OTHER APPROACHES TO THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC VIRAL-HEPATITIS

Interferon (IFN) therapy of chronic hepatitis C has proved useful in r ecent years. A major goal in the treatment of hepatitis C is the preve ntion of the high relapse rate after cessation of therapy and the impr ovement of the response rate in non-responders. Several approaches can be tried. The administration of higher doses of IFN results in an inc rease in the response rate, but does not prevent ultimate relapse. Sim ilarly, prolongation of the treatment period gives better results, but one third of cases still relapse. In these cases, re-treatment result s in ALT normalization once again, but does not prevent subsequent rel apse; in non-responders to IFN, re-treatment will not lead to improvem ent of the response rate. Analysis of the viral genome reveals its pre sence in serum in spite of the normalization of ALT values. The role o f HCV genome heterogeneity in the response to IFN needs to be assessed and it is necessary to find other antiviral agents that are able to c lear HCV from all relevant hosts (serum, liver tissue and mononuclear cells).