Patent Application: US-86240401-A

Abstract:
claimed and disclosed is a new use for a previously approved drug : erythropoietin . the present invention teaches using erythropoetin to treat anemia caused by the combined treatment of ribavirin and alpha - interferon . erythropoetin has previously been approved for the treatment of anemia caused by cancer chemotherapy , renal failure and hiv . it has not been used for anemia caused by ribavirin . ribavirin is part of a two - drug regimen now used to treat hepatitis c along with alpha interferon . the principal side effect of ribavirin is a hemolytic anemia . in the past , mangement of that anemia was done by dose reduction of the ribavirin , sometimes resulting in reversal of part of the anemia . it has become particularly important in light of new data , to maximize the dose of ribavirin given to persons undergoing treatment for hepatitis c to ensure a successful eradication of hepatitis c .

Description:
the present invention claims and discloses a new use for erythropoietin in treating ribavirin - interferon - alpha induced anemia . the present invention can be administered to humans as well as animals infected with hepatitis c virus or hiv or hiv and hcv or who are suffering from anemia . the erythropoetin can be administered in a liquid preparation and / or administered as a vector for in vivo expression . specifically , the present invention also evaluates the clinical benefit of erythropoietin in ribavirin / interferon - induced anemia . the combination of ribavirin ( rbv ) and interferon - alpha ( ifn - α ) is standard treatment for hepatitis c ( hcv )- infected patients . anemia ( hemoglobin & lt ; 10 g / dl ), severe enough to warrant dose reductions or cessation of therapy , occurs in up to 10 % of individuals prescribed these medications , but a drop in hemoglobin of & gt ; 3 grams / dl occurs in 54 % of people treated with rbv and ifn - α . nearly four million individuals in the united states , approximately two percent of the population , are infected with the hepatitis c virus . of the 30 , 000 acute cases annually , as many as 85 % will progress to chronic infection . with 8 , 000 to 10 , 000 deaths each year attributed to hcv in the u . s ., the infection has become the primary indication for hepatic transplantation . in hiv seropositive patients , as many as 40 % of the nearly 1 million hiv seropositive patients have hcv . biochemical ( normalization of alanine aminotransferase ), virologic ( loss of serum hcv rna ), and histologic ( improvement in hepatic histology ) indicators are used to determine a response to therapy for hcv . monotherapy with ifn - α3 million units three times per week ( tiw ) results in a biochemical end - of - treatment response in 35 to 50 % of subjects and a sustained response in 10 to 35 % of subjects . recently the combination of ifn - α and rbv , a synthetic nucleoside analog with antiviral activity , was approved by the u . s . food and drug administration for the treatment of hcv . the sustained response rate is more than twice as high among subjects treated with the combination of ifn - α / rbv than among those treated with ifn - α alone . anemia is a major side effect of ifn - α / rbv combined therapy , necessitating dosage reduction in more than 10 % of treated individuals . although the primary mechanism of anemia in patients who receive the combination of ifn - α and rbv is thought to be hemolysis , other mechanisms , such as the down - regulation of the erythropoietin receptor , may contribute . in response to hypoxia , erythropoietin stimulates the production , maturation , and release of erythrocytes from the bone marrow . in cases of endogenous erythropoietin deficiency or an inadequate hypoxic response , recombinant human erythropoietin ( r - huepo , epoetin alpha ) improves anemia associated with hiv - infection , chronic diseases , and malignancies . similarly , anemia induced by several medications including zidovudine , a synthetic nucleoside analog similar to rbv , is improved by epoetin alpha . therefore , the present invention evaluated the benefit of epoetin alpha in hcv - infected individuals who became anemic after the initiation of the ifn - α / rbv combined treatment . the combination of ifn - α / rbv for the treatment of hcv infection more than doubles the sustained response rate when compared to ifn - α monotherapy . anemia , however , is a dose - limiting side effect of the combination therapy in a significant patient population , e . g ., more than 10 % of individuals who receive the medications . the inventor of the present invention has shown that epoetin alpha increases hemoglobin levels in hcv - infected patients who become anemic after ifn - α / rbv therapy to a level equivalent to that of patients who do not develop anemia . hepatitis