Recombinant interferon alpha therapy in elderly patients with chronic hepatitis C without cirrhosis

We administered a 24 week cycle of recombinant interferon alpha (r-IFNa) treatment (6 MU twice per week) to 18 patients over 50 years and 20 patients under 50 years affected by chronic hepatitis C without cirrhosis in order to evaluate the efficacy of, and tolerance to r-IFNa. Liver histology and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values prior to treatment were overlapping in the two groups. Complete response was achieved in 2 patients of the first group (11%) and 12 of the second (60%, p < 0.01) and was defined as normalization of ALT values during treatment. Sustained response was defined as persisting normal ALT values 6 months after the end of treatment and was observed in 2 patients of the group above 50 years of age and in 8 patients of the younger group. Partial response was observed in 8 patients (44.5%) of the older group and 2 patients (10%) of the younger group; it was defined as a more than 50% ALT reduction compared to the values before the treatment. No statistically significant correlation was observed between the pretreatment histological picture and type of response. Tolerance to treatment was good in both group and none of the patients presented side effects necessitating suspension of treatment.