Influence of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Genotype, HCV RNA Load, and Alanine Aminotransferase Level on Reduction of HCV RNA after a Single Administration of Interferon‐α

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Abstract
Interferon (IFN)-α therapy is effective for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and it has been postulated that the main mechanism underlying the therapeutic efficacy is its antiviral action. Yasui et al. [1] recently reported that IFN-α induces a rapid decrease in serum HCV RNA levels after a single administration. The same issue was addressed by Neumann et al. [2], who demonstrated that infection with HCV is highly dynamic and suggested that early monitoring of virus load can help guide the therapy. They also confirmed previous observations [3] that the kinetics of early HCV RNA reduction might vary depending on the dose of IFN-α. Yasui et al. [1] basically did not address the important question of whether HCV genotype, as well as HCV load and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level at baseline, could in some way influence the early response to the IFN-α therapy.

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