c is the newest opportunistic infection in hiv patients as declared by the u . s . public health service in 1999 . it progresses to cirrhosis and death much more rapidly in patients with hiv and is the leading cause of death in many hiv clinics . since the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy began in 1995 , hiv patients are living longer and suffering more ill effects of their hepatitis c infection . it has become vital therefore to treat hepatitis c in patients with hiv . one of the early complications of hiv and its treatment was anemia . erythropoietin has been used to successfully treat hiv - related anemia . indeed , anemia in hiv patients has been shown to have a negative effect on survival . thus , many physicians were reluctant to use interferon and ribavirin in hiv - infected patients because of their fear of anemia and because of concern about ribavirin inhibiting hiv medication . although anemia associated with ifn - α / rbv therapy for hcv infection is usually attributed to hemolysis , other mechanisms , such as anemia of chronic disease ( acd ), may contribute . acd is common in patients with infectious , inflammatory , and neoplastic disorders , and it is thought to result from three processes : a moderate shortening of erythrocytes survival , an inability of the bone marrow to respond to the resulting demand for increased erythrocyte production , and the impaired mobilization of iron stores in the reticuloendothelial system . reduced responsiveness of the bone marrow to erythropoietin has been described in association with malignancy , rheumatoid arthritis , and hiv infection . in the setting of a demand for increased erythrocyte production , the impaired ability of the bone marrow to respond to erythropoietin results in reduced erythrocyte production and anemia . several proinflammatory cytokines , including tumor necrosis factor - α ( tnf - α , interleukin - 1a ( il - 1a ), interleukin - 6 ( il - 6 ), and interferon - γ ( ifn - γ ), have been associated with acd and a down - regulation in endogenous erythropoietin levels . chronic infection with hcv is associated with an increase in proinflammatory cytokines particularly ifn - γ , tnf - α , and il - 2 . intrahepatic proinflammatory cytokine mrna is increased in hcv - infected individuals compared to uninfected controls and further increases are associated with worsening hepatic injury . the association between proinflammatory cytokines and acd and the increase in proinflammatory cytokines observed in hcv - infected individuals raises the possibility that these cytokines may contribute to reduced bone marrow responsiveness to erythropoietin . the results of this study raise the possibility that two separate processes may underlie the hemoglobin reduction in hcv - infected individuals who develop anemia after initiation of ifn - α / rbv treatment , a hemolytic component and a biochemical component . rbv may result in an increase in erythrocyte hemolysis while an increase in proinflammatory cytokines may result in decreased responsiveness of the bone marrow to erythropoietin . furthermore , the reduced bone marrow responsiveness to erythropoietin may only become apparent after the onset of erythrocyte hemolysis secondary to ifn - α / rbv . epoetin alpha significantly increases hemoglobin levels in several disorders characterized by decreased bone marrow responsiveness to erythropoietin , including rheumatoid arthritis , cancer , and hiv infection . epoetin alpha increases the number of reticulocytes released from the bone marrow into the circulation and reduces apoptosis among late erythroid precursors , thereby increasing hemoglobin levels . it may also compensate for the inhibitory effect of proinflammatory cytokines on erythropoiesis and , thus , may be an efficacious therapy for ifn - α / rbv - associated anemia in hcv - infected individuals . both ifn - α and rbv are capable of directly inhibiting erythropoiesis through mechanisms that are known to be sensitive to the action of epoetin alpha . for example , interferons reduce the growth rate of normal hematopoietic cells , thereby inhibiting the proliferation of erythroid progenitor cells . in addition , ifn - α diminishes erythropoietin production in hepatocyte cultures . rbv is a synthetic nucleoside analog similar to zidovudine , a drug shown to cause a concentration - dependent down - regulation of the erythropoietin receptor . when administered to hiv - infected individuals to treat zidovudine - associated anemia , epoetin alpha may compensate for erythropoietin receptor down - regulation , thereby reversing the anemia . in 13 out of the 18 individuals who received epoetin alpha , the dose of rbv was also reduced . eight subjects had the rbv dose reduced prior to an initiation of epoetin alpha . the rbv dose reduction may