 99 Percent of Pegasys Responders Virus Free Up to Four Years Later
Howdy all-
In a response to some of the thoughts on treatment, this comes from one of the Doc pioneers on the Pegasys studys in Canada, I am on the Pegasys program as a "reward" for the results of this Doc and countless others, that put all their outstanding time and effort into the pegasys studys here In Canada,
This is a Quote from one of those leading Doc,s-
-99 Percent of Pegasys Responders Virus Free Up to Four Years Later
- Ninty nine percent of the hepatitis C patients who responded to treatment with Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a) have remained virus free up to four years later, according to results presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver.[you can do a general search to find this]
"This information tells us that when a patient achieves a sustained virological response, they are indeed really 'cured',"Dr. Mark Swain, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Calgary in Canada "This is a critical message for patients whether they are about to start therapy or in the midst of it -- the end result is worth it."
Researchers for Roche, which markets the drug, said a possible explanation for the success of Pegasys may be found in another study showing that levels of the drug -- which hepatitis C patients take once weekly -- remain constant in the body over the seven-day period thereby suppressing the virus on a constant basis.
The researchers said that in contrast, half of patients treated with PEG-Intron (peginterferon alfa-2b) -- a rival drug marketed by Schering -- had no detectable drug in their bodies by the fifth day after their weekly injection, potentially resulting in renewed virus replication.
"Our study demonstrated a difference in drug levels between the two pegylated interferons," said Dr. Raffaele Bruno, University of Pavia, Italy. "We concluded that Peg-Intron should be intensified from its current once weekly dose to a twice-weekly dose to avoid the hepatitis C virus from replicating."
-Now I am sure Schering will respond to these comments, -a simple soultion, inject Peg-intron every five days instead of 7,
-For your info,
Someday we are going to make this right.
Oneday we are going to win this fight.
Neil
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--Get Outdoors-Enjoy Life----Neil
[This message has been edited by LOST1 (edited 07-07-2003).]
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