Hepatitis, STDs, TB and other related Subjects
May 2008
Epi Insight into Syphilis and TB in Michigan
The Spring issue of this publication from the Michigan Department of
Community Health, Bureau of Epidemiology includes articles, "Syphilis Laboratory
Reporting in MDSS" and "Tuberculosis Reporting in the Michigan Disease
Surveillance System." If you would like to be added to the Listserv please email
macomberk@michigan.gov .
Fluvastatin Inhibits Hepatitis C Replication in
Humans
abstract
"Most Moms Balk at HPV Vaccine for Young Girls:
Study"
Chicago Sun-Times , (05.05.2008) Monifa Thomas
The first national study of mothers’ attitudes toward the human papillomavirus (HPV)
vaccine found less than half (49 percent) said they would vaccinate a daughter
if she were nine to 12 years old. But 68 percent of the more than 10,000 moms
surveyed said they would be willing to vaccinate daughters who were 13 to 15.
The affirmative response climbed to 86 percent when the question was posed for
daughters ages 16 to 18. CDC Summary
"Third Wave Seeks OK for HPV Tests"
Wisconsin State Journal , (05.02.2008)
Madison-based Third Wave Technologies has submitted applications seeking Food
and Drug Administration approval for two human papillomavirus tests. One product
would be used with a Pap smear to test women age 30 and over for high-risk HPV
types to guide their treatment. The other detects two HPV types believed to
cause around 70 percent of cervical disease. Kevin Conroy, Third Wave’s
president and CEO, said the company hopes to have the products on the market in
2009.
See Archived News
Summaries
"Most Moms Balk at HPV Vaccine
for Young Girls: Study"
Chicago Sun-Times , (05.05.2008) Monifa Thomas
The first national study of mothers’ attitudes toward the human papillomavirus (HPV)
vaccine found less than half (49 percent) said they would vaccinate a daughter
if she were nine to 12 years old. But 68 percent of the more than 10,000 moms
surveyed said they would be willing to vaccinate daughters who were 13 to 15.
The affirmative response climbed to 86 percent when the question was posed for
daughters ages 16 to 18.
The HPV vaccine is approved for females ages nine to 26. CDC recommends
vaccination when girls are 11 to 12 years old, an age when they typically
receive adolescent booster shots.
Dr. Jessica Kahn, the study’s author and a pediatrician at Cincinnati Children’s
Hospital Medical Center, said the results are not surprising. “There’s sort of
an underlying assumption among some parents that recommending the vaccine means
that someone, either a clinician or themselves, will have to have a discussion
that HPV is transmitted sexually. I think that’s a barrier,” she said.
In addition, parents and doctors assume that older girls are at higher risk for
HPV, and so they may feel less urgency to vaccinate at a younger age, said Kahn.
However, HPV vaccination is most effective in girls who have not yet been
exposed to the virus.
Recent CDC figures show HPV is the most common STD among teenage girls in the
United States. The vaccine Gardasil targets HPV strains that are responsible for
70 percent of the more than 10,000 new cervical cancer cases diagnosed in the
United States each year.
Fluvastatin Inhibits Hepatitis C
Replication in Humans
Ted Bader, MD; Javid Fazili, MD; Mohammed Madhoun, MD; Christopher
Aston, PhD; Diane Hughes, NP; Syed Rizvi, MD; Ken Seres, MD; Muhammad Hasan, MD
Abstract
The researchers noted the strong demand for additional treatments to increase
the cure rate of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. At present, pegylated
interferon and ribavirin produce sustained viral remission in only 50 percent of
patients. HCV is the leading cause of death by liver disease in the United
States. Experiments in vitro have shown that fluvastatin has strong antiviral
effects against HCV. The authors designed the present study to assess the safety
and antiviral effects of fluvastatin in chronic HCV patients. At the Veteran’s
Administration Medical Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., 31 veterans with chronic
HCV were prospectively given oral doses of fluvastatin: 20 to 320 mg per day for
two to 12 weeks. The patients were monitored by HCV RNA and liver tests.
Reductions of viral load (P<0.01) compared to a control group were considered
suppressive. Among patients receiving 80 mg a day or less, 11 of 22 (50 percent)
achieved lower HCV RNA. The first lowering occurred within four weeks (9 of 11
patients, 82 percent). The greatest weekly change in HCV RNA was a 1.75 log10
reduction. When lowered in responders, the viral load remained relatively
constant for two to five weeks (7 of 9 patients, 78 percent), or at the next
test rebounded immediately to a non-significant change from baseline (n=2). In 2
of 19 patients (22 percent), continued lowering of the virus was noted when the
study ended. The authors found no evidence of worsening liver tests. Used as
monotherapy in vivo, fluvastatin “showed suppressive effects of HCV clinically
that are modest, variable, and often short-lived,” the researchers concluded.
“These findings support ‘proof-of-concept’ for pilot trials combining
fluvastatin with standard therapy. Statins and fluvastatin, in particular,
appear to be safe for use in hepatitis C.”
http://www.amjgastro.com
Date of Publication
04//2008
