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The Effectiveness of Transfer Factor Use in Viral Hepatitis

Excerpted from " Transfer factors Use in Immunorehabilitation After Infectious-

Inflammatory and Somatic Disease - Methodological Letter " by the Ministry of

Health and

Social Development of the Russian Federation, Moscow, 2004.

Destabilized immune mechanisms play a leading role in the pathogenesis of

parenteral

hepatitis (viral hepatitis B and C) as well as in the course and outcomes of the

disease

(42,43). Despite considerable experience in viral hepatitis treatment, including

chronic

ones, a number of issues concerning an optimal regimen are still being discussed

with

doses and the treatment with interferons (INF) as the current drugs of choice.

The fact that

treatment with INF of one patient with the chronic form of hepatitis C costs

$10,000-

$15,000 prompts the necessity of solving this issue. In addition, this antiviral

therapy

prescription has a list of other indications, but interferons are sometimes

poorly tolerated

by patients and the host produces antibodies against recombinant interferons.

For these

reasons the search for agents with proven therapeutic effect in the patients

with viral

hepatitis is quite justified.

The first results obtained from adult patients receiving TF along with the

conventional

therapy attests to a high effectiveness of cellular cytokines use in this kind

of pathology

(9). Along with the normalization of biochemical values and the decrease of

viral load (62%

of cases), all patients registered a marked improvement of the general state,

were more

efficient and did not experience excessive fatigue, and there was no discomfort

in the

right hypochondrium. Further studies with the patients with acute and chronic

forms of

viral hepatitis B and C, wherein patients were followed up for 6 months after

the

treatment, were carried out by the same authors (19,21). Fifty (50) patients

with chronic

viral hepatitis B and C and 15 patients with acute viral hepatitis B received

TF, one capsule

3 times daily for 14 days. The resulting data were comparable to those obtained

in

patients receiving conventional treatment with interferons.

Twenty four (24) patients with acute hepatitis B and 34 patients with chronic

hepatitis C

(CVHC) received TF PLUS, 1 capsule 3 times daily for 14 days. The control group,

15 CVHC

patients, received 3,000,000 IU of reaferon (an antiviral IFN) intramuscularly 3

times a

week. The remaining patients received basic therapy aimed at improving bile

secretion

(holosas or hophitol) and liver function (riboxin per os). Identical

immunocorrecting effects

were registered in the patient group receiving TF PLUS for 2 weeks and in the

patients,

receiving IFN therapy for 3 months. In the patients receiving TF PLUS there were

earlier

symptom dynamics that were positive. TF PLUS was well tolerated and there were

no side

effects as compared with fever, joint pain and asthenia during interferon

therapy. It is

worth pointing out that the incidence of viral remission in the groups receiving

reaferon

and TF Plus was the same, i.e. 65%. At the same time the level of g-interferons

production

was significantly higher in the patients receiving TF Plus.

The effectiveness of TF and TF PLUS in the treatment of viral hepatitis B and C

may be of

great help in considering the use of TF products as the alternative treatment to

recombinant interferons or as an addition to the conventional therapies for

viral hepatitis.

The data obtained indicates further studies of the effectiveness of TF products

should be

conducted in additional patients in order to develop the most effective schemes

of

complex treatment, pharmacologically effectiveness, the dose courses and the

economics.

See `What is Transfer Factor and where can I get it?' to read more information

about TF

and to find out how to order it.