Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023890 (cirrhosis)
 42,195 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Fifty-six consecutive patients with cryptogenic chronic active liver disease were enrolled in a randomized controlled clinical trial of alpha-2a interferon and randomly assigned to a control group (28 patients) and to a treated one (28 patients). All had a histologic diagnosis of chronic active hepatitis (with superimposed cirrhosis in 50% of them) and presented a persistent elevation in aminotransferases, during the last year. Ad-interim analysis shows that 19 out of 28 treated patient (68%) have normalized the aminotransferases during the eight months of therapy, with a statistically significant difference (p less than 0.01) between treated and control group; nevertheless, in 58% of them, we noted rising aminotransferases at low doses of interferon with subsequent normalization when the dose was increased to previous effective levels. Retrospectively, the antibody directed to virus C (anti-HCV) was found positive in 84% of our patients, and its presence was strongly associated with response to interferon treatment. Our preliminary results seem to demonstrate that interferon is truly effective, mainly at high doses, in cryptogenic chronic active liver disease; these data with the high prevalence of anti-HCV and the association between anti-HCV and response to therapy, may confirm a possible etiologic role of virus C in causing this subgroup of liver disease.
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PMID:[Treatment of cryptogenic chronic liver diseases with recombinant alpha-2a interferon. Preliminary results of a randomized controlled clinical trial]. 196 71

The HBsAg carrier state may present as chronic active hepatitis which may proceed to cirrhosis of the liver and to primary liver cell carcinoma. The large scale production of interferons made these substances available for long-term treatment. A deficiency in interferon production in chronic type B hepatitis presented the rational to treat this disease with interferon alpha-A. In this phase II-trial 3/31 patients eliminated HBsAg and 14/31 HBeAg. This was followed by normalisation of liver function tests and probably an improved prognosis. Efficiency of treatment was dependent on the interferon dose, the level of viral replication, the level of liver enzymes before treatment and concurrent infections (e. g. HIV infection). Reactivation occurred in five patients suggesting that the treatment period was too short in some individuals. Future studies will potentially improve efficiency by the modification of the interferon schedule and a better understanding of the mode of action of interferon.
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PMID:[Treatment of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive chronic hepatitis with recombinant alpha-A-interferon. Results of a phase II study]. 322 6

The results of the examination of 20 patients having chronic hepatitis delta (CHD) with the disease lasting 1-2 years (8 patients) and 3-6 years (12 patients) are presented. In most of the patients of both groups, irrespective of the duration of the disease, the development of severe hepatic lesions has been established. The morphological study has revealed in 45% of the examined patients the presence of chronic active hepatitis leading to the cirrhosis if the liver. A prolonged course of treatment (8-12 months) with reaferon (recombinant interferon alpha 2, obtained by gene engineering technique), injected intramuscularly in a dose of 1 x 10(6) I.U. once or twice a week, has proved to be effective in 47% of CHD patients aged 15-30 years with a weak expression of autoimmune process. It is recommended that interferon therapy in patients with CHD requires individual indications.
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PMID:[The clinico-morphological characteristics and efficacy of interferon therapy in patients with chronic delta hepatitis]. 818 15

Fifty six previously untreated patients who had been positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) for more than 1 year with detectable serum levels of hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV-DNA) and a liver biopsy performed in the 6 months before enrollment, were randomized to receive recombinant alpha-2a interferon at doses of 3MU intramuscolarly thrice weekly for 6 months or no treatment. Treated and untreated patients had similar clinical characteristics in terms of ALT elevation, HBV-DNA levels, and degree of liver damage. Twenty one had chronic persistent or lobular hepatitis; 28 had chronic active hepatitis and 7 had cirrhosis. The percentages of patients who lost HBeAg at month 6, 12 and 18 were 22%, 32% and 38% in the treated group, and 16%, 20% and 37% in the controls (differences = ns). At the same time intervals, HBV-DNA detected by dot spot hybridization, cleared off in 39%, 39% and 41% of treated patients as compared to 16%, 36% and 37% of controls (difference = p < 0.05 for HBV-DNA clearance at month 6). At the end of follow-up, 12 treated patients (41%, including 8 antiHBe seroconverters) and 10 untreated controls (42%, including 6 anti-HBe seroconverters) had normal aminotransferase levels. Conclusions show that in patients with chronic hepatitis B, clearance of HBV-DNA but not of HBeAg was hastened by a 6-month treatment with low doses of recombinant alpha-2a interferon.
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PMID:A multicentre randomized clinical trial of recombinant alpha-2a interferon therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B. 850 88

A currently 65-year-old patient with histologically proven chronic hepatitis C and chronic hepatitis B (seroconversion in 1990) and additional compensated cirrhosis of the liver (Child A) achieved sustained complete biochemical and viral response following 5 and 14 months respectively of therapy with highly purified natural leukocyte interferon-alpha (3 x 3 MU weekly, nIFN-alpha, Multiferon). Prior to this treatment, various other therapy approaches including recombinant interferon-alpha2b (rIFN-alpha2b) or a combination of natural interferon-beta (nIFN-beta) and interferon-gamma (rIFN-gamma) had been carried out. Unfortunately, these had been unsuccessful. After a total treatment period of 76 months with nIFN-alpha and a subsequent follow-up period of 30 months, no relapse of chronic hepatitis C occurred. The patient's tolerance of the treatment was excellent and no substantial drug-related adverse events were observed. nIFN-alpha, which - unlike the recombinant IFN-alpha2 preparations - is a mixture of various physiologically expressed IFN-alpha subtypes, could possibly be an alternative in the treatment of difficult-to-treat patients with chronic hepatitis C.
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PMID:Successful application of highly purified natural interferon alpha (multiferon) in a chronic hepatitis C patient resistant to preceding treatment approaches. 1536 81