Oromucosal cytokine therapy allows large amounts of cytokines to be administered with improved outcome and without dose limiting toxicity. Orally administered cytokines exert their effects by a novel two pronged mechanism of action. Firstly, specific populations of immuno-competent effector cells are activated in the oral cavity and migrate to the site of virus replication. Secondly, chemokines produced in the lymphoid tissue of the oral cavity enter the peripheral circulation and redirect activated lymphocytes to eliminate virus infected cells. Oromucosal IFN therapy constitutes an alternative and improved means of therapy for diseases such as chronic viral hepatitis which are currently treated parenterally with IFN alpha. The oral route also has obvious advantages for ease of administration and improved patient compliance. Furthermore, the availability of a well tolerated form of IFN therapy will also allow Type I IFNs to be used for the treatment of diseases such as upper respiratory tract virus infections, for which parenteral IFN therapy is currently precluded due to unacceptable toxicity.
Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage ; Antiviral Agents/*administration & dosage/adverse effects/pharmacology ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human/drug therapy ; Human ; Interferon-alpha/*administration & dosage/adverse effects/pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of bicyclol for chronic hepatitis B.

METHODThe authors searched CBMDisk, CJFD (2000-2006), CJD-CD, PubMed (1966-2006) for randomized controlled trials (RCT) comparing bicyclol versus non-antiviral interventions, interferon alpha (IFN-a) and lamivudine for treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Two reviewers performed data extraction and quality assessment independently and discussed when there was different opinion. We analyzed the data with RevMan 4.2 software supplied by Cochrane Collabration.

RESULTSFourteen RCTs involving 1782 patients were included. ALT recovery rate of bicyclol group was 69.3 percent while that of the control group was 59.0 percent, the difference was statistical significant [RR 1.24, 95 percent CI (1.01, 1.52), P=0.04]. Loss of HBeAg in the bicyclol group (22.1 percent) was higher than that of the control group (13.5 percent) [RR 1.65, 95 percent CI (1.32, 2.06), P<0.00001]. No serious adverse events were reported.

CONCLUSIONBicyclol might be beneficial to recovery of liver function and loss of serum HBV marker. However, more high quality clinical trials are needed for confirmation.

Antiviral Agents ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Biphenyl Compounds ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Hepatitis B virus ; drug effects ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

There has been an increase in the number of patients treated with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin due to the better antiviral efficacy. The main serious adverse events of PEG-IFN plus ribavirin combination therapy are bone marrow suppression and hemolytic anemia. However, there are few reports of vasculitis occurring during PEG-IFN therapy. We describe a patient who developed vasculitis during the treatment of chronic hepatitis C with PEG-IFN and ribavirin.
Antiviral Agents/*adverse effects ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Hepatitis C, Chronic/*drug therapy ; Humans ; Interferon Alfa-2a/*adverse effects ; Liver Function Tests ; Middle Aged ; Polyethylene Glycols/*adverse effects ; Ribavirin/*adverse effects ; Skin/drug effects ; Vasculitis/*chemically induced

In therapy of chronic hepatitis B, there are new and exciting developments in antivirals such as nucleotide analogues. Adefovir dipivoxil is an oral prodrug of adefovir, a nucleotide analogue of adenosine monophosphate. This agent has a potent in vitro and in vivo effect against herpes virus, retroviruses, and hepadnaviruses. In the hepatitis B virus (HBV) setting, adefovir dipivoxil inhibits both the wild type and lamivudine-resistant HBV strains. The safety profile of adefovir dipivoxil 10 mg is excellent, but higher doses can produce renal tubular damage, particularly when the drug is used for prolonged therapy. Adefovir dipivoxil is an important new addition to the current first-line treatments for HBeAg positive and negative chronic hepatitis B, as well as being rescue therapy for lamivudine-resistant HBV strains. It is also licensed for use in adults with decompensated liver disease, as well as compensated liver disease where there is evidence of active viral replication, persistently elevated serum alanine aminotransferase levels and active liver inflammation and fibrosis. However, a longer follow-up is needed to establish the long term safety and efficacy of adefovir dipivoxil in patients with chronic HBV infection.
Adenine/adverse effects/*analogs & derivatives/*therapeutic use ; Antiviral Agents/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/*drug therapy ; Humans ; Liver Diseases/drug therapy ; *Phosphonic Acids

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effectiveness of foscarnet sodium in the treatment of severe chronic hepatitis B.

