New treatment can help patients with hepatitis C

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new drug combo can help people with hepatitis C who have not responded to previous treatment.
Hepatitis C is a chronic viral infection of the liver which may progress to liver damage and disease. Treatment consists of attacking the virus with the anti-viral drug ribavirin and interferon, a protein which helps boost the immune system. But some hepatitis C patients do not respond to treatment and so their liver disease may progress. There is new hope for this group now, thanks for a study from researchers at Saint Louis University.

A mixture of ribavirin and a highly potent form of interferon called Infergen is nearly twice as effective at controlling hepatitis C, compared to conventional treatment, for patients who had not previously responded to treatment. The study involved 500 patients of whom 77 per cent had advanced liver fibrosis. At six months, 14 per cent of those taking nine micrograms a day were virus negative. And 20 per cent of those taking a higher dose of 15 micrograms were virus negative. A quarter of those who did not have fibrosis were virus negative at six months. It still has to be determined whether this response will be maintained for another six months - generally seen as a 'cure' for hepatitis C. In another study from the same center, the long-term impact of treatment was studied in 150 patients. Five years after their 'cure', the level of damage in 79 per cent of those with grade 2 or worse liver fibrosis was greatly improved. This is the largest study of its kind, say the researchers.

Source
American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases meeting 31st October 2006