very good news, Frank. very good.  thanks.

cactus jammies -----------------------------

very interesting. thanks

I wonder what this Blackwell Syergy press release means in regard to the
contrary findings?  I cannot afford to buy these articles other than watch
the abstract get bounced around.

cactus jammies

Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Volume 20 Issue 10 Page 1189 - November 2004

To cite this article: K. Saeian, J. S. Bajaj, J. Franco, J. F. Knox, J.
Daniel, C. Peine, D. McKee, R. R. Varma, S. Ho, Midwest Hepatitis Study
Group (2004)
High-dose vitamin E supplementation does not diminish ribavirin-associated
haemolysis in hepatitis C treatment with combination standard ?-interferon
and ribavirin
Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics 20 (10), 1189-1193.
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2036.2004.02260.x

Prev Article Next Article
Original Article
High-dose vitamin E supplementation does not diminish ribavirin-associated
haemolysis in hepatitis C treatment with combination standard ?-interferon
and ribavirin
 a.. K. Saeian**Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical
College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA,
 b.. J. S. Bajaj**Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical
College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA,
 c.. J. Franco**Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical
College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA,
 d.. J. F. Knox**Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical
College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA,
 e.. J. Daniel**Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical
College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA,
 f.. C. Peine??Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA,
 g.. D. McKee??St Luke's Hospital, Duluth, MN, USA,
 h.. R. R. Varma**Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical
College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA,
 i.. S. Ho§§Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Veterans Affairs
Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA &
 j.. Midwest Hepatitis Study Group
 a.. *Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of
Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; ?Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis,
MN, USA; ?St Luke's Hospital, Duluth, MN, USA; §Division of Gastroenterology
and Hepatology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Dr K. Saeian, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College
of Wisconsin, 9200 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
E-mail: ksaeian@mcw.edu
Summary

Background: Ribavirin is associated with haemolytic anaemia. Antioxidants
have been reported to decrease severity of this anaemia.

Aim: To determine effect of vitamin E supplementation on
ribavirin-associated haemolysis in chronic hepatitis C treated with standard
?-interferon and ribavirin.

Methods: Fifty-one naive chronic hepatitis C patients were randomized to
receive either ?-interferon/ribavirin therapy (control) or therapy plus
vitamin E 800 IU b.d. with 24-week follow-up. Alanine aminotransferase ALT,
haemoglobin and reticulocyte percentage were monitored. Symptoms and
health-related quality of life were also monitored at each visit.

Results: Forty-seven subjects were treated (27 vitamin E /20 controls).
Thirteen withdrew because of adverse effects or non-compliance. Groups were
similar in demographics, genotype and baseline lab indices. Comparison with
baseline, treatment and follow-up values showed a significant haemoglobin
and ALT reduction in both groups. There was no significant difference in
haemoglobin and reticulocyte percentage between groups. Sustained viral
response was not significantly different between vitamin E (11/18) and
control (6/16) groups. Three patients required ribavirin dose-reduction in
the vitamin E group compared with two controls. Health-related quality of
life during and end-of-treatment was not different between groups.

Conclusions: Vitamin E supplementation alone during standard ?-interferon
and ribavirin therapy does not appear to diminish ribavirin-associated
haemolysis.

This article is cited by:
 a.. Yasunori Kawaguchi, Toshihiko Mizuta, Kazuhiro Takahashi, Shinji
Iwane, Keisuke Ario, Hiroaki Kawasoe, Kazuhiro Hamaoka, Yuichiro Eguchi,
Tsutomu Yasutake, Hironao Shigematsu, Seiji Kawazoe, Noriko Fukushima, Iwata
Ozaki, and Kazuma Fujimoto
 . (2007) High-dose vitamins E and C supplementation prevents
ribavirin-induced hemolytic anemia in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
Hepatology Research 37:5, 317-324
 Abstract Abstract and References Full Text Article Full Article PDF
 b.. Joji TOYOTA, Yosiyasu KARINO, Jun AKAIKE, Takumi OHMURA, Takahiro
SATO, Katsu YAMAZAKI, Yasuaki KUWATA, Shiro IINO. (2005) Total clearance
(CL/F) of ribavirin is the factor most influencing incidence of hemolytic
anemia in interferon .ALPHA. plus ribavirin combination therapy. Kanzo 46:3,
107