Texas Hepatitis C Support Group and Liver Disease

A friend of mine wanted to post this for him.

Our purpose is to support those with Liver Disease and their supporting family members and friends. We meet on the Second Thursday of the month at 6:30 PM. More information can be found at www.ldsgofw.com

Our meeting place is the Patient Care Center of the University of North Texas Health Science Center. The meeting room is on the Second Floor. The most convenient parking is on the West side of Montgomery across from the Building.
The address of the building is 855 Montgomery Street (76107).

To get to the building, starting at Interstate 30, Exit Montgomery Street. and go North approximately 1.2 Miles to 855 Montgomery Street. You will cross through several lights, the last being Lancaster and Camp Bowie (near the Omni Museum). If you need last minute instructions, (OR IF THE DOOR IS LOCKED!) call Mike Wallace's Cell phone at 817-907-6115.

Our monthly meetings are educational sessions designed to enable you to learn the skills necessary to live with your illness and to lend support. This includes getting information such as; the latest treatments, side effect management, stress reduction, nutritional information and most importantly support from people who have experience with Liver Disease, that care about you.

OUR NEXT 2008 MEETING DATE IS THURSDAY, JULY 10th AT 6:30pm to 8:00pm.

Meeting is FREE.

Contact Mike Wallace to be added to the Email notification list @ 817-907-6115 (Cell Phone)

Free Medicine for Hepatitis C

Found this on Craigslist, thought I would share.

Proven holistic approaches to help you feel better, healthier and stronger:
•Acupuncture
•Chinese herbal medicine
•Dietary modification
•Nutritional supplementation
•Specialized types of exercise and breath work.

Advantages and expected benefits of these complimentary medical practices:
•Frequently viral loads drop to undetectable levels
•Liver inflammation will be controlled and liver functions normalized (i.e., lowering ALT)
•Microcirculation within the liver is improved to promote regeneration
•Prevention and in many cases the reversal of existing fibroses
•Related symptoms (e.g. fatigue, insomnia, joint pain, skin rashes, etc.) can be treated at the same time, improving your overall quality of life
•May be used alone or in addition to conventional western medical treatments
•Extremely safe, typically with no side effects

For more information:

http://compassionate-arts.com/clinicservices.html

Please call to set up an initial appointment in my Arlington office and discuss how we may begin to improve your health today.

Steven Cardoza, M.Sc., L.Ac.
781-648-9839

Can't afford medication for your Hepatitis C treatment?

We may have a clinical research trial that may be of interest to you.

If you have Hepatitis C/ Genotype 1 and you are newly diagnosed in need of treatment or you are not responding to your current treatment please call us at 727-835-3261 for more information.

The Advanced Research Institute, is dedicated to conducting the highest level of clinical research while providing quality patient care, preserving patient dignity, and maintaining patient’s rights.

ARI offers highly sophisticated services and equipment to conduct and support clinical trials with hopes of improving health care. Please visit our website at www.advancedresearchinstitute.net for up to date information and location.

We are conducting research trials for the following indications:

Anal Fissure
Bladder Cancer
Bladder Outlet Obstruction
Diabetes
Endometriosis
Erectile Dysfunction
Gout
Heavy Mentrual Bleeding
Hepatitis C
Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer
Hypertension
Interstitial Cystitis
Male Hot Flashes
Women's Hot Flashes
Premature Ejaculation
Prostate Cancer Treatments (including metastatic)
Stress and Urge Incontinence
Ulcerative Colitis
Urinary Tract Symptoms


PROCEDURES PROVIDED:
New Investigational Treatment
Study Related Physician Visits
Study Medication

TESTING(may include)

EKG
LAB WORK
EYE EXAMS
CT SCAN
BONE SCANS
X-RAYS


POSSIBLE COMPENSATION FOR TIME AND TRAVEL

We work with approximately 15 area physicians who are all board certified and have been in practice for many years in the surrounding areas.

We are located on the West side of Little Road 1/4 mile north of SR 54. Please call Gabby or Keeley at 727-835-3261 for more information.

ADVANCED RESEARCH INSTITUTE
SEVEN SPRINGS MEDICAL PARK
3633 LITTLE ROAD
SUITE 103
NEW PORT RICHEY, FL 34655
727-835-3261
www.advancedresearchinstitute.net

Trial Suggests New Drug Could Cut Hepatitis C Treatment Time

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc has released early results of a trial on new hepatitis C drug telaprevir that suggest it could significantly reduce the treatment time for the disease.

