October 2004 Cover
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A new hepatitis C (HCV) drug combination is more effective in guarding against liver damage in people coinfected with HIV than previous therapy, two studies released last month revealed. Until now, standard HCV treatment-- interferon and ribavirin-- has been significantly less
effective in people co-infected with HIV, with more pronounced side effects leading some patients to stop therapy.
Two studies used a chemically modified form of interferon, called peginterferon-- which stays active for longer in the body-- in coinfected patients. Both studies compared peginterferon with established treatment, which requires three-times-per-week injections of
regular interferon; peginterferon requires just one injection per week.
The success rates in both studies depended on the type of HCV the patient carried. Among patients in the larger study with HCV genotype 1-- traditionally harder to treat-- a combination of peginterferon and ribavirin eliminated HCV particles from the blood in 29 percent
of patients; patients with genotypes 2 or 3 had a success rate of 62 percent. Peginterferon did not seem to interfere with the AIDS drugs study patients were taking.
Editor's Note: from Reuters
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