Registration for the 2026 International HBV Meeting is now open. Learn more here.

Site Search

You searched for "hepatitis D"

  • All of Us Research Program

    Medicine is not one size fits all. Changing that idea takes All of Us.  Why is it that an African American woman in her thirties living in a large city tends to receive the same medical care as a man in his sixties of European descent who lives on a farm in rural America, who in turn receives the same treatment as a Korean American mother of two in her forties living in a midwestern suburb? Each of these people has different ancestry, lifestyle, environment, socioeconomic status, and genetics, all of which have a major impact on health. Why should these factors not impact healthcare as well? The All of Us Research Program, an initiative of the National Institutes of Health, is working to change that. The goal of the program is to diversify the pool of available biomedical data, so that researchers can study many different people and groups, and doctors in turn can then make much more informed decisions about prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of various conditions, that are much more tailored to individual people and to specific groups of people, a practice known as precision medicine. For far too long, doctors have been using data from and information about “the average person” (typically a white man) to make decisions and provide care to everyone in the extraordinarily diverse population of the United States. Now there is a great opportunity for all of us to come together to help them change that!  The overall objective of the project is to recruit one million or more participants and to follow them over ten years.The Hepatitis B Foundation, in partnership with Hep Free Haw aii and the Asian Engagement and Recruitment Core (ARC), is working to spread the word about the All of Us Research Program to everyone, but particularly among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, who are under-represented in this area, historically and currently.  Why should I participate? This is an important chance to learn about your own health,

    http://www.hepb.org/blog/us-research-program/
  • Copay Accumulators - What They Are and What They Mean For Your Prescriptions

    In January of 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)  proposed a new rule that could increase the out-of-pocket costs for people who take prescription medication for hepatitis B in the U.S. The proposed rule states that health insurance companies would be able to collect patient coinsurance through pharmaceutical manufacturer financial assistance. However, the insurance companies will be allowed to disregard any coinsurance paid with copay assistance when calculating how much the patient has paid toward their deductible and annual out-of-pocket (OOP) limit.  This proposal - titled 2021 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters - reverses a recent ruling that would have required health insurance companies to count the value of manufacturer copay assistance toward an enrollee’s annual deductible and OOP limit in most circumstances1.  This rule acknowledged that manufacturer copay assistance helps lessen the financial burden of medications for patients. In the US, prescription drugs can be extremely costly, making manufacturer’s copay assistance programs necessary for many patients.  For example, brand name treatments are often expensive in order to help pharmaceutical companies earn back the costs of the research and time spent making the medication. Sometimes, the brand name treatments are the only ones that are available, like Vemlidy, or the only version that a person can take. A reversal of the rule would mean that hepatitis B patients and those living with other chronic illnesses may have to pay a larger amount of out-of-pocket costs for their medications.  To understand the significance of this change, we first need to understand what a copay accumulator is.  What is a Copay Accumulator Program and How Does It Work?   A copay accumulator - or accumulator adjustment program - is a strategy used by insurance companies and Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs) that stop manufacturer copay assistance coupons from counting towards two

    http://www.hepb.org/blog/copay-accumulators-mean-prescriptions/
  • HBV Journal Review - April 2014

    HBF is pleased to connect our blog readers to Christine Kukka’s monthly HBV Journal Review that she writes for the HBV Advocate. The journal presents the
latest in hepatitis B research, treatment, and prevention from recent academic and medical journals. This month, the following topics are explored: Despite Antiviral Treatment, Liver Cancer Risk Persists Vitamin D Appears to Help Prevent Liver Cancer Dandelions May Be the Next Best Herbal Treatment for Hepatitis B Kidney Problems Are Prevalent with Hepatitis B Even Before Treatment Starts HBV Genotype H Appears to Cause Immediate Chronic Infection in Adults HBV Genotype E Has the Worst Response to Pegylated Interferon Cancer-Causing YMDD Mutations Found Frequently in HBV Genotype C High Iron Levels Found in Patients with Liver Failure Vietnamese-Americans at High Risk of Undiagnosed Hepatitis B and C Entecavir Performance Is Mediocre in Lamivudine-Resistant Patients A Simple Platelet Count Test Could Be Best Indicator of Fibrosis HBV Journal Review April 1, 2014 Volume 11, no 4 by Christine M. Kukka Despite Antiviral Treatment, Liver Cancer Risk Persists Researchers have hoped that treating hepatitis B patients with antivirals would reduce both their viral loads and their liver cancer risk. However, a new study that followed 1,378 treated and 1,014 untreated patients over five years found antivirals did not reduce liver cancer rates as hoped. The study tracked new liver cancer cases among patients infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) (average age 47, 65% male) who had been treated primarily with entecavir (Baraclude) for their high viral loads and liver damage. They compared that group's liver cancer occurrence to those of patients whose "inactive" HBV infection did not require treatment. Among the treated group, 70 patients (6.2%) developed liver cancer during the study period compared to only 11 (1.1%) in the untreated group. Notwithstanding  the ability of antivirals to reduce viral load, a

