[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 21 (Friday, January 31, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 4777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2483]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Consensus Development Conference on Management of Hepatitis C

    Notice is hereby given of the NIH Consensus Development Conference 
on ``Management of Hepatitis C,'' which will be held March 24-26, 1997, 
in the Natcher Conference Center of the National Institutes of Health, 
9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892. The conference begins at 
8:30 a.m. on March 24, at 8 a.m. on March 25, and at 9 a.m. on March 
26.
    The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of both acute and 
chronic hepatitis in the United States. Hepatitis C, previously know as 
``non-A, non-B hepatitis,'' affects between 1 and 2 percent of 
Americans, and chronic infection with HCV is probably the single most 
important cause of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer 
in the Western world. Not all cases of hepatitis C are severe or 
progressive. Many patients are asymptomatic and are only diagnosed when 
they are found to have abnormal liver tests following a blood donation 
or routine evaluation of another problem. Yet, chronic hepatitis C can 
be insidious and slowly progressive and lead to cirrhosis and liver 
failure after years or decades of infection.
    At present, there are no specific means of prevention of hepatitis 
C, and the only therapy of proven benefit is alpha interferon. 
Interferon treatment, however, is far from satisfactory. Therapy is 
expensive, often poorly tolerated, and results in a favorable long-term 
response in only a minority of patients. Given the uncertainties 
regarding hepatitis C, patients with this disease and their doctors 
face difficult decisions.
    To address the most important and controversial clinical issues in 
hepatitis C, the NIH has organized this 2\1/2\ day conference to bring 
together national and international experts in the fields of virology, 
epidemiology, natural history, prevention, and therapy of hepatitis C, 
as well as representatives from the public.
    Following 1\1/2\ days of presentations and audience discussion, an 
independent, non-Federal consensus panel will weigh the scientific 
evidence and write a draft statement that it will present to the 
audience on the third day. The consensus statement will address the 
following key questions:

--What is the natural history of hepatitis C?
--What is the most appropriate approach to diagnose and monitor 
patients?
--What recommendations can be made to patients to prevent transmission?
--Which patients should be treated?
--What is the most effective approach to therapy?
--What are the most important areas for future research on hepatitis C?
    The primary sponsors of this conference are the National Institute 
of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the NIH Office of 
Medical Applications of Research. The conference is cosponsored by the 
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; the National 
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the National Institute on Drug Abuse 
of the National Institutes of Health; and the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
    Advance information on the conference program and conference 
registration materials may be obtained from Rose Salton, Technical 
Resources International, Inc., 3202 Tower Oaks Blvd., Suite 200, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852, (303) 770-3153, or by sending e-mail to 
[email protected].
    The consensus statement will be submitted for publication in 
professional journals and other publications. In addition, the 
statement will be available beginning March 24, 1997, from the NIH 
Consensus Program Information Center, P.O. Box 2577, Kensington, 
Maryland 20891, phone 1-888-NIH-CONSENSUS (1-888-644-2667) and from the 
NIH Consensus Development Program site on the World Wide Web at http://
consensus.nih.gov.

    Dated: January 21, 1997.
Ruth L. Kirschstein,
Deputy Director, NIH.
[FR Doc. 97-2483 Filed 1-30-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M