Mavyret approved as 8-week treatment for hep C, compensated cirrhosis

(HealthDay)—Approval of Mavyret (glecaprevir and pibrentasvir) tablets has been expanded to eight-week treatment for treatment-naive patients aged 12 years and older with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 1 through 6 and compensated cirrhosis, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced last week. Mavyret is the first eight-week treatment approved for any treatment-naive HCV patients, regardless of cirrhosis status or […]

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FDA warns of liver problems for some taking hep C drugs

(HealthDay)—Taking the hepatitis C drugs Mavyret, Zepatier or Vosevi can trigger rare cases of severe liver problems or liver failure in patients who already have moderate-to-severe liver impairment, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Wednesday. The agency has identified 63 cases of worsening liver function, some resulting in liver failure or death, among patients taking the drugs. While the […]

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Liver cancer patients can be treated for Hep C infection

A large, multi-center study refutes earlier suggestions that antiviral drugs for treating hepatitis C may lead to a higher recurrence of liver cancer. Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center studied the records of patients who had been successfully treated for liver cancer at 31 medical centers in North America, comparing those who were and were not given direct-acting antivirals for […]

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Metabolic syndrome common with chronic hep B infection

(HealthDay)—Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is prevalent among patients with chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection, according to a study published online March 29 in Diabetes Care. Mandana Khalili, M.D., from the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues assessed prevalence of MetS and its influence on alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and fibrosis among a multiethnic North American cohort with chronic HBV infection […]

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