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| Until 1998,interferon alone (monotherapy)was the only approved treatment for HCV infection.Today, the standard of care for treating HCV is the combination of pegylated interferon plus ribavirin.Research is ongoing to develop new and better medications, including helicase inhibitors, protease inhibitors,and antifibrotic medications. There are also several alternative and complementary treatments that people have used to treat HCV infection, for example, milk thistle (silymarin)and licorice root (glycyrrhizin). Herbal and other alternative therapies are discussed in a fact sheet from the Hepatitis C Support Project. | ||||||||||
| Ribavirin Warning | ||||||||||
| Ribavirin has been shown to cause birth defects and miscarriages. Women of child bearing age,their partners,and female partners of male patients taking ribavirin must use at least two effective forms of contraception during treatment and during the six-month post-treatment follow-up period. | ||||||||||
| Approved Pharmaceutical Treatments | ||||||||||
| Standard interferon,pegylated interferon,and ribavirin are the only FDA-approved medications to treat hepatitis C. Interferon,given by injection,is a genetically engineered product based on a set of natural immune system proteins found in the body.Pegylated interferon (PEG)is a long-acting form of interferon that can be injected once a week.PEG maintains a more constant level of interferon in the blood and better reduces the ability of HCV to replicate.Ribavirin is an oral antiviral medication used in combination with interferon to treat HCV infection. Ribavirin alone is not effective against HCV. | ||||||||||
| Standard Interferon Monotherapy | ||||||||||
| Currently marketed brands include Intron A (Schering-Plough), Roferon A (Roche), Infergen; (InterMune,Inc.),and Alferon N (ISI Pharmaceuticals).The standard protocol for interferon administration is injection three times per week for at least one year.It is estimated that only 10 to 20%of individuals treated with standard interferon alone are able to permanently clear HCV to undetectable levels. | ||||||||||
| (Source of the Article: HCV advocate August 2003) HOME NEXT |
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