The planned interim results of the PROVE 1 clinical trial on telaprevir were announced at Barcelona on Saturday at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).

PROVE 1 is the first trial to evaluate short-duration treatment using the investigational hepatitis C protease inhibitor telaprevir (TVR or VX-950) with pegylated interferon (peg-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) in genotype 1-infected hepatitis C patients who have not received treatment for hepatitis before.

The trial showed a high rate of rapid viral response (RVR) in patients treated with telaprevir, and a low rate of on-treatment viral breakthrough, and suggests that some patients can be cleared of the virus with 12 weeks of telaprevir-based therapy.

Telaprevir is a joint development between global biotech company Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc and Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd, of Cork, Ireland.

Dr John McHutchison, Principal Investigator of the PROVE 1 study and Director of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research at Duke Clinical Research Institute, based in Durham, North Carolina, US, said:

"The high rates of RVR observed in the telaprevir groups in PROVE 1, and the fact that some patients have remained persistently viral negative 20 weeks after stopping the 12 weeks of telaprevir-based therapy, suggest that we may be able to shorten the treatment duration in genotype 1 HCV patients."

He suggested there is a strong possibility that high sustained viral response (SVR) rates could be achieved with treatments lasting 24 weeks.

"We look forward to 24 week follow-up data from the initial group of patients who stopped treatment at 12 weeks, and follow-up data from patients in the study who received 24 weeks of treatment," he added.

Adverse reactions caused 11 per cent of the 175 patients given telaprevir-based therapy to discontinue treatment, compared with 3 per cent in a placebo group. Symptoms of adverse events that led to discontinuation included rash, gastrointestinal problems and anemia.

The effectiveness and duration of current treatments for Hepatitis C is largely determined by the genotype of the virus.

The Hepatitis C virus has been evolving over thousands of years and has 6 genotypes and many subtypes. Their distribution varies throughout the world. Genotype 1b is the most common in Europe, followed by 2a, 2b, 2c and 3a. In North America genotype 1a is the most common, followed by 1b, 2a, 2b, 2c and 3a. Genotypes 4 and 5 are mostly found in Africa.

Genotypes 1 and 4 are not as responsive to treatments based on interferon compared with the others. Interferon treatment for genotypes 1 and 4 takes nearly a year, whereas it takes just under 6 months to treat genotypes 2 and 3 with the drug.

According to the World Health Organization, the Hepatitis C virus is a major cause of acute hepatitis and chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer.

It is estimated that 170 million people throughout the world are chronically infected with Hepatitis C (9 million in Europe), with 3 to 4 million new infections a year worldwide.

Hepatitis C is spread mostly by direct contact with human blood as a result of blood transfusions and re-using non-sterilized needles and syringes.

Source: Medical News Today

Hepatitis Hair Loss

Hello Everyone!!!!!

Boy am i stressing, I am a 43 year old male who finished treatment a month ago. I have type 2b and did the interferon/ribo treatment. I am having a huge issue with my hair. Didn't really seem to loose much on treatment, but now it seems like it is really thinning out. I am noticing some bald spots all of a sudden, also and the texture is also changing. My questions to the group are this....

Why is my hair falling out now and how long can I expect this to continue for after treatment???? And secondly, is their a good chance that it will grow back????

Please help

--------------------------

I'd say Greyhackles' take on "timing" sounds about right. I completed 48 weeks in late November (four months post tx now) and my hair did not start falling out right away, it took a while. I have very long hair, and prior to treatment a rubber band only went around my ponytail twice. Now it goes around the ponytail 6 times, so that gives you an idea how much hair I started with and how much I lost.

In the months since tx ended, the hair loss did NOT stop right away, but continued. Once the hair loss began in earnest, "It was normal" for me to run a brush thru my hair, hold it up to look and there would be something I'm guessing like 30 - 40 long hairs flying in the wind. My hair came right out from the roots. No doubt there was breakage as well, but mostly I noticed the long, full length hairs :( Many people
seem to cut hair and go short for the duration of tx but I chose to keep it long, because short is MORE work for me (curly hair - not a pretty sight upon arising in the morning) Leaving it long allowed me to keep it in ponytail, much less work and anything that was less effort for me was A-OK.