have partially corrected the anemia ( possibly through a decrease in hemolysis ) while exogenous erythropoietin may have been required to overcome the reduced responsiveness of the bone marrow to erythropoetin . the administration of epoetin alpha in ifn - α / rbv treated , hcv - infected individuals with profound decreases in hemoglobin provides important clinical benefits by reversing the anemia , relieving anemia - associated symptoms such as fatigue and dyspnea , and improving an individual &# 39 ; s ability to tolerate the full course of antiviral therapy at efficacious dosages . the present invention directs to an administering of epo , e . g ., a specific predetermined amount of epo , such as in a liquid preparation and / or as a vector in a liquid , to patients on a weekly basis . the liquid preparation can contain epo as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 955 , 422 ; 5 , 756 , 349 ; 5621 , 080 ; 5 , 618 , 698 ; 5 , 547 , 933 ; 4 , 703 , 008 ; 5 , 856 , 298 ; 5 , 661 , 125 ; 5 , 106 , 760 ; 4 , 703 , 008 ; 5 , 856 , 298 ; 5 , 661 , 125 ; 5 , 106 , 760 ; 4 , 558 , 006 ; 5 , 574 , 018 ; 5 , 354 , 934 ; 5 , 013 , 718 ; and 4 , 667 , 016 . alternatively , epo can be administered as a vector that expresses the epo in vivo , and this can reduce the frequency of the injection . for example , epo can be administered as a vector , as a plasmid vector , or as a virus vector , such as a dna virus or a retrovirus that expresses the epo . compositions of the present invention can include liquid preparations for orifice , e . g ., oral , nasal , anal , vaginal , peroral , intragastric , mucosal ( e . g ., perlingual , alveolar , gingival , olfactory or respiratory mucosa ), etc . ; administration such as suspensions , syrups or elixirs ; and preparation for parenteral , subcutaneous , intradermal , intramuscular or intravenous administration ( e . g ., injectable administration ), such as sterile suspensions or emulsions . such compositions may be in admixture with a suitable carrier , diluent , or axcipient , such as sterile water , physiological saline , glucose or the like . the compositions can also be lyophilized . the compositions can contain auxiliary substances , such as wetting or emulsifying agents , ph buffer agents , gelling or viscosity enhancing additives , preservatives , flavoring agents , colors , and the like , depending upon the route of administration and the preparation desired . standard texts , such as “ remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical science ”, 17 th edition , 1985 , incorporated herein by reference , may be consulted to prepare suitable preparations , without undue experimentation . epo is commonly administered when the hemoglobin level falls to a level of 10 or 15 grams / dl . when epo is administered to a patient subcutaneously , it is given at a dose of about 40 , 000 units per week . if an inadequate response is seen , the dose can be increased to about 60 , 000 units , or lowered to about 20 , 000 units on a weekly basis depending on the response generated in a patient . epo treatment for the ifn - α / rbv induced anemia is used as long as is necessary during ifn - α / rbv combined treatment , which is usually about 12 months for genotype 1 , and may be about 6 months for hepatitis c genotype 2 or 3 . the invention will now be further described by the following non - limiting examples , provided for illustration . in an open - label , prospective pilot study , 56 subjects with chronic hcv infection were treated with both rbv and ifn - α . eighteen subjects with anemia ( hemoglobin & lt ; 10 g / dl or decreased ≧ 1 g / dl ) and reduced exercise tolerance following ifn - α / rbv initiation were treated with epoetin alpha ( up to 40 , 000 units per week subcutaneously ). remaining nonanemic subjects ( 38 / 56 ) who did not receive epoetin alpha served as a control group . the two groups were followed for means of 25 . 3 and 21 . 2 weeks , respectively . at baseline , mean hemoglobin levels were not significantly different in the subjects who received epoetin alpha compared to those who did not receive the medication ( 14 . 3 g / dl vs . 15 . 1 g / dl , n . s .). at the time of epoetin alpha initiation , the mean hemoglobin level declined 25 . 4 % ( to 10 . 6 g / dl ) in the group receiving this treatment . at the last study visit , mean hemoglobin levels were 12 . 7 g / dl among patients receiving epoetin alpha vs . 13 . 0 g / dl among controls ( difference n . s .) reflecting a recovery of 65 . 5 % in mean hemoglobin level in the epoetin alpha treated group . two thirds of subjects receiving epoetin alpha reported improved symptoms . this pilot study suggests that epoetin alpha increases hemoglobin levels and improves dyspnea in subjects who develop anemia after initiation of ifn - α and rbv . a study of interferon alone and interferon plus ribavirin for hepatitis c in hiv - infected patients was performed . ten patients received interferon alone and 11 received the combination treatment of interferon alpha and ribavirin . median liver biopsy fibrosis score for both groups was 2 . 