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Friday, February 16, 2018
News Recap:
HCV & Heart Disease:
Evolving Recognition of Chronic Hepatitis C Infection as a Modifiable Risk Factor for CVD. This article examines the evidence for clinical and subclinical cardiovascular diseases in chronic hepatitis c infection, as well as the effect of treatment on cardiovascular outcomes.
News from Around the World:
NZ: Thousands of Hepatitis C sufferers unaware a cure is within reach. A Hepatitis C survivor says she has been forced to do the government’s work to ensure others with the potentially life-threatening virus get access to “miracle” drugs. Dunedin’s Hazel Heal credits the drugs with saving her life and completely restoring her liver, but is angry the government is not informing people about the virus and treatment options.
Hepatitis C drugs not being accessed by thousands of Australians with the disease. Hundreds of thousands of Australians with hepatitis C are failing to access new curative drugs, despite the Government subsidising them at huge cost to the taxpayer. The trend means the Government is at risk of missing its target to eradicate hepatitis C and of spending far more than necessary on the treatments.
Expanding Hepatitis C testing to all adults is cost-effective and improves outcomes. According to a new study in the U.S., screening all adults for hepatitis C (HCV) would increase life expectancy and quality of life while remaining cost-effective.
Hepatitis B:
Study reveals the liver’s ‘weak spot’ for hepatitis B virus replication. Researchers from the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), A*STAR, have found that the liver is the main site of hepatitis B (HBV) replication—not only because it contains material that helps the virus proliferate, but also because most other tissues of the body contain proteins that actively repress HBV replication.