The good news - just this past week, I was brushing my hair and upon lifting my bangs, realized that new hair is growing in finally! Yeah! If I lift my bangs, I can see a thin fringe of new down along the hairline, about half an inch long. But I don't think it fell out in "patches" tho there were a few times when, trying to comb it out after washing, that there were little "clumps" that pulled right out.

Texture change seems to be a common complaint - ie from thick and curley to thin and wispy, but people seem to agree that when it grows back, for most folks, it grows back normally. Now if only my bones and muscles would quit aching constantly, I'd really be on my way ;)

Source: Hepatitis C Newsgroup

More Hair Loss and Hair Removal Information at: Hair Removal Chat

Living with Hepatits C

Good Nutritional Guideline for Hep C

Nutrition Care Guideline
www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hepc/hepatitis_c/pdf/nutritionCareGuidelines/

Wanted to post the contributers for such a wonderful job:

Many people have contributed to the development of these guidelines and deserve recognition for their time, effort and dedication.

Dietitians of Canada sincerely thanks the members of the national advisory committee for their expert advice and guidance. We also thank the organizations involved in the project, as well as the expert reviewers who provided valuable guidance on the technical and practical aspects of the guidelines.

Production of the guidelines would not have been possible without the insights of those who participated in the key informant interviews for the needs assessment. We are also grateful to the participants in the focus groups conducted to test and refine the patient education material.

National Advisory Committee

Renée C. Crompton, M.Sc., RD
Regional Nutritionist - Ontario Region
First Nations and Inuit Health Branch
Health Canada

Mary Giudici, RDN
Vancouver Island Health Authority
Royal Jubilee Hospital
Victoria, BC

Lynn Greenblatt
Community Acquired Infections Division
Health Canada

Kelly Kaita, MD, FRCP(C)
Director, Viral Hepatitis Investigative Unit
University of Manitoba
Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver

Timothy J. McClemont
Executive Director
Hepatitis C Society of Canada

Billie Potkonjak
National Director of Health Promotion and Patient Services
Canadian Liver Foundation

Jeff Rice
Coordinator of Regional Resources and Hepatitis C Programs
Canadian Hemophilia Society

Vera Simon, RN, M.Sc.N
President
Canadian Association of Hepatology Nurses

Jayne Thirsk, Ph.D., RD
Professional Development and Support
Dietitians of Canada

Lori Hards, RD
Dietitian/Nutritionist
Southern Alberta Clinic
Calgary, AB

Janet Madill, Ph.D.(C), RD
Transplant Dietitian, Research Practice Leader
University Health Network, Toronto General
Toronto, ON

Tania Soutar, B.Sc., RD
Clinical Dietitian
Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region
Regina, SK

Special thanks go to Mary Giudici for sharing her patient education tools, and to the additional expert reviewers: Diana Johansen, B.Sc., RD, Clinical Dietitian, Oak Tree Clinic, Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia, and Adjunct Professor, Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia; and Sian Hoe Cheong, RD, Supervisor, Food Services, Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, Palliser Health Region.

Treatment of Hepatitis C

The combination therapy of pegylated interferon and ribavirin is the current standard of care for hepatitis C. Clinical trials have shown that this combination treatment makes the hepatitis C virus undetectable in more than half of the patients who are treated. Response to treatment may vary based on individual factors, genotype, viral load and race. There is no vaccine available for hepatitis C. Combination therapy results in better treatment responses than monotherapy, but the highest response rates have been achieved with pegylated interferon in combination with ribavirin.

Currently, the best indicator of effective treatment is an SVR, defined by the absence of detectable HCV RNA in the serum as shown by a qualitative HCV RNA assay with lower limit of detection of 50 IU/mL or less at 24 weeks after the end of treatment. The following are some of the most common side effects associated with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin therapy: flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills, and muscle aches; fatigue; upset stomach, nausea/vomiting; loss of appetite; difficulty in controlling blood sugar levels (which may lead to diabetes); skin reactions (such as rash, dry or itchy skin, temporary hair loss, or redness and swelling at the site of injection); temporary hair thinning; and trouble sleeping. Possible serious side effects include mental health problems such as depression, blood problems, infections, and problems with the lungs, eyes, immune system, and heart.

Healthcare providers may treat these side effects, change the amount of medication, or stop treatment.

Hep C Information posted by HepCandMe.org