RECOMBINANT INTERFERON ALPHA THERAPY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS C WITHOUT CIRRHOSIS

Summary We administered a 24 week cycle of recombinant interferon alpha (r-IFNa) treatment (6 MU twice per week) to 18 patients over 50 years and 20 patients under 50 years affected by chronic hepatitis C without cirrhosis in order to evaluate the efficacy of, and tolerance to r-IFNa. Liver histology and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values prior to treatment were overlapping in the two groups. Complete response was achieved in 2 patients of the first group (11 %) and 12 of the second (60 %, p