Is interferon-beta an alternative treatment for chronic hepatitis C?
Moreno-Otero R; Trapero-Marugn M; Gmez-Domnguez E; Garca-Buey L; Moreno-Monteagudo JA Unit of Hepatology, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. rmoreno.hlpr@salud.madrid.org The treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is still far from optimal, particularly for those subpopulations that do not respond to the standard combination therapy with Interferon-alpha (IFNalpha) plus ribavirin. Although in some cases the use of higher doses or longer treatment periods may be effective, these approaches are generally associated with a higher incidence of adverse events, which may either lead to a reduction in patient compliance or require drug withdrawal. IFNbeta could represent an interesting alternative for treating CHC patients. Controversial data about IFNbeta efficacy in CHC exist, the main reason being that many results stem from pilot studies with small cohorts of patients. However, promising results have been obtained in some subgroups of patients th
