Press Releases
November 9, 2011
St. Barnabas Hospital Finds Better Success with New Treatment for Hepatitis C Patients
Juan Perez, a Bronx man, has had Hepatitis C since he was in his early 20s. Until recently, he had not responded well to the standard treatment for the disease that involved the use of pegylated interferon and ribavirin.
This was not uncommon with certain patients, including African Americans, obese people, and those with high viral loads.
A former intravenous drug user, Juan came to the St. Barnabas Hospital Liver Clinic, a subspecialty clinic that was created by the hospital for the thousands of Bronx patients with Hepatitis C, and was put on a new protocol this summer by his doctor. At the clinic, he received specialized care and also had a chance to interact with nurse practitioners who educate patients about their disease and how to treat it.
About Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is the number one cause for liver transplants. It is five times more prevalent in the United States than HIV/AIDS and kills about 10,000 Americans annually.
It puts patients at risk for cirrhosis of the liver as well as liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma). It can be a relatively silent disease as many people have no symptoms for years after contracting the virus. They often learn of their illness through a routine blood test and are shocked to hear they have the disease.
Primary risk factors for Hepatitis C include use of intravenous drugs (as well as intranasal administration of cocaine), promiscuous sex, blood transfusions, and exposure to tainted blood. The disease is also endemic in many developing nations due to poor public health conditions. Many people who are HIV positive are co-infected with Hepatitis C.
“The treatment of Hepatitis C has been challenging, but because of the recent advances in treatment we are successful now almost 80% of the time in eradicating the Hepatitis C virus, while the old treatment was only 50% successful,” said Dr. Andrea Culliford, Director of the Gastroenterology Department at St. Barnabas Hospital. “We had been telling our patients for the last several years that a new treatment was being studied and would be available this year.”
The groups that frequently did not respond well to the standard treatment have found their chances increasing dramatically, from 30 – 40% to 65 – 75%.
The old standard of care has taken a major leap forward by adding directly acting antiviral agents called DAAs. The new medications are two protease inhibitors called telapravir and boceprevir that deliver superior efficacy over peginterferon and ribavirin alone in patients with genotype 1 chronic Hepatitis C infection (which comprises the majority of Americans infected).
The new medication, called Incivek, is given for 12 weeks with the old treatment, then the old treatment is continued for 36 more weeks. Incivek, which received FDA approval in May, is taken in pill form.
The new medications (DAAs) have side effects, as did the standard treatment, but patients like Juan Perez have been educated on what they can expect (which may include rash, anal itching and a more severe anemia), and the importance of being treated in the liver clinic than in the emergency room, where taking certain medications can compromise Hepatitis C treatment.
Howard Matzner/Steven Clark
Andover Communications
(201) 947-4133
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)