title: Recombinant human interferon alpha-2a therapy for chronic hepatitis C with or without cirrhosis: comparison of 3 or 6 MU for 1 year.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two different therapeutical regimens of IFN alpha-2a in patients with HCV related chronic liver disease. Eighty one patients with HCV chronic hepatitis with or without cirrhosis entered the study; 42 and 39 patients were treated with 3 or 6 MU IFN, respectively. The results show that: 1) 25/39 (64.1%) patients treated with 6 MU and 21/42 (50.0%) patients treated with 3 MU had a complete response defined as a decline in serum ALT levels to the normal range during therapy; 2) complete response to 6 MU treatment was observed independently of the presence or absence of cirrhosis; in the 3 MU group, a complete response was observed in 31.6% of patients with CAH + cirrhosis as compared with 68.2% of those with CAH alone (p < 0.03); and 3) at 1 year after the end of the treatment we observed persistent ALT normalization in 40.6% and 28.2% of patients treated with 6 or 3 MU, respectively, and absence, of HCV viraemia (HCV-RNA) in 7/10 patients with CAH and in 2/7 patients with CAH + cirrhosis, mostly in patients treated with 6 MU. In conclusion, 6 MU IFN dose is more effective than 3 MU in reducing disease activity in HCV chronic hepatitis, specially in patients with CAH + cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Medicina Generale e Metodologia Clinica, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, II Università di Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Caporaso
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Suozzo
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Morisco
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Antonio
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coltorti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012074:Remission Induction
chemical_list: D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000410:Alanine Transaminase