Hepatitis C News

WASHINGTON — Through treatment of hepatitis C genotype 1 with direct-acting antivirals, significant direct and indirect cost savings may arise due to fewer cases of hepatocellular carcinoma and decompensated cirrhosis, according to results of a simulated model presented at The Liver Meeting 2017. 

WASHINGTON — Most opioid users who screened positive for hepatitis C altered their substance-use behavior within 1 year, according to a presentation at The Liver Meeting 2017.

WASHINGTON — In this exclusive video from The Liver Meeting 2017, Gregory J. Dore, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, MPH, from the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, discusses the low rates of hepatitis C reinfection in people who use drugs and the safety of retreatment.

WASHINGTON — Utilizing existing primary care pharmacists allowed for an increased number of patients treated with comparable results to liver specialists, according to a presenter at The Liver Meeting 2017.

WASHINGTON — Utilizing existing primary care pharmacists allowed for an increased number of patients treated with comparable results to liver specialists, according to a presenter at The Liver Meeting 2017.

WASHINGTON — Results of a virtual trial showed that transplantation with hepatitis C-positive livers with preemptive direct-active antiviral therapy may be a viable option for improving patient survival on the liver transplant waitlist, according to an expert at The Liver Meeting 2017.

Researchers found no evidence of increased rates of de novo or recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma following treatment with direct-acting antivirals compared with patients treated with interferon therapy, according to a presentation at the World Congress of Gastroenterology at ACG 2017.

Researchers determined the prevalence and characteristics of hepatitis C viremia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo using dried blood spot viral load testing, according to a recently published study. Based on crude population estimates from 2016, the researchers expect 100,000 to 200,000 adults aged 40 years or older to be actively infected and eligible for treatment.

I am pleased to have Healio Rheumatology focus this issue’s Cover Story on the intersection of viral hepatitis and rheumatology, as this is a subject both near to my heart as well as one of great importance to many patients. Our esteemed sources enlighten us on many aspects of the impact of viral hepatitis and rheumatic diseases from not only from the perspective of these viruses as etiologies for many rheumatic syndromes, but also, and far more important, from a prevalence perspective – the impact of chronic viral hepatitis, both hepatitis B and C, as comorbidities.

Historic advances have been occurring in hepatitis C therapy during the last decade. This once difficult-to-treat chronic infection is essentially curable with direct-acting antiviral therapies. For hepatitis B, a wave of biologic therapies is changing the landscape and offering hepatologists, gastroenterologists and infectious diseases clinicians a host of options to manage patients.