Interferon plus ribavirin in patients with hepatitis C virus positive mixed cryoglobulinemia resistant to interferon

OBJECTIVE: Only a small fraction of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive mixed cryoglobulinemia achieve longterm recovery after interferon (IFN) therapy; we evaluated the effectiveness and safety of combination therapy (interferon plus ribavirin) in nonresponders or those who relapsed afte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of rheumatology 2003-08, Vol.30 (8), p.1775-1781
Main Authors: MAZZARO, Cesare, ZORAT, Francesca, COMAR, Consuelo, NASCIMBEN, Fabiana, BIANCHINI, Dario, BARACETTI, Stefano, DONADA, Carlo, DONADON, Valter, POZZATO, Gabriele
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents
Antiviral agents
Antiviral Agents - administration & dosage
Antiviral Agents - adverse effects
Biological and medical sciences
Biopsy
Complementarity Determining Regions - analysis
Cryoglobulinemia - drug therapy
Cryoglobulinemia - virology
Drug Therapy, Combination
Female
Hepatitis C - drug therapy
Hepatitis C - pathology
Humans
Interferon-alpha - administration & dosage
Interferon-alpha - adverse effects
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Recombinant Proteins
Recurrence
Ribavirin - administration & dosage
Ribavirin - adverse effects
Treatment Outcome
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Summary:OBJECTIVE: Only a small fraction of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive mixed cryoglobulinemia achieve longterm recovery after interferon (IFN) therapy; we evaluated the effectiveness and safety of combination therapy (interferon plus ribavirin) in nonresponders or those who relapsed after one or more courses of IFN. METHODS: Twenty-seven patients with HCV positive mixed cryoglobulinemia were studied. All were treated with IFN-a2b (3 MU 3 times weekly) for one year, plus daily oral ribavirin 1000 or 1200 mg. RESULTS: Five patients (18.5%) obtained complete recovery from viral infection and from all signs and symptoms of disease. During treatment, most patients (85%) improved clinically. All 5 responders were "relapsers" to the first treatment(s). CONCLUSION: Combination therapy of IFN plus ribavirin could be useful for patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia resistant to IFN as monotherapy.
ISSN:0315-162X
1499-2752