Liver damage in hepatitis C patients could be treated with warfarin

[orleans]

says study
Last updated:08August2008

Eureka Alert
The drug warfarin may help prevent liver failure in thousands of people with Hepatitis C, according to new research.

In a study published today (1 August) in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, researchers show that warfarin reduces the scarring on the liver. This scarring, or fibrosis, replaces normal liver cells and can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and ultimately liver failure.

Following the new findings in mouse models, the Imperial College London researchers are now embarking on a clinical trial of warfarin as a treatment for people with Hepatitis C, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).

There are an estimated 300,000 people in the UK with chronic Hepatitis C. The disease progresses much more quickly in some patients than in others and around one in five of those infected will develop cirrhosis.

Treatment to clear the infection is currently effective in only around 50 percent of patients and can have considerable unpleasant side effects such as fatigue, nausea and depression. If this treatment fails, there are no currently effective therapies to slow the progression of fibrosis.

The new research looks at how warfarin affects the progression of fibrosis in mice with chronic liver injury. Warfarin is already used to prevent and treat blood clots in people with artificial heart valves, deep vein thrombosis, and a host of other conditions.

A previous study by the same researchers demonstrated that in Hepatitis C, scarring of the liver accelerates in those patients who are prone to form blood clots. This led the researchers to believe that warfarin's anti-clotting properties might enable the drug to fight the disease.

The new study showed that treatment with warfarin significantly reduces the progression of fibrosis in normal mice with chronic liver injury. It also shows that warfarin reduces the progression of fibrosis in mice with chronic liver injury and a genetic mutation known as Factor V Leiden (FVL), which causes fibrosis to progress at a much faster rate than usual because it amplifies the body's clotting mechanisms.

Professor Mark Thursz, one of the authors of the study from the Division of Medicine at Imperial College London, said: "At the moment there are a great many people with Hepatitis C who have no treatment options left and it would transform their lives if we could prevent them from developing liver failure. We are looking forward to seeing the results of our upcoming trial in humans now that we've had such promising results in the trial in mice."

Dr Quentin Anstee, an MRC Clinical Research Fellow and the corresponding author of the study from Imperial College London, added: "If we have positive results from the new trial, we will have a potential treatment that is already available and very cheap, and which should be safe enough for people to take. If we are successful in Hepatitis C patients, we are hopeful that such treatment might benefit people with liver damage from other causes, and this is something we would be keen to study further."

The researchers are recruiting 90 patients for the new trial who have undergone a liver transplant as a result of liver failure caused by hepatitis C. A third of such patients progress very rapidly to fibrosis following transplantation.

The researchers hope that treating these patients with warfarin will prevent this liver damage and improve their prognosis. Transplant patients have a liver biopsy every year following transplantation to assess their progress, and the researchers will analyse data from this biopsy to establish the effectiveness of the warfarin treatment. The two-year trial will take place across five centres including Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which has integrated with Imperial College London to form the UK's first Academic Health Science Centre.

The trial is taking place in transplant patients because the researchers estimate that it would take 10-15 years to conduct a trial in patients in whom the disease was progressing at a normal rate.

[Trinity4]

Thanks anyway, but I eat the above without juicing and  get all the intended benefits.  Blood pressure is on the low side so not a problem.  As you may know, the topic of Master Chin was a bone of contention on another thread and I must admit it was entertaining at times even though I gave his "cure" no credence what-so-ever.  

[whoopsie]

"The mere mention of Master Chin makes my blood boil."

I thought this might help....if not there is a juice recipe at the bottom of my post


Strategies To Keep Anger At Bay

Relaxation

Simple relaxation tools, such as deep breathing and relaxing imagery, can help calm down angry feelings. There are books and courses that can teach you relaxation techniques, and once you learn the techniques, you can call upon them in any situation. If you are involved in a relationship where both partners are hot-tempered, it might be a good idea for both of you to learn these techniques.

Some simple steps you can try:

Breathe deeply, from your diaphragm; breathing from your chest won't relax you. Picture your breath coming up from your "gut."

Slowly repeat a calm word or phrase such as "relax," "take it easy." Repeat it to yourself while breathing deeply.

Use imagery; visualize a relaxing experience, from either your memory or your imagination.

Nonstrenuous, slow yoga-like exercises can relax your muscles and make you feel much calmer.
Practice these techniques daily. Learn to use them automatically when you're in a tense situation.


BLOOD PRESSURE, HIGH:

The result of impurities in the blood vessels. The only way impurities can get into the blood stream is (1) by hypodermic injections and drugs, whether taken as medicine or otherwise; (2) by deposits in the blood stream of inorganic atoms accumulating from cooked and processed foods, particularly the concentrated starches and sugars; and (3) by retention of waste in the eliminative organs and channels.

The recurrence of high blood pressure within families is not due to heredity, as erroneously supposed by some, unless we consider the degenerated condition of the mother's blood stream (due to eating inorganic foods) as her hereditary girl to her child. The only hereditary trait is the kind and quality of the food the family as a whole habitually indulges in; if this contains an excessive proportion of cooked foods and concentrated carbohydrates, it is only natural that a nutritional deficiency should manifest in most, if not in all its members.


Carrot      10 oz
Beet          3 oz
Cucumber .3 oz.
.

[eureka254]

Is on alert! ... and interested... but wary.  

Anything that would be successful at slowing or halting fibrosis/cirrhosis is worth investigating so I'd be very interested in human trial results, but I echo the concerns above... and, unfortunately to boot, warfarin is even MORE teratogenic than interferon and ribavirin combined...

~eureka

PS:  Are you all set at the starting gate and waiting for that shot?

[Trinity4]

That was funny - The mere mention of Master Chin makes my blood boil.  I may not need any cabbage!

Also, looks like the initial warfarin study will only be for those who have received a transplant.  And yes, those with low platelets as well as anemia would be more prone to adverse effects.

[CoWriter]

That's exactly what I was thinking.  Giving an anticoagulant to somebody with varices and low platelets makes no sense.  

We better tell Matt Chin to bring back the cabbage.

[Trinity4]

What if the person has cirrhosis and a history of bleeding varices.  I don't see how they could treat with warfarin under those circumstances.  Anyone taking warfarin must be monitored routinely with a PT to check clotting factor.  Warfarin can be some nasty stuff but if reduces fibrosis what the heck. They've thrown every other drug at us and we still keep bouncing back.  Thanks for the info.
Trinity