Treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE search (1986-December 1999) using key words such as HCV, hepatitis, non-A and non-B hepatitis, as well as terms regarding treatment during that time period. DATA SYNTHESIS: HCV infection was initially treated with interferon monotherapy, but only a minority of patients responded to long-term therapy. A higher rate of response in both interferon-naive patients and interferon-relapsers has been achieved by using the combination of interferon and ribavarin. Other treatment regimens including high-dose interferon protocols, ursodeoxycholic acid, amantadine, and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs have been less promising. Many alternative therapies are being investigated. CONCLUSIONS: HCV infection is a major public health problem. It is now possible to achieve a cure in nearly 50% of the patients with this infection. Many additional therapies are being evaluated in order to achieve a higher cure rate.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				V Schmitz, C Qian, J Ruiz, B Sangro, I Melero, G Mazzolini, I Narvaiza, and J Prieto Gene therapy for liver diseases: recent strategies for treatment of viral hepatitis and liver malignancies Gut, January 1, 2002; 50(1): 130 - 135. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]