BACKGROUND At least 2.7 million Americans are infected with chronic hepatitis C. An increasing number are treated with interferon alfa plus ribavirin regimens. Not surprisingly, this immune stimulation is associated with the development of autoimmune and cutaneous diseases. Several cases of sarcoidosis have been reported with hepatitis C treatment, most recently in association with pegylated in...

Pulmonary toxicity is a rare but potentially fatal side effect occurring during interferon (IFN) alpha treatment for chronic hepatitis C. We present a 47-year-old woman who had chronic hepatitis C and was treated with pegylated IFN alpha-2b in combination with ribavirin, with a good virological response by week 10 of therapy. Then the patient began to complain of dyspnea on exertion and a dry c...

BACKGROUND The role of nitric oxide (NO) in infectious diseases is gaining attention because of its antiviral effects. AIM To evaluate whether serum and hepatic NO levels are predictors of the outcome of treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 4. METHODS Fifty six patients with chronic HCV genotype 4 treated with pegylated interferon (IFN) alpha-2a plus ribavirin underwent b...

BACKGROUND AND AIM Current practice guidelines recommend that individuals chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) be treated with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin. Ribavirin, however, is associated with serious adverse events (AE), especially anemia. We review its mechanism of action, its importance in treating chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients, the AE associated with its use,...

RESULTS—Median age at the onset of type 1 diabetes was 56 (interquartile range 48–63) years and mean 6 SD BMI was 20.8 6 2.7 kg/m. The time period from the initiation of interferon therapy to type 1 diabetes onset in patients receiving pegylated interferon and ribavirin was significantly shorter than that in patients with nonpegylated interferon single therapy (P, 0.05). Anti-islet autoantibodi...

Hepatitis C virus is the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the United States. The advent of new treatment regimens using pegylated interferons in combination with ribavirin has led to improved sustained viral response rates for some genotypes in large multicenter trials. Advances in the management of side effects and toxicities have expanded the pool of treatable patients. A recent N...

BACKGROUND Multiple treatments are available for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. PURPOSE To compare benefits and harms of antiviral regimens for chronic HCV infection in treatment-naive adults. DATA SOURCES English-language literature from MEDLINE (1947 to August 2012), the Cochrane Library Database, Embase, Scopus, PsychINFO, and clinical trial registries. STUDY SELECTION Rand...