In their research, they identified 37 genes out of 22,000 possible genes which fight the hepatitis C virus.
"When we know which genes are responsible for fighting the viruses which attack our liver, we will be able to look for the medications which will activate these genes most favorably," said Dr. Brodsky. The team conducted clinical trials, supported by the Health National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), which included 400 patients at eight different centers in the United States. The results will be published in the prestigious journal PLOS ONE.
The hepatitis C virus, found mostly among many patients who have had a blood transfusion or who share needles, attacks the liver and in extreme cases can cause cancer of the liver. At present, there is one well know medication, interferon, used to treat the virus; however, while some patients respond to the treatment with interferon, others do not. In this research, the clinical study was combined with the mathematical model developed by Dr. Brodsky. The study identified 37 genes which are key for patient response to treatment.
"In the specific case of hepatitis C, we have now isolated the genes that show which patients will respond to treatment. Until now, all patients received treatment for an extended period of time without knowing whether or not they would respond. In the future, we hope to find other medications that will be more effective in activating all of the 37 genes." summarized Dr. Brodsky.
He further explained that this mathematical model is not limited to identifying the genes which fight viruses that attack the liver. It can also be applied further in the fields of medicine, biology and agriculture.
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Richter, however, said that even a tiny risk associated with a drug such as rosiglitazone, prescribed to millions of people, will eventually translate into grave consequences.
In view of the potential cardiovascular risks and in the absence of evidence of other health advantages, except for laboratory measures of glycemic control, the rationale for prescribing rosiglitazone at this time is unclear, say public health experts Bruce Psaty, M.D., and Curt Furberg, M.D., in a New England Journal of Medicine editorial published June 14. The journal published the initial analysis of Avandia.
Rosiglitazone represents a major failure of the drug-use and drug-approval processes in the United States, Psaty and Furberg write, comparing the situation to the withdrawal of the painkiller rofecoxib (Vioxx) from worldwide markets in 2004.
The Cochrane reviewers concur, saying, Current drug approval for antidiabetic medications and possibly all new drugs needs to be changed. However, they also question whether new studies with rosiglitazone will be ethical given the fact that less-dangerous therapeutic alternatives exist.
The Food and Drug Administration will hold a joint meeting of two drug-safety advisory committees to discuss rosiglitazone on July 30 in Gaithersburg, Md. The meeting is open to the public and the FDA will accept electronic and written comments.
For more information on the FDA drug-safety meeting, see www.fda/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/E7-10850.htm.
Richter B, et al. Rosiglitazone for type 2 diabetes mellitus (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 3.
The Cochrane Collaboration is an international nonprofit, independent organization that produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. Visit cochrane for more information.
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