Hepatitis C Treatment

Hepatitis C treatment usually includes the drugs peginterferon and ribavirin, which are sold under a few different brand names. Peginterferon is given by injection once a week and ribavirin is a pill taken twice daily. When these drugs are taken together, this hepatitis C treatment is known as combination therapy. Hepatitis C treatment is successful in about 50 percent of people with genotype 1 of the hepatitis C virus, and about 75 to 80 percent of people with genotype 2.

 

Hepatitis C Treatment: An Overview

Chronic hepatitis C is a condition that can lead to more and more liver damage over time. However, everyone's situation is a little different. So, before hepatitis C treatment is recommended, your healthcare provider will review the results of your blood work and other tests to determine several things, including:
 
Then together, you and your healthcare provider can decide what hepatitis C treatment, if any, is best for you.
 

Current Hepatitis C Treatment Options

Current hepatitis C treatment usually includes a couple of drugs called peginterferon and ribavirin.
 Peginterferon, which is sold under the brand names of PEGASYS® or Peg-Intron®, can be used by itself, or with ribavirin (COPEGUS®, Rebetol®). Using these drugs together is called combination therapy. Peginterferon is given by injection once a week, and ribavirin is a pill taken twice daily.
 
The goal of the hepatitis C treatment medications is to get rid of the hepatitis C virus completely. This is also called "clearing the virus." By clearing the virus, you may be able to bring down the swelling of the liver, stop the scarring and fibrosis, and possibly reverse some of the liver damage caused by hepatitis C. It may also bring down the long-term risk of liver cancer.
 
(Hepatitis C Treatment Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD