title: Current status of treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus infection.
abstract: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is responsible for substantial mortality and morbidity worldwide. Until recently, the standard of care for the treatment of chronic HCV infection had been a combination of pegylated interferon (peg-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV). The recent availability of two directly acting agents, telaprevir and boceprevir, has led to significantly improved outcomes for those patients with HCV genotype 1. Unfortunately, each of these agents must be combined with peg-IFN and RBV for optimal efficacy, and substantial treatment-related toxicity continues to challenge clinicians. However, the drug development pipeline for chronic HCV infection is very robust and the emergence of new therapies and therapeutic strategies in the near future for managing chronic HCV infection is eagerly anticipated.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Virology and Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Talwani
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Gilliam
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rizza
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nehra
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Temesgen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D017211:Treatment Failure; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents