TREATMENT OF HEPATITIS C

SAŽETAK Procjenjuje se da je u svijetu približno 170 milijuna ljudi zaraženo hepatitis C virusom (HCV), a razvoj bolesti iz akutnoga oblika u kronični oblik može se očekivati u 55% do 85% bolesnika. U radu prikazane su dosadašnje spoznaje o terapiji hepatitisa C, uspoređene su postojeće mogućnosti, ukazano je na dosad poznate nuspojave, te je dan uvid u terapiju hepatitisa C u budućnosti. U današnje vrijeme ustaljena terapija HCV infekcije jesu pegilirani interferon i ribavirin u trajanju od 24 tjedna do 48 tjedana, ovisno o genotipu i viralnu odgovoru. U posebnih skupina bolesnika terapija se prilagođuje. U budućnosti očekuje se razvitak novih lijekova, poput specifičnih inhibitora i cjepiva koji će upotpuniti dosadašnje spoznaje i unaprijediti liječenje infekcije HCV-om.SUMMARY It is estimated that the number of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients all round the world amounts to 170 million persons and it is likely to expect that the disease progression from acute to chronic ranges between 55% – 85%. The paper sets out the present knowledge on hepatitis C therapy, compares and contrasts the existing treatment methods, points at the disease side effects and offers an insight into a future therapy trends. Nowadays, the standard HCV infection is cured by pegylated interferon and ribavirin within 24 – 48 weeks, depending on the genotype and viral response. Some special categories of patients require modified therapy. In future it is assumed that a number of new medicines, such as specific inhibitors and particularly vaccines are going to be developed thus enabling a more efficient treatment of HCV infected patients