Interferon is usually self-injected under the skin three times a week. CD4 counts can drop significantly during interferon therapy, so this treatment is not recommended for individuals with CD4 counts below 200. We do not know why African-Americans respond more poorly to HCV treatments than other ethnic groups. Results are somewhat better for other genotypes. Combination treatments using interferon with ribavirin in co-infected people are being looked at.
Ribavirin seems to make interferon work better.
This has not been a problem with people using these HIV treatments in this study, but more analysis is needed. Co-infected people tend to be more susceptible to this effect. These are simple blood tests that indicate the amount of damage each patient has. They are not perfect but they are very good and I use them every day treating hundreds of hepatitis C patients. Frail patients and cirrhotics usually start with 500,000 units daily of Intron or Roferon.