My question on Interferon & Vitamin D in new study ... & LDN too.

I have a few thoughts swirling that I'd love to have some feedback on.

According to this recent study (nov 05, 2009), Vitamin D in addition to standard HCV interferon-based treatment, led to a 96% of the Vitamin D to be HCV RNA-negative (26 of 27) compared to 44% of the interferon alone group (15 of 31).

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/711902

My first question is what does HCV RNA-negative mean?  Does that mean their hepatitis C free?  Any intro to HCV links would be great.

My understanding is that Vitamin D is an immunomodulator.  I'm thinking that means it increases immune cell count which better allows your body to attack viruses.  In this case, it helps overcome HCV.  Are there any studies on how HCV patients do on similar doses (let's say 2000 to 10000 IUs) without interferon.

Does this study mean that Vitamin D helped interferon work better?  Or do they simply work independently at achieving the same goal (killing/stopping HCV)?

If it's the latter, and that could mean that supplementing any immunomodulator in addition to anti-viral treatment will be much more effective in treating HCV.  It may possibly also mean that just an immunomodulator alone could achieve HCV negative results.

The reason I think they work independently is because of the stories on low-dose naltrexone or LDN.  LDN is an immuno-modulator that seems to be popping in anecdotes lately among people with liver diseases.  

There's a case of a mother whose daughter has seroconverted from HBV using LDN, who started a group which mhudnall may be a part of.  There's also stories among multiple sclerosis users about their livers getting better.  Now this isn't proof, but to read and hear it constantly intrigued me.

A few people in this forum and other forums have now used LDN to recoup their livers.

So my questions are:

1) Has anyone tried significant dosing 5000 to 10000 of vitamin D per day, and tracked their liver markers?  The lowest toxicity case ever is around 40000/day, while most are much more.  I'm curious, because maybe vitamin D would work as well as LDN, and we have this recent study to back up that vitamin D at the least does very well with an anti-viral.

2) Maybe LDN is just a better immunomodulator than vitamin D.  It's possible that an anti-viral plus LDN would be better, same or worse than vitamin D, yet perform better than an anti-viral alone.

3) Has anyone tried significant vitamin D plus LDN?  Two immunomodulators, both with stories lately circulating of possibilities in treatment of HCV.  Maybe combined without anti-virals would do the trick.

This is an idea of a multi-front approach in attacking hepatitis.  Unlike other supplements which fortify the defense of your liver cells, vitamin D & LDN are two things that gear your body into attacking the virus.  That's a similar idea what anti-virals do, but these approaches may be independent.

Sorry if it's a long first post,
Beach

[BeachTiePurist]

More than anything else, what is the mechanism behind how vitamin D and LDN boosts our immune system?  I want to know if the differences.

Please send the flame war to that other monstrous thread.  Thanks.