FDA Expands Glaxo-Ligand Promacta to Benefit Hepatitis C Patients

Glaxo Smith Kline announced that U.S. health regulators had approved its drug Promacta for the additional use of treating low platelet count in hepatitis C patients that will allow them to undergo a standard therapy for the liver disease. The drug, already approved as a treatment for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura — low platelet count of unknown cause — was developed along with Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. Ligand shares rose as much as 18% in heavy volumes by mid-day on the Nasdaq. "We believe that Promacta sales are set to see an uptick with approval in a significant population with unmet medical need," Roth Capital analyst Joseph Pantginis said in a note. About 3.2 million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis C, the most common blood-borne virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pantginis estimated Promacta sales of $327 million in 2013, corresponding to $24.6 million in revenue for Ligand. "We maintain our belief that Glaxo is committed to growing the Promacta franchise with approval in additional indications with about 20 clinical trials ongoing," the analyst added. The drug, also known as eltrombopag, is approved in 90 countries and is marketed under the brand name Promacta in the United States and as Revolade elsewhere. It is now the first supplemental treatment for patients who are ineligible or poor candidates for interferon-based hepatitis C therapy due to low platelet counts. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval was based on results from two late-stage studies that collectively enrolled 1,521 patients.

Home Remedies, Natural Cures for Liver Disease

Liver enlargement is the indication of liver disease. It is also known as hepatomegaly. The enlarged or swollen liver shows no clinical symptoms. It can be caused by liver cancer, blood disorders, hepatitis, excess intake of alcohol and jaundice.
Home Remedies for Liver Enlargement

Liver enlargement treatment - Daily intake of long brinjals (Eggplant) helps restore the liver to its original position.

Mixture of two grams of Sprague powder, half-gram salt taken twice a day after meals with water cures all liver and spleen problems. This is one of the good home remedies for liver enlargement.

Drink spearmint juice with added sugar for 10 days. This is one of the best liver enlargement cure.

Take juice of 2 oranges empty stomach for 5-7 days. This is good home remedy for liver enlargement.

Take one and a half gram jaggery and Chebulic myrobalan’s peel powder in equal amounts and make one tablet out of it. Take one tablet daily in the morning and evening with warm water for a month.This is good liver enlargement remedy.

Diet for liver enlargement - Half-cup juice of bathu (Chenopodium album) with little salt is also helpful and is good home remedy for liver enlargement.

Daily intake of half-cup bitter gourd with small amount of salt is very useful for liver and spleen enlargement.
Papaya is also useful in Liver Enlargement.

Hepatitis C Is Curable

Living With Hepatitis C

Living with hepatitis C can be a difficult and frustrating experience. Constant fatigue and low-level illness is common, and the symptoms can increase the emotional toll of dealing with long-term disease. Available treatments are painful, uncomfortable, and often worse than the symptoms of the disease itself. However, because of the long course of the infection, infected patients have long life expectancies, and with proper treatment, many of them can recover completely.
Coping with fatigue is a common problem for infected individuals. Finding a happy balance between relaxation and activities is helpful. Frequently, short naps between activities or outings prevent overwhelming fatigue at the end of the day, and limiting tiring activities on a day-by-day basis seems to help people find time to regroup.
Many things can worsen damage to the liver. It is important to avoid increasing the stress on an already overworked and damaged liver. Alcohol, in particular, must be avoided. Studies have shown that alcohol massively increases damage to the liver in hepatitis C victims. Other dangerous substances include many toxins, such as copper, many over-the-counter and prescription drugs, including aspirin, and vitamins, including Vitamin A.
Many infected individuals find that the hardest thing about hepatitis C is the social stigma associated with the disease, and others' fears of becoming infected as a result of contact. Traditionally, hepatitis has been regarded as a disease of the poor and a disease of alcoholics, and

Several prescription treatments for hepatitis C are available

Many vitamins and common pharmaceuticals are toxic unless rendered harmless by the liver

these prejudices have outlived the progression of hepatitis into the population at large.
In truth, the risk of transmission to co-workers or other household members seems to be quite low, and even sexual transmission is rare. The CDC recommends the use of sexual prophylactics by anyone infected with hepatitis C or any other sexually transmissible disease, but common contact is not dangerous. While it should be kept in mind that there is no known mode of transmission for approximately 10% of cases, this should not be taken as a statement that it can be easily casually acquired. Routine precautions around

blood, and avoiding the sharing of toothbrushes, razors, and other personal items should provide adequate protection.
Prospects for treatment
There is no vaccine for hepatitis C at present, and it may be a long time before one becomes available. The great variation in genotypes with hepatitis C, as well as its frequent mutation, makes the development of treatments and vaccines extremely difficult. Liver transplantation may be life-saving in end-stage liver disease, but is costly and involves continuing health care following the procedure. This treatment option is further complicated by a shortage of liver donors. For HCV-positive patients under going transplantation, re- infection is almost universal.
There are a number of drug treatments becoming available for hepatitis C. Infected individuals should consult with their physician to see about the availability and effectiveness of these treatments, as well as the possibility of participating in experimental drug trials.

Types of B Vitamins and their Benefits

There are a large number of B vitamins that are needed to keep all of the body functions performing properly. All of the B vitamins are essential for a number of different processes. Without sufficient B vitamins the blood supply would not be healthy and this leads to a variety of illnesses and diseases. The brain needs B vitamins to function correctly and the heart also needs B vitamins to stay healthy and prevent heart disease and food is broken down into the various nutrients by B vitamins. In fact, just about every organ and process within the body requires at least one form of the B vitamin.

Thiamin, or B1, is the B vitamin that the body needs to keep all of its cells, especially the nerves, functioning correctly. It is especially important for memory and general mental health and is one of the B vitamins that is required to convert food into energy.


Riboflavin, or B2, is the B vitamin that is essential for releasing the enrgy from food that has been consumed. Without this B vitamin the body cannot grow or develop properly as red blood cells will not be as healthy as they should be.


Niacin, or B3, is the B vitamin that is involved in over fifty processes, ranging from detoxifying chemicals to making hormones and releasing energy from food.


Pantothenic acid, or B5,works with several other B vitamins for a number of essential processes including breaking down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates into energy and is also the B vitamin that is needed to form vitamin D, a variety of hormones, and red blood cells.


Pyridoxine, or B6, is the B vitamin that is largely responsible for redistributing the amino acids to create over five thousand proteins that are needed by the body and is also one of the B vitamins needed to form various enzymes.


Biotin, or B7, is one of the B vitamins that are involved in a number of processes within the body, including the breaking down of fats, carbohydrates and proteins into useable energy forms.


Folic acid, or B9, is the essential B vitamin for aiding in cell growth and division, especially during pregnancy. This B vitamin is also necessary to make natural chemicals which control the appetite, moods and quality of sleep. It is also the best B vitamin for helping lower the chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke by keeping the arteries open.


Cobalamin, or B12, is one of the B vitamins that is important in the process of converting the carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into energy. This B vitamin is also vital in forming the protective covering of nerve cells and to keep red blood cells healthy, and help prevent heart disease.