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Host factors and failure of interferon-alpha treatment in hepatitis C
virus
Hepatology. 2004 Apr;39(4):880-90.
Gao B, Hong F, Radaeva S.

Failure of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) treatment in patients with
chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a challenging obstacle
for clinical and experimental hepatology. Both viral and host factors
have been implicated in reducing responsiveness to IFN-alpha therapy.
The role of viral factors has been studied extensively and has been
summarized in several review articles; however, much less attention
has been paid to host factors. In this paper, we review evidence of
host factor involvement in IFN-alpha treatment failure. We discuss
possible underlying mechanisms responsible for these effects.
Potential the****utic strategies to enhance the effectiveness of
IFN-alpha therapy for HCV are also proposed.

PMID: 15057887

Full text:
http://hepcvets.com/info/2004/apr/hepcinfo072.pdf