U.S. Department of Health and Human Services NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) http://www.niddk.nih.gov/ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, April 6, 2006 CONTACT: Leslie Curtis, 301-496-3583, niddkdkocpl@xxxxxxxxxxxx NEWS ADVISORY MANAGEMENT OF HEPATITIS B: 2006 WHAT: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will hold a workshop on management of hepatitis B to assess the current understanding of hepatitis B virus (HBV), as well as the course and management of the disease it causes. Despite the availability of a highly effective and safe vaccine to prevent hepatitis B and five different antiviral agents to treat the disease, hepatitis B remains an important cause of disability and death from liver disease in the United States and throughout the world. The workshop will address current controversies in management of hepatitis B and will cover topics including HBV replication and mode of inducing chronicity; the immunology of hepatitis B; virus-host interactions; the natural history of chronic infection; and up-to-date results of trials of antiviral therapies. Participants will discuss histological, clinical, and virological endpoints of therapy and make recommendations on directions of future research. Sponsors of the workshop include the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the NIH; the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases; the American Liver Foundation; the Hepatitis B Foundation; and Hepatitis Foundation International. WHEN: Thursday, April 6, 2006, 8:30 a.m. -- 6:00 p.m. Friday, April 7, 2006, 8:30 a.m. -- 5:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8, 2006, 8:30 a.m. -- 12:00 p.m. WHERE: Natcher Auditorium Natcher Conference Center NIH Campus Bethesda, Maryland 20892 For more information about the workshop and to view the agenda, visit the workshop website at http://www.niddk.nih.gov/fund/other/hbv2006/index.htm. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- "The Nation's Medical Research Agency" -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov. ## This NIH News Release is available online at: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/apr2006/niddk-06.htm. To subscribe (or unsubscribe) from this list, go to http://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nihpress&A=1.
