title: Treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection with interferon alpha-2a in a Turkish population.
abstract: Recombinant interferon (IFN) alpha has been shown to normalize the aminotransferase levels in approximately half of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Twenty four patients with chronic HCV infection were treated with IFN alpha-2a subcutaneously, three times a week for 6 months. All patients responded to IFN therapy with a decrease of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level. Thirteen out of 24 cases (54.2%) had normal ALT levels at the end of the sixth month of therapy. However, four of these complete responders (30.8%) relapsed during the 12 month follow-up. Relapse was high in the partial responder group (45.5%). Overall relapse rate was 37.5% at 6 months. HCV genotype II, which is associated with a low response rate to IFN was prevalent (85-87%) in our patient population. This study shows that interferon therapy can be effective in reducing transaminase levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C in a population with a high prevalence of HCV type II. The relapse rate after discontinuation of treatment, however, remains a problem.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hacettepe University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Simsek
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tatar
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Savas
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Telatar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000201:enzymology / Q000628:therapy*; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000201:enzymology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012008:Recurrence; D013997:Time Factors; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000410:Alanine Transaminase