Third Edition Newsletter

Combo helps some hepatitis C patients, but not all......	Frontline Hepatitis Beacon Newsletter
By Anne Harding NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters Health) - When a patient with hepatitis C does not get better after being treated with interferon, adding a second drug may help. Unfortunately, most patients will not benefit from the two-drug regimen, leaving them with essentially no treatment options, Johns Hopkins researchers have found. "While combination therapy is tolerable in most cases, the fact that the vast majority will not benefit highlights the urgent and ongoing need for more effective therapies for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C," the authors write in the January 10th issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. About 4 million Americans and 150 million people worldwide have hepatitis C, which is caused by a virus spread by contact with blood and other body fluids. About 70% of hepatitis C patients will develop chronic hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, and 20% will develop severe and potentially fatal liver damage, or cirrhosis. Cirrhosis in turn increases the risk of liver cancer. Hepatitis C infection is now the leading cause of liver transplant in the US. But only 15% to 20% of patients experience a response to the drug that lasts for 6 to 12 months after treatment. Adding a second drug, the antiviral ribavirin, produces a lasting response in about 40% of patients. The team sought to find out whether taking interferon along with ribavirin would help the patients who "failed" a first round of interferon treatment. Hepatitis C and Depression. Yates WR, Gleason O Department of Psychiatry, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Tulsa, USA. william-yates@ouhsc.edu Although the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) may be declining, a large reservoir of patients with chronic hepatitis C exists. Unless effective HCV antiviral regimens are developed, many patients with asymptomatic HCV will develop clinical symptoms in the next 15 to 20 years. Mood disorders are common in patients with HCV referred for psychiatric consultation. Interferon is the primary treatment for chronic hepatitis C but can induce depression and other mental and neuropsychiatry syndromes. Mood disorders associated with hepatitis C may respond to psychiatric intervention. Psychiatrists need to be aware of the clinical issues in the diagnosis and treatment of depression complicating chronic hepatitis C. Publication Types: Review Review, tutorial PMID: 9706456, UI: 98371745	The investigators found that the drug combination cleared the virus from 14% of these patients, with a higher dose of ribavirin providing slightly better results. The researchers came to the conclusion after analyzing the results of 12 studies comparing interferon or interferon with ribavirin. Interferon alone used to be the standard of care for hepatitis C infection, co-author Dr. Mark S. Sulkowski of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine told Reuters Health. The studies included a total of 941 patients. "A 14% response rate is still relatively low and we'll need to do better," Sulkowski told Reuters Health. He noted that a new, longer lasting form of interferon, pegylated interferon, will probably become available in the US this year. This new drug requires only a single weekly injection. In its currently available form, interferon must be given by injection three times a week. Patients who do not show a complete viral response--meaning the virus remains in their blood--may still benefit from antiviral treatment because interferon can slow the development of liver injury, according to an editorial by Dr. Raymond S. Koff of the University of Massachusetts in Worcester. Koff has received grants for hepatitis C research from various pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association 2001;285:193-199, 212-213. Don’t Take Your Liver to Heaven, Lord knows we need it here!	Farewell to Cookie D who did so much online to help others. Although Cookie was with Frontline only a short time she is deeply missed for her goodness and helping spirit. Happy Trails to you Cookie, until we meet again. Our condolences to the family. Letter from the Editor and Founder The loss of loved ones is something we never get used to in this world of Hepatitis and other chronic disease. Even the loss of those we work with who choose to move on are dearly missed for their input and caring attitudes. It is our hope at Frontline to always respect others needs and let new patients know of available options to quell fear and begin the education process. Please submit articles of personal stories to: Ane@frontline-hepatitis-awareness.com Frontline wishes to thank all who participated in our first “Dancing With the Dragon” HCV Testing and Musical Benefit in Seattle. Ane Palmo Reach Out and Help Someone Today! Sign the online Petition to David Satcher (now a new one though, they will get the message) on our web page please. The URL is: http://frontline-hepatitis-awareness.com/ We need signatures as we are leaving on March 15th or so for DC and must have them in our hands. So March 15th is the last day you can mail them snail mail. If you copy and paste it you can take a clipboard to your mall and get signatures from the general public. HCOP has asked us to add a postage stamp for each one sent. If you wish that is fine. Mail by snail mail to: Frontline Hepatitis Awareness Bruce Burkett, Vice President Frontline Hepatitis 10800 E. Walnut Centralia, MO 65240 or email bburkett@socket.net
Links for Transplant Surgery
Donor Alliance http://www.donoralliance.org UNOS (United Network Organ Sharing) http://www.unos.org Coalition on Donation http://www.shareyourlife.org Spare Parts: http://www.jcsports/other.html Children's Liver Alliance http://livertx.org The American Liver Foundation www.liverfoundation.org Organ Donation http://organdonor.gov