Supplement does not add to hepatitis C treatment
An over-the-counter dietary supplement touted as a remedy for
hepatitis C does not appear to be effective in patients who have
not responded to conventional treatment, according to a US
study.
Nearly 4 million people in the US are infected with the
hepatitis C virus (HCV), the leading cause of chronic liver disease
in this country. Hepatitis C is usually treated with interferon, an
immune system agent that inhibits viral growth. But this therapy
has long-term efficacy in only 15% to 20% of cases.
``In addition, many persons cannot tolerate interferon therapy
because of its numerous adverse effects,'' the researchers who
conducted the new study, Dr. Gary A. Abrams, of the University of
Alabama at Birmingham Liver Center, and colleagues, note.
Consequently, many patients turn to untested over-the-counter
remedies.
In their study, Abrams and colleagues tested one of these
over-the-counter remedies, Complete Thymic Formula, among 38
hepatitis C patients who had not responded to or could not tolerate
interferon. On the Internet, the manufacturer markets the product
as a ``supplement,'' but other websites promote it as a hepatitis
remedy.
In the study, roughly half of the patients took Complete Thymic
Formula for 3 months, the other half took an inactive pill, or
``placebo.'' After 3 months, patients taking the formula had
concentrations of virus in their blood that were just as high as
those in patients who had been taking the placebo, the
investigators found.
And a subgroup of patients who continued to take the formula for
three additional months had the same levels of the virus in their
blood at the end of the entire 6-month period as they had at the
start of the study, according to the researchers. Moreover, one of
the patients developed a condition called thrombocytopenia -- a
decrease in the number of platelets, or blood clotting agents, in
the blood -- ``that may have been due to use of Complete Thymic
Formula,'' Abrams and colleagues report.
Since the study included only HCV patients who did not respond
to interferon therapy, ``no conclusions can be drawn... about the
use of Complete Thymic Formula therapy by HCV-infected patients who
have never received interferon or who have predictors of better
response to interferon therapy,'' Abrams and co-authors note.
Complete Thymic Formula contains extracts of thymosin and other
thymus gland hormones from cows, and a variety of herbs, vitamins,
enzymes, and minerals. Among other things, thymic hormones
stimulate the production of interferon, and may enhance immune
function.
Findings from one previous study suggest that a combination of
interferon and a type of thymosin -- thymosin-alpha 1 -- may be
effective among HCV patients never treated with interferon and
those who have not responded to interferon, Abrams and colleagues
note. ``Whether the combination of Complete Thymic Formula and
interferon is beneficial is unknown,'' they write.
``Our results suggest that patients with HCV infection who have
received interferon should be advised of the lack of efficacy and
the potential risks of Complete Thymic Formula,'' they
conclude.
SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine 1998;129:797-800.
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