Predictive Value of some Cytokines in the Course and Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C

Gocha Barbakadze,* George Kamkamidze,** Wolfgang Stremmel***

* Thoracoabdominal Clinic, Tbilisi State Medical Academy, Tbilisi, Georgia,
** Department of Clinical Immunology, REA Rehabilitation Center, Tbilisi, Georgia,
*** Clinic of Internal Medicine IV, University of Heidelberg, Germany

It is widely assumed that cellular immune response and cytokine (especially proinflammatory cytokines) production play an important role in the course and treatment effectiveness of chronic hepatitis C infection. 92 patients with chronic HCV infection have been investigated. Our investigations showed that after 6 weeks from the initiation of the treatment by pegilated interferon-alpha in the combination with ribavirin, concentration of serum cytokines IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-18 have significantly changed and at the end of the treatment concentration of all cytokines have decreased and this change was statistically significant for all cytokines.

Keywords:  chronic hepatitis C, cytokines, predictive factors