Active clinical trials for "Hepatitis C"

In the presented project, the role of heme oxygenase 1 and 2 in the procesess associated with fibroproduction in the chronic HCV infection will be studied. Heme oxygenase expression will be evaluated by the techniques of molecular genetics and immunohistochemistry, both in the liver tissue and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These parameters will be correlated with basic virological and clinical characteristics of the chronic HCV infection. The investigators' expected results may help in understanding the mechanisms of fibroproduction in chronic HVC infection and, therefore, contribute to explain individual differences in the development of chronic HCV infection.

INTRODUCTION: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is recognized as the leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. However, the screening rate and treatment rate of HCV-infected patients in China is low, which increases the burden of patients and the infection risk of their family members. WeChat, an instant messaging software, is used in a very high proportion in China. Health promotion based on WeChat public platform is a very convenient and effective way of health education. Therefore, this study plans to apply WeChat to conduct health intervention for HCV-infected patients. The objective is to explore the effect of We-media-based health promotion method on the detection rate and treatment rate of HCV-infected and their family members. METHOD: Recruitment will be conduct in 10 hospitals in Jilin, Beijing, Henan and Anhui provinces. The subjects should be patients new diagnosed with hepatitis C at the hospital and aged 18 to 69. After signing the consent form, eligible participants were selected through the inclusion and exclusion criteria. 1000 participants will be recruited for the trial. After completing an baseline reseach by a online questionnaire, patients will be randomly assigned to receive a targeted short article on HCV weekly or a general health article with no mention of HCV. The intervention will last three months and a follow-up will be conduct at three month after the last intervention. OUTCOMES: The primary outcome is antiviral therapy. The secondary outcomes are cognition and attitude towards hepatitis C, factors influencing antiviral therapy, time to first treatment and the compliance of treatment.

Objective: to study the effect of Acupuncture on liver cirrhosis, SVR and health related quality of life in HCV patients receiving standard treatment (Peg Interferon+ Ribavirin). Methods: 60 HCV patients receiving standard treatment (Peg Interferon+ Ribavirin) will undergo Serologic screening for hepatitis C virus (Anti-HCV EIAs and/or recombinant immunoblot assay) plus Transient Ultrasound Elastography (FibroScan) to achieve baseline characteristics(17,18,19). Patients will be randomized into intervention and control groups, 30 patients each.In the Intervention group each patient will receive an acupuncture treatment once a week for 12 consecutive weeks(Max 12, Min 8 treatments). Treatment protocol will be individualized for each patient according to TCM diagnosis. This treatment protocol is acceptable and has been published(20,21,22).In the control group patients will receive standard treatment alone, with no other intervention. Data collection: after 12 weeks patients will again undergo Serologic screening for hepatitis C virus (Anti-HCV EIAs and/or recombinant immunoblot assay) plus Transient Ultrasound Elastography (FibroScan) in order to detect changes from baseline and group differences. Inclusion criteria: adult patients with a confirmed HCV infection Exclusion criteria: Under 18 years Can not receive standard Peg interferon+ ribavirin treatment for any reason Psychiatric diagnosis Anaemia of hematologic origin Diabetic patient with uncontrolled diabetes Congestive heart failure, arrhythmia Hepatocellular carcinoma HIV infection Hepatitis B infection Auto immune liver disease or alcoholic liver disease Study duration: 1 year Study Location: "Ziv" medical center, division of liver disease, Israel

Chronic liver diseases of differing etiologies are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide [1]. Chronic liver disease progresses through different pathological stages that vary from mild hepatic inflammation without fibrosis to advanced hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis [2]. Assessment of the stage of liver disease is important for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up both during treatment and after cessation of treatment. A liver biopsy is the oldest and most accurate method used to evaluate liver histology and the progression of chronic liver disease. Furthermore, different histological scoring systems have been developed and modified [3]. A liver biopsy is considered the gold standard for assessing liver histology [4]. During the pathological progression of liver fibrosis, excessive amounts of extracellular matrix build up; furthermore, serum levels of various biomarkers change, in addition to the appearance of new biomarkers in the serum during the different stages of fibrosis [2, 5]. Recently many noninvasive markers (NIMs) for assessing liver fibrosis have been developed, and they are frequently used in clinical practice. They have been validated in different studies, and some were found to be highly accurate in the assessment of liver fibrosis compared with liver biopsies [6-7], which have always been used as the standard reference method for evaluating the accuracy of noninvasive methods. There are limited studies documenting the cost effectiveness of non invasive markers over invasive technique. Most people with chronic Hepatitis B or C are unaware of their infection, putting them at serious risk of developing cirrhosis or liver cancer which are life threatening. Similarly patients with non alcoholic fatty liver diseases are unaware about fibrosis in liver. About 20-50% of persistent infection ends up into fibrosis and finally cirrhosis. Invasive and non invasive diagnostic methods are widely used to detect the fibrosis. Clinicians use different drugs and combinations to treat HBV and HCV infections. However, there is scarcity of a longitudinal prospective study to assess the cost effectiveness of these diagnostic measures. We planned to conduct a retrospective followed by prospective cohort study among all cases that underwent biopsy in ILBS or GB Pant Hospital since 2000 till Dec 2020 with HBV infection, HCV infection, or non alcoholic fatty liver disease. For retrospective cohort study, we will collect data from hospital information system for all patients with HBV infection, HCV infection, or non alcoholic fatty liver disease, who underwent biopsy during the period of 2000-Dec 2015. The new patients with HBV infection, HCV infection, or non alcoholic fatty liver disease who will undergo biopsy during the period Jan 2016- Dec 2020 will serve as a cohort for prospective design. We will collect socio-demographic data, clinical data, family history, personal history, medical history, anthropometry, biochemical and radiological data from each patient. We will also be conducting a cost effective analysis for various non invasive markers against biopsy as a gold standard in predicting fibrosis, both for retrospective and prospective cohorts. For prospective cohort study, after evaluation of baseline biopsy results, the cases with metavir fibrosis score (F0-3) will be followed for a period of 5 years to document incidence of development and progression of fibrosis. No additional investigation or test will be asked to the patient for the study. We will also develop a predicting model for development and progression of fibrosis.

