Shorter Treatment With Hepatitis C Drug Combination May Be More Beneficial, Study Shows
Posted Sep 14 2011 6:49pm
University of Cincinnati research published in the Sept. 14, 2011, advance online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine shows that patients with hepatitis C who took a combination medication—a telaprevir-based regimen that is commonly used to treat the illness—for 24 weeks were cured.
Usually, the treatment is administered for 48 weeks, and these results show that extended treatment is unnecessary, possibly changing the standard of care for hepatitis C patients. Researchers say this could mean better medication adherence as well as the decrease in side effects associated with longer medication use.
“Chronic infection with hepatitis C represents a serious health issue for nearly 200 million people worldwide,” says Kenneth Sherman, MD, PhD, a UC Health digestive diseases expert, professor and chair of the division of digestive diseases at the UC College of Medicine and principal investigator of the study. “For many years, standard treatment of the type of hepatitis C most common in the United States required 48 weeks of treatment with two drugs: pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Sustained virologic response (cure) occurred in 40 to 50 percent of patients.
University of Cincinnati research published in the Sept. 14, 2011, advance online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine shows that patients with hepatitis C who took a combination medication—a telaprevir-based regimen that is commonly used to treat the illness—for 24 weeks were cured.
Usually, the treatment is administered for 48 weeks, and these results show that extended treatment is unnecessary, possibly changing the standard of care for hepatitis C patients. Researchers say this could mean better medication adherence as well as the decrease in side effects associated with longer medication use.
“Chronic infection with hepatitis C represents a serious health issue for nearly 200 million people worldwide,” says Kenneth Sherman, MD, PhD, a UC Health digestive diseases expert, professor and chair of the division of digestive diseases at the UC College of Medicine and principal investigator of the study. “For many years, standard treatment of the type of hepatitis C most common in the United States required 48 weeks of treatment with two drugs: pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Sustained virologic response (cure) occurred in 40 to 50 percent of patients.