VIROLOGICAL, BIOCHEMICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF HUMAN LYMPHOBLASTOID INTERFERON IN SWEDISH PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS-C

Thirty-eight Swedish patients with chronic hepatitis C were randomly a ssigned to receive either 3 million units (MU) or 5 MU of human lympho blastoid interferon-alpha-n1 (Wellferon) three times per week for eith er 6 or 12 months. The patients were monitored biochemically, histolog ically and by quantitative polymerase chain reaction for circulating H CV RNA, during therapy and for the following year. Overall, 22 (58%) o f the patients lost detectable hepatitis C virus (HCV) viraemia during therapy but eight of these patients relapsed during follow-up, leavin g 14 (37%) sustained responders, Patients infected with HCV non-type 1 genotypes were significantly more likely to achieve a sustained respo nse than were those infected with HCV type 1 (63% vs 10.5%, P = 0.001) , Sustained virological responses were also associated with lower pret reatment viraemia level, younger age, absence of cirrhosis and the hig her interferon dosage regimens but these associations failed to reach statistical significance. In 97% of patients there was concordance bet ween virological and biochemical responses, and a statistically signif icant (P = 0.005) improvement in the Knodell histological activity ind ex was observed in the virological sustained responders.