SALT LAKE CITY, UT, USA , June 28, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Patients with hepatitis C who suffer from advanced stages of liver disease have renewed hope, thanks to findings by researchers who have discovered that a new drug significantly reduces their risk of death and need for transplantation.
The research team, led by clinical researchers at Intermountain Healthcare’s Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, studied nearly 1,900 hep C patients and found that the number of patients needing transplants was reduced by 40 percent after they were given a regimen of the drug, sofosbuvir.
Results of the study were presented at the 2017 International Joint Congress of ILTS, ELITA & LICAGE in Prague, Czech Republic.
About 3.3 million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis C infection, which causes inflammation of the liver and eventually leads to serious liver problems like cirrhosis, which is a late stage of scarring (fibrosis) of the liver caused by many forms of liver diseases and conditions, such as hepatitis and chronic alcoholism.
Researchers studied longitudinal data to learn the impact sofosbuvir had in treating patients with advanced stages of cirrhosis. They compared the outcomes of 1,857 patients prior to the United States Food and Drug Administration’s approval of sofosbuvir in Dec. 2013 with 623 similar patients who were treated with sofosbuvir after approval of the drug.
“Prior to FDA approval of sofosbuvir, patients with the most advanced stages of cirrhosis either died from their disease or ended up receiving a transplant,” said Michael Charlton, MD, lead researcher and associate director of Intermountain Healthcare’s Intermountain Medical Center Transplant Program, who is also current president of the International Liver Transplantation Society. “We found that by treating those patients, who were on the verge of needing a transplant, with sofosbuvir-based therapies, we greatly reduced the liver transplant and mortality rates.”
Only three percent of patients on sofosbuvir in the study ended up needing a transplant, compared to ovder 40% of untreated patients. Data used in the study included an integrated database of four separate, prospective, multicenter, multinational randomized controlled clinical trials of sofosbuvir-based therapies in patients with advanced stages of cirrhosis, and compared them with patients who were on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waitlist for a liver transplant between 2008-2013.
“We found the sicker a patient was, the more benefit they experienced by using sofosbuvir,” said Dr. Charlton. “However, many people around the world who might benefit most from this therapy don’t have access to it because the regulatory authorities haven’t felt it safe for use in patients with advanced stages of liver disease due to hepatitis C. Our research shows the benefits of this drug include significantly improving the health of even the sickest patients, allowing them to return to their normal life sooner.”
Study authors conclude the study by recommending that treatment of the hepatitis C virus using sofosbuvir should be considered in all patients with cirrhosis, even those in advanced stages of the liver disease.
Members of the Intermountain Medical Center Liver Transplantation Program involved in the study include Li Dong; Michael Leise; Richard Gilroy, MD; Jake Krong; Anu Osinusi; Michael P. Curry; Michael Manns; Nezam Afdhal; Diana M. Brainard; and Michael Charlton, MD.
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USA Fencing to Set New Records at Summer Nationals in Salt Lake, July 1-10
For Immediate Release
June 27, 2017
Contact: Nicole Jomantas, 719.761.7909
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) - The 2017 USA Fencing National Championships and July Challenge is set to break new records when the world's largest fencing tournament comes to Salt Lake City from July 1-10.
The 10-day event will draw an estimated 4,222 fencers from 47 states and 428 clubs. With 8,877 entries approved for the event, the tournament could surpass the 12-day 2014 USA Fencing National Championships as the largest fencing tournament in history.
"Salt Lake City has been a great host to USA Fencing athletes and families at Championships and North American Cups over the last two Olympic cycles and we are pleased to have this opportunity to bring the world's largest fencing tournament to Utah," said USA Fencing Senior Director of Operations Christine Strong-Simmons (Colorado Springs, Colo.) "We are so excited to partner with Visit Salt Lake and the Utah Sports Commission to make the Summer Nationals an outstanding experience in the host city for the 2002 Olympic Games."
Competition will be held at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Halls 1-5 with medals awarded daily. All events are free and open to the public.
Click here to view the complete schedule and preliminary seeding.
"It is great having USA Fencing host its national tournament here in Utah," said Jeff Robbins, president and CEO of the Utah Sports Commission. "This event continues to build our brand as 'The State of Sport' and we know it will have significant economic impact to our state."
