Search results for "interferon alfa"

Failure of acyclovir to enhance the antiviral effect of α lymphoblastoid interferon on HBe-seroconversion in chronic hepatitis B

1992

Serum HBeAg levels and HBe-seroconversion were investigated in patients with chronic HBeAg-positive hepatitis who were randomized to receive either alpha lymphoblastoid interferon (5 megaunits subcutaneously daily for 16 weeks) plus acyclovir (2 g intravenously daily during weeks 1 and 2 and weeks 9 and 10) (n = 49) or no treatment (n = 48). HBeAg levels in serial dilutions of patient serum were assessed quantitatively by radioimmunoassay and compared with the values found for negative control serum. One year after the start of therapy 44 treated patients and 43 control patients were available for follow-up. A complete response (HBe-seroconversion) occurred in 11 treated patients (25%) and …

Interferon-γ inhibits replication of subgenomic and genomic hepatitis C virus RNAs

2002

Persistent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. All treatments known so far rely on the antiviral activity of interferon alfa (IFN-alpha) that is given alone or in combination with ribavirin. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the patients clear the virus during therapy and for those who do not respond there is currently no alternative treatment. Selectable subgenomic HCV RNAs (replicons) have been recently used to investigate the effect of IFN-alpha on HCV replication. However, it has not yet been analyzed whether other cytokines also play a role in the innate immune response against HCV. Here we show th…

Induction of interferon regulatory factors, 2′‐5′ oligoadenylate synthetase, P68 kinase and RNase L in chronic myelogenous leukaemia cells and its re…

1996

The genes crucially determining the therapeutic response of chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) to interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) are unknown. Recently, two independent IFN-alpha signalling pathways were identified: the classic pathway mediates induction of 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase (2-5 OAS), p68 kinase and IFN regulatory factor-2 (IRF-2), whereas the alternate pathway leads to activation of IFN regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1). We investigated whether deficient or imbalanced expression of components of these two pathways is associated with resistance of CML cells to antiproliferative action of IFN alpha/beta. Constitutive and IFN-induced transcript levels of IFN-dependent genes in mononucl…

Abnormalities in serum concentrations of interleukin-2, interferon-alpha and interferon-gamma in schizophrenia not detected.

1992

The hypothesis of an immunological defect in schizophrenia has been supported by reports on abnormal production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferons (IFNs) in schizophrenic patients. In the present study we determined the serum concentrations of IL-2, IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma in 10 first onset, neuroleptic-naive schizophrenics, in 6 pretreated patients who were drug free (1 week to 2 years) at the time of the investigation and in 15 matched healthy controls. No IFN-alpha was detected in schizophrenics' and in control sera. No differences were found in IL-2 and IFN-gamma levels between schizophrenics and controls. Thus the present study failed to support the hypothesis of an immunological …

Development of oil cysts after subcutaneous injection of interferon-α and interleukin-2

2006

Effect of peginterferon alfa-2a on liver histology in chronic hepatitis C: a meta-analysis of individual patient data

2004

Multicenter randomized trials have shown that once-weekly pegylated interferon (peginterferon) alfa-2a is more efficacious than conventional interferon alfa-2a (IFN) in patients with chronic hepatitis C. We performed a meta-analysis of 1,013 previously untreated patients (from 3 randomized trials) with pretreatment and post-treatment liver biopsies to assess the differences between peginterferon alfa-2a and IFN in terms of their effects on liver histology. Reported values were standardized mean differences (SMD) between patients receiving peginterferon alfa-2a and those receiving IFN (post-treatment value minus baseline value for each group). We used a random-effects model to quantify the a…

Oral lichen planus, hepatitis C virus, and HIV: no association in a cohort study from an area of high hepatitis C virus endemicity

2004

Abstract Objectives We sought to assess the age-specific prevalence of oral lichen planus (OLP) in Mediterranean patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and to evaluate the features of OLP in relation to sex, smoking, HCV genotype, HIV-1 coinfection, and antiviral treatments. Methods In all, 178 anti-HCV-positive adults (60 women and 118 men; age range 20-66 years) recruited from two cohorts (104 HIV-negative patients and 74 patients with HIV coinfection) underwent oral examination. Results Overall prevalence of OLP was 2.8% (5 of 178) (male/female ratio 0.2; odds ratio=0.119; 95% confidence interval=0.013-1.106), only among HIV-negative participants, always in the reticular pattern, …

5-Fluorouracil plus interferon α-2a compared to 5-fluorouracil alone in the treatment of advanced colon carcinoma: A multicentric randomized study

1998

Biochemical modulation is one of the most interesting fields in cancer chemotherapy. Interferon-alpha (IFNalpha) is a cytokine that is able to influence the pharmacodynamics of 5-fluorouracil (5FU) through a number of mechanisms. With the aim of confirming some data emerging from the literature, we initiated a multicentric randomized study comparing the combination of 5FU and IFNalpha-2a with 5FU alone in the treatment of advanced or metastatic colon cancer. A group of 205 colon cancer patients (104 in the 5FU arm and 101 in the 5FU + IFNapha-2a arm) were included in the final intention-to-treat analysis. Rectal cancers were not considered eligible. All patients had measurable disease, were…

Circulating interleukin (IL)-8, IL-2R, IL-12, and IL-15 levels are independently prognostic in primary myelofibrosis: a comprehensive cytokine profil…

2011

Purpose Abnormal cytokine expression accompanies myelofibrosis and might be a therapeutic target for Janus-associated kinase (JAK) inhibitor drugs. This study describes the spectrum of plasma cytokine abnormalities in primary myelofibrosis (PMF) and examines their phenotypic correlates and prognostic significance. Patients and Methods Patients included in this study were required to have archived plasma, bone marrow biopsy, and cytogenetic information available at the time of first referral to the Mayo Clinic. Multiplex biometric sandwich immunoassay was used to measure plasma levels of 30 cytokines. Results In total, 127 PMF patients were studied; comparison with normal controls (n = 35) r…

Interferon-Alpha-2-Induced Stimulation of ACTH and Cortisol Secretion in Man

1991

Short-term effects of interferon-alpha 2 on plasma concentrations of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol were measured in man in relation to interferon absorption. Interferon-alpha 2 was given subcutaneously at a dose of 3 x 10(6) IU at 17.00 h to 2 female and 5 male patients who suffered from chronic hepatitis B infection and who had not previously been treated with interferon. Plasma levels of ACTH, cortisol and interferon-alpha were determined at 30-min intervals between 16.00 and 24.00 h. In each patient a similar cortisol, ACTH and interferon-alpha profile was determined on a day, when no interferon-alpha treatment was given. Interferon-alpha plasma levels peaked around 21…