New treatment strategies in non-responder patients with chronic hepatitis C.
There is solid evidence that retreatment of non-responders with standard regimens of interferon monotherapy is of no clinical value. On the other hand, combination therapy with interferon and ribavirin now produces sustained response rates in non-responders similar to those of interferon monotherapy in untreated patients. Consequently, retreatment of non-responders with the combination of interferon-ribavirin appears to be a valid treatment option. The efficacy of retreatment with the interferon-ribavirin combination can probably be increased by modifying the first weeks of interferon therapy from standard (3 MU tiw) to induction (10 MU daily), and by extending the treatment period to 12 months. In the next few years, the additive value of amantadine to interferon or to interferon-ribavirin combination in inducing sustained viral clearance should be explored. For the many patients who still do not respond with viral clearance despite these new approaches, the goal of therapy might be shifted towards persistent ALT normalization in order to reduce the progression of liver disease. Drugs that can normalize serum ALT such as interferon, ursodeoxycholic acid, ribavirin and glycyrrhizin should be evaluated for this objective.