Hepatitis C virus RNA levels during initial induction or standard interferon therapy: influence of continued treatment on sustained response.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA kinetics were studied at baseline weeks 4, 8 and 12 during interferon-alpha (IFN) monotherapy in 65 patients (mean age 39 y, range 19-66 y) with chronic HCV infection. IFN treatment was given either as initial induction (n = 34) or as standard dosing 3 times a week (n = 31). Patients with genotypes 2 and 3 had a significantly steeper decline in HCV RNA levels than patients with genotype 1 at weeks 4, 8 and 12 (p < 0.001 at all points measured). The decline in viral load was more pronounced in patients with induction therapy than with standard therapy at weeks 4, 8 and 12 (p < 0.02, 0.054 and 0.01, respectively). Patients with a sustained viral response had a 3-log decline in viral levels at week 4, with few exceptions. Two patients with non-response at week 12 (1 each with genotype 1 and non-1) responded after supplementation with ribavirin.
Vilnius University, Vilnius University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Ligita
L
Balciuniene
Tony
T
Carlsson
Arvydas
A
Ambrozaitis
Olle
O
Reichard
Ola
O
Weiland
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000187:drug effects*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019562:Viral Load
D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins