Improved Survival Among all Interferon-α-Treated Patients in HCV-002, a Veterans Affairs Hepatitis C Cohort of 2211 Patients, Despite Increased Cirrhosis Among Nonresponders.

Background: As the era of interferon-alpha (IFN)-based therapy for hepatitis C ends, long-term treatment outcomes are now being evaluated.

Aim: To more fully understand the natural history of hepatitis C infection by following a multisite cohort of patients.

Methods: Patients with chronic HCV were prospectively enrolled in 1999-2000 from 11 VA medical centers and followed through retrospective medical record review.

CCR2 deficiency impairs macrophage infiltration and improves cognitive function after traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) provokes inflammatory responses, including a dramatic rise in brain macrophages in the area of injury. The pathway(s) responsible for macrophage infiltration of the traumatically injured brain and the effects of macrophages on functional outcomes are not well understood. C-C-chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) is known for directing monocytes to inflamed tissues.

Expanded use of aggressive therapies improves survival in early and intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Despite the increasing annual incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the USA, now estimated at 2.7 cases per 100 000 population, only a small proportion of patients receive treatment and 5-year survival rates range from 9% to 17%.

Objectives: The present study examines the effects of multimodal treatment on survival in a mixed-stage HCC cohort, focusing on the impact of radical therapy in patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage B disease.

Monocyte activation by interferon α is associated with failure to achieve a sustained virologic response after treatment for hepatitis C virus infection.

Background: Interferon α (IFN-α) and ribavirin can induce a sustained virologic response (SVR) in some but not all hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients. The mechanism of effective treatment is unclear. One possibility is that IFN-α differentially improves the functional capacity of classic myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) by altering expression of surface molecules or cytokines.

Nonresponse to interferon-α based treatment for chronic hepatitis C infection is associated with increased hazard of cirrhosis.

Background: The long-term consequences of unsuccessful interferon-α based hepatitis C treatment on liver disease progression and survival have not been fully explored.

Methods And Findings: We performed retrospective analyses to assess long-term clinical outcomes among treated and untreated patients with hepatitis C virus in two independent cohorts from a United States Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a University Teaching Hospital. Eligible patients underwent liver biopsy during consideration for interferon-α based treatment between 1992 and 2007.

Impaired lymphocyte reactivity measured by immune function testing in untransplanted patients with cirrhosis.

The immune function test is an integrated measure of total mitogen-inducible CD4(+) T cell metabolic activity in the peripheral blood, and it is used to guide the dosing of immunosuppressive medications after solid organ transplantation. Recently, low CD4(+) T cell metabolic activity due to pharmacologic immunosuppression has been linked to rapidly progressive cirrhosis in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected liver transplant recipients. We speculate that either cirrhosis or HCV might adversely affect the CD4(+) T cell reactivity even in the absence of immunosuppressive medications.