After a year of combo (ribavarin and interferon) therapy, 55 to 60% of people are declared "nonresponders". That means it DIDN'T WORK to reduce the Hep C virus to "undetectable levels".

So then what do you do.

You can try Pegylated interferon. It has a rate of "nonresponders" at about 30%. That means it HELPs 70 people out of a hundred.

There is also promising new "triple therapy" that uses pegylated interferon, ribavarin and amantadine. It has NOT been approved by the FDA yet, but the clinical trials are going well! SOON, it might be available.

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Department of Gastroenterology-MCHE-MDG
3851 Roger Brooke Drive
Brooke Army Medical Center
Fort Sam Houston, TX, 78234, USA
Current Gastroenterology Reports 2003 5:78-85

Abstract

About 55% to 60% of treatment-naïve patients fail to achieve a
sustained virologic response after therapy with standard interferon
and ribavirin. The use of polyethylene glycol-enhanced interferon
(PEG-IFN) plus ribavirin for retreatment of this challenging group
is currently being evaluated by several investigators. Although no
sustained virologic response rates have been reported yet from
these trials, reported on-treatment response rates for previous
nonresponders range from 25% to 30%, and an early estimate of the
sustained virologic response rate is about 11%. Outcomes for
treatment of relapsers and interferon monotherapy nonresponders
have been significantly better than those for combination
nonresponders. On-treatment responses of 40% to 43% in previous
combination therapy nonresponders are now being seen with the
addition of amantadine (triple therapy), and sustained response
rates with this regimen are awaited. Large trials are underway to
evaluate the role of maintenance therapy for virologic nonresponders
with advanced liver disease.

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For more info, check what is on the link:

http://hepcvets.com/peg/nonresponders.html


All My Love,
Menolly