High-dose interferon therapy shows promise in treating HBV/HCV hepatitis

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High-dose interferon therapy shows promise in treating HBV/HCV hepatitis



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Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2001 05:05:00 -0500

Subject: High-dose interferon therapy shows promise in treating HBV/HCV hepatitis



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      High-dose interferon therapy shows promise in treating HBV/HCV

hepatitis

      23rd November, 2001



      Am J Gastroenterol 2001;96:2973-2977



WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) - Previous study findings indicate that

alpha-interferon therapy is beneficial for patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV). A recent report by Italian investigators extends these findings by showing that patients infected with both viruses also benefit from interferon therapy.

Dr. Erica Villa and colleagues, from the University of Modena, randomized 30 patients with HBV-HCV coinfection and chronic hepatitis to receive 6 or 9 MU of alpha-interferon three times a week for 6 months.



Five of the 16 patients who received the 9-MU dose of interferon

consistently cleared HCV RNA and HBV DNA, the authors note. None of the patients in the lower dose group achieved this outcome.



Histologic outcomes were significantly better in the 9-MU interferon group than in the 6-MU group (p = 0.006). The five long-term responders in the 9-MU group showed a significant improvement in the histologic activity index compared with their baseline scores and those of nonresponders.



High-dose therapy seemed to protect against the development of cirrhosis, Dr. Villa's team notes in the October issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology. On long-term followup, none of the patients in the 9-MU group had developed cirrhosis, while four in the 6-MU group had developed this complication.



Only a minority of patients responded to alpha-interferon therapy, the

researchers point out. Despite this, patients who responded to therapy showed "remarkable" histologic improvement. Furthermore, high-dose therapy appeared to be protective against the development of cirrhosis.



"As the natural history of these patients is more severe than in patients with single infections (either HBV or HCV), a course of interferon in high doses should be attempted whenever possible, despite the overall low percentage of success," the investigators conclude.











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Last updated: 23-Nov-2001