生物谷報(bào)道：Virginia Commonweath大學(xué)科學(xué)家5月22日表示，單獨(dú)利用干擾素，或者結(jié)合三唑核苷能治愈丙肝——這是導(dǎo)致肝硬化,、肝癌的最主要原因之一,。
來(lái)自VCU醫(yī)學(xué)院的Mitchell Shiffman教授是研究的主要負(fù)責(zé)人之一，他們?cè)谌A盛頓舉行的第38屆消化系統(tǒng)疾病年會(huì)上公布了這一結(jié)果,。VCU是世界范圍內(nèi)40個(gè)研究Roche公司生產(chǎn)的干擾素alfa-2a的機(jī)構(gòu)之一,。
大約有99%的病人在接受了這一干擾素的治療，或者結(jié)合了三唑核苷之后,，在7年時(shí)間內(nèi)都沒(méi)有再發(fā)現(xiàn)病毒的存在,。科學(xué)家認(rèn)為這一結(jié)果已經(jīng)可以用“治愈”來(lái)描述了,，因?yàn)楸伪恢斡臉?biāo)準(zhǔn)是在治療后六個(gè)月內(nèi)血液中未發(fā)現(xiàn)丙肝病毒（HCV）存在,。
研究基于對(duì)病人的長(zhǎng)期分析，以確定病毒在治愈的病人體內(nèi)沒(méi)有復(fù)發(fā),。小組研究了997位病人,，他們或者單獨(dú)感染慢性HCV，或者同時(shí)感染了HIV,。
在使用以上方法成功治療后,，科學(xué)家對(duì)病人進(jìn)行了每年一次的HCV血清檢測(cè)，平均年限為4.1年（從0.4到7年不等）,。997人中,，有989人沒(méi)有檢測(cè)出HCV，其余8人平均在大約2年后檢測(cè)出HCV,。研究同時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn),，這8人在年齡、性別,、HCV基因型方面沒(méi)有共性,，且尚不清楚他們屬于丙肝復(fù)發(fā)還是再次感染HCV。
根據(jù)美國(guó)疾病控制中心（CDC）數(shù)據(jù),，大約有410萬(wàn)美國(guó)人感染了丙肝，其中320萬(wàn)感染了慢性丙肝,。而每年新增感染人數(shù)從1980年代的平均240000人減少到了2004年的26000人,。CDC預(yù)計(jì)，到2010年,，丙肝在美國(guó)造成的死亡將達(dá)到每年38000人,，超過(guò)HIV造成的死亡人數(shù)。
英文原文：
Published: 13:39 EST, May 22, 2007
Researcher Announced Cure for Hepatitis C
The use of peginterferon alone, or in combination with ribavirin, points to a cure for hepatitis C, the leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer and the need for liver transplant, a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher said today.
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Mitchell Shiffman, M.D., professor in the VCU School of Medicine, and chief of hepatology and medical director of the Liver Transplant Program at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, is one of the lead investigators in the study, which was presented at the 38th annual Digestive Disease Week conference in Washington, D.C. VCU was among about 40 sites worldwide studying pegylated interferon alfa-2a, manufactured by Roche Inc.
Nearly all -- 99 percent – of patients with hepatitis C who were treated successfully with peginterferon alone, or in combination with ribavirin, had no detectable virus up to seven years later. Researchers say this data validates the use of the word "cure" when describing hepatitis C treatment as successful treatment is defined as having undetectable hepatitis C virus in the blood six months following treatment.
"We 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," Shiffman said. "In hepatitis C today, we are able to help some patients achieve an outcome that effectively enables them to put their disease behind them."
The results are based on a long-term follow-up study designed 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.
After successful treatment, researchers monitored serum levels of HCV once a year for an average of 4.1 years (range 0.4 to 7 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.
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease of the liver and a leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer and the need for liver transplants. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 4.1 million Americans have been infected with hepatitis C, and 3.2 million are chronically infected. The number of new infections per year declined from an average of 240,000 in the 1980s to about 26,000 in 2004, the latest year for which statistics are available. The CDC estimates the number of hepatitis C-related deaths could increase to 38,000 annually by the year 2010, surpassing annual HIV/AIDS deaths.
Source: Virginia Commonwealth University
