A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled multicenter trial of etanercept in the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis.

Background & Aims: Alcoholic hepatitis is a cause of major morbidity and mortality that lacks effective therapies. Both experimental and clinical evidence indicate that the multifunctional cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) contributes to pathogenesis and clinical sequelae of alcoholic hepatitis. A pilot study demonstrated that the TNF-alpha-neutralizing molecule etanercept could be an effective treatment for patients with alcoholic hepatitis.

A randomized trial of Chinese herbal medicines for the treatment of symptomatic hepatitis C.

Background: Many patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) cannot be successfully treated with interferon-based regimens. Chinese herbal medicines have been widely prescribed for HCV in Asia, and many infected patients in the United States have used these agents. However, data to support the efficacy of these medications are limited and, to our knowledge, no published trials have been conducted in a US population.

A pilot study of the safety and tolerability of etanercept in patients with alcoholic hepatitis.

Background: Alcoholic hepatitis is a cause of major morbidity and mortality, and effective therapeutic regimens to treat this condition are lacking. Both experimental and clinical evidence indicates that tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF), and the downstream cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), correlate with disease severity and may contribute to the pathogenesis and clinical sequelae of alcoholic hepatitis, thereby implicating a possible role for inhibition of TNF in the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to assess the safety and tolerability of a p75-soluble TNF receptor:FC fusion protein (etanercept), an agent that binds and neutralizes soluble TNF in patients with alcoholic hepatitis in the form of an open-label pilot trial.