Pilot study on the efficacy of intravenous natural β-interferon therapy in Italian patients with chronic hepatitis C and relation to the HCV genotype

• Published in: International hepatology communications Vol. 3; no. 5; pp. 237 - 243
• Main Authors: Chemello, Liliana, Silvestri, Emanuela, Cavalletto, Luisa, Bernardinello, Elisabetta, Pontisso, Patrizia, Belussi, Fabio, Alberti, Alfredo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 1995
• Subjects: Chronic hepatitis C; HCV genotypes; Natural β-interferon therapy; HCV genotypes; Natural β-interferon therapy; Chronic hepatitis C
• ISSN: 0928-4346; 1879-1182
• DOI: 10.1016/0928-4346(94)00185-8

Eight Italian patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated intravenously with natural β-interferon (β-IFN) to assess primary biochemical and virological response and also to investigate the relation to the genotype of infecting HCV. Each patient received 6 MU of β-IFN daily for 6 days a week for a period of 2 months. Five patients (62.5%) showed complete normalization of alanineaminotransferase (ALT) and 6 cases (including all 5 with normal ALT) became HCV-RNA negative. ALT normalization occurred within 7–40 days of therapy. Seven patients were infected by HCV-1b and 4 (58%) of them became HCV-RNA negative with normal ALT at the end of therapy while one patient, infected by HCV-2a, became HCV-RNA negative but maintained elevated ALT values. Six months after cessation of β-IFN all 8 patients were HCV-RNA positive in serum but 3 of them had normal ALT, including one case in whom normalization had occurred after therapy. These results indicate that HCV activity, including that of HCV-1b can be efficiently suppressed by intravenous β-IFN therapy in Caucasian patients with chronic hepatitis C, as previously described in similar cases in Japan. The rate of sustained biochemical and virologic response was, however, lower in our patients compared to what has been described previously, suggesting that further studies are needed to define the optimum regimen to achieve eradication of HCV infection.