new treatment???

http://hepatitiscresearchandnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2011/07/oral-combination-therapy-future.html

Is anyone here being treated with RG7128 and danoprevir?  I had my first appointment with hepatologist and he said they can now cure HCV with this treatment.  I posted the link above.  I would welcome any info or experience with this treatment.  Thanks all!

[OdinLovesLife]

Any promise of Interferon free treatments makes me jump for joy! This one is only Stage 1 though. It seems like it might be a little early to say for sure that this will be an Interferon free treatment rather than part of a triple therapy.

Here is a link to another article about the same study that has more information.
http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/news/2010/1022_2010_a.html

There were cases of a small proportion of IFN null responders and a larger number of treatment naive people having a SVR after 14-days. No information about whether thay are still SVR.

The Pharmasset trials look pretty exciting. Have you seen threads on this forum about them?

[OdinLovesLife]

Actually I see that the Danoprevir plus RG7128 trials were largely conducted at Australia and New Zealand hospitals. I can ask directly for some information. It will probably be a couple of months before my next appointment though.

[mdudley]

I am REAL new at this.  Just diagnosed  with positive antibody test on 9/9/11.  Saw hep doc 9/13/11...he did more blood work.  Had sonogram today.  He definitely said NO interferon with the treatment he mentioned.  I will post more specific info as I get it.  My mind is in a dither needless to say.    I also asked about liver biopsy and he said they knock you out like they do with a colonoscopy (which I have had two of those and both were a piece of cake :) ).  I will check out the link you posted and I have just begun reading about Pharmasset trials.  Thank you for the info!

[OdinLovesLife]

If you are just getting your head around all this best thing I can offer is don't feel like you have to rush into anything. Take your time to understand what you are dealing with. Along with some almost religious opinions about this and that there are some wonderfully knowledgeable and helpful people here.

I think many people see some rising liver enzyme level test results and whopping viral load test result then think OMG I have to treat! I am starving hungry need dinner! Not going to write a tome tonight but really, take it easy. Do you have all your numbers? That helps when asking for advice.

[streamline569]

I find the interferon part of triple therapy to be the easiest. One shot once a week you may feel a little sick for a few hours but nothing like what the orals are doing. The Riba with the anxiety and the incivek with the fatigue Eating pills all day long, Sides all day long. Now I'm wondering why I was so afraid of interferon. Just the hair loss which so far I'm not experiencing

[willbb]

Possibly ..don"t put the cart before the horse. You still have to see if you have the active infection of HCV by a PCR test ..Has that been done? Then  you and your doctor would need to know your geno type and  a biopsy ..in order to properly discuss when and with what to treat.
If there is no, or mild liver damage as was suggested by a poster above...waiting may be an option..If you have geno type 2 or 3   then the landscape changes again as far as treatment regimes..
Good luck. and let us know how the tests go...
Will

[Puppyluvur]

Which is toughest to tx? GT1,2 or 3?

[curiouslady1]

I think it used to be GT 1a was most difficult but it isn't that clear anymore because some tx helps some and other treatment helps others.  I think pharma is looking for an omnibus drug and so the emphasis of Pharmasset on experiements with all the GT.  I would also pause and take a breath.   For example, biopsies are instrusive and can be painful.  Sometimes experimental trials do not use them but, rather, use other means to determine the condition of your liver and then, except if you are an outlier, use those results as admission criteria.  One thing to consider . . . prize your virginity (never before been treated status) and be very careful about picking and choosing your study because if you embark on a treatment that doesn't work for you, you are no longer desirable as a study participant in early phases with state of the art drugs.

[nygirl7]

I think it's geno4 now because the odds went up with the new meds for geno1 to about the same as 2 and 3 although 3 can be a real tough one sometimes.

I would not consider treatment without a biopsy to tell me if I needed to do it or if I could wait.

And they don't knock you out for a biopsy because you have to hold your breath. I can't imagine doing that when I was unconcious.

If you are treatment naive you have a lot of options available and the current new meds are working marvelously.

[Puppyluvur]

My biopsy was so painful. Felt like my lung was punctured. Ended up in emergency room that  next am. And to make it worse I'm allergic to lidocaine so they used benadryl to try and numb the area.

[Puppyluvur]

Did you have difficult experience  with your biopsy ? I don't think I've ever grittedy teeth so tightly.

[nygirl7]

Biopsy was nothing at all my brain kept telling me this hurts but it didn't at all.

[Puppyluvur]

You were very fortunate. Glad you didn't  go through what I did.

[nygirl7]

Did you have the ultrasound guided biopsy?  I kept laying there going oh it hurts and then when they put the clicky thing in I was like oh everyone is right there are no nerves in the liver to feel this. I kept saying it over and over for the 2 or 3 minutes and then it was done.

Next time I get one I am going to ask for drugs though it's too nerve wracking...might as well get some fun out of it ;)

[Puppyluvur]

I was under ct guided,nygirl. They even thought they had punctured my lung. The pain was excruciating and o could not breathe. But the ct showed all was where it was supposed to be. I don't know but I'm like you, next time somebody's gonna come up with some drugs. LoL

[curiouslady1]

The liver may not be sensitive to pain but the liver membrane surrounding the liver is.  Here is an interesting piece on liver pain.

http://www.sinomedresearch.org/hcv/articles/c36_liverpain.htm

I felt pain for months following my biopsy years ago.  I certainly didn't want to go through it again if I didn't have to and since I was expecting to enter a trial and clear the virus, I really saw no need to get one.   I didnt  need it to get into the study and the doctors were satisfied with the information available to them from lab tests etc. to provide a baseline.  As this was a Phase IIa, I would think the docs would err on the side of caution and believe they knew what they were about in making this decision.  Of course, I did not have severe fibrosis and, now I am clear and expecting to stay that way, the whole issue is moot.

[Puppyluvur]

Thanks for the info curious I'm sorry you had pain with your biopsy too but I'm glad to know I wasn't the only person reporting pain during and after biopsy. I also had pain for months after.

[penn1023]

Someone on another board is on this study with a ritonovir boost and lower daneprivir dose with RBV. She's a non responder 1a and clear after 4 weeks. It's a 24 week study and not many sides I hear.

[curiouslady1]

Here's another one that is derived from the Pharmasset 7977/ BMS 790052 study which should be finished dosing in a few months.  Several people on this list have achieved UND within two weeks.  The new study is called Quantum

NCT01435044

[curiouslady1]

Scuttlebutt has it that the Pharmasset study will recruit more in October.  NCT01435044 will probably be revised to include more sites.