http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A genome-wide study by researchers at the RIKEN Center for Genomic Medicine, Hiroshima University Hospital and Sapporo-Kosei General Hospital has identified a genetic variant associated with the development of liver cancer in chronic hepatitis C virus carriers. The findings are based on a study of 3,312 Japanese individuals and appear in the journal Nature Genetics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-genetic-variant-linked-liver-cancer.html Genetics Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:00:01 EST news228916647 New research confirms that a variant on the patatin-like phospholipase-3 (PNPLA3) gene increases risk of steatosis and fibrosis progression in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). The PNPLA3 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs 738409 may represent an important genetic predictor and potential therapeutic target in chronic HCV liver damage. Study details are published in the July issue of Hepatology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-gene-variant-fatty-liver-fibrosis.html Genetics Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:45:37 EST news228476717 Targeted multi-drug treatments for hepatitis C patients that could stop the virus in its tracks have come a step closer, thanks to researchers at the University of Leeds, UK. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-drugs-block-hepatitis-virus-tracks.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:17:09 EST news228474968 The drug telaprevir (Incivek) provides a dramatic improvement in the treatment of the most common form of hepatitis C infection, says an international team of investigators led by Dr. Ira M. Jacobson of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-drug-breakthrough-treatment-hepatitis.html Medications Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:23:00 EST news227982164 A surprising finding in a study comparing hepatitis C virus (HCV) with hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections in chimpanzees by a team that includes scientists from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute sheds new light on the nature of the body's immune response to these viruses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-immune-hepatitis-virus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:00:08 EST news227792633 A new study indicates high rates of injection drug use in urban Canadian Aboriginal youth, particularly in women, and points to the need for culturally specific prevention programs, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-high-drug-urban-aboriginal-youth.html Health Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:13:17 EST news227189567 Scientists at Rockefeller University and The Scripps Research Institute have developed the first genetically humanized mouse model for hepatitis C, an achievement that will enable researchers to test molecules that block entry of the hepatitis C virus into cells as well as potential vaccine candidates. The finding is reported in the June 9 issue of the journal Nature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-scientists-genetically-humanized-mouse-hepatitis.html Medical research Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:00:27 EST news226756680 Advanced hepatitis C patients with chronic liver disease may benefit from drinking coffee during treatment, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. Patients who received peginterferon plus ribavirin treatment and who drank three or more cups of coffee per day were two times more likely to respond to treatment than non-drinkers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-coffee-hepatitis-treatment-response.html Addiction Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:35:05 EST news226661649 For many patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), direct antiviral agents (DAA) offer a potential cure for the disease. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved two new DAAs, telaprevir and boceprevir, and with that clinicians must now decide who should be the first to receive this treatment. Discussion of this timely topic is now available in the June issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-antiviral-agent-therapy-hepatitis-debate.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 25 May 2011 10:47:25 EST news225539226 In a study to be published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report the discovery of a novel hepatitis C-like virus in dogs. The identification and characterization of this virus gives scientists new insights into how hepatitis C in humans may have evolved and provides scientists renewed hope to develop a model system to study how it causes disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-canine-hepatitis-virus-discovery-doors.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 23 May 2011 15:00:10 EST news225372685 New research shows that high maternal viral load and co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are the only risk factors associated with vertical transmission of the hepatitis C virus (HCV-VT). A variation in the infant's IL28B gene (CC) is associated independently with the spontaneous clearance of HCV genotype-1 among infected children. The status of IL28B in the mother or children did not increase risk of HCV-VT in this study. Findings are published in the May issue of Hepatology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-severity-hepatitis-hiv-co-infection-mothers.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 27 Apr 2011 11:00:02 EST news223119880 Two bioflavonoids, catechin and naringenin, have displayed antiviral activity on tissue culture infected with Hepatitis C. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-compounds-hepatitis-infection.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:55:12 EST news221849702