This retrospective study evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of directly observed therapy with peginterferon alfa-2a and once-daily ribavirin (RBV) for chronic hepatitis C in 49 opioid-addicted injection drug users (IDUs) participating in a drug treatment program at a specialized outpatient center. Patients also received prophylactic citalopram to minimize the risk of interferon-induced depression. Patients had daily access to and support from specialist physicians, nurses and counseling services at the center, and a 24-hour helpline. Sustained virological response was achieved by 48 of 49 patients (98%) overall, including 20 of 21 (95%) hepatitis C virus (HCV) Genotype 1/4-infected patients and 28 of 28 (100%) Genotype 2/3-infected patients. Treatment was well tolerated, and no unexpected side effects of peginterferon treatment were seen. The safety profile of once-daily RBV was not different from twice-daily dosing. Decline in hemoglobin levels was similar to those reported in clinical trials including once-daily RBV and did not lead to dose reduction or treatment withdrawal. Our data demonstrate that HCV-infected IDUs on stable L-polamidone (methadone) or buprenorphine maintenance can be successfully and safely treated with peginterferon alfa-2a and RBV in an optimal substitution setting.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2010.02.002 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
In silico analysis of novel Triacontafluoropentadec-1-ene as a sustainable replacement for dodecane in fisheries microplastics: Molecular docking, dynamics simulation and pharmacophore studies of acetylcholinesterase activity.
Comput Biol Chem
January 2025
Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, ICMR-National Institute for Research in Environmental Health, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Electronic address:
Plastics play an essential role in modern fisheries and their degradation releases micro- and nano-sized plastic particles which further causes ecological and human health hazards through various environmental contamination pathways and toxicity mechanisms, which can cause respiratory problems, cancer, reproductive toxicity, endocrine disruption and neurological effects in humans. This study utilized various bioinformatics tools through multi-step computational analyses to investigate the interactions between prevalent fisheries microplastics and the key protein receptor acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which is associated with neurotoxicity, as it can interfere with nerve impulses and muscle control. Our results indicate that the binding of seven polymers within AChE's active site, with dodecane and polypropylene exhibited highest affinity with hydrogen bonding were observed through Molecular docking of different program (PyRx) and servers (CB-Dock, eDock) then the stability of AChE-dodecane and AChE-polypropylene complexes were observed through MD simulations for 100 ns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEight Years of Norovirus Surveillance in Urban Wastewater: Insights from Next-Generation.
Viruses
January 2025
National Center for Water Safety (CeNSia), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Human noroviruses (HNoVs) are a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide, with significant public health implications. In this study, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) was used to monitor the circulation and genetic diversity of HNoVs in Rome over an eight-year period (2017-2024). A total of 337 wastewater samples were analyzed using RT-nested PCR and next-generation sequencing (NGS) to identify genogroups GI and GII and their respective genotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-Throughput Oxford Nanopore Sequencing Unveils Complex Viral Population in Kansas Wheat: Implications for Sustainable Virus Management.
Viruses
January 2025
Department of Plant Pathology, Throckmorton Plant Science Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
Wheat viruses are major yield-reducing factors, with mixed infections causing substantial economic losses. Determining field virus populations is crucial for effective management and developing virus-resistant cultivars. This study utilized the high-throughput Oxford Nanopore sequencing technique (ONT) to characterize wheat viral populations in major wheat-growing counties of Kansas from 2019 to 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInterpretation of COVID-19 Epidemiological Trends in Mexico Through Wastewater Surveillance Using Simple Machine Learning Algorithms for Rapid Decision-Making.
Viruses
January 2025
School of Engineering and Sciences, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey 64849, Mexico.
Detection and quantification of disease-related biomarkers in wastewater samples, denominated Wastewater-based Surveillance (WBS), has proven a valuable strategy for studying the prevalence of infectious diseases within populations in a time- and resource-efficient manner, as wastewater samples are representative of all cases within the catchment area, whether they are clinically reported or not. However, analysis and interpretation of WBS datasets for decision-making during public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, remains an area of opportunity. In this article, a database obtained from wastewater sampling at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and university campuses in Monterrey and Mexico City between 2021 and 2022 was used to train simple clustering- and regression-based risk assessment models to allow for informed prevention and control measures in high-affluence facilities, even if working with low-dimensionality datasets and a limited number of observations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReview of Methods for Studying Viruses in the Environment and Organisms.
Viruses
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Extreme Environmental Microbial Resources and Engineering, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Recent decades have seen growing attention on viruses in the environment and their potential impacts as a result of global epidemics. Due to the diversity of viral species along with the complexity of environmental and host factors, virus extraction and detection methods have become key for the study of virus ecology. This review systematically summarises the methods for extracting and detecting pathogens from different environmental samples (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!