Search results for " Antiviral agents"
showing 10 items of 75 documents
Meet–Test–Treat for HCV management: patients’ and clinicians’ preferences in hospital and drug addiction services in Italy
2022
Abstract Background It has been estimated that the incidence of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) will not decline over the next 10 years despite the improved efficacy of antiviral therapy because most patients remain undiagnosed and/or untreated. This study aimed to investigate the opinion of relevant target populations on the practicability, effectiveness and best modalities of the test-and-treat approach in the fight against HCV in Italy. Methods A survey was delivered to patients with HCV from the general population, patients from drug addiction services, hospital physicians and healthcare providers for drug addiction services. Results For both hospital clinicians and SerD HCPs, tolerabil…
First case in Italy of acquired resistance to oseltamivir in an immunocompromised patient with influenza A/H1N1v infection
2010
A pandemic influenza A/H1N1v strain with the neuraminidase H274Y mutation was detected in nasal secretions of a 2-year-old leukemic patient with influenza-like illness after 18 days of treatment with oseltamivir. At baseline, no drug-resistant virus was found, while 4 days after treatment initiation a mix- ture of wild-type and mutated virus was detected. After treatment interruption, the wild type influenza virus re-emerged and became prevalent in nasal secretions after a few days, suggesting the lower fitness of the mutated virus strain. The patient slowly improved concurrently with a decrease in virus load, which resulted negative 42 days after diagnosis. No other drug-resistant influenz…
The impact of DAA-mediated HCV eradication on CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte trajectories in HIV/HCV coinfected patients: Data from the ICONA Foundation …
2021
HCV infection has been hypothesized as a contributor of poor CD4+ recovery in patients living with HIV (PLWHIV). Aim of this study was to evaluate CD4+, CD8+ cells and CD4/CD8 ratio trends before and after HCV treatment with direct acting agents (DAA) in PLWHIV. HIV/HCV patients enrolled in ICONA and HepaICONA cohorts with HIV-RNA≤50 copies/ml who achieved a sustained viral response after DAA treatment were studied. A linear regression model was used to investigate CD4+, CD8+ and CD4/CD8 changes 12 months before and after DAA treatment. A total of 939 HIV/HCV patients were included, 225 (24.0%) female, median age: 53 years (IQR 50–56). At DAA initiation, CD4+ T cell count was <350 cells/…
When and how to treat acute hepatitis C?
2003
Background: Appropriate treatment of acute hepatitis C is still a matter of controversy due to the lack of large controlled trials. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of interferon as treatment for acute hepatitis C by meta-analysis. Methods: MEDLINE search (1985-2002) was supplemented with manual searches of reference lists. Studies were included if they were controlled trials comparing interferon to no treatment and if they included patients with either post-transfusion or sporadic acute hepatitis C. Twelve trials were analyzed (414 patients). The outcome assessed was the sustained virological response (SVR) rate (undetectable hepatitis C virus RNA in serum at least 6 months after cessation…
Smoking trends among adolescents from 1990 to 2002 in ten European countries and Canada.
2006
Abstract Background Daily smoking adolescents are a public health problem as they are more likely to become adult smokers and to develop smoking-related health problems later on in their lives. Methods The study is part of the four-yearly, cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study, a school-based survey on a nationally representative sample using a standardised methodology. Data of 4 survey periods are available (1990–2002). Gender-specific daily smoking trends among 14–15 year olds are examined using logistic regressions. Sex ratios are calculated for each survey period and country. Interaction effects between period and gender are examined. Results Daily smoking preval…
Ombitasvir, paritaprevir, and ritonavir, with or without dasabuvir, plus ribavirin for patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 1 or 4 infection with…
2017
Summary Background We ran a compassionate use nationwide programme (ABACUS) to provide access to ombitasvir, paritaprevir, and ritonavir, with dasabuvir, plus ribavirin for hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection and ombitasvir, paritaprevir, and ritonavir, plus ribavirin for HCV genotype 4 infection in patients with cirrhosis at high risk of decompensation while approval of these regimens was pending in Italy. Methods In this prospective observational study, we collected data from a compassionate use nationwide programme from March 17, 2014, to May 28, 2015. Patients with HCV genotype 1 infection and cirrhosis at high risk of decompensation were given coformulated ombitasvir (25 mg), …
Safety and efficacy of ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir/dasabuvir plus ribavirin in patients over 65 years with HCV genotype 1 cirrhosis
2018
Purpose: To analyse safety and efficacy of treatment based on ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir/dasabuvir plus ribavirin in the sub-group of GT1 patients older than 65 years. Methods: We collected data extracted from the ABACUS compassionate-use nationwide Italian programme, in patients with cirrhosis due to hepatitis C virus (HCV) Genotype-1 (GT1) or 4 and at high risk of decompensation. GT1-HCV-infected patients received once-daily ombitasvir/paritaprevir, with the pharmacokinetic enhancer ritonavir (25/150/100 mg) and twice-daily dasabuvir (250 mg) plus Ribavirin (RBV) (OBV/PTV/r + DSV + RBV) for 12 (GT1b) or 24 (GT1a) weeks. Endpoints were to evaluate safety and efficacy, the latter def…
Dense Bodies of Human Cytomegalovirus Induce both Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses in the Absence of Viral Gene Expression
2000
ABSTRACTInfection of fibroblast cell cultures with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) leads to the production of significant amounts of defective enveloped particles, termed dense bodies (DB). These noninfectious structures contain major antigenic determinants which are responsible for induction of both the humoral and the cellular immune response against HCMV. We tested the hypothesis that, by virtue of their unique antigenic and structural properties, DB could induce a significant immune response in the absence of infectious virus. Mice were immunized with gradient-purified DB, which were either left untreated or subjected to sequential rounds of sonication and freeze-thawing to prevent cellula…
Impact of Safety-Related Dose Reductions or Discontinuations on Sustained Virologic Response in HCV-Infected Patients: Results from the GUARD-C Cohor…
2015
Background: Despite the introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, peginterferon alfa/ribavirin remains relevant in many resource-constrained settings. The non-randomized GUARD-C cohort investigated baseline predictors of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations (sr-RD) and their impact on sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients receiving peginterferon alfa/ribavirin in routine practice. Methods: A total of 3181 HCV-mono-infected treatment-naive patients were assigned to 24 or 48 weeks of peginterferon alfa/ribavirin by their physician. Patients were categorized by time-to-first sr-RD (Week 4/12). Detailed analyses of the i…
Improvement of ALT decay kinetics by all-oral HCV treatment: Role of NS5A inhibitors and differences with IFN-based regimens
2017
Background Intracellular HCV-RNA reduction is a proposed mechanism of action of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), alternative to hepatocytes elimination by pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin (PR). We modeled ALT and HCV-RNA kinetics in cirrhotic patients treated with currently-used all-DAA combinations to evaluate their mode of action and cytotoxicity compared with telaprevir (TVR)+PR. Study design Mathematical modeling of ALT and HCV-RNA kinetics was performed in 111 HCV-1 cirrhotic patients, 81 treated with all-DAA regimens and 30 with TVR+PR. Kinetic-models and Cox-analysis were used to assess determinants of ALT-decay and normalization. Results HCV-RNA kinetics was biphasic, reflecting …