Quantitative hepatitis C virus RNA and liver histology in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with interferon alfa

G Yamada1, M Takahashi, H Endo

  • 1First Department of Internal Medicine, Okayama University Medical School, Japan.

Gut
|January 1, 1993
PubMed

Seventy patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection received alpha interferon at doses ranging from 3 to 10 million units (MU) daily for eight weeks, three times weekly for 12-24 weeks, or daily and three times weekly for 12-24 weeks. The efficacy of interferon was closely related to the initial blood HCV-RNA values in that these were lower in those who responded completely and partially compared with non-responders. Continuous reductions in HCV-RNA and improvements in the histology activity index score were seen in those who responded completely. In contrast, most of the partial and non-responders remained HCV-RNA positive.

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