Successful antiviral therapy is associated with a decrease of serum prohepcidin in chronic hepatitis C

摘要

AIM: To assess serum concentrations of prohepcidin in chronic hepatitis C individuals and evaluate their associations with disease activity and efficacy of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN)/ribavirin (RBV) therapy. METHODS: Prohepcidin was measured in sera of 53 chronic hepatitis C patients. Concentrations of prohepcidin and other iron metabolism markers were analyzed at 9 time points before, during and after the end of antiviral therapy. RESULTS: In hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1-infected individuals, a g...