how does interferonalpha2a and ribavirin work to kill hcv virus?
151864
Not sure about ribavirin, but interferon alpha is a substance naturally produced by cells (a chemokine) when they are infected by a virus that warns other surrounding cells to mount anti-viral defenses.  I don't think that you can actually take interferon alpha straight -- I think that it is the "pegylated" form that is used medically.
821772
There are a number of ways to kill some viruses in eukaryotic cells but usually there are other smarter viruses not affected in the same mechanism.  I will only give a couple of interesting examples.  The first is based on the cellular RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism.  Double strand RNA viruses are processed by an RNase III enzyme into ~20 base pair (bp) long short RNA.  These can bind to mRNA of the virus and lead to their degradation via the RNAi process with Ago2 and the so called RNA induced silencing complex (RISC) mediated pathway.  Some viruses are smart enough to produce a small inhibitor molecule that binds the 20 bp small RNA and thus inhibit the RNAi process.\n\nThere are other processes that target long double stranded RNA - most like from viruses because the cell does not make this type of RNA duplexes.  The recognition of the long dsRNA activate the interferon pathway and lead to apoptosis of the cell and hopefully killing the viruses with it.  However, again there are viruses that produce molecules that inhibit apoptosis and thus will survive long enough to replicate themselves before the cells eventually die.
1122859
I’m not sure if mitosis inhibiting ‘compound’ is the right approach, as it will prevent the good cells from dividing as well. On the other hand developing the viruses that attack malignant cell may be a more effective way.
941686
C. \n\nIf a strain is resistant to one drug, and it survives to proliferate in the presence of only that drug, a larger population of the virus with that resistance will be produced to infect other cells and pass on the resistance. However, If that single-resistant virus has to contend with a different drug's mechanism, it has no defense that will allow it to proliferate. In the case of being infected with two or more strains of the same virus, a spectrum of drugs (cocktail) is used to defend against multiple resistance mechanisms. With each additional drug in the cocktail, the likelyhood of the virus mutating such that it can defeat all of those defense mechanisms decreases.
797389
mcc_md@yahoo.com for more info\n\nThere is no specific treatment for acute hepatitis B; in 95 percent of adults, the immune system controls the infection and eliminates the virus within about six months. In people who develop chronic hepatitis, the goals of treatment are to stop the virus from multiplying while liver damage is still reversible.\n\nGeneral measures — All persons infected with chronic hepatitis B should be vaccinated against hepatitis A unless they are already known to be immune. Pneumococcal vaccine and yearly influenza vaccination should be considered in patients who have developed cirrhosis.\n\nRegular screening for liver cancer is also recommended, particularly for older individuals, those with cirrhosis, and patients with family history of liver cancer. In general, this entails an annual or biannual ultrasound examination and blood test for serum alpha fetoprotein level (a protein frequently produced by liver tumors, which is detectable in blood). The best approach to screening for liver cancer has not been determined.\n\nAntiviral therapy — Four currently available drugs slow or stop multiplication of the hepatitis B virus: lamivudine, adefovir, entecavir and interferon-alpha. Not all hepatitis B patients will benefit from approved treatments. The physician and the patient should discuss treatment options after a careful assessment of the individual's conditions. Regular monitoring is needed during treatment to assess for response, side effects and drug resistance, and for relapse after treatment is stopped. Regular monitoring is also needed if treatment is deferred, as some patients may benefit from treatment when the hepatitis becomes more active later on.\n\nLamivudine — Lamivudine (Epivir-HBV) is a good first treatment for people with chronic hepatitis B who have detectable virus activity and ongoing liver inflammation. Lamivudine is also appropriate for people who have had a poor response to interferon-alpha, people who have worsening cirrhosis, and people who experience sudden liver failure.\n\nStudies suggest that long-term treatment with lamivudine (treatment for at least one year) decreases virus levels and reduces inflammation of the liver.