Efficacy of amantadine on quality of life in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with interferon-alpha and ribavirin: results from a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether amantadine reduces deterioration of quality of life in patients with chronic hepatitis C during and after treatment with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) and ribavirin.

Patients And Methods: In this randomized, prospective, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial, previously untreated patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated with IFN-alpha plus ribavirin [17] and randomized for treatment with amantadine (200 mg/day, orally, n=136) or placebo (n=131). Quality of life was assessed with the 'Profile of Mood States' scale and the 'Everyday Life' questionnaire at baseline, treatment week (TW) 8, TW24, TW48, and at follow-up.

[The elder patient with advanced liver disease].

The increasing number of elder patients with advanced liver diseases requires a special medical competence in this field. The process of aging influences pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. Medical measures in elder patients have to submit in particular a careful utility/risk-analysis.

[Preoperative chemoradiation in esophageal cancer: experience of a single center in 102 patients].

The (dis-)advantages of preoperative chemoradiation in patients with esophageal cancer (EC) are still controversial as data are lacking showing a clear cut benefit. Therefore, data of neoadjuvant therapy of our hospital have been analyzed. Since 1994 102 patients with an EC (33 % adenocarcinoma, 67 % squamous cell cancer, scc) were operated after receiving preoperative chemoradiation (36 Gy radiation, 1.

Long term clinical outcome of chronic hepatitis C patients with sustained virological response to interferon monotherapy.

Background: The key end point for treatment efficacy in chronic hepatitis C is absence of detectable virus at six months after treatment. However, the incidence of clinical events during long term follow up of patients with sustained virological response is still poorly documented and may differ between the Eastern and Western world.

Aims: To assess clinical end points during long term follow up of European patients with a sustained virological response to interferon monotherapy.