User talk:Debbie122756

I have a question concerning medicines used to treat multiple sclerosis--particularly inteferons--and those used to treat chronic hepatitis C.

A few years back, I underwent therapy consisting of injections of pegalated alfa 2b interferon and ribaviron to treat hepatitis C. I feel blessed; my therapy was a success and I haven't felt better in years! They say I could be in remission for the rest of my life (I'm 50 years old).

Unfortunately, the side-effects of the treatment were not so kind to me; I even had to quit work for four months. My sister (while being treated with interferons for MS) suffered little or no side-effects while being treated for her MS.

So often people ask the question, "Aren't the medications for both illnesses the same, and if so, why did you suffer so severely while your sister's side effects have been so minimal?"

So, are both the meds(interferons) for MS and HCV basically the same?

I'd like to be able to supply and answere once and for all; because, frankly, I'm getting a little tired of the question?

Debbie122756 04:22, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Interferons

Hi, I saw your question on the HCV page and didn't know the answer myself so I looked it up. According to a pharmacology section on rxlist.com:

General: "Interferons are a family of naturally occurring proteins, which have molecular weights ranging from 15,000 to 21,000 daltons. Three major classes of interferons have been identified: alfa, beta, and gamma. Interferon beta-1b, interferon alfa, and interferon gamma have overlapping yet distinct biologic activities."

Regarding IFN-beta (Betaseron®): "The activities of Interferon beta-1b are species-restricted and therefore, the most pertinent pharmacologic information on Betaseron is derived from studies of human cells in culture and in humans. Interferon beta-1b has been shown to possess both antiviral and immunoregulatory activities. The mechanisms by which Betaseron exerts its actions in multiple sclerosis (MS) are not clearly understood."

Regarding IFN-alfa-2b (Intron A®): "Interferons exert their cellular activities by binding to specific membrane receptors on the cell surface. Once bound to the cell membrane, interferons initiate a complex sequence of intracellular events. In vitro studies demonstrated that these include the induction of certain enzymes, suppression of cell proliferation, immunomodulating activities such as enhancement of the phagocytic activity of macrophages and augmentation of the specific cytotoxicity of lymphocytes for target cells, and inhibition of virus replication in virus-infected cells."

So the answer to your question is "Yes, they are different." Aside from being chemically different and having different effects, the doses are probably different as well.

As far as your own treatment goes, if your quantitative test for HCV at 1 year post-treatment came back as "undetectable", you're almost positively cured. Even though doctors use it, "remission" isn't really the best term, because it implies the disease might come back. The purpose of Interferon/Ribavirin treatment is to kill every virus particle in the body. If that happens, you're cured. If it doesn't, you will have a detectable viral load again. If you're cured, the only way to have it come back is to get reinfected. --ZZYZX 05:16, 25 May 2006 (UTC)