Pretreatment serum interleukin-12 levels in predicting sustained virological response among hepatitis C patients following Pegylated Interferon-α2ß plus Ribavirin treatment.
Ann Gastroenterol
; 26(3): 249-254, 2013.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24714408
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Dendritic cells activated by hepatitis C virus (HCV) produce high amounts of interleukin (IL)-12, considered to be associated with HCV clearance. The aim of this study was to investigate the IL-12 levels in HCV-infected patients, before and after the application of combination therapy with Pegylated Interferon-α2ß plus Ribavirin.METHODS:
Laboratory data of IL-12 levels and other clinical characteristics were selected from 26 HCV-infected patients. Comparisons of IL-12 serum levels before and after treatment or between responders and non-responders (including relapsers) were performed using non-parametric tests. The study moreover investigated the probable relationship of IL-12 concentrations with viral load, HCV genotypes, liver function tests (LFTs), histological activity and the response to combination treatment.RESULTS:
The baseline IL-12 levels were found significantly higher in patients who achieved sustained virological response (SVR), compared to patients who did not respond to the combination treatment (P=0.029). The IL-12 levels at the end of treatment were not statistically different from the IL-12 baseline levels, in both responders and non-responders. Baseline serum levels of IL-12 higher than 3 pg/mL (cut-off) were found to positively predict patients who successfully responded to treatment. No statistical correlation was found between the baseline serum IL-12 levels and viral load, HCV genotypes, histological activity or LFTs among the HCV patients.CONCLUSION:
Pretreatment IL-12 levels seem to predict which patients will achieve SVR to treatment. Patients with increased IL-12 serum levels were more likely to achieve SVR.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
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En
Ano de publicação:
2013
Tipo de documento:
Article