Latest Treatment for Hepatitis C May Not Be Best,
According to Patients NewsWire; Consensus Interferon Effective for
Many Patients Who Have Failed Rebetron
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The newest combination
drug therapy may not be best for every hepatitis C patient. Many do
not respond to Intron A (interferon alfa-2b) with ribavirin, and
others may see viral counts lowered but relapse once treatment
stops. Consensus interferon
(Infergen from Amgen) is worth a closer look for these
patients.
A study in the April issue of Hepatology showed that 58 percent
of relapsers and 13-17 percent of non-responders achieved a
sustained response after 48 weeks of treatment with high dose
consensus interferon (15 micrograms three times a week).
Interferons comprise a family of natural proteins produced by
the body in response to viral infections. Consensus interferon is a
man-made combination of parts of various interferon molecules that
has five to ten times the biological activity of natural
interferons in the laboratory.
Doctors are pioneering ways to maximize Infergen's effectiveness
by modifying the dosing regimen approved by the FDA. Dr. William
Boyd, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at South Florida
School of Medicine and a hepatologist in private practice, uses
Infergen with relapsers and with non- responders. "Infergen is
particularly successful with relapsers," says Boyd. "Based on the
Hepatology study, they have a 55-60 percent chance of success if
they have relapsed after treatment with Intron A."
For non-responders, Boyd prescribes 15 micrograms of Infergen
three times a week, either initially or after acclimating the
patient with 9 micrograms three times a week. "After three or four
months at the higher dose without a dramatic drop in the viral
load, we discuss increasing to 15 micrograms of Infergen
daily."
Long-term therapy for patients with significant liver fibrosis
is a new concept. "In the past, we considered hepatitis a viral
illness," says Boyd. "If the virus didn't decrease after three or
four months of treatment, we'd try something different or wait for
better medicines. Now, the goal for patients with significant
fibrosis is broader than alleviating the virus. The medicine may
slow or even reverse fibrosis, so we plan on a year of treatment,
even if the viral load doesn't decrease."
Doctors individualize therapy by weighing several factors: how
the patient tolerates the medicine, how motivated the patient is,
amount of fibrosis, and what has happened to the viral load. "We
may arrive at different dosing schedules for different patients. We
don't prescribe by cookbook as we did five years ago," says
Boyd.
Dr. Boyd recommends patients find a doctor to spend time with
them examining their viral load and biopsy results, their age,
their tolerance of side effects, and their expected length of
treatment before making treatment decisions. "Working with such a
doctor is critical to developing commitment -- no treatment works
if the patient doesn't refill the prescription," he says.
Link to "Re-treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C with Consensus
Interferon," Hepatology, April 1998, p.1136-1143, Vol. 27, No.
4:
http://www.hepatology.org/cgi/content/abstract/27/4/1136
SOURCE Patients NewsWire ; CO: Patients NewsWire; ST:
Pennsylvania; IN: MTC HEA; SU:; 10/27/98 13:09 EST
http://www.prnewswire.com
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