This study aims to demonstrate that patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and B (CHB) experiencing regression of liver cirrhosis after effective antiviral therapy have decreased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Primary aim is to determine the incidence of HCC in patients with cirrhosis secondary to CHC and CHB, after treatment is provided, and to identify the magnitude of the decreased risk for HCC in patients experiencing regression of fibrosis. As a secondary aim, environmental risk factors for HCC development will be sought, in order to determine a subset of patients in whom it will be safe to stop surveillance.

Although infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) can result in acute hepatitis; it more commonly progresses to chronic hepatitis. The acute process is most often asymptomatic. Acute HCV typically leads to chronic infection. Chronic HCV infection is usually slowly progressive. Approximately 5 to 20 percent of chronically infected individuals develop cirrhosis over a 20-30 year period of time. Chronic HCV is the most common cause of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and the most frequent indication for liver transplantation in the United States. Screening for chronic HCV infection is crucial because chronic HCV infection is often asymptomatic, effective treatment is available, and untreated disease carries a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Expert opinion, recommendations, and guidelines for HCV screening do not all agree. All guidelines recommend screening patients at increased risk for HCV (ie: typical risk factors). In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended screening all persons born between 1945 and 1965. At least two studies suggest that screening persons born between 1945 and 1964 or 1946 to 1970, respectively, is cost-effective. The studies estimated that if patients found to be HCV positive were treated with pegylated interferon, ribavirin, and direct acting antiviral therapy (for patients with HCV genotype 1), it would cost $35,700 to 37,700 per quality adjusted life-year. Screening based upon a birth cohort in patients without risk factors may lead to more false positive results. Currently only 1 % of patients in the birth cohort of 1945-1965 who cared for by Intermountain Healthcare providers have been screened. Ambulatory care physicians are not effectively screening patients. It is unclear whether screening based on risk factors alone versus screening based upon risk factors and birth cohort most effectively manages the burden of chronic HCV infection for patients managed by Intermountain Healthcare providers. It is possible that the Intermountain Healthcare population differs in risk from the U.S. population,making guideline application less certain. A well-designed prospective cohort study is needed to understand the risks and benefits of different HCV screening strategies on diagnostic yield and clinical outcomes. The investigators hypothesize that screening based on a person's history of risk factors will detect chronic HCV infection in 2.7 % of the population tested; this would be according to national average. The investigators further hypothesize that screening based on birth cohort and risk factors will identify roughly the same percentage in the tested population. The investigators anticipate usable data within three months which should give us data to describe and publish the effectiveness of different screening strategies. The investigators will identify patients with chronic HCV infection through this initial study who now require treatment and management. The investigators believe this group could be followed inexpensively for clinical endpoints for many years. This would then definitively define the effectiveness of screening strategies based on good evidence. No study has evaluated clinical outcomes associated with the different screening strategies for chronic hepatitis c virus infection.

The objective of this pilot project is to investigate the prognostic criteria for sensitivity of Chronic Hepatitis C (CHC) Genotype 1, patients to IFNa treatment. Signal transduction in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) of control groups will be compared with that of CHC patients. For this study, 20 patients with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who are to undergo standard antiviral therapy and 10 healthy donors (significant others of the HCV subject) will be enrolled. Signal transduction will be studied in peripheral blood of CHC subjects before the treatment, after 1 and 3 months of treatment, and 4-6 months following the completion of treatment.

Prospective, longitudinal multi-center study performed in 15 participating substitution centers in Germany. Aims: - Primary objective: To compare the impact of the different substitution drugs (methadone, buprenorphine, and suboxone) on the neurocognitive, emotional, and quality-of-life-related tolerability in opioid dependent patients under HCV treatment. - Secondary objective: To investigate if IFN therapy impairs efficacy (with respect to e.g. retention rates, concomitant drug use and in particular neurocognitive function) and tolerability of agonist maintenance treatment with methadone, buprenorphine, or suboxone

The purpose of the study is to investigate the immune response to hepatitis C virus to determine why some people clear the virus and others develop chronic infection. Changes in immune response once hepatitis C therapy is begun will also be examined. If patients are also HIV+, the effect of antiretroviral therapy on the recovery of hepatitis C immunity will be investigated.

All patients with chronic kidney disease (stages 3, 4 and 5) and chronic dialysis patients with HCV infection attending nephrology and Hepatology OPD or getting outpatient dialysis at the dialysis unit of ILBS.