PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Mazzaro, Cesare
AU  - Zorat, Francesca
AU  - Comar, Consuelo
AU  - Nascimben, Fabiana
AU  - Bianchini, Dario
AU  - Baracetti, Stefano
AU  - Donada, Carlo
AU  - Donadon, Valter
AU  - Pozzato, Gabriele
TI  - Interferon plus ribavirin in patients with hepatitis C virus positive mixed cryoglobulinemia resistant to interferon.
DP  - 2003 Aug 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - 1775--1781
VI  - 30
IP  - 8
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/30/8/1775.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/30/8/1775.full
SO  - J Rheumatol2003 Aug 01; 30
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Only a small fraction of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive mixed cryoglobulinemia achieve longterm recovery after interferon (IFN) therapy; we evaluated the effectiveness and safety of combination therapy (interferon plus ribavirin) in nonresponders or those who relapsed after one or more courses of IFN. METHODS: Twenty-seven patients with HCV positive mixed cryoglobulinemia were studied. All were treated with IFN-a2b (3 MU 3 times weekly) for one year, plus daily oral ribavirin 1000 or 1200 mg. RESULTS: Five patients (18.5%) obtained complete recovery from viral infection and from all signs and symptoms of disease. During treatment, most patients (85%) improved clinically. All 5 responders were "relapsers" to the first treatment(s). CONCLUSION: Combination therapy of IFN plus ribavirin could be useful for patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia resistant to IFN as monotherapy.