    http://www.hepb.org/blog/hbv-journal-review-april-2014/
  • Protein Myths and Your Liver

    Liver-friendly diets are a common concern for those with chronic hepatitis B wishing to make healthy lifestyle choices. Protein is essential to all, but there are healthier ways to consume necessary proteins.  Please enjoy this informative blog from the Al D. Rodriguez Liver Foundation - ADRLF, on Protein Myths and Your Liver written by ToniMarie Bacala. We all love need protein – whether it be from animals or plants—protein gives us essential amino acids we need to keep our bodies strong and healthy. But how much do we really understand about protein and its effects on our organs, especially the liver? Is there such as thing as too much protein, even if its from vegetables and grains? Let’s delve into two popular protein myths and how we can ensure our protein intake is safe for our liver. Love meat? Learn more about healthy non-animal meat proteins to protect you liver and keep your body healthy. Protein is made of 20 different amino acids, but only 11 of which can be naturally synthesized by our body. The other types of protein come from the food we eat. Essentially, it’s safe to say that while protein helps in building the cell wall, strengthening muscle tissues and supporting cell functions, our body actually just needs certain types of amino acids. So myth or truth? The best source of protein is animal meat. MYTH Eating red meat requires our digestive system, as well as our liver to do a lot of work processing the heavy bulk of protein. Experts suggest limiting the amount of red meat we eat to at most one serving a day. There are other good sources of proteins like whole grains, green vegetables, nuts, peas and beans. Fruits also contain small amounts of protein. Compared to animal meat, vegetables and beans have phytochemicals, antioxidants and other nutrients. Nuts and beans containing antioxidants help the liver process the food and beverage that we take in, making it a healthier source of protein. Myth or truth? People desiring to build lean

    http://www.hepb.org/blog/protein-myths-and-your-liver/
  • HBV Journal Review - June 2013

    HBF is pleased to connect our blog readers to Christine Kukka's monthly HBV Journal Review that she writes for the HBV Advocate. The journal presents the latest in hepatitis B research, treatment, and prevention from recent academic and medical journals. This month, the following topics are explored: • U.S. Doctors Failing to Treat Patients Who Need Treatment • Doctors Say Poor Training and Limited Resources Contribute to Substandard Care • More Proof—Many Patients with Slightly Elevated ALTs Have Fibrosis • Tenofovir Reduces Viral Load in HBeAg-Positive Patients Faster than Entecavir • Researchers Find Tenofovir Does Not Damage Kidneys • Tenofovir and Entecavir Highly Effective—If Taken as Prescribed • Family History of Liver Cancer Boosts Cancer Risk to 15.8% Among HBV-Infected • Vitamin D Deficiencies Found in People with High Viral Loads • More Evidence Shows Breastfeeding Does Not Transmit HBV Infection • Cesareans Do Not Reduce Mother-to-Child HBV Infection • 2% of HBV Genotype D Adults Lose HBsAg Annually HBV Journal Review June 1, 2013, Vol 10, no 6 by Christine M. Kukka U.S. Doctors Failing to Treat Patients Who Need Treatment Fewer than 50% of patients infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) who need treatment get antivirals or interferon from their primary care doctors and fewer than 70% of patients who go to university liver clinics get appropriate treatment, according to research presented at the Digestive Disease Week medical conference held in Orlando in May. Stanford University researchers conducted a real-life study to see what percentage of 1,976 hepatitis B patients treated in various clinical settings over four years received treatment. They used current medical guidelines when evaluating whether patients received appropriate treatment. Continue reading about this and additional studies...                    

    http://www.hepb.org/blog/hbv-journal-review-june-2013/