May Increase Your Risk of Death from Hepatitis C
March 5, 2018
By Lucinda K. Porter, RN
Barely a week goes by in which I don’t read about the increased risk of death from hepatitis C. People living with this virus are at risk of dying prematurely from all the major causes of mortality, such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke. However, it appears that certain behaviors may hasten death when you have hepatitis C.
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HEPATITISC.NET
By Kimberly Morgan Bossley - March 5, 2018
I had a very unsettling experience a few years back that really got me to thinking about how knowledgeable are most physicians about hep C. Finding a the Right Doctor for You...

5 Things That Make Stress Worse 
By Karen Hoyt - March 2, 2018
Stress can make you miserable. Everything sets you on edge. The noise someone makes when they eat. The bank teller wanting copies of whatever when you’re rushed. Your neighbor mowing his lawn...

Effects of Chronic Illness on Our Moods 
By Daryl Luster - March 1, 2018
Sounds like depression by another name, but is it necessarily as simple as that? I am not suggesting that depression is simple or should ever be dismissed as “nothing” as some might...
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Blogs - Healio
BLOG: A word of caution to insulin pump users to ‘spring forward’
It’s happening again — the daylight saving time spring ritual. This year the daylight saving time change will...
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BMC Blog
Raquel Peck 1 Mar 2018
On Zero Discrimination Day (March 1st), the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) is encouraging the hepatitis community to challenge misconceptions and speak out about the devastating impact of stigma and discrimination across the globe.

Xu Zhang 5 Mar 2018
Pain, an unpleasant feeling and physical and psychological burden for patients, has drawn the attention of dedicated scientists trying to tackle the problem from… 
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Oxford University
Romance and reality: clinical science in liver transplant for alcoholism
By Thomas P. Beresford 4 Mar 2018
The alcoholic with liver disease has a liver from birth that is genetically vulnerable in some way to the ravages of drink. Only about 15% of heavy drinkers develop alcoholic liver disease. The other 85% of heavy drinkers will never need a transplanted liver. Should the 15% die because of their genetic vulnerability to alcoholism—a treatable condition in which large numbers recover every year?
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KevinMD.com
The internet is an amazing source of information and misinformation. How do you know if what you are reading is accurate?

Healthy You

Medical News Today
Last updated Fri 2 March 2018
By Tim Newman Reviewed by Elaine K. Luo, MD
This MNT Knowledge Center article will cover the main roles of the liver, how the liver regenerates, what happens when the liver does not function correctly, and how to keep the liver healthy.
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The Atlantic
Evolution doomed us to have vital organs fail. For years, experts failed us, too.
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Harvard Health Blog
In November 2017 the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology changed the definition for high blood pressure. One day your blood pressure of 130/80 was normal — the next day you had stage 1 hypertension, and suddenly you found yourself in a higher risk category formerly reserved for people with blood pressure of 140/90. While you probably don’t feel like celebrating the change, it may actually be a good thing.

Links
Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections CROI 2018
News, slidesets, interviews, and webinars

Thanks for stopping by.
Tina
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