The drug boceprevir helps cure hard-to-treat hepatitis C infections, says Saint Louis University investigator Dr. Bruce R. Bacon, an author of the March 31 New England Journal of Medicine article detailing study findings. The results, which were first reported at the 61st annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease's last November, offer a brighter outlook for patients who have not responded to standard treatment. Dr. Bacon, who is professor of internal medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and co-principal investigator of the HCV RESPOND-2 study, studied the protease inhibitor boceprevir and found that it significantly increased the number of patients whose blood had undetectable levels of the virus. "These findings are especially significant for patients who don't respond to initial treatment," said Dr. Bacon. "When the hepatitis C virus is not eliminated, debilitating fatigue and more serious problems can follow." Hepatitis C is caused by a virus that is transmitted by contact with blood. The infection may initially be asymptomatic, but for patients who develop chronic hepatitis C infection, inflammation of the liver may develop, leading to fibrosis and cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), as well as other complications including liver cancer and death. The prognosis varies for patients with chronic hepatitis C. With the current standard therapy, about half fully recover after an initial course of peginterferon and ribavirin anti-viral therapy that may last from six months to a year. The remaining patients, known as non-responders, may improve with initial treatment but the virus is not eliminated, or may not respond to treatment at all.Login Or Register To Read Full Story