The current standard therapy for the treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C is the combination of peginterferon and ribavirin, although many patients fail to clear the virus and their retreatment options are still unsatisfactory. Thymosin 1 (T1) is an immunomodulating agent which has been proposed as complementary therapy for chronic HCV especially in the setting of difficult-to-treat patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in patients non responders to previous Peg-based therapy, the effect of standard antiviral therapy with or without T1 on peripheral lymphocytes subsets. Twenty-four patients, 12 receiving T1 and 12 standard therapy, were enrolled. Peripheral subpopulations were analyzed by flow cytometry. While the addition of T1 did not seem to significantly modify the T lymphocyte subpopulations, since comparable behaviors were observed in the CD4 and CD8 longitudinal evaluation, T1 produced an earlier increase of NK cells. An accurate selection of HCV patients who can benefit from immunomodulation is needed.
Immunological modifications during treatment with tymosin alpha 1 plus antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis C
FORTINI, Cinzia;
2010
Abstract
The current standard therapy for the treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C is the combination of peginterferon and ribavirin, although many patients fail to clear the virus and their retreatment options are still unsatisfactory. Thymosin 1 (T1) is an immunomodulating agent which has been proposed as complementary therapy for chronic HCV especially in the setting of difficult-to-treat patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in patients non responders to previous Peg-based therapy, the effect of standard antiviral therapy with or without T1 on peripheral lymphocytes subsets. Twenty-four patients, 12 receiving T1 and 12 standard therapy, were enrolled. Peripheral subpopulations were analyzed by flow cytometry. While the addition of T1 did not seem to significantly modify the T lymphocyte subpopulations, since comparable behaviors were observed in the CD4 and CD8 longitudinal evaluation, T1 produced an earlier increase of NK cells. An accurate selection of HCV patients who can benefit from immunomodulation is needed.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
