Re: Re: Type 2B - 24 vs. 48 wks; and hot flashes (LOL)

April 14, 2000

Dear Sara:

I will really be interested to hear what Dr. Gish says about the length of

treatment next week....I am a 2 b and had resigned myself to 48 weeks of

treatment because that's what the five factor thingy (from the French study?)

seemed to indicate for me....I only had 3 positive factors: female, 1.5 - 2

mil viral load, and non-African....Against me is age (53), disease 30 years,

and stage 2 fibrosis (approaching stage 3?) Well......my hep doc just got

back from a symposium on liver disease in Atlanta put on by the CDC....He

said Dr. Hofnagel (sp?) made an announcement that new studies indicate that

genotype 2's and 3's should never go longer than 6 months....there is never

an advantage....NOW I'M REALLY CONFUSED.......and I wonder if this is just a

different interpretation of the study that proposed the five positive factor

gauge......DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHAT MY DOC IS TALKING ABOUT??? Can anyone tell

me if this information from Dr. Hofnagel is really new? Supposedly, he said

that even genotype 1's should quit after 6 months of treatment if they

started with a viral load of 2 mil or less....

What's a girl to believe? I'd appreciate any clarification of this info....I

don't know whether to quit or not......Thanks, Diane

April 15, 2000

Dear Diane,

Who does this Dr. Hofnagel (?) work for, the drug companies? I would

figure that new study info might take a while to get around and be excepted,

but to say any 1's should be on for only 6 months is crazy! I'm sure

Schering would love that though, just think, they will make so much more

money with retreating us when relapses occur, and of course there will

always be new drugs on the way, so I guess we need to hang on to our virus

so they have someone to buy them. As a 1b non-responder, pre-treatment

viral load only 110,000, this really makes me mad. Could your doctor get

copies of these studies? I'd really like to see them. I subscribe to an

e-mail list that puts out lots of info posts, any thing on hepatitis

published in any of the medical journals, and I sure haven't seen anything

at all like this. If any thing, there seems to be a trend to longer

treatments in responders to help prevent relapse. You can bet I'm going to

be looking for info on this.

Claudine

>From: DIANSA@...

>Dear Sara:

>I will really be interested to hear what Dr. Gish says about the length of

>treatment next week....I am a 2 b and had resigned myself to 48 weeks of

>treatment because that's what the five factor thingy (from the French

>study?) seemed to indicate for me....I only had 3 positive factors:

>female, 1.5 - 2 mil viral load, and non-African....Against me is age (53),

>disease 30 years, and stage 2 fibrosis (approaching stage 3?) Well......my

>hep doc just got back from a symposium on liver disease in Atlanta put on

>by the CDC....He said Dr. Hofnag(sp?) made an announcement that new studies

>indicate that genotype 2's and 3's should never go longer than 6

>months....there is never an advantage....NOW I'M REALLY CONFUSED.......and

>I wonder if this is just different interpretation of the study that

>proposed the five positive factor >gauge......DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHAT MY DOC

>IS TALKING ABOUT??? Can anyone tell me if this information from Dr.

>Hofnagel is really new? Supposedly, he said that even genotype 1's should

>quit after 6 months of treatment if they started with a viral load of 2 mil

>or less.... What's a girl to believe? I'd appreciate any clarification of

>this info....I don't know whether to quit or not......Thanks, Diane

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April 15, 2000