International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Aug 2012
Analysis of variables and interactions among variables associated with a sustained virological response to pegylated interferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin in hepatitis C virus genotype 3-infected patients.
The recommended standard therapeutic regimen for chronic hepatitis patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 3 is pegylated interferon plus ribavirin for 24 weeks. The aim of the present study was to evaluate treatment efficacy and variables predictive of treatment success, interactions among variables contributing to a response to therapy, and the utility of the rapid virological response (RVR; week 4 virological response) to predict treatment outcomes in HCV genotype 3-infected patients in routine clinical practice. ⋯ RVR is an independent variable that is predictive of SVR. Moreover older patients (>40 years) who achieve an RVR are likely to have an SVR, while patients who do not achieve an RVR and who have a high pre-treatment viral load (>8 × 10(5) IU/ml) are unlikely to have an SVR.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Aug 2012
Comparison of neutralizing antibody and cell-mediated immune responses to pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza virus before and after H1N1 2009 influenza vaccination of elderly subjects and healthcare workers.
The recent H1N1 pandemic virus that emerged in 2009 resulted in high morbidity rates mainly in younger individuals, albeit with relatively low mortality. We investigated both humoral and cellular immune responses against the pandemic H1N1 2009 virus before and after immunization with inactivated H1N1 2009 vaccine. ⋯ Influenza vaccination elicits significant neutralizing antibody and T-cell responses to pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza virus. However, in response to vaccination, increases in neutralizing antibody titers were comparatively lower but T-cell responses were higher in older participants. Therefore, our study suggests that memory T-cells may play a crucial role in protecting older individuals against pandemic H1N1 2009 infection.