Vitamin D supplementation improves sustained virologic response in chronic hepatitis C (genotype 1)-naïve patients.

Aim: To determine whether adding vitamin D, a potent immunomodulator, improves the hepatitis C virus (HCV) response to antiviral therapy.

Methods: Seventy-two consecutive patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 were randomized into two groups: the treatment group (n = 36, 50% male, mean age 47 ± 11 years) received Peg-α-2b interferon (1.5 μg/kg per week) plus ribavirin (1000-1200 mg/d) together with vitamin D3 (2000 IU/d, target serum level > 32 ng/mL), and the control group (n = 36, 60% male, mean age 49 ± 7 years) received identical therapy without vitamin D.