Natural leukocyte interferon alfa for the treatment of chronic viral hepatitis in heart transplant recipients
| Autor: | Maria Chiaramonte, S. Pevere, Alida L.P. Caforio, Stefano Fagiuoli, Remo Naccarato, Ugolino Livi, Francesco Minniti |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2003 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male medicine.medical_specialty Hepatitis C virus medicine.medical_treatment Alpha interferon Pilot Projects medicine.disease_cause Gastroenterology Antiviral Agents Organ transplantation Hepatitis B Chronic Internal medicine Female Heart Transplantation Hepatitis C Chronic Humans Interferon-alpha Middle Aged Safety Treatment Outcome Medicine Chronic Interferon alfa Hepatitis B virus Heart transplantation Transplantation business.industry virus diseases medicine.disease Hepatitis B Hepatitis C digestive system diseases Immunology business Viral hepatitis medicine.drug |
| Popis: | BACKGROUND: A more rapid and aggressive course of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related infection in organ transplant recipients has been described. Interferon alfa is the most accepted drug for treating HBV and HCV chronic infections. However, the use of interferon alfa-N3 has been contraindicated in heart transplant (HTx) recipients because of the hypothesized greater risk of triggering acute cellular rejection. The aim of this clinical pilot study was to evaluate tolerability, safety, and efficacy of natural leukocyte interferon alfa in the treatment of chronic HBV and HCV in HTx recipients. METHODS: Seven HTx recipients were enrolled in the study: two with HBV, four with HCV, and one with combined HBV-HCV chronic infection. The patients had a mean follow-up after heart transplantation of 8.5+/-3 years, before starting interferon alfa-N3 treatment at a dose of 6 MU three times per week, intramuscularly for 12 months. RESULTS: All patients completed the treatment with no major side effects. No unexpected episodes of acute cellular rejection were observed during the treatment. Mean aminotransferase serum levels were significantly lower than before transplantation at 3 (P |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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