\n\nLamivudine is taken orally, usually at a dosage of 100 mg/day, for at least one year. Although it is very safe, the drug can trigger a flare of hepatitis in some people and can also be associated with uncommon side effects that you should discuss with your doctor. The major problem with lamivudine is that a resistant form of hepatitis B virus (referred to as a YMDD mutant) frequently develops in patients on long-term treatment. Appearance of the mutant virus may be accompanied by a marked increase in virus level and a flare of hepatitis, and in rare instances liver failure. As new drugs with lower rates of drug resistance become available, lamivudine is used less commonly in patients who require long-term treatment.\n\nAdefovir — Adefovir (Hepsera) is an alternative initial choice for people who have detectable virus activity and ongoing liver inflammation. An advantage of adefovir compared to lamivudine is that resistance to the drug occurs at much lower rates. In addition, adefovir can suppress lamivudine- resistant hepatitis B mutants. Adefovir has been associated with kidney problems when used in high doses or for long durations, so kidney function needs to be checked before and during treatment.\n\nAdefovir is taken orally, at a dosage of 10 mg/day, for at least one year. Most patients will need long-term treatment to maintain control of the hepatitis B virus.\n\nEntecavir — Entecavir (Baraclude) is another choice for people who have detectable virus activity and ongoing liver inflammation. It is a relatively new drug so its benefits and safety are still being determined. An advantage compared with lamivudine and adefovir is its greater potency against the hepatitis B virus. So far, resistance seems to be very rare. A disadvantage is its
729780
The virus would have to infect only the cancer cells, which is kind of impossible to do (right now anyway).  If the virus contained a protein sequence for a toxin that was transcribed or un-repressed by the presence or absence of a protein in the infected cell it would possibly work.  Also, there would have to be a 100% infectivity and mortality rate for infected cells because it just takes a few resistant cancer cells and you're back where you started.  Also, the host's (person with the cancer) immune system would quickly kill any secondary exposure to the virus.  Unless you wipe out their immune system of course.
99588
Some people can clear the virus naturally (immune system) and have evidence of past infection, but do not have ongoing viral replication (detectable hepatitis viral load).  In fact, most people infected as adults are able to clear the virus (about 85% clear the infection when infected as an adult).  Newborns and children are often unable to clear the infection, leading to risk of disease progression.\n\nThere are vaccines available for Hepatitis B so the numbers of new infections are declining.\n\nThere are treatments for Hepatitis B - these include Pegasys, a pegylated interferon medicine that is injected under the skin once weekly or oral agents.  The oral agents include Entecavir (Baraclude) or Adefovir (Hepsera).  A new agent is being studied - Telbivudine.\n\nThere are different types of Hepatitis B:  eAg-positive and eAg-negative.  This impacts how long patients receive treatment.  Typically eAg-positive patients are treated until the virus is no longer detectable plus about 6-12 months and then the medicine can be stopped.  eAg-negative patients usually are treated for life.\n\nTalk with your doctor to find more information.
500677
Current standard of care treatment is a combination of (pegylated) interferon alpha and the antiviral drug ribavirin for a period of 24 or 48 weeks, depending on genotype. Should treatment with pegylated ribivirin-interferon not return a 2-log viral reduction after 12 weeks, the chance of treatment success is less than 1%. Current indication for treatment include patients with proven hepatitis C virus infection and persistent abnormal liver function tests. Sustained cure rates (sustained viral response) of 75% or better occur in people with genotypes HCV 2 and 3 in 24 weeks of treatment, about 50% in those with genotype 1 with 48 weeks of treatment and 65% for those with genotype 4 in 48 weeks of treatment. About 80% of hepatitis C patients in the United State have genotype 1. Genotype 4 is more common in the Middle East and Africa.\n\nTreatment during the acute infection phase has much higher success rates (90%+) with a shorter duration of treatment.\n\nThose with low initial viral loads respond much better to treatment than those with higher viral loads (>2 million virons/ml). Current combination therapy can only be supervised by physicians in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology and infectious disease.\n\nthere is more info in the link below as well
226995
Not sure, I know it's a monoclonal antibody, and I pretty sure that it prevents receptor dimerization of HER-2 receptor and therefore signalling. (Wow haven't thought of Tyrosine kinase signalling for awhile...).\n\nHere's an article\nhttp://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/cgi/content/full/9/suppl_3/4\n\nGood question.
