The combination therapy of interferon and amantadine hydrochloride for patients with chronic hepatitis C
Nakamura, H.; Uyama, H.; Enomoto, H.; Kishima, Y.; Yamamoto, M.; Yoshida, K.; Okuda, Y.; Hirotani, T.; Kuroda, T.; Ito, H.; Matsuda, M.; Terabayashi, M.; Noguchi, S.
Hepato-Gastroenterology 50(49): 222-226
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 0172-6390 PMID: 12630027 Document Number: 556984
Background/Aims: The effect of interferon treatment for chronic hepatitis C patients with genotype 1b virus has been suboptimal. We studied the effect of the combinaton therapy of interferon and amantadine on patients with a high serum viral load of genotype 1b virus. Methodology: We studied the virological response of naive chronic hepatitis C patients with a high viral load of genotype 1b virus (4.5 log copies/50muL or 100 kcopies/mL and higher) during interferon and amantadine administration for 6 months and 6 months after the end of treatment. Twenty patients were treated with interferon alone (natural interferon-beta 6MU daily for 6 weeks and thrice-a-week for 20 weeks) for 26 weeks. Eleven patients were treated with the combination therapy of interferon and amantadine hydrochloride (100mg orally daily) for 26 weeks. Results: After daily administration of interferon-beta intravenously once a day for 6 weeks, all patients showed the negative tests of serum HCV-RNA by polymerase-chain-reaction methods by the combination therapy, while 13 patients (65.0%) showed the negative tests by interferon alone (p=0.0257). At the end of treatment, serum HCV-RNA were not detected in 54.5% of patients treated with interferon and amantadine, while it was detected in 50.0% of patients treated with interferon alone. At 6 months follow-up, only one patient (9.1%) could eradicate HCV-RNA in patients with interferon and amantadine, while no patient could with interferon monotherapy (not significantly). Conclusions: Amantadine hydrochloride has the additive effects to interferon treatment on the virological responses of serum HCV-RNA during a co-administration, although the combination therapy has not shown a significantly promising effect on the eradication of HCV-RNA in the patients with chronic hepatitis C with a high viral load of genotype 1b virus.