The hepatitis C therapy peginterferon alfa-2b, when given as low-dose maintenance therapy, can prevent disease progression in certain patients who failed previous interferon-based hepatitis C therapies and have advanced liver disease, according to findings from a large, four-year study presented today at the 43rd annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).

Using the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, an international team led by University of Calgary researcher Ken Ng has determined the detailed structure of the enzyme the Norwalk virus uses to make copies of its genetic code in order to replicate itself. The information is crucial to developing drugs that could be used to treat outbreaks of Norwalk and other related viruses.

Adelaide scientists will lead a $2 million five-year project to develop new vaccines and explore better treatment options for hepatitis C sufferers.

Two new randomized controlled trials show that treating Hepatitis C (HCV) with peginterferon and ribavirin for shorter durations can yield success rates similar to those from longer treatment lengths, with cost-savings and lower risk of serious side effects.

For patients with hepatitis C, having a low blood platelet count is a frequent complication associated with advanced disease. This problem is compounded by the fact that standard antiviral treatment for the disease can further reduce platelet numbers to dangerously low levels, effectively denying these patients the treatment they urgently need.

Patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease who did not respond to previous standard therapy experienced significant decreases in their liver enzymes, viral levels, and liver inflammation following treatment with long-term pegylated interferon.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) today announced the final results of a Phase 2b clinical trial of the investigational drug, Albuferon® (albinterferon alfa-2b), in combination with ribavirin in treatment-naive patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C.

Patients with hepatitis C treated with combination therapy of pegylated interferon and ribavirin had better outcomes when taking a weight-based dosage of ribavirin compared to a flat dosage.

In an effort to halt the spread of deadly infectious diseases now threatening to reach epidemic proportions around the world, an unprecedented research effort was launched today by IBM, The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), and the University of Chicago to discover drugs to treat and cure dengue fever, West Nile encephalitis, hepatitis C, and a host of related diseases including yellow fever.

A new study on predicting outcomes of standard treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection found that a number of factors impacted responses, including the form of the interferon given. However, for some genotypes of the disease, few of these factors play a role.

The use of peginterferon alone, or in combination with ribavirin, points to a cure for hepatitis C, the leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer and the need for liver transplant, a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher said today.

Researchers retrospectively analyzed the effect of taking peginterferon and ribavirin (PI+R, hepatitis C treatment options) and PI+R plus a statin to measure the sustained viral response (SVR, negative virus in blood six months after the end of treatment) rate in hepatitis C patients. A modified intent to treat approach was taken to compare the therapy alone to the therapy with addition of a statin.