title: Treatment of chronic hepatitis C with amantadine.
abstract: Treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection with interferon has been disappointing, with less than one third of patients achieving a sustained response and most experiencing significant side effects. For these reasons, an open-labeled prospective pilot study was conducted to test the safety and efficacy of the antiviral drug, amantadine, in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection who had previously failed therapy with interferon-alpha 2b. Twenty-two patients with chronic hepatitis C were enrolled into the study and treated with amantadine 100 mg orally twice daily for six months. Control groups included the same cohort followed off therapy for 29-36 months or during therapy with interferon. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values decreased in 64% (P = 0.01) of patients with amantadine therapy compared to intervals without therapy or to interferon therapy. Twenty-seven percent of patients treated with amantadine had normalization of ALT values and loss of HCV RNA after six months while 18% achieved a sustained response with loss of HCV RNA by PCR six months after discontinuation of amantadine. Therapy with amantadine improved both biochemical and virological markers in patients with hepatitis C who had previously not responded to treatment with interferon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey 17033, USA.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000547:Amantadine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012367:RNA, Viral; D000547:Amantadine; D000410:Alanine Transaminase