Baptist Health Gastroenterologists Studying New Drugs for Hepatitis C
Enrolling Patients with the Serious Liver Disease in Clinical Trials

Jacksonville, Florida, April 27, 2007 -- One of the most common causes of liver disease in the United States, Hepatitis C is the number-one reason for liver transplant. Now, new medications with the potential for curing the disease are being studied by gastroenterologists throughout the country, including in Jacksonville and at Baptist Health.

At least 1.8 percent of the U.S. population, and about 18,000 people in Jacksonville, have Hepatitis C. The disease is contracted through the blood, often from blood transfusions before 1992, sexual contact, or intravenous drug use.

Kyle Etzkorn, MD, chief of gastroenterology at Baptist Medical Center Downtown, says, "In the mid 1990s, patients with Hepatitis C took interferon in a shot they gave themselves three times a week, which resulted in only a 20 percent eradication of the virus. In the late 1990s, we saw the development of a drug called Ribavirin and saw slight improvement in the cure rates, around 30 percent. The next evolution was pegylation [time release] of interferon, which allowed patients to take a shot once a week, which they took in combination with Ribavirin orally and daily. This combination achieved a cure rate of around 35-40 percent.

"The problem with these drugs is that the combination and the drugs given alone have a lot of side effects, including flu-like symptoms and dangerously low red and white blood cell counts, while cure rates aren't very high. They also require frequent blood tests and monitoring by their physician and the therapy can be 48 weeks long for this form of hepatitis."

Until recently, these were the only treatment options for patients with Hepatitis C. Now, new oral medications called protease inhibitors may offer patients a higher cure rate. These drugs target a key hepatitis C protein called protease, an enzyme the virus needs to reproduce. Researchers believe that protease inhibitors may work alone, without a combination with other medications. Phase 1 studies have been promising and have shown a significant drop in participants' viral load. There were no serious side effects, but some patients experienced nausea, diarrhea and other mild symptoms.

"We are seeing some really exciting new drugs coming out, which are in phase 2 testing right here in Jacksonville," says Etzkorn.

In addition to considering participation in a local clinical trial, Etzkorn recommends that patients with Hepatitis C who have tried interferon treatment alone in the past and did not get a response consider visiting a gastroenterologist about being rechecked. "Patients may respond better to a combination of pegylated interferon and Ribavirin," he says. "There is hope even if the patient has already tried a combination."

For more information about local studies of protease inhibitors to treat Hepatitis C, call Baptist Health at 202.CARE (2273).