CDC now recommends every Baby Boomer should get tested for Hep C

The CDC is now recommending that every Baby Boomer (person born between 1945-1965) should get tested for Hepatitis C. Why? Because people who fall in that age range account for roughly 3/4 of all Hepatitis C patients in this country. You can read the new CDC recommendations here (Recommendations for the Identification of Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among Persons Born During 1945–1965).

FDA approves Victrelis (boceprevir) for Hepatitis C

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Victrelis (boceprevir) to treat certain adults with chronic hepatitis C. Victrelis is used for patients who still have some liver function, and who either have not been previously treated with drug therapy for their hepatitis C or who have failed such treatment. Victrelis is approved for use in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin.

The safety and effectiveness of Victrelis was evaluated in two phase 3 clinical trials with 1,500 adult patients. In both trials, two-thirds of patients receiving Victrelis in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin experienced a significantly increased sustained virologic response (i.e., the hepatitis C virus was no longer detected in the blood 24 weeks after stopping treatment), compared to pegylated interferon and ribavirin alone, the current standard of care.

AASLD Hepatitis C Practice Guidelines April 2009

The AASLD (American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases) just released updated Practice Guidelines on the Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment of Hepatitis C. They just came out this month in Hepatology, so make sure you take a look at them. Advances in medical technology are improving noninvasive liver tests of fibrosis and these tests may someday replace the needle biopsy. I did some biomedical research on biopsy needles during my days at MIT.