Viral Kinetics in Hepatitis C Virus: Special Patient Populations

Jennifer E. Layden-Almer; Thomas J. Layden

doi:10.1055/s-2003-41632

Seminars in Liver Disease, Table of Contents

Semin Liver Dis 2003; 23: 029-034
DOI: 10.1055/s-2003-41632

Viral Kinetics in Hepatitis C Virus: Special Patient Populations

Jennifer E. Layden-Almer, Thomas J. Layden

University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The evolution in therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection to the more recent use of peginterferons in combination with ribavirin has dramatically increased the sustained virological response (SVR) rates versus standard interferon/ ribavirin combination therapy. However, although peginterferon and ribavirin therapy has markedly improved treatment responses overall, factors such as high viral load, genotype 1 infection, obesity, HIV co-infection and African American race continue to pose challenges to optimizing SVR rates. Application of mathematical models may be helpful in understanding why these groups and/or individuals appear to be resistant to interferon (IFN)-based therapy. This article focuses on the viral kinetics and viral kinetic differences among patients infected with HCV genotypes 1 and 2, obese and nonobese patients, and African Americans and Whites.

KEYWORDS

Viral kinetics - mathematical modeling - peginterferon - ribavirin - chronic hepatitis C virus infection - HIV/HCV co-infection - genotype 1 - African Americans - obesity

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References

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