Search results for " antiviral agents"

Prophylaxis and treatment of hepatitis B in immunocompromised patients.

2007

The literature on hepatitis B virus (HBV) in immunocompromised patients is heterogeneous and referred mainly to the pre-antivirals era. Today a rational approach to the problem of hepatitis B in these patients provides for: (a) the evaluation of HBV markers and of liver condition in all subjects starting immunosuppressive therapies (baseline), (b) the treatment with antivirals (therapy) of active carriers, (c) the pre-emptive use of antivirals (prophylaxis) in inactive carriers, especially if they are undergoing immunosuppressive therapies judged to be at high risk, (d) the biochemical and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) monitoring (or universal prophylaxis, in case of high risk immunos…

Retreatment with interferon plus ribavirin of chronic hepatitis C non-responders to interferon monotherapy: a meta-analysis of individual patient dat…

2002

Background and aims: Retreatment with a combination of α interferon (IFN) plus ribavirin of patients with chronic hepatitis C who did not respond to IFN monotherapy has not been assessed in large controlled studies. Methods: To assess the effectiveness and tolerability of IFN/ribavirin retreatment of non-responders to IFN and to identify predictors of complete (biochemical and virological) sustained response, we performed a meta-analysis of individual data on 581 patients from 10 centres. Retreatment with various IFN schedules (mean total dose 544 mega units) and a fixed ribavirin dose (1000–1200 mg/daily depending on body weight) was given for 24–60 (mean 39.5) weeks. Results: Biochemical …

Forecasting Hepatitis C liver disease burden on real-life data. Does the hidden iceberg matter to reach the elimination goals?

2018

Abstract Background & Aims Advances in direct‐acting antiviral treatment of HCV have reinvigorated public health initiatives aimed at identifying affected individuals. We evaluated the possible impact of only diagnosed and linked‐to‐care individuals on overall HCV burden estimates and identified a possible strategy to achieve the WHO targets by 2030. Methods Using a modelling approach grounded in Italian real‐life data of diagnosed and treated patients, different linkage‐to‐care scenarios were built to evaluate potential strategies in achieving the HCV elimination goals. Results Under the 40% linked‐to‐care scenario, viraemic burden would decline (60%); however, eligible patients to treat w…

Hepatitis Virus Reactivation in Patients with Psoriasis Treated with Secukinumab in a Real-World Setting of Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C Infection

2022

Background and Objective Biologics for psoriasis, especially anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha therapies, may reactivate hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, as well in inactive carriers or patients with occult infection. However, some biologics, including anti-interleukin-17 therapies such as secukinumab, seem to be less likely to cause hepatitis reactivation. This study assessed the safety of secukinumab treatment in patients with psoriasis with HBV or HBC infection. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis treated with secukinumab at seven Italian centers. Patients serologically positive for one or more of the fo…

Experimental Preemptive Immunotherapy of Murine Cytomegalovirus Disease with CD8 T-Cell Lines Specific for ppM83 and pM84, the Two Homologs of Human …

2001

ABSTRACTCD8 T cells are the principal antiviral effectors controlling cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. For human CMV, the virion tegument protein ppUL83 (pp65) has been identified as a source of immunodominant peptides and is regarded as a candidate for cytoimmunotherapy and vaccination. Two sequence homologs of ppUL83 are known for murine CMV, namely the virion protein ppM83 (pp105) expressed late in the viral replication cycle and the nonstructural protein pM84 (p65) expressed in the early phase. Here we show that ppM83, unlike ppUL83, is not delivered into the antigen presentation pathway after virus penetration before or in absence of viral gene expression, while other virion proteins o…

Isoindolo[1,5]benzoxazepines as potential antitumor and/or antiviral agents

2013

Dual therapy with peg-interferon and ribavirin in thalassemia major patients with chronic HCV infection: Is there still an indication?

2016

Background: Iron overload and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection together can lead to chronic liver damage in thalassemia major (TM) patients. Aims: We investigated viral, genetic, and disease factors influencing sustained virological response (SVR) after peg-interferon and ribavirin therapy in TM patients with HCV infection. Methods: We analyzed 230 TM patients with HCV infection (mean age 36.0 ± 6.3 years; 59.1% genotype 1; 32.2% genotype 2; 3.4% genotype 3; and 5.3% genotype 4; 28.7% carried CC allele of rs12979860 in IL28B locus; 79.6% had chronic hepatitis and 20.4% cirrhosis; 63.5% naive and 36.5% previously treated with interferon alone) treated in 14 Italian centers. Results: By mul…

Treatment of hepatitis C virus infection with direct-acting antiviral drugs is safe and effective in patients with hemoglobinopathies

2017

Progression of liver fibrosis in patients with hemoglobinopathies is strongly related to the severity of iron overload and the presence of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Effective iron chelation therapy and HCV infection eradication may prevent liver complications. The European Association for the Study of the Liver guidelines recommend interferon-free regimens for the treatment of HCV infection in patients with hemoglobinopathies. However, data regarding the use of direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) in this patient population are few. This observational study evaluated the safety and efficacy of therapy with DAAs in an Italian cohort of patients with hemoglobinopathies, chron…

Treatment of Hepatitis C virus infection in Italy: A consensus report from an expert panel

2017

Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains one of the main causes of chronic liver disease worldwide. The advent of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) has significantly improved the course of patients with chronic HCV infection (CHC), due to the ability of these drugs to achieve high rates of sustained virological response (SVR). These exceedingly high rates of SVR and the excellent safety data have been confirmed in real life practice. Evolving guidelines have been issued by national and international scientific societies in accordance with the progression of clinical knowledge and the availability of new DAAs. These recommendations, however, may not be applied universally because of …

From current status to optimization of HCV treatment: Recommendations from an expert panel

2016

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health problem at a global level, causing an enormous burden of hepatic and extra-hepatic morbidity and mortality. Treatment of chronic HCV (CHC) has been revolutionized in the last few years by the introduction of highly effective and well tolerated direct acting antiviral agents (DAAs) able to achieve >90% rates of sustained virological response (SVR) in many groups of patients, including those previously excluded from interferon-based regimens. For such reason interferon-free regimens are now the treatments of choice for all patients. Successful anti-HCV treatment can stop liver disease progression and can solve the HCV-relat…