losartan-potassium and taribavirin

Anemia is a common side effect that begins soon after the initiation of peginterferon/ribavirin in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. It can cause symptoms that negatively impact quality of life (QOL) and is the most common reason for reducing the dose and temporarily or permanently discontinuing ribavirin. Such dose modifications have been shown to reduce the efficacy of treatment. Administering erythropoietin can improve anemia caused by peginterferon and ribavirin therapy and is more effective than dose reduction at improving QOL during treatment. However, erythropoietin, which is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in patients with HCV infection, adds another parenteral drug to the patient's treatment regimen, and is associated with additional costs, inconvenience, and potential side effects. A new ribavirin analog, viramidine, is expected to be associated with a lower incidence of anemia and, if proven effective, may eventually be substituted for ribavirin in combination with peginterferon to treat chronic hepatitis C. In the meantime, physicians must make the best possible use of the available options for managing anemia, especially in select patient groups who are most at risk for anemia and its complications.

Topics: Anemia; Antiviral Agents; Drug Therapy, Combination; Erythropoietin; Hepatitis C, Chronic; Humans; Interferon alpha-2; Interferon-alpha; Quality of Life; Recombinant Proteins; Ribavirin

Currently available anti-HCV therapy is effective in only half of the patients and limited by side effects that often necessitate discontinuation. Therefore, new treatment strategies are being developed including (i) the optimization of current regimens, (ii) the use of additional agents working via novel mechanisms, and (iii) anti-fibrotic strategies. Many new antiviral compounds are now being studied in preclinical and clinical trials. This review will focus on drugs that have already entered the stage of phase 2 or phase 3 studies.

Topics: Antidepressive Agents; Antiviral Agents; Clinical Trials as Topic; Erythropoietin; Genome, Viral; Hepacivirus; Hepatitis C, Chronic; Humans; Interferons; Liver Cirrhosis; Protease Inhibitors; Purine-Nucleoside Phosphorylase; Pyrimidine Nucleosides; Ribavirin; Viral Hepatitis Vaccines