Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 28, 2005; 11(4): 580-583
Published online Jan 28, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i4.580
Effect of interferon and ribavirin combined with amantadine in interferon and ribavirin non-responder patients with chronic hepatitis C (genotype 1)
Dilek Oguz, Bahattin Cicek, Levent Filik, Bulent Odemis, Mesut Kilic, Engin Altintas, Neslihan Zengin, Emin Altiparmak
Dilek Oguz, Bahattin Cicek, Levent Filik, Bulent Odemis, Mesut Kilic, Emin Altiparmak, Turkiye Yuksek Ihtisas Hospital, Gastroenterology Clinic
Engin Altintas, Mersin University, Department of Gastroenterology
Neslihan Zengin, Turkiye Yuksek Ihtisas Hospital, Department of Pathology
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Levent Filik, Cemal Gursel Cad. Erk Apt. No: 52/2, Kurtulus, Ankara, ZIP: 06600, Turkey. leventfilik@yahoo.co.uk
Telephone: +903124352761
Received: April 15, 2004
Revised: April 18, 2004
Accepted: May 29, 2004
Published online: January 28, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of amantadine plus interferon-alpha and ribavirin in non-responder patients with chronic hepatitis C.

METHODS: Twenty-six non-responder patients received the regimen of IFN-α-2a at a dose of 6 million units three times a week, 1000-1200 mg of ribavirin daily, and 200 mg of amantadine daily in divided doses over 48 wk. After the end of treatment, at the 72nd wk, a sustained viral response rate was determined.

RESULTS: An early (after 12 wk of therapy) response was seen in 34.6% (9/26) of patients. Response rate at the 24th wk was 42.3% (11/26). End of treatment response (ETR) was 53.8% (14/26). Sustained viral response (SVR) was 42.3% (11/26). There was a statistically significant difference between 0 and 12 wk (P = 0.04), 0 and 24 wk (P = 0.01), 0 and 48 wk (P = 0.00), and 0 and 72 wk (P = 0.001). No patient had severe adverse effects during the treatment.

CONCLUSION: Combination regimen of interferon-α, ribavirin and amantadine can enhance sustained viral response on IFN-α and ribavirin non-responder patients with HCV. Triple therapy with amantadine should be evaluated in further studies.

Keywords: Chronic hepatitis C; IFN-α-2a; Ribavirin