880733
There currently is no cure for Hepatitis B or C. They do have interferon treatment that you can go through, that does greatly reduce the viral load, but in many cases it will return. \nThe treatment is a form of chemotherapy, and is rough on you. I have went through it twice. It reduced the viral load both times, but did not fully eradicate it, and it quickly multiplied again. I'm told by doctors that it was not wasted effort, as it gave my liver a chance to at least rest a bit. The liver can regenerate itself if it is not scarred too much. The danger with Hepatitis B and C, is that they can so greatly damage your liver that it can not regenerate itself and can turn to liver cancer or cirrohhisis. For a lot of people, it will never cause problems and they can live a normal lifespan. If you have it, I wish you well, and my only advice is to weigh your situation carefully before jumping into any course of treatment. And very importantly, get a doctor that you trust and that will answer any and all questions you have. There are so many that will not, or that seem indifferent to what you are going through. It can be life altering. Request a complete Liver panel to see your ALT levels (these tell you how hard your liver is working), and stay away from all drugs and alcohol, as they are very toxic to your liver. Also, I have been told that tylenol is very, very hard on your liver. Use aspirin instead, if your stomach can tolerate it. As for being more dangerous than aids. I'd say they are both equally dangerous, as each can eventually kill you in a different way. But you hear of more research being done on aids treatment than for hepatitis.  I wish you all the best.
343162
http://www.garynull.com/Documents/DrWald/HepatitisCPart2.htm\nhttp://www.hcvets.com/data/hcv_liver/neuropathy.htm\n\nCheck these sites out..They had way too much info to post here. Hope this helps.
369843
Occurs when blood from an infected person enters the body of a person who is not infected.  HCV is spread through sharing needles or "works" when "shooting" drugs, through needlesticks or sharps exposures on the job, or from an infected mother to her baby during birth. These are the only ways it is spread.
451595
http://www.hcvm.com/HCVM/index.html\n\nThis is all you need.
43895
About 4 out of every 100 infants born to HCV infected women become infected. This occurs at the time of birth, and there is no treatment that can prevent this from happening. Most infants infected with HCV at the time of birth have no symptoms and do well during childhood. More studies are needed to find out if these children will have problems from the infection as they grow older. \n\nfound from:\nhttp://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/c/faq.htm#1a
49604
Of course you can.  Nothing in Hep C prevents children.
234621
Currently available Hepatitis C treatment includes Pegylated Interferon - an immunomodulator (stimulated the immune system) and Ribavirin (a nucleoside agent - unknown mechanism). Pegylated Interferon is taken once weekly via subcutaneous injection and the ribavirin is taken orally, usually twice a day (dose varies based upon body weight and HCV genotype).\n\nThere are several Hepatitis C genotypes or varietes of HCV. Genotypes 1 and 4 generally require longer treatment (usually a minimum of 48 weeks) while genotypes 2 and 3 can be treated for 6 months or less - new studies have examined 14 or 16 week regimens.\n\nInterferon can be difficult to tolerate - it causes tiredness, muscle aches, decreased blood cells to name a few side effects. Ribavirin can also cause side effects and sometimes the dose needs to be reduced.\n\nThe liklihood of response is around 50% for genotypes 1 and 4 (meaning that about half the people treated for 48 weeks will clear the Hepatitis C virus). For genotypes 2 and 3, the response rates are higher and can approach 90% (many more people are able to clear the virus.\n\nFactors such as genotypes 1 or 4, high viral load (amount of virus in the body), alcohol use, cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), older age, male sex, and heavey body weight may contribute to a worse response.\n\nThere are investigational agents currently being studies, including VX950 and SCH 503034 (HCV protease inhibitors) as well as polymerase nucleoside inhibitors (NM283 or valopicitabine). Currently, these are all being studied in combination with Pegylated Interferon. Contact an academic medical center or visit http://www.clinicaltrials.gov to find studies for which you may be eligible.\n\nIf you need treatment, be sure to get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, and take your medication EXACTLY as prescribed. Contact your doctor immediately if you experience any side effects.\n\nGood luck and stay positive!
996368
The only thing I know about AAV-IGF1 is that it is a gene therapy to potentially treat ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease) which was supposed to go on trial last year.  I don't know if they ever did start the human trials but to answer your question on how it is made, it'll probably be years before that info will be made public due to patents, copyrights, etc.