Safety Of Interferon Alpha-2b Research Articles

Efficacy and Safety of Interferon Alpha-2b in COVID-19: A Systematic Review

Introduction Several drugs have been explored for the antiviral action against COVID-19 disease but none of them has been approved barring few such as Remdesivir which got emergency use authorization from USFDA. Interferon are attractive agents due to their broad anti-viral and immunological properties. Interferon alpha-2b has been recently investigated for this purpose. This study presents a systematic review of all the clinical studies involving Interferon alpha-2b to determine its efficacy and safety. Methods A systematic review of literature was done using relevant terms for ‘COVID-19” and “Interferon alpha”. The studies evaluating the effect of Interferon alpha were identified and included in the study for qualitative analysis. Result and Discussion All four clinical studies have shown that Interferon alpha 2b has efficacy as antiviral agent as shown by different clinical and laboratory parameters. It has also found to be safe and free of any major side effects. Conclusion Interferon alpha 2b is an effective antiviral agent with potential to be use in COVID-19. This drug has already been given restricted use authorization in India.

Efficacy and safety of interferon alfa-2b in combination with vitamins C and E in treatment and prevention of neonatal congenital pneumonia

The article presents the results of analysis of works published over 25 years on the effectiveness and safety of interferon alpha-2b in combination with vitamins C and E for the treatment and prevention of congenital pneumonia. The purpose of the work is to summarize and evaluate the results of studies on the effectiveness and safety of the drug based on interferon alpha-2b in combination with ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol acetate in complex therapy and for the prevention of congenital pneumonia. Materials and methods . The analysis of available publications was carried out in accordance with the purpose. Selected studies that present the characteristics of the compared groups that received different therapies, conducted a qualitative analysis of the results and statistical processing of data. Results . We selected four researches out of more than a hundred publications, which provided data on the formation and characteristics of the compared groups, and a detailed analysis of the results obtained using statistical methods was carried. The efficacy and safety of interferon-based alpha-2b in combination with vitamins C and E were studied for the treatment of congenital pneumonia in 3 studies. The drug was evaluated of preventive effect in one study. Conclusions . The addition of a combination drug based on interferon alpha-2b in combination with vitamins C and E (Viferon ® ) leads to a significant reduction in the duration of symptoms, the period of hospitalization, the need for a ventilator, and the duration of isolation of pathogens to the treatment regimen for congenital pneumonia. Interferon therapy provides prevention of complications and repeated episodes of infectious diseases. The use of Viferon ® in pregnant women helps to reduce the risk of congenital pneumonia and improve the health indicators of newborns.

Randomised trial of interferon α2b plus ribavirin for 48 weeks or for 24 weeks versus interferon α2b plus placebo for 48 weeks for treatment of chronic infection with hepatitis C virus

Only 15-20% of patients with chronic hepatitis C achieve a sustained virological response with interferon therapy. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of interferon alpha2b in combination with oral ribavirin with interferon alone, for treatment of chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). 832 patients aged 18 years or more with chronic HCV who had not been treated with interferon or ribavirin, were enrolled and randomly allocated one of three regimens: 3 mega units (MU) interferon alpha2b three times a week plus 1000-1200 mg ribavirin per day for 48 weeks; 3 MU interferon alpha2b three times a week plus 1000-1200 mg ribavirin per day for 24 weeks; or 3 MU interferon alpha2b three times a week and placebo for 48 weeks. All patients were assessed for safety, tolerance, and efficacy at the end of weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8, and every 4 weeks during treatment. After treatment was completed patients were followed up on weeks 4, 8, 12, and 24. The primary endpoint was loss of detectable HCV-RNA (serum HCV-RNA <100 copies/mL) at week 24 after treatment. Sustained virological response at 24 weeks after treatment, was found in 119 (43%) of the 277 patients treated for 48 weeks with the combination regimen, 97 (35%) of the 277 patients treated for 24 weeks with the combination regimen (p=O.055), and 53 (19%) of the 278 patients treated for 48 weeks with interferon alone (p<0.001 vs both combination regimens, intention-to-treat analysis). Logistic regression identified five independent factors significantly associated with response: genotype 2 or 3, viral load less than 2 million copies/mL, age 40 years or less, minimal fibrosis stage, and female sex. Among patients with fewer than three of these factors the odds ratio of sustained response was 2.6 (95% Cl 1.4-4.8; p=0.002) for the 48 week combination regimen compared with 24 weeks of the combination regimen. Discontinuation of therapy for adverse events was more frequent with combination (19%) and monotherapy (13%) given for 48 weeks than combination therapy given for 24 weeks (8%). An interferon alpha2b plus ribavirin combination is more effective than 48 weeks of interferon alpha2b monotherapy and has an acceptable safety profile. Patients with few favourable factors benefit more from extending the duration of combination therapy to 48 weeks.