[IFN combined cyclosporin A therapy]

Current therapy of chronic hepatitis C with a 6 months course of alpha interferon shows limited effectiveness for patients with chronic hepatitis C. In particular more effective therapy is needed to treat patients who have high serum level of group 1-HCV RNA. We previously reported that a combination of interferon and cyclosporin A was more effective than interferon monotherapy. We also examined whether CsA has an antiviral effect on HCV using cultured human hepatocyte cell line. Propagation of HCV seems to be inhibited by CsA in a dose dependent manner. Further study is needed to clarify the action of cyclosporin A.