title: Treatment regimens for patients with chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: Infection by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health problem, with more than 170 million people infected throughout the world. The infection prevalence, with small regional differences, is estimated in 1-3% of the global population. HCV is the most frequent cause of chronic liver disease and 20-30% of patients develop cirrhosis with a risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. Nowadays, pegylated interferon-a (PEG-IFN) in combination with ribavirin, a nucleoside analogue, is the current treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC), with less adverse effects and better compliance. Dosage and duration depend on some factors as weight, genotype, viral load and a rapid virological response presented by the patient. One of the most relevant aspects in the treatment of CHC is how to manage the group of non-responder or relapser patients to previous treatments. As such, a substantial proportion of patients had already been unsuccessfully treated with interferon-based therapies and these patients claim for an optimal therapeutic option. The future treatment of CHC walk along through the association of two or three drugs, including nucleoside/nucleotide analogues, higher PEG-IFN initial dosages (induction) or longer treatments duration, or combination of helicase and protease inhibitors.
authors.affiliation: Digestive Diseases Department and CIBEREHD, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, C/Diego de León 62, Madrid, Spain. mtraperomarugan@hotmail.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trapero-Marugan
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: González-Moreno
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chaparro-Sánchez
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Moreno-Monteagudo
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Borque
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moreno-Otero
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; C417083:peginterferon alfa-2b