Perfect Labs (cont.)

[GrandOak]

Kalio1 mentioned stopping tx because of sx's.  I can only say that'll happen when they can pry the syringes and lil blue pills from my cold dead hands!

Actually, if one looks at any of the studies which list the sx's experienced by the lab rats (ahem! I mean test subjects ;-) they also list the percentages at which the sx was identified by the subjects per the entire test population. If the study is a controlled one, then it usually also breaks it down to those experienced by those receiving the substance vs. those getting the placebo (one reason I shy away from such studies as I do not want to be the one who gets the placebo if I really have the illness).

Also, if a patient loses a third of a toe during the study and reports it, it generally gets noted even though the likelyhood of the it occurring because of the meds in the study are highly unlikely.

I've yet to see one which shows 100% experience of any sx by the study group and absolutely nothing which draws any correlation between experiencing any sx to achieving SVR.  But I have seen where those who experience a large number of the sx's or sx's so severe that they can not handle tx pulled from the study, or tx.  Yet the logic which says that the stronger the sx the more aggressive the tx is towards eradicating the disease would seem to dictate to me that these folks should have the highest likelyhood of clearing more quickly.

[jennkPA]

Just wanted to add that the only reason that rescue drugs indicate an increase in SVR is the fact that they keep people on treatment longer, nothing to do with the actual onset of sx or lack thereof.

Snookmiester: thanks for the link, I hadn't seen it before, very helpful in understanding this sh*t. I had no idea it just tired the suckers out of mutating!

[jmjm530]

Finally found one of the two somewhat contradictory articles I mentioned earlier. This article deals with monitoring serum riba levels, a test not available in this country. Lindahl and Company -- the Sweedish researchers are no doubt being addressed -- when the abstract begins:

"Therapeutic drug monitoring of ribavirin has been claimed to predict virological response and/or haematological side effects in patients with chronic hepatitis C undergoing peginterferon/ribavirin combination treatment."

The abstract then concludes.

"Based on our results, monitoring of ribavirin serum levels at week 12 of HCV combination therapy does not appear to predict early virological response or reductions in Hb levels. Further research is needed to assess their diagnostic value at other time points of peginterferon/ribavirin combination treatment and/or in patients with renal insufficiency."

Go here: http://tinyurl.com/s9mpf  Then click on "free abstract"

---------------------------------

I should add again that Lindahl and Company have come to different conclusions and I believe the consult that Fishdoc uses has also based on Lindahl's work.  Their studies do sugggest that viral response as well as anemia may be linked to SVR. Wish I could find their early article that talks more about how anemia can be used to predict serum riba levels but I don't believe it's on the net anymore.

[sfbaygirl]

They will have to pry my pretty pink pills from my ferious dog and steal my locked frig before they will lower my dosage of meds. LOL

I agree. I haven't seen, nor expect to see a correlation between sx and SVR.

[hippygem]

I was reading your thread below about extending treatment for genotype 2 and 3.
You may have read it in the ozzy forum where i posted about that.  I got it from the Hep C Magazine - June 2006 Edition which you can see online at the site.
They are now saying that for people with genotype 2 or 3 without cirrhosis or bridging fibrosis, treatment is limited to 24 weeks.

For people with genotype 1, 4, 5 or 6 and those genotype 2 or 3 people with cirrhosis or bridging fibrosis, treatment lasts 48 weeks.

Linda