New Compounds Show Promise Against Hepatitis C Infection

[Guest guest]

http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2011/04/new-compounds-show-promise-aga\

inst-hepatitis-c-infection.aspx

New Compounds Show Promise Against Hepatitis C Infection

Approximately 270 million to 300 million people worldwide are infected with

hepatitis C, and about 1 percent to 2 percent of the U.S. population is

infected. This infectious disease can lead to scarring of the liver, cirrhosis,

and eventually liver failure. A significant number of infected patients develop

liver disease or cancer. The current standard treatment is interferon, which has

only a 50 percent success rate. Compounding the 50 percent failure rate are

severe side effects which lead many people to discontinue treatment.

Wheeler French Jr., MD, PhD, sssistant professor of pathology and

laboratory medicine at UCLA and researcher at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive

Cancer Center, is a liver pathologist who is currently developing a

proteomic-based program to study the development of liver cancer from hepatitis

C viral infection. His most recent study results, presented in an American

Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) symposium on " Pathobiology of Liver

Injury and Fibrosis " on at Experimental Biology 2011, evaluate the effects of

several flavonoids on hepatitis C viral infection. Previously, French has shown

that quercetin, a plant-derived bioflavonoid used by some as a nutritional

supplement, attenuates hepatitis C virus production with no cell toxicity. In

his most recent research, French and colleagues found that two other

bioflavonoids, catechin and naringenin, displayed antiviral activity on tissue

culture. The next step is to determine through a Phase I Clinical Trial that

they are safe for patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.

" We now have several new compounds we can test to see if they reduce virus

infection, " says French. " The positive thing about this family of compounds is

that they are nontoxic, and can be taken at high doses. Bioflavonoids represent

a very promising therapy with very few side effects that could help millions of

people. "

Experimental Biology is an annual gathering of six scientific societies that

this year is expected to draw 13,000-plus independent scientists and exhibitors.

The societies represented are: American Association of Anatomists (AAA),

American Physiological Society (APS), American Society for Biochemistry and

Molecular Biology (ASBMB), American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP),

American Society for Nutrition (ASN) and the American Society for Pharmacology

and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).

[Guest guest]

http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2011/04/new-compounds-show-promise-aga\

inst-hepatitis-c-infection.aspx

New Compounds Show Promise Against Hepatitis C Infection

Approximately 270 million to 300 million people worldwide are infected with

hepatitis C, and about 1 percent to 2 percent of the U.S. population is

infected. This infectious disease can lead to scarring of the liver, cirrhosis,

and eventually liver failure. A significant number of infected patients develop

liver disease or cancer. The current standard treatment is interferon, which has

only a 50 percent success rate. Compounding the 50 percent failure rate are

severe side effects which lead many people to discontinue treatment.

Wheeler French Jr., MD, PhD, sssistant professor of pathology and

laboratory medicine at UCLA and researcher at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive

Cancer Center, is a liver pathologist who is currently developing a

proteomic-based program to study the development of liver cancer from hepatitis

C viral infection. His most recent study results, presented in an American

Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) symposium on " Pathobiology of Liver

Injury and Fibrosis " on at Experimental Biology 2011, evaluate the effects of

several flavonoids on hepatitis C viral infection. Previously, French has shown

that quercetin, a plant-derived bioflavonoid used by some as a nutritional

supplement, attenuates hepatitis C virus production with no cell toxicity. In

his most recent research, French and colleagues found that two other

bioflavonoids, catechin and naringenin, displayed antiviral activity on tissue

culture. The next step is to determine through a Phase I Clinical Trial that

they are safe for patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.

" We now have several new compounds we can test to see if they reduce virus

infection, " says French. " The positive thing about this family of compounds is

that they are nontoxic, and can be taken at high doses. Bioflavonoids represent

a very promising therapy with very few side effects that could help millions of

people. "

Experimental Biology is an annual gathering of six scientific societies that

this year is expected to draw 13,000-plus independent scientists and exhibitors.

The societies represented are: American Association of Anatomists (AAA),

American Physiological Society (APS), American Society for Biochemistry and

Molecular Biology (ASBMB), American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP),

American Society for Nutrition (ASN) and the American Society for Pharmacology

and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).