Early Treatment for Hepatitis C Restores Immune Response

A new study found that patients with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) who received early treatment were likely to develop an immune response against HCV and eradicate the virus in a rapid way. The study was funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Fonds d la recherché en santé du Québec, led by Dr. Naglaa Shoukry and Dr. Julie Breneau, and accompanied by researchers the Institut national de la santé et de la recherché scientifique (Montréal branch).

The researchers for the Canadian study followed a group of high-risk intravenous drug users, before and after exposure to Hepatitis C virus. They are hoping that new developments could lead to new treatments of the disease. The study proved that treating the disease within the first few months of an infection could act in a similar way to spontaneous eradication, by developing a rapid poly-functional immune response to the disease. Early treatments lead to a production of multiple anti-viral mediators.

Hepatitis C virus is transmitted through infected blood and a major infection can lead to cancer and cirrhosis of the liver.
In the United States, most HCV infections are spread through intravenous drug use. Although Hepatitis C damages the liver, over 80 percent of those with the disease have no symptoms. It is estimated that nearly 4 million people in the United States have the disease. Unfortunately, nearly 75 percent of those who contract the disease go on to develop chronic Hepatitis C.

The study findings are quite significant and may be able to slow down or stop those with the disease from developing a chronic form of the disease with early treatment.

The anti-viral drug ‘pegylated interferon alpha’ is the only approved drug for HCV, though nearly one-fourth of patients eradicated the infection without treatment. If it is administered during chronic infection it is only 50 percent successful, but when caught and treated early the success rate jumps from 50 percent to 90 percent.

For reasons unknown, the disease can spontaneously disappear without treatment and does quite often. With early treatment, the immune response against HCV can be restores and natural eradication can take place.





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