The capacity of interferon-gamma to regulate the generation and release of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) from human alveolar macrophages ofnormal nonsmoking individuals was evaluated. When alveolar macrophages were incubated for 60 min with heat aggregated IgG (HAIgG), they generated and released 5.7±1.7 ng ofLT B4 per 106 cells compared to 1.9±0.4 ng from cells incubated with buffer alone, P = 0.02. W...

PURPOSE Gamma-interferon has been shown to be an effective immunoregulatory polypeptide that can modulate fibroblastic response. We investigated the effects of gamma-interferon on keratocyte proliferation and keratocyte-induced collagen gel contraction. METHODS Gamma-interferon in concentrations of 0.01, 1, 100, and 1000 U/ml of media was added to keratocytes embedded in polymerized type I co...

The role of gamma-interferon in the pathogenesis of enteropathies with an immunological basis such as coeliac disease, is unclear. Gamma-interferon immunoreactive lymphocytes were quantified in jejunal biopsies from patients with coeliac disease and from normal controls. In coeliac disease, there was an apparent decrease in the percentage of both intraepithelial (3.5% v 13.5%) and lamina propri...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of acute and chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. HBV has also been associated with various common and uncommon glomerular diseases, including IgA nephropathy (IgAN). We report a patient with chronic HBV infection who presented with atypical features of IgAN with management and long-term follow-up. Much of the data on the...

The current standard of treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a combination of two drugs: pegylated interferon and ribavirin. The virological response rate, treatment duration, and ribavirin dose vary according to several prognostic factors: genotype, baseline HCV RNA (viral load), race, body weight, age, and liver histology. In one study, 48 weeks of pegylated interferon plus ribavirin led ...

The current treatment of chronic hepatitis C since several years, the association of pegylated interferon and ribavirine, allows to obtain a virological eradication in 55% of patients, all genotypes and 45% of those infected with the genotype 1, the most prevalent. The cure, defined by an undetectable viremia 24 weeks after the discontinuation of treatment is associated to a improvement of the ...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects about 170 million people worldwide and is the most common chronic blood borne infection in the United States. Since the advent of blood screening protocols in the early 1990s, injection drug use has become the leading cause of infection. Hepatitis C can have both hepatic and nonhepatic manifestations of infection. Hepatic manifestations include hepatic fibrosis, ...

Few studies have been conducted in the Eastern Mediterranean region on chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with reference to genotypes. We investigated the response to standard combination therapy (pegylated interferon/ribavirin) of different genotypes of HCV in Kuwaiti patients and factors that could be associated with sustained virological response (SVR). The records of all Kuwaiti pati...

Telaprevir is an inhibitor of the HCV NS3/4A protease. When used in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, telaprevir has demonstrated a substantial increase in sustained virological response compared with pegylated interferon and ribavirin used alone. Telaprevir has good oral bioavailability, which is enhanced when administered with food. Telaprevir is extensively metabolized and...

Abbreviations: FCH, fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis; HAV, hepatitis A virus; HBIG, hepatitis B immunoglobulin; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HCV-R, HCV recurrence; HDV, hepatitis D virus; HEV, hepatitis E virus; HVPG, hepatic venous pressure gradient; IgM, immunoglobulin M; LADR, low accelerated dose regimen; LAM, lamivudine; IFNa , interferon al...