Active clinical trials for "Hepatitis A"

Chronic hepatitis C may relapse in simple chronic hepatitis C patients who initially obtained sustained virologic responses. Although the HCV SVR could be maintained in around 90%, the remaining 10% of these patients may develop hepatitis C relapse during follow-up. Therefore, it is important to follow up the long-term of these patients with dual chronic hepatitis B and C. From another aspect, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, the virologic and serologic responses may also not be durable. Alternatively, previous studies suggested that the therapeutic efficacy might not be seen in the study period, and incremental response might occur during long-term follow-up. Therefore it is also important to clarify the long-term outcome of treatment in this dually infected population. Evaluation of the long term effects of treatment with peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin for patients with chronic hepatitis C/ hepatitis B co-Infection and chronic hepatitis C in the original study ML17862 is important. This present protocol is thus to assess whether the HCV SVR is sustained and to assess the durability of the HBV virologic and serologic responses or any incremental response during a 5-year follow-up period, including six months after end of the therapy in the original study and an additional 4 and half years in this project (5 years overall follow-up after the end of treatment). Specifically, we wish to assess the (1) sustained virologic response (SVR) of HCV in both populations, (2) incidence of HBsAg loss and HBsAg seroconversion (HBsAg loss and appearance of anti-HBs) in dually infected population, (3) ALT normalization or flare off-treatment during both populations, (4) reductions of HCV RNA from the original baseline levels in the two patient populations, and (5) reduction of serum HBV DNA off-treatment in the dually infected population.

The objective of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of PegIntron plus Rebetol combination in treating patients with chronic hepatitis C in a primary care setting. Patients received no antiviral therapy prior to the current study. Only patients infected with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) genotype 1, 4, 5, or 6 will be enrolled in the study. The study will also explore the influence of liver fibrosis stage on the chances of achieving a sustained virologic response.

The objective of the study is to assess the safety and efficacy of PegIntron injector and Rebetol administered to participants with chronic hepatitis C. Participants will be treated by general practitioners in clinical practice as part of the post-marketing surveillance study. The study will assess the rates of eradication of the hepatits C virus and the rates of serious adverse events reported with PegIntron (1.5 μg/kg/week) and Rebetol (800-1200 mg/day) in common medical practice in Germany.

The current gold standard for treatment of chronic hepatitis C is pegylated interferon plus ribavirin. Drug administration accuracy and ease of use will definitely determine treatment effectiveness. This is the idea behind the development and usage of the PegIntron pen (PegPen). Therefore, it is worthwhile to evaluate patients' satisfaction with this novel device. The results of the study will be used to improve PegPen training techniques for patients and health care providers.

The purpose of this study is to learn about how different immunosuppressant therapies impact on recurrent hepatitis C virus infection in the new liver after liver transplant. We will be evaluating if Cyclosporin A has a superior effect against recurrent Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection than Tacrolimus.

This study will examine the effects of treatment for hepatitis C on atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver caused by a virus that can cause permanent damage to that organ. Treatment can clear the virus in at least half of patients and reduce the risk of serious complications of the disease. Atherosclerosis is an accumulation of cholesterol and fat in the arteries that can narrow blood vessels, leading to chest pain, heart attack or stroke. Because the liver controls cholesterol and fat levels in the blood, hepatitis C infection may be a risk factor for atherosclerosis by increasing cholesterol and fat in blood vessels. Treatment of the hepatitis C may reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and its consequences. This study will determine what effect hepatitis C treatment has on the rate of atherosclerosis and narrowing of blood vessels and on the risk of heart attack or stroke. Patients 30 years of age and older with current or past infection with hepatitis C may be eligible for this study. Participants undergo the following tests and procedures: Questionnaires regarding risk factors for heart disease and stroke Measurements of blood pressure, heart rate, weight, height, waist and hips Blood tests CT scans and ultrasound tests to measure the degree of blood vessel hardening and narrowing in the heart and neck region

The main objective of this study is to assess whether a recently-developed bioassay for the protein FGL2 can be used to predict the progression and/or response to treatment of Hepatitis C Virus disease in patients with chronic HCV infection. The hypothesis is that increased levels of FGL2 and increased numbers of T regulatory cells are associated with a failure to respond to treatment.

The purpose of our prospective study was to evaluate the value of Doppler parameters and compare the diagnostic accuracy of Doppler parameters with various biochemical indices in predicting significant hepatic fibrosis (≥ F2) and cirrhosis (F4) in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients.

Aim To evaluate the effects of peginterferon and ribavirin therapy on the immune response in chronic HCV genotype 1,2 or 3 patients before, during and after treatment. Background Treatment of chronic hepatitis C (HCV) has shown a remarkable success. However, genotype 1 patients have reduced response rates. A better understanding and improvement of these results can now be considered the greatest challenge. In chronically infected patients, HCV-specific immune responses are generally weak, narrowly focused, and often dysfunctional. The presence of HCV-specific cells suppressing the immune response (regulatory T-lymphocytes=Treg) are able to suppress the immune response. These Treg are possibly responsible for the impaired immune response. Previous studies have indicated increased Treg frequency and activity of immune regulating mechanisms, locally in the liver, as a result of HCV re-infection. Hence, these Data highlight the importance of monitoring intrahepatic immune responses in addition to peripheral immune responses. Using the minimally-invasive technique of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), it is now possible to obtain safe and frequent liver samples to monitor local antiviral immune responses in chronic HCV patients during antiviral therapy. Rationale and hypothesis of the study Our previous studies and current literature support the concept that Treg may contribute to HCV persistence by suppressing HCV-spec immune responses. The current study is designed to examine if peginterferon and ribavirin therapy affects the activity of Treg and DC, and if this results in enhanced HCV-specific immune responses. Design Single centre, translational and observational open label study with one arm of 20 genotype 1 patients and one arm of 7 genotype 2/3 patients.

This is a long-term evaluation follow-up study of neurocognitive performance and emotional state in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection and a former (peg)interferon alfa-2b-based therapy. M.R. Kraus, G. Teuber, NN, NN (MPsych), M. Scheurlen Questions: Neurocognitive and psychiatric changes induced by interferon alfa-2b therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C - are they fully reversible in long-term follow-up after the end of antiviral treatment? At least 12 months after the end of antiviral treatment - are neurocognitive and mood-related parameters even significantly improved as compared to pretreatment values? Is this possibly only true of patients with successful virus eradication? At least 12 months after the end of antiviral treatment, is there a significant difference between patients with and without sustained virological response with respect to neurocognitive performance, emotional state and quality of life? In the absence of clinically significant liver damage in patients with chronic hepatitis C - does the mere presence of the hepatitis C virus have any significant influence on neurocognitive or attentional performance? Does the study data support an additional indication for antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis C? In the case of successful virus eradication, emotional state and - above all - is neurocognitive performance significantly improved even in the absence of severe liver damage?