If you or someone you know has Hepatitis C, you'll be interested to know the FDA approved a new drug to help cure the liver disease.
The medicine, Incivek, also known as Telaprevir (TVR), almost doubles the chances of curing the serious liver disease compared with current treatments.
If you want to know how well the drug really works, just ask local Decatur man, Quinton Moore. He was cured of Hepatitis C after being on a clinical trial of TVR. Moore credits the drug for saving his life.
“It’s something like people who go to war or are threatened with death," Moore said. "You realize how happy you are to be alive."
Moore, 62, was diagnosed with Hepatitis C two years ago during a routine exam. The Hepatitis C virus is spread through blood from infected individuals. Moore is not exactly sure how he contracted it. But he believes it might have been through helping an injured co-worker on a construction site.
Moore went to see a specialist, Dr. Kimberly Workowski at Atlanta's Emory University. Dr. Workowski encouraged him to enter the TVR clinical drug trial. At the time of the trial he was in the late stages of the liver disease. He had lost a significant amount of weight. However, after completing the trial he is healthy and completely cured.
He has more energy and says in general he’s just a happier person. “You appreciate experiences that you have more. I have sort of a different philosophical look on life. In general, I just enjoy it more.”
Moore says his side effects from the drug were minimal and he encourages anyone who has Hepatitis C to talk to their doctor about TVR.
For more information on Hepatitis C from Atlanta's Emory Healthcare, go to: http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/liver/liver-diseases/hepatitis-c.html
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