Greenview Hepatitis C Fund

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Greenview Hepatitis C Fund
Deborah Green www.hepcfund.org Cell
734-223-8400 Debbie_at_hepcfund.org 4/15/2009
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What is Hepatitis C (HCV)?

• HCV is a blood-borne virus which attacks the
  liver and can cause
• Cirrhosis
• Liver cancer
• Liver failure (40-60 of liver transplants in
  U.S.)
• Death (12,000/year in U.S.)

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Magnitude of the Hepatitis C Epidemic

• Worldwide 170 million (3)
• U.S. 4 million (1.6)

Hepatitis C affects 3-5 times as many people as
HIV/AIDS!
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What are Hepatitis C Symptoms?

• Can lie dormant in the human body for 20-40 years
  
• Unspecified flu-like symptoms unrelated to the
  severity of the disease
• Later, frequently impaired quality of life
• If the patient develops cirrhosis (severe
  scarring), then complications arise, including
  possible need for liver transplant.

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Who is at Risk?

• Recipients of blood products prior to 1992
• Health and emergency care providers
• Veterans, especially Vietnam veterans
• Minorities
• Homeless
• Residents of impoverished areas worldwide
• Prison inmates
• IV drug abusers

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What is the Current Treatment?

• 48 weeks of injected Pegylated Interferon and
  Ribavirin pills
• Costs about 25,000/year
• Many side effects
• 45-50 effective
• More effective in the early stages of the disease
  when the patient has few symptoms

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Patient Treatment Goals

• Primary goal
• Eradicate HCV infection
• Secondary goals
• Slow down or prevent disease progression and
  scarring of the liver (fibrosis) which otherwise
  might lead to extensive scarring (cirrhosis).
• Reduce risk of liver cancer
• Improve health-related quality of life

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Patient Education Tool and Decision Aid for
Hepatitis C Treatment

• Funded by Greenview Hepatitis C Fund
• at the University of Michigan
• Research Administrator, Anna Lok, MD, FRCP
• Research Director, Michael L. Volk, MD, MSc
• Research Assistant, Rachel Tocco, MA
• January 2009

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How Can a Decision Aid Help Patients?

• Help patients determine what their chances of
  treatment success are based on individual factors
• Educate patients about the possible benefits and
  risks of treatment options
• Improve patient doctor communication
• Improve patient satisfaction and adherence to
  treatment
• Enable more patients to benefit from current
  treatment

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How Much Money is Needed to Complete this Project?

• 30,000 to complete the first year of the study
• 80,000 for year 2 with a paper based model
• 18,700 for year 3 with a computer based model,
  which would benefit HCV patients worldwide

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2007 NIH Spending per Patient
3052
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How Can You Help?

• Purchase our cookbook online (also at Nicolas
  Books in Ann Arbor)
• Join us for our events
• Golf Outing - May 30th
• Big House/Big Heart 5K - Oct. 4th
• Poker Nights - Oct. 22nd - 25th
• Contribute directly to the Greenview Hepatitis C
  Fund
• Spread the word about our website and blog
• www.hepcfund.org
• Debbie_at_hepcfund.org