新公布的丙肝治疗方法

一项最新的研究表明，仅使用干扰素alfa-2a，或结合病毒唑可以治愈丙肝(HCV)。

来自美国弗吉尼亚的研究学者以及世界其他40个组织组织的一项长期后续性研究确定在成功治疗丙肝的病人是否会再次感染病毒。这项研究回顾了997例病人，这些病人要么单一感染慢性丙肝病毒要么共感染丙肝和艾滋病，接受了干扰素单一疗法或病毒唑的联合治疗。

成功治疗后，研究学者每年监测一次HCV水平，平均持续4.1年。997例病人中，989例中HCV水平是不能被监测到的。另8例病人在治疗完成后平均2年中HCV仍检测阳性。研究表明，这8个病人与年龄、性别、或HCV基因型无关，也没有明确这些病人是否再发或重新感染HCV。此项研究在2007年5月美国举行的第38届消化疾病会上得到了陈述。

“这些数据无疑是鼓舞人心的，因为在生命-威胁病毒疾病的治疗中很少能告知病人可能已经被治愈了。”第一作者Mitchell Shiffman博士解释道，“如今我们能帮助病人有效摆脱这些疾病的干扰。”

丙型肝炎是威胁生命的，通过血液感染到肝脏，这是一种通过血液传播的疾病。丙肝病毒是一种RNA病毒。丙肝可导致严重、持续的肝脏损伤，在一些病例中甚至是死亡。超过80%丙肝感染的病人可发展成慢性肝脏疾病。


Hepatitis C Cure Announced 

A new study has found that the use of peginterferon alfa-2a alone, or in combination with ribavirin, can provide a cure for hepatitis C virus (HCV). 
Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU; Richmond, USA) and about 40 other sites worldwide conducted a long-term follow-up study to determine if the virus re-emerges in patients who have achieved treatment success. The study reviewed 997 patients, either mono-infected with chronic HCV or co-infected HCV and HIV, who achieved a sustained viral response (SVR) following treatment with either Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a) monotherapy or combination therapy with Pegasys and ribavirin. Pegasys is manufactured by Roche (Basel, Switzerland). 

After successful treatment, researchers monitored serum levels of HCV once a year for an average of 4.1 years. Of the 997 patients, 989 maintained undetectable levels of HCV. The remaining eight patients tested positive for HCV at an average of two years following treatment completion. The study found that these eight patients exhibited no consistency in age, gender, or HCV genotype, and it has not yet been determined if these patients experienced a relapse or if they were re-infected with HCV. The study was presented at the 38th annual Digestive Disease Week Conference, held during May 2007 in Washington DC (USA).
 
e at VCU are encouraged by this data because it is rare in the treatment of life-threatening viral diseases that we can tell patients they may be cured,?said lead researcher Mitchell Shiffman, M.D., a professor in the VCU School of Medicine. 揑n hepatitis C today, we are able to help some patients achieve an outcome that effectively enables them to put their disease behind them.
 
Hepatitis C is a life-threatening, blood-borne disease of the liver, which is transmitted by exposure to blood. A particularly dangerous form of viral hepatitis, it is caused by an RNA virus. Hepatitis C can lead to serious, permanent liver damage, and in many cases, death. More than 80% of those who are infected will progress to chronic liver disease.