A breakthrough regimen may cure hepatitis C without using interferon or ribavirin.
News from the recent European liver conference EASL reported on a two-drug regimen that may cure hepatitis C (HCV) without having to use either of the drugs found in standard treatment. Although this new regimen of experimental drugs may cure only some people with HCV, it offers a chance for them to not have to use either peg-interferon or ribavirin, both of which can cause difficult to manage side effects.

The same study that showed nearly 100% undetectable viral loads by using four drugs (standard therapy + two new experimental drugs) in 10 people also reported data on 11 others who only took the two new drugs. All of the 21 had genotype 1 HCV but no cirrhosis and were null responders, or people whose earlier treatment did not cure their HCV.

After 24 weeks of treatment, 4 of the 11 who took the two experimental drugs, BMS-790052 + BMS-650032, had undetectable HCV viral load, which is an early marker for possible cure. However, six of the other seven did not reach undetectable viral loads on just the two drugs, so standard treatment was added. Of these individuals, four were then able to reach undetectable HCV levels, although all of them showed some evidence of resistance. So far, we don’t know the significance of this documented resistance.

Besides the various control of HCV levels, side effects were similar between the two groups of 10 and 11 people. These included diarrhea, tiredness and headache, among others. No one stopped the study and most side effects were mild to moderate in nature. However, drops in certain white blood cells called neutrophils were seen in those on the four-drug regimen.

These two new drugs are direct-acting drugs, meaning that they directly interrupt the reproduction cycle of the hepatitis C virus, unlike standard treatment which indirectly suppresses HCV. These results show for the first time that hepatitis C may be cured without having to use troublesome standard treatment. More follow-up and larger studies need to be done, but this proof of concept is a huge leap in medicine.


d.d.14 april 14.15 uur.
zie
http://www.projectinform.org/news/2011/041211.shtml

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