| Theme | New Drugs for Dialysis Patients | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | New medicines for liver disease treatment | |
| Publish Date | 2006/06 | |
| Author | Kenji Ikeda | Department of Hepatology, Toranomon Hospital |
| [ Summary ] | Interferon monotherapy, with a slightly reduced dosage, is available for patients with chronic hepatitis C, associated with advanced renal disease. When interferon plus ribavirin combination therapy is used for patients with difficult to treat hepatitis, such as that with a high viral load 1b genotype, ribavirin dosage should be appropriately decreased in relation to renal impairment. Ribavirin combination therapy is contraindicated in patients with advanced renal insufficiency. Although lamivudine and adefovir are effective in suppressing the hepatitis B virus in patients with active chronic hepatitis, both agents should be considerably reduced when treating patients with renal impairment. Intra-arterial injection of cisplatin has a potent anti-tumor effect on hepatocellular carcinoma. However, pre-treatment renal impairment requires a significant reduction of therapy dosage, and adverse effects on renal functions should be carefully monitored after therapy. |
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