scholarly journals Interferon-Based Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis C: Present and Future Perspectives

1970 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-193
Author(s):  
M Abdul Ahad

Pegylated interferon α (peginterferon α) plus ribavirin is the present mainstay of treatment for patients with chronic HCV infection. When peginterferon α plus ribavirin is administered for the standard duration, a sustained virological response is achieved in around 50% of patients infected with HCV genotype 1 and around 80% of patients infected with HCV genotype 2 or 3. Data now suggest that treatment duration can be shortened or lengthened depending on baseline viral load and/or early on-treatment viral kinetics, offering the prospect of individualizing therapy further to improve response or to prevent treatment from being unnecessarily extended. Further efforts to optimize therapy are likely to involve the use of new anti-HCV agents, several of which are currently in the early stages of development. These agents include HCV protease inhibitors (particularly those against NS3-4A protease), HCV polymerase inhibitors (including both nucleoside and non-nucleoside analogs) and cyclophilin inhibitors. These compounds will be used, at least initially, in combination with peginterferon α plus ribavirin, extending the pivotal role of interferon-based therapy in the management of chronic hepatitis C. doi: 10.3329/taj.v21i2.3804 TAJ 2008; 21(2): 182-193

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-128
Author(s):  
Ivan Alekseevich Akimov ◽  
D. I. Timofeev ◽  
A. R. Mavzyutov ◽  
M. K. Ivanov

Globally, about 70 million people are infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), and about 400 thousand people die annually from chronic hepatitis C complications. The management of patients with chronic hepatitis C may require HCV genotyping, since the efficiency of some widely used antiviral drugs strongly depend on the viral genotype and/or subtype. The most prevalent HCV circulating recombinant form, RF1_2k/1b, is misclassified as genotype 2 by many commercial HCV genotyping kits, based on the RT-PCR analysis of the 5’ untranslated region of the HCV genome. This leads to inappropriate patient treatment, since the accepted treatment schemes for HCV genotype 2 are ineffective for the RF1_2k/1b. Here we describe a method for detecting the RNA HCV RF1_2k/1b in blood samples by RT-PCR analysis of two regions in HCV genome (5’UTR and NS5b). The method was tested on 240 blood serum samples from HCV infected patients, in which HCV genotype was defined as 2 or mixed (2+1 or 2+3) by the two commercial genotyping kits “OT-Hepatogen-C genotype” (“DNA-Technology”, Moscow) and “RealBest RNA HCV-1/2/3” (“Vector- Best “, Novosibirsk). 50 (20.8%) RF1_2k/1b cases were revealed, including three mixed infections: RF1_2k/1b + 1a, RF1_2k/1b + 3a, RF1_2k/1b + 1b. In all cases, the accuracy of HCV typing by the proposed method was confirmed by Sanger sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The method is easy to implement into clinical practice and may be used in clinical settings equipped for RT-PCR analysis to correctly identify the recombinant variant RF1_2k/1b.


Hepatology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1837-1845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Lagging ◽  
Nina Langeland ◽  
Court Pedersen ◽  
Martti Färkkilä ◽  
Mads Rauning Buhl ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 522-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
M VONWAGNER ◽  
M HUBER ◽  
T BERG ◽  
H HINRICHSEN ◽  
J RASENACK ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (10) ◽  
pp. E290-E296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaru Enomoto ◽  
Hiroyasu Morikawa ◽  
Yoshiki Murakami ◽  
Akihiro Tamori ◽  
Norifumi Kawada

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D Farley ◽  
Victor K Wong ◽  
Henry V Chung ◽  
Elizabeth Lim ◽  
Gavin Walters ◽  
...  

PURPOSE: To assess sustained viral response rate and adherence to standard interferon alpha-2b and ribavirin therapy in inmates with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) in Canadian penitentiaries in the Pacific region.OBJECTIVE: A retrospective chart review of all inmates with chronic HCV who were treated with standard interferon alpha-2b and ribavirin therapy between March 2001 and October 2002.RESULTS: A total of 90 male inmates were treated. The mean age at time of treatment was 40 years. There were 49 inmates with HCV genotype 1, 11 with HCV genotype 2 and 30 with HCV genotype 3. Eight inmates discontinued treatment because of intolerance to side effects. Nine inmates were stopped by the physician because of nonresponse at an average of 27 weeks. All inmates achieved at least 80% adherence of interferon and ribavirin therapy. The overall sustained virological response (SVR) was 55.9%. SVR was 31.6% for genotype 1, 100% for genotype 2 and 71.4% for genotype 3.CONCLUSION: There was excellent SVR and adherence to treatment with interferon and ribavirin. This experience highlights an important opportunity to treat a population with a high prevalence of HCV-positive persons who may otherwise not seek treatment.


2006 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gamal Badra ◽  
Imam Waked ◽  
Carlo Selmi ◽  
Saleh M. Saleh ◽  
Ahmed El-Shaarawy ◽  
...  

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of end-stage liver disease worldwide and HCV genotype 4 (HCV4) is predominant in African and Middle Eastern countries. It is well established that interferon-α (IFNa) treatment for HCV may trigger serum autoantibodies against pancreatic islet cells (ICA) in a subgroup of patients. Available data on the incidence of ICA during IFNa therapy for chronic HCV4 infection are not conclusive. We investigated the appearance of ICA in 40 naïve Egyptian patients (38 males, 32 ± 6 years) with histologically defined chronic HCV4 infection undergoing IFNa treatment at a dose of 9-million U/week for 24 weeks. Serum samples were collected at baseline and following IFNa therapy and ICA were detected using indirect immunofluorescence. Baseline evaluation indicated that 2/40 (5%) patients had detectable serum ICA. After the completion of the treatment scheme, 12/38 (32%) previously ICA negative patients became ICA positive; however, no patient developed impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or diabetes during follow-up. In conclusion, we submit that IFNa treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) may induce serum ICA in one-third of Egyptian patients with HCV4. These autoantibodies, however, do not lead to alterations in glucose metabolism.


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