The USA Fencing National Championships features individual competition in categories from Youth 10 to Veteran +70 with athletes ranging from ages 8 to 94. The July Challenge includes Division I, Junior and Cadet individual events as well as a senior team competition.
Both tournaments include events in all three weapons: epee, foil and saber.
With the top fencers in the nation competing at the Salt Palace, eight of the 84 events being contested will field more than 200 competitors each. Y14 men's foil and Junior men's epee are scheduled to be the largest events of the tournament with 284 and 281 competitors, respectively.
Not only will national titles be awarded in Salt Lake, but the Summer Nationals serves as the final selection tournament for the 2017 Veteran World Championship Team with the top four athletes on the National Team Point Standings in the 50-59, 60-69 and +70 age categories earning the opportunity to represent Team USA.
In addition to the competition taking place in Salt Lake City, members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team will be in town to train in preparation for the 2017 Senior World Championships which begin in Leipzig, Germany on July 19. The men's and women's foil team as well as the women's epee team will be training in Salt Lake, including:
The Men's and Women's Foil National Teams will be hosting clinics for young fencers on July 7. The next generation of top saber fencers will have a rare opportunity as well when two-time Olympic Champion Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.) holds a series of clinics between July 7-9.
On July 4, members of the fencing community will celebrate Independence Day at the USA Fencing Hall of Fame Ceremony where Olympians and World Team members will be among those inducted into the 2017 induction class.
Utah also is home to a thriving fencing community with more than 80 athletes from seven clubs competing in their home state.
Among the local athletes to watch are a trio of epee fencers from Schoolhouse Fencing in West Valley City who have each represented Team USA at the Junior and Cadet World Championships. Eighteen-year-old Tatijana Stewart (Ogden, Utah / Junior & Division I) brought home two medals from her debut at the Cadet World Championships in 2016 where she won silver in the individual and gold in the team competition for the best U17 fencers in the world. Wes Johnson (Pleasant View, Utah / Division I) won the 2017 Pan American Junior Championships and went on to earn a fourth place finish at the 2017 Junior Worlds in April. Dylan Nollner (Ogden, Utah / Division I) was the program's first Junior World Team member, placing in the top 16 in 2012 and going on to earn two-time All-American honors at Duke in 2013 and 2014.
Athletes from Utah Swords Academy Fencing Club, Wasatch Fencing, Utah Fencing Academy, Park City Fencing Academy, JJL Fencing Club and Salle D' Escrime Utah Valley also will compete in Salt Lake City.
Members of the media may request a credential to the competition as well as the clinics and the Hall of Fame induction by contacting Nicole Jomantas, USA Fencing Director of Communications and Media Relations, at 719.761.7909 or N.Jomantas@usfencing.org.
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Small Business Calls on Senate to Pass Healthcare Reform Measure
Repealing Obamacare taxes and mandates are key priorities for small business, says National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 27, 2017—The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) today made it clear that senators who say they care about small business must vote for the healthcare reform plan scheduled for a procedural vote after the holiday.
“We want every member of the Senate to know this is a major priority for small business,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan. “This bill provides massive tax relief by eliminating 11 of the most burdensome Obamacare taxes, which are crushing small businesses and driving up costs. It also eliminates the onerous mandates that discourage job creation, expansion, and investment.”
For senators who have criticized the taxes and mandates since the Affordable Care Act became law, this should be an easy vote, said Duggan.
“When it comes to healthcare reform, the Senate will never have a better opportunity to help small business,” she said. “This bill repeals nearly $1 trillion in taxes and it eliminates the mandates that are killing small business. NFIB is eager to work with every Senator on both sides of the aisle on additional reforms to make insurance affordable, flexible, and predictable. This bill clears a path for additional reforms that will benefit small businesses and consumers.”
NFIB announced its support for the plan last week. Click here to see the statement. Reporters, producers, and hosts seeking comment should contact Jack Mozloom at 202-406-4450 or jack.mozloom@nfib.org.
For more information about NFIB, please visit www.nfib.com.
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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America's economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business
1201 F Street, Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20004
202-554-9000
www.nfib.com
Twitter: @NFIB
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