He is a member of the French Association for the Study of the Liver, the French National Society of Gastroenterology, the European Association for the Study of the Liver, the French National Society of Gastroenterology, the European Association for the Study of the Liver, and the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease. Dr. Poynard served as Chief Editor of Gastroenterologic and Biologic Clinic and has served on the editorial boards of Journal of Hepatology, Antiviral Therapy, and Hepatology. He has published more than 500 articles and communications on subjects such as detection of liver disease in alcoholics, alcoholic hepatitis, viral hepatitis, and the prevention of recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis. Based on recent data, previously untreated patients with HCV infection are most likely to achieve sustained virological, histological, and biochemical benefit when treated with interferon plus ribavirin rather than with interferon alone.
Ribavirin is a synthetic guanosine analogue.
The exact mechanism of action has not been established but may involve antiviral and immunomodulatory actions. Ribavirin, when given alone, decreases ALT levels transiently, but has no antiviral effects. To date, five randomized, controlled trials of interferon plus ribavirin as initial treatment for chronic HCV infection have been published. All have demonstrated that the combination of interferon plus ribavirin significantly increases sustained loss of HCV RNA post-treatment over that seen with interferon alone. Patients were randomized to receive 24 or 48 weeks of interferon monotherapy or 24 or 48 weeks of interferon plus ribavirin.