Ribavirin is a purine nucleoside that inhibits the replication of a variety of RNA viruses and was shown to have a transient efficacy in chronic hepatitis C during short-term therapy. We have analysed retrospectively its efficacy in 95 patients with liver biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis C. Patients received oral ribavirin (600-1200 mg daily) for a mean duration of 11 months. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels returned to normal values in 38 patients (40%) and decreased by more than 50% in 20 other patients (21%). HCV RNA clearance from serum was observed in seven patients (8%). The biochemical response rate was higher in patients with chronic hepatitis (54%) than in those with cirrhosis (24%) (P = 0.003). Clearance of HCV RNA was observed in 10% of the patients with chronic hepatitis vs 4% of the patients with cirrhosis. In non-responders to interferon (IFN) therapy, ALT levels returned to normal values in 11 (26%) and HCV RNA became negative in one (2%), as compared to 48% and 3%, respectively, in those contraindicated for IFN. In 17 patients in whom paired liver biopsy specimens were available, the histology activity index (HAI) improved in 12. Therapy was generally well tolerated although 11 patients had to stop therapy because of side-effects, which were more common in cirrhotic patients. In conclusion, our results suggest that long-term administration of ribavirin is well tolerated and may be beneficial in controlling the progression of chronic hepatitis C. This may represent an alternative therapy in patients who have contraindications for interferon therapy or as a palliative approach in non-responders to IFN.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2893.1998.00099.x | DOI Listing |
J Ultrason
December 2024
Department of General and Pediatric Radiology, Wrocław Medical University, Wrocław, Poland.
Aim: Chronic hepatitis C virus infections can lead to liver fibrosis. Appropriate treatment of chronic hepatitis C may result in significant fibrosis reversal. The best method to assess liver fibrosis is an invasive hepatic biopsy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeliyon
January 2025
Department of Infectious Diseases, Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, China.
Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a significant global health concern, with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection being a major contributor. Understanding the mechanisms of HBV-associated HCC is crucial to improving the prognosis and developing effective treatments.
Methods: HBV-associated HCC datasets (GSE19665, GSE121248, GSE55092, GSE94660, and TCGA-LIHC) acquired from public databases were mined to identify key driver genes by differentially expressed gene analysis, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), followed by protein-protein interaction network analysis, Lasso-Cox regression analysis, and randomforestSRC algorithm.
Aim And Background: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of silymarin in improving liver function and reducing liver stiffness in chronic liver disease (CLD) patients. Silymarin, a hepatoprotective agent, has shown potential benefits in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and liver fibrosis, but evidence in CLD with varied etiologies remains limited. This study addresses the gap by assessing its impact across diverse etiological subgroups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Med (Lausanne)
January 2025
Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Medicine, The First Hospital of Jilin University Changchun, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Background: Sequential or combined treatment with nucleos(t)ide analogs (NAs) and pegylated interferon alpha-2b (Peg-IFN--2b) can improve the clinical cure rate. However, its clinical application is limited due to the adverse reactions associated with IFN.
Methods: A multi-center prospective observational study was conducted involving 59 NAs-treated chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients who were treated with a combination therapy of NAs and Peg-IFN--2b for 48 weeks.
Kidney Res Clin Pract
January 2025
Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Background: Antiviral therapy is an essential treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. Although hypophosphatemia is an important adverse effect of antiviral agents, its clinical significance remains unclear. We investigated the incidence and clinical consequences of hypophosphatemia in a large cohort of CHB patients.
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