Thu 26 Jan 2012 |
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Sunday, 05 February 2012 18:14
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Finding cures for diseases is always a tall order to take up on, but to have a drug that can cure a disease without fail is almost too good to be true. That is why when the news that Pharmasset Inc. is working on a drug that can cure hepatitis C without fail, people started buzzing, and wondered how a sure fire drug could affect the world, but more importantly, Australia.
Hepatitis C is infamous world-wide for being a virus that can cause liver inflammation and liver disease. With more and more people getting the disease, especially in Australia, a cure for it would be a heaven sent. In response to this problem, a new drug is being developed.
And in the study that was conducted by the company, 40 patients who received the experimental drug were responsive after 12 weeks, and that just after 24 hours, around half of the patients were all cured of hepatitis C, Bloomberg reported. Though being criticized by the number of patients it was tested on, the results are still very impressive and promising.
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Tue 17 Jan 2012 |
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Sunday, 05 February 2012 18:14
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SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 09, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Presidio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the successful completion of a Phase 1a dose-ranging assessment of PPI-668, a potent, pan-genotypic second-generation hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5A inhibitor, in healthy volunteers and subsequent advancement to a Phase 1b assessment of the dose-related efficacy in hepatitis C patients.
The Phase 1a dose-ranging assessment of PPI-668 was conducted with 32 healthy volunteers in New Zealand. The trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled assessment of the safety and pharmacokinetics of three oral doses of PPI-668, initially assessed as single doses and subsequently as a multi-day regimen, in which the highest PPI-668 dose was given once daily for five successive days. The trial results indicated that all dose regimens of PPI-668 were well-tolerated. There were no serious or severe clinical adverse events, no patterns of treatment-related adverse events or laboratory abnormalities, and all subjects completed the trial successfully.
Pharmacokinetic (PK) analyses of subjects' plasma samples in the Phase 1a trial indicated that substantial blood levels of PPI-668 were rapidly and consistently achieved and dose proportional. PPI-668 plasma concentrations were orders of magnitude above those shown to inhibit HCV replication in vitro and were maintained at predicted effective concentrations for more than 24 hours. These PK results support once-daily dosing for PPI-668 in future studies. Also important was the observation that in the 5-day multi-dose regimen, steady-state PK was achieved rapidly (by Day 2), with no evidence of subsequent accumulation or changes in the clearance profile of PPI-668.
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Thu 05 Jan 2012 |
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Sunday, 05 February 2012 18:14
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Researchers at Oxford University developing a vaccine for Hepatitis C say they have had promising results from the first human trials.
They revealed a cousin of the common cold virus offered the first hope of an effective vaccine against the chronic liver infection.
Early trial results mirror responses seen in the minority of people with natural immunity to the disease.
Although sufferers can currently be treated for the chronic liver disease, not everyone responds.
We've shown the vaccine can generate the kind of immune responses we wanted but we need to show they are protective in the next phase of the trial, so there's still a lot of work to do.
Professor Paul Klenerman, senior researcher
But researchers hope a vaccine could protect those at risk and potentially those who already have the virus.
Brenda Deeley suffers from Hepatitis C and does not know how she contracted the disease.
She said: "I was tired. I used to get on the bus and go to work and literally fall asleep. You know when you're so tired you could cry and I thought there is something wrong."
"I went to the doctor, he did a blood test and couldn't find anything and I said to them something is wrong, then my liver test came back and it wasn't quite right and he said let's try Hepatitis C and he did a test and I was positive".
Brenda, 61, a staff secretary from Bicester, was born in South Africa.
It is thought dirty needles used during operations decades ago could be to blame for her contracting the disease, which is transmitted through the blood.
Sufferers may be able to benefit from the vaccine within a decade
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Mon 02 Jan 2012 |
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Sunday, 05 February 2012 18:14
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THE University of Adelaide is looking for people living with hepatitis C to take part in an online survey.
The survey will explore the psychological impact and stigma of hepatitis C and the desire for psychological support.
About 200,000 Australians have the infectious disease, which primarily affects the liver.
The university, in conjunction with the Royal Adelaide Hospital, aims to improve treatment and support for people with the disease. Participants must be aged 18 or older.
The survey and information is at
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/hepcsupport
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Mon 02 Jan 2012 |
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Sunday, 05 February 2012 18:14
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The goal of the ABC of Hepatitis Training Package is to increase the skills of health care workers and members of the general community to deal with various issues experienced by people diagnosed with or at risk of contracting viral hepatitis. The ABC of Hepatitis Training Package is delivered state-wide; the program reached approximately 1,100 participants last financial year.
The contracted evaluation should consider what the program does, how well it is done, and the impact on target populations.
Click here for more info:
http://bit.ly/uJRZt7
Closing Date: 31 January 2012
Hepatitis Qld |
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