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Zinc Adds Value To Interferon In Chronic Hepatitis C

Zinc supplementation enhances response to interferon therapy in patients with intractable chronic hepatitis C.

In this pilot study, investigators evaluated the synergistic effect of zinc supplementation on the response to interferon (IFN) therapy. They used natural IFN-alpha (IFN-a) with or without zinc.

Researchers from the School of Medicine and the School of Health Science, Gunma University, Maebashi, Gunma, and Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Japan did this study.

Participants were 75 patients with intractable chronic hepatitis C infection.

No clinical differences were observed between 40 patients treated with IFN alone and 35 patients treated with IFN plus polaprezinc (IFN + Zn).

All patients were positive for HCV genotype Ib and had more than 105 copies of the virus/mL serum.

All patients received 10 million units of natural IFN-a daily for four weeks followed by the same dose every other day for 20 weeks.

Patients in the IFN + Zn group received an additional dose of 150 mg/day polaprezinc orally throughout the 24-week IFN course.

Although no additional side effects of polaprezinc were noted, four of the 40 patients treated with IFN alone and three out of 35 in the IFN + Zn group withdrew because of side effects.

Complete response (CR) was defined as negative HCV RNA in the serum on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and normal aminotransferase level six months after therapy. Incomplete response (IR) was normal liver enzyme and positive serum HCV RNA. Both were evaluated six months after completion of treatment.

Patients with higher levels of serum HCV (more than five × 105 copies/mL) had little response in both treatment groups.

Those with moderate amounts of HCV (105 to 4.99 × 105/mL) showed high response rates in combination group (CR: 11/27, 40.7%; CR + IR 15/27, 64.3%), better than IFN alone (CR: 2/15, 18.2 percent; CR + IR: 2/15, 18.2 percent).

Serum zinc levels were higher in patients with IFN + Zn group than in the IFN group.

These findings indicate zinc supplementation enhances response to interferon therapy in these patients, the authors conclude.
Journal of Viral Hepatitis 8 (5), 367-371 "Zinc supplementation enhances the response to interferon therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C"

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