BACKGROUND/AIMS Ribavirin significantly enhances the antiviral response of interferon-α (IFN-α) against Hepatitis C virus (HCV), but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Recently, p53 has been identified as an important factor involving the suppression of HCV replication in hepatocytes. We, therefore, decided to investigate whether and how ribavirin inhibits the replication of HC...

Ribavirin (1-β-D-ribofuranosy-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide) has been widely administered as an antiviral agent against RNA and DNA viruses. Ribavirin, in combination with interferon, has predominantly been applied in the treatment of the hepatitis C virus infection and its potential antitumor efficacy has recently become a point of interest. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effe...

Ribavirin is a broad-spectrum antiviral drug with inhibitory activity against many RNA viruses, including measles virus. Five patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) were treated with ribavirin by intraventricular administration. Although there were transient side effects attributed to ribavirin, such as drowsiness, headache, lip and gingival swelling, and conjunctival hyperemi...

Ribavirin is an antiviral drug used in combination with pegylated interferon-α (IFN-α) for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Recently, ribavirin was reported to inhibit the suppressive activity of regulatory T (Treg) cells. In the present study, we re-evaluated the effect of ribavirin on Foxp3(+)CD4(+)CD25(+) Treg cells from normal donors. First, we examined the expression of ...

An investigational nucleoside analogue drug, viramidine, has recently emerged as a potentially safer alternative to ribavirin for the treatment of hepatitis C viral infection. We have reported that viramidine mainly functions as a prodrug of ribavirin that is enriched in the liver. This in vitro study further explores viramidine's activity against nucleoside phosphorylase, a host enzyme that is...

The addition of ribavirin to alpha interferon therapy significantly increases response rates for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but ribavirin's antiviral mechanisms are unknown. Ribavirin has been suggested to have mutagenic potential in vitro that would lead to "error catastrophe," i.e., the generation of nonviable viral quasispecies due to the increment in the number...

BACKGROUND Peginterferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin therapy in previously untreated patients with chronic hepatitis C yields the highest sustained virological response rates of any treatment strategy but is expensive. AIMS To estimate the cost effectiveness of treatment with peginterferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin compared with interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin for initial treatment of patients w...

BACKGROUND HCV is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV-coinfected patients. Several observational studies have suggested that HCV response to pegylated interferon and ribavirin is lower in HIV-coinfected patients treated with abacavir. It has been postulated that abacavir could compete with ribavirin to be phosphorylated, leading to a reduction in the active form of the drug (triphos...