METHODSTwo hundred and eight patients were enrolled in a multicenter, double-blind, controlled study. The patients received foscarnet sodium (foscarnet group) or saline (control group) injections for 4 weeks, and were then followed for 24 weeks.

RESULTSHBV DNA negative rate was 12.8% in the foscarnet group and 7.1% in the control group at the end of treatment; and it was 5.5% and 3.0% at the end of the follow-up period respectively (P > 0.05). The rate of HBV DNA decrease of more than 2 log copies/ml was 53.2% in the foscarnet group and 16.2% in the control group at the end of treatment, and 23.9% and 8.1% (P < 0.01) respectively at the end of the follow-up period. The rate of HBV DNA < 10(5) copies/ml was 64.2% and 30.3% at week 4 in the two groups respectively, and 40.4% and 22.2% (P < 0.01) at the end of the follow-up period. HBeAg negative rate was 17.3% and 5.8% at the end of the treatment, and 22% and 5.4% at the end of the follow-up period (P < 0.01). The rate of HBeAg seroconversion was 12.7% and 3.7% at week 4, and 16.7% and 1.5% at the end of the follow-up period. Response rate was 60.6% and 21.2% at the end of week 4 (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONFoscarnet sodium injection has a good effect on severe chronic hepatitis B patients and it is safe to use on them.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Foscarnet ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDIt is the first multicenter clinical study in China to investigate zanamivir use among Chinese adolescents and adults with influenza-like illness (ILI) since 2009, when inhaled zanamivir (RELENZA(®)) was marketed in China.

METHODSAn uncontrolled open-label, multicentre study to evaluate the antiviral activity, and safety of inhaled zanamivir (as Rotadisk via Diskhaler device); 10 mg administered twice daily for 5 days in subjects ≥ 12 years old with ILI. Patients were enrolled within 48 hours of onset and followed for eight days. Patients were defined as being influenza-positive if the real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) test had positive results.

RESULTSA total of 400 patients ≥ 12 years old were screened from 11 centers in seven provinces from March 2010 to January 2011. Three hundred and ninety-two patients who took at least one dose of zanamivir were entered into the safety analysis. The mean age was 33.8 years and 50% were male. Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes were the most common comorbidities. All the reported adverse events, such as rash, nasal ache, muscle ache, nausea, diarrhea, headache, occurred in less than 1% of subjects. Mild sinus bradycadia or arrhythmia occurred in four subjects (1%). Most of the adverse events were mild and did not require any change of treatment. No severe adverse events (SAE) or fatal cases were reported. Bronchospasm was found in a 38 years old woman whose symptoms disappeared after stopping zanamivir and without additional treatment. All the 61 influenza virus isolates (43 before enrollment, 18 during treatment) proved to be sensitive to zanamivir.

CONCLUSIONSZanamivir is well tolerated by Chinese adolescents and adults with ILIs. There is no evidence for the emergence of drug-resistant isolates during treatment with zanamivir.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Influenza, Human ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Zanamivir ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use

No abstract available.
Antiviral Agents/*adverse effects ; Arabinofuranosyluracil/adverse effects/*analogs & derivatives ; Female ; Guanine/*analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/*drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Muscular Diseases/*chemically induced

Chronic hepatitis C manifests with many extrahepatic features including renal involvement. However, less commonly, interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C can also result in renal involvement and we describe a case when interferon therapy resulted in minimal change glomerulopathy, a form of involvement which, carries a good prognosis. Our patient developed nephrotic syndrome while on interferon therapy and HCV RNA levels were undetectable at that time. The disease showed excellent response to steroid therapy.
Antiviral Agents/*adverse effects ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Hepatitis C, Chronic/*drug therapy ; Interferons/*adverse effects ; Liver Function Tests ; Nephrotic Syndrome/*chemically induced ; Ribavirin/administration & dosage

Antiviral Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Child ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; complications ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Interferon Type I ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Vitiligo ; chemically induced ; etiology

Antiviral Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; complications ; drug therapy ; psychology ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Mental Disorders ; complications ; Middle Aged