Interferon-based therapies were until recently the standard of care in chronic hepatitis C (CHC), despite their side effects. We aimed to review the available data on the depression and suicide in CHC patients receiving or not antiviral therapy based on interferon treatment. A PubMed search was performed, identifying relevant papers published between 1991 and January 2015 concerning major depre...

OBJECTIVES To assess the clinical-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of pegylated interferon-alpha combined with ribavirin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. DATA SOURCES Electronic databases, reference lists of retrieved reports, and the industry submissions to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. REVIEW METHODS Sources were rigorously searched and studies were selected ...

In a treatment-naive patient with chronic hepatitis B, a personalized approach allows treatment efficacy to be optimized. Firstly, the selection of good candidates for therapy is crucial. Patients with chronic active hepatitis B--with relatively low levels of HBV DNA replication (<10(9) copies/ml) and relatively high alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels--are good candidates for therapy. By con...

For the last decade, the combination therapy of pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) has been considered as the standard of care treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, it has been associated with an increased incidence of many adverse cutaneous reactions and emergence of autoantibodies or even autoimmune diseases. We report a case of irreversible alopec...

Objective: To assess the efficacy of combination therapy of Conventional interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin in patients of chronic hepatitis C. Methods: Records of 65 patients (43 males and 22 females) of chronic hepatitis C treated with combination therapy of interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin from January 2003 to December 2003 were analyzed for base-line parameters, response rates and any adv...

BACKGROUND We aimed to evaluate the combination therapy of Chinese herbs plus interferon and ribavirin in treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). MATERIAL AND METHODS Related databases were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated biochemical response, virological response, histological response, and/or adverse reactions to combination therapy of int...

BACKGROUND Few studies have evaluated long-term efficacy of interferon beta-1a in large community-based cohorts. OBJECTIVE Evaluate time to relapse, relapse rate, and disability progression in patients treated with intramuscular interferon beta-1a. METHODS A retrospective review of medical records from 2000-2010 was performed. Adult patients with relapsing-remitting MS or clinically isolate...