A recent study showed that Pfizer's Paxlovid, the most effective Covid drug, failed to prevent infection when given to people who were exposed to the virus but had not yet become infected. Bad news, right? Actually, no - it's quite the opposite. Here's why.
hepatitis c
Antiviral drug development for COVID-19 took a back seat to vaccines during the brief time – when we thought that ending the pandemic was simply a matter of getting enough needles in enough arms. But the virus had other ideas: variants. Now it's looking like we may need a drug to complement the vaccines. Three are in development. Here's a look at Pfizer's PF-07321332. It should work, but don't hold me to that.
Infectious diseases, such as influenza and tuberculosis, kill millions every year. But an infectious disease can kill in another way: by causing cancer. The good news is that many of these infections are preventable or treatable.
Florida recently declared a statewide emergency because of outbreaks of hepatitis A. The viral infection has hit many other states as well. Here's a little info about the virus, and perhaps some clarification of its name. There are five different hepatitis viruses (A to E) that affect humans. How does one keep track? Maybe this will help.
One way to discover drugs is by drug repurposing, which is the process of discovering "new" drugs from "old" ones. Instead of starting from scratch (which takes 10+ years), if scientists can find an approved drug that treats a different -- often untreatable -- condition, considerable time and cost can be saved. In this manner, a drug that cures hepatitis C was found be effective against Yellow Fever and Chikungunya. Does this make sense?
After two decades of very tough research, Big Bad Pharma finally came up with a cure for hepatitis C – a viral liver infection that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer. So, are liver cancer rates dropping? No. That's because young Americans are drinking so much that they are destroying their livers.
After being bitten by a mosquito, who among us hasn’t been tormented by the resulting itch? Now, imagine that intensity and urge to scratch spread over your entire body, in a constant and unrelenting fashion – night and day. This condition has a name: chronic generalized pruritus.
The CDC is urging dialysis providers to tighten up infection control practices, in order to stop patients from getting Hepatitis C while undergoing hemodialysis. Question: How is that even possible? Answer: Mainly due to procedural sloppiness and inadequate sanitary practices.
A protein involved in pathological angiogenesis can serve as a new therapeutic target in the treatment of chronic liver disease, which claims nearly 50,000 lives annually. In vivo tests involving knock-out mice has shown promising results.
A sloppy article about a so-called hepatitis C "outbreak" in Utah is profoundly flawed. It's a result of careless reporting and questionable advice from a state public health official. The article sounds like it's the end of the world, but it's anything but. Good thing we're around to call attention to messes like this.
It is hardly news that Sovaldi and Harvoni, the enormously effective new hepatitis C drugs, are quite costly. This has caused some debate about when it is best to start using them. But, a new study says: "The sooner the better." It is better to treat patients before liver fibrosis is present.
Needle exchange programs where addicts can exchange dirty syringes for clean ones are effective in preventing the spread of HIV, a finding that's highlighted in a new CDC report. But in terms of curbing the overall drug abuse problem, the programs themselves remain controversial.