Interferon-alpha, an antiviral drug, can in some cases successfully treat chronic hepatitis B and C infections. Studies have shown that patients who respond to the treatment are unlikely to develop cirrhosis and liver cancer, but it is not known whether treating people who already have cirrhosis protects them from developing this deadly cancer. The study was done by the International Interferon-alpha Hepatocellular Carcinoma Study Group. Research centres in Argentina, Italy, Germany and Saudi Arabia participated in the study led by Dr Ferruccio Bonino. In the course of monitoring the current medical literature, our staff at the Center for Current Research is occasionally struck by a project so promising that it should be shared with everyone.
Zinc deficiency is common in cirrhosis and has been involved in the altered nitrogen metabolism.
In this study, we measured the effects of zinc supplementation on the dynamics of amino acid-derived urea synthesis in cirrhosis with mild or latent encephalopathy. Eight more patients, matched for hepatocellular failure and encephalopathy, served as controls. Plasma zinc levels were reduced in all patients and returned to normal after oral zinc. Psychometric tests improved, as did routine and dynamic liver function tests and the Child-Pugh score. Also, the plasma concentration of lipid peroxides was reduced by zinc.