Search results for "INTERFERON-ALPHA"
showing 10 items of 211 documents
Consensus interferon and ribavirin for patients with chronic hepatitis C and failure of previous interferon-alpha therapy.
2006
BACKGROUND The efficacy of consensus interferon (CIFN), a synthetic IFN with optimised in vitro activity, was assessed in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients who had failed the pretreatment with interferon-alpha (IFNalpha) and ribavirin. METHODS One hundred and three patients after non-response (n=69) or relapse (n=34) to IFNalpha+/-ribavirin were randomly assigned to high-dose induction (CIFN 27-->9 microg daily for 24 weeks, 9 microg t.i.w. for 24 weeks) or low-dose treatment (CIFN 18 microg t.i.w. for 12 weeks, 9 microg t.i.w. for 36 weeks); each with ribavirin 800 mg/day. Follow-up was 24 weeks. RESULTS Non-responder patients treated with high-dose induction had higher early virolo…
Improved Responses to Pegylated Interferon Alfa-2b and Ribavirin by Individualizing Treatment for 24–72 Weeks
2011
Guidelines recommend that patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection be treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin for 24, 48, or 72 weeks, based on their virologic response to treatment. We investigated the effects of treating patients for individualized durations.We treated 398 treatment-naïve patients who had HCV genotype 1 infections with pegylated interferon alfa-2b and ribavirin for 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 60, or 72 weeks (mean of 39 weeks, termed individualized therapy); the duration of therapy was determined based on baseline viral load and the time point at which HCV RNA levels became undetectable (measured at weeks 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, and 30). Results were compared with…
Early monotherapy with pegylated interferon alpha-2b for acute hepatitis C infection: the HEP-NET acute-HCV-II study.
2006
Early treatment of acute hepatitis C with interferon alpha-2b for 24 weeks prevents chronic infection in almost all patients. Because pegylated interferons have replaced conventional interferon in the therapy of chronic hepatitis C, the aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of an early treatment of acute hepatitis C with peginterferon alpha-2b. Between February 2001 and February 2004, 89 individuals with acute HCV infection were recruited at 53 different centers in Germany. Patients received 1.5 microg/kg peginterferon alpha-2b for 24 weeks; treatment was initiated after a median of 76 days after infection (range 14-150). End-of-treatment response and sustained virological response …
Long-term course of interferon-treated chronic hepatitis C
1998
Abstract Background/Aims: To evaluate whether sustained response to α-interferon improves clinical outcome in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Methods: A cohort of 410 consecutive patients (65% with chronic hepatitis, 35% with cirrhosis) were treated with α-interferon in two trials (mean follow-up 62.1 months, range 7–109 months). All were serum HCV RNA positive before therapy and received first 10 then 5 million units of α-2b or α-n1 interferon three times weekly for 6 to 12 months. Sustained response was defined as normal aminotransferases 12 months after stopping interferon. Results: Sixty-two patients (15.1%: 54 with chronic hepatitis, eight with cirrhosis) were sustained responders. …
Predicting Early and Sustained Virological Responses in Prior Nonresponders to Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b Plus Ribavirin Retreated With Peginterfe…
2013
GOALS: To evaluate the predictive value of complete early virological response (cEVR) on sustained virological response (SVR) following retreatment with peginterferon alpha-2a (40 kDa) plus ribavirin in previous nonresponders to peginterferon alpha-2b (12 kDa). BACKGROUND: In the randomized multinational retreatment with Pegasys in patients not responding to PegIntron therapy study, a 72-week regimen of peginterferon alpha-2a (40 kDa) plus ribavirin improved SVR rates over a standard 48-week regimen in previous nonresponders to peginterferon alpha-2b (12 kDa). cEVR, defined as hepatitis C virus RNA <50 IU/mL at treatment week 12, was an important predictor of SVR. STUDY: We conducted an exp…
Defer or treat? Reasons for treatment decisions in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 in the early era of directly acting antiviral agents
2013
Abstract Background In chronic genotype 1 hepatitis C, telaprevir or boceprevir plus peginterferon and ribavirin have become the new standard of care. Aim of this study was to identify factors contributing to the decision whether to defer or treat with the current triple regimens. Methods Prospective assessment of eight parameters on 0-4-point scales by the attending physician at a German tertiary referral centre between 1st September 2011 and 31st December 2012. Results 307 patients were evaluated at least once by one of the 11 hepatologists involved; 267 patients were considered, but only 163 were recommended to receive triple therapy. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that a high…
Systemic Treatment with Interferon-α2B: An Effective Method to Prevent Sterility after Bilateral Mumps Orchitis
1991
In men orchitis represents the most common complication of mumps infection and occurs in 5 to 37% of this population. Bilateral manifestation is observed in 16 to 65% of the patients. The most important danger is the risk of testicular atrophy which results in sterility. Four patients with bilateral mumps orchitis received systemic treatment with interferon-alpha 2B (3 x 10(6) IU per day) for 7 days. All acute symptoms of mumps orchitis disappeared within 2 to 4 days of hospitalization. During 6 to 15 months of followup no incidence of testicular atrophy was observed. In 3 of 4 patients pre-treatment examination revealed subfertility (oligoasthenospermia), while 2 to 4 months after interfer…
Divergent in vivo and in vitro antileukemic activity of recombinant interferon beta in patients with chronic-phase chronic myelogenous leukemia
1993
It was the aim of this study to investigate the antileukemic activities of recombinant interferon beta (rIFN beta) in chronic-phase CML in vitro and in vivo. Nine patients in the early chronic-phase of CML were treated in a phase-II trial with escalating doses of rIFN beta. In parallel, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory activities of rIFN beta and rIFN alpha 2b were studied in vitro. rIFN beta exhibited a significantly higher antiproliferative activity on hematopoietic progenitor cells of CML patients in vitro than rIFN alpha 2b. In contrast, only very limited clinical antileukemic efficacy of rIFN beta was observed. None of the patients achieved a complete or partial hematologic respo…
Hepatitis C virus viral kinetics during α-2a or α-2b pegylated interferon plus ribavirin therapy in liver transplant recipients with different immuno…
2012
Abstract Background Predictors of sustained virological response (SVR) to antiviral therapy post-liver transplantation (LT) for chronic hepatitis C are needed. In non-transplanted patients, viral kinetics can predict SVR. Objectives To determine the early viral kinetics in LT recipients with different immunosuppression (tacrolimus – Tac- vs. cyclosporine – CsA-) during treatment with peg-IFN + RBV. Study design Prospective pilot study in HCV-1b infected patients: (LT CsA n = 8; Tac n = 8; non-LT n = 4), treated with IFN α-2a vs. α-2b (180 μg or 1.5 μg/kg, respectively) once weekly plus weight-based RBV. Median CsA or Tac baseline trough levels were 141 and 7.70 ng/mL, respectively. HCV-RNA …
Retrospective, observational, multicentre study on an Italian population affected by chronic hepatitis C who failed to clear HCV-RNA after the combin…
2010
There is a lack of information on the characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) who fail to respond to antiviral treatment. We studied HCV-positive subjects with chronic liver diseases treated with pegylated-interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) who failed to clear HCV in routine clinical practice. A total of 2150 consecutive adult patients treated with PEG-IFN plus RBV therapy in 46 Italian centres between 1 July 2004, and 30 June 2005, were studied. Of the 2150 patients, 923 (42.9%) (M/F 585/335, mean age 54.8 years) failed to achieve a serum HCV-RNA clearance. Of these 923 patients, 429 (46.5%) were nonresponders, 298 (32.3%) relapsers, 168 (18.2%) dro…