1 . in the interferon alone group , at 3 months , there was no change in hcv rna , cd4 dropped from a median of 190 to 186 cells / ml and hiv rna dropped from a median of 1500 copies per ml to less than 400 . at the same time point , 3 months , in the combination group , the hcv rna dropped from 3 . 2 million to less than about 600 copies / ml . cd4 cells dropped from a median of 544 to 237 , but percentage cd4 cells did not change . the main adverse event was anemia which occurred in 5 / 21 ( 23 . 8 %). this was treated with erythropoietin 40 , 000 units weekly when the hemoglobin declined to to 10 g / dl . this treatment resulted in a rise in hemoglobin to 12 . 7 g / dl after a median of 4 weeks treatment . this was the first report of this treatment in patients with hiv infection as well as hepatitis c . subsequently 40 , 000 units of erythropoetin alpha was used on a weekly basis in patients with hemoglogin level of 11 gr / dl or less as a result of ribavirin - induced anemia . this was done in both hiv seronegative individuals and hiv seropositive individuals . this has resulted in a substantial increase in their quality of life as well as an increase in the amount of ribavirin that they have been able to take . fifty - six chronically hcv - infected (≧ 90 days ) subjects who were treated with ifn - α ( 3 million units tiw ) and rbv ( 1000 mg / d for subjects & lt ; 75 kg or 1200 mg / d for subjects ≧ 75 kg ) were entered into an open - label , pilot , prospective study at several centers . subjects were excluded if they were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type - 1 or had a history of anemia , chronic renal disease , or coronary artery disease . rbv doses were adjusted by treating physicians as clinically indicated throughout the study . following inf - α / rbv initiation , subjects with new - onset anemia ( hemoglobin ≦ 10 g / dl or ≧ 2 g / dl decrease in hemoglobin ) or a decrease in hemoglobin accompanied by decreased exercise tolerance ( providers &# 39 ; impressions ) received epoetin alpha ( up to 40 , 000 units per week , subcutaneously ). subjects who did not become anemic and who did not receive epoetin alpha served as a control group . after initiation of epoetin alpha therapy , subjects were evaluated at a 2 - week interval for 8 weeks and every 4 weeks thereafter for a maximum of 40 weeks . at each visit , laboratory safety parameters were obtained and , for most subjects , health - care providers recorded whether improvement had occurred in symptoms that typically occur as a side - effect of anemia or after therapy with ifn - α / rbv ( e . g ., flu - like symptoms , fatigue , dyspnea ). hemoglobin levels were compared at baseline ( prior to ifn - α / rbv initiation ) and at the last visit ( ifn - α / rbv discontinuation visit ) between subjects who received epoetin alpha and those who did not . in addition , clinical benefit of epoetin alpha therapy was evaluated by comparing the percent decline in hemoglobin levels from baseline to initiation of epoetin alpha with the percent recovery in these levels by the last visit . fisher &# 39 ; s exact test or the t - test was used to evaluate the significance of differences between groups with respect to demographic characteristics . the t - test was used to compare mean hemoglobin levels between individuals who received epoetin alpha and those who did not . after a mean of 15 . 9 ± 11 . 5 weeks ( range : 3 - 44 weeks ) following ifn - α / rbv treatment initiation , 18 subjects ( 32 . 1 %) who developed new - onset anemia and reduced exercise tolerance were treated with epoetin alpha ( up to 40 , 000 units per week , subcutaneously ). the comparison group comprised 38 subjects ( 67 . 9 %) who did not develop anemia and who did not receive epoetin alpha . subjects in the group that received epoetin alpha and those in the control group were similar with respect to age , the dose of rbv that was prescribed , hcv genotype , and baseline hemoglobin ( 14 . 3 ± 1 . 4 g / dl vs . 15 . 1 ± 1 . 4 g / dl , respectively ; n . s .) ( table 1 ). males were somewhat underrepresented in the subjects who received epoetin alpha . in the epoetin alpha group , rbv doses were lowered prior to the initiation of epoetin alpha therapy in eight subjects and at the time epoetin alpha was initiated in five additional subjects . subjects who received epoetin alpha were followed for a mean of 25 . 3 ± 15 . 6 weeks ( range : 14 - 40 weeks ) while individuals who did not receive epoetin alpha were followed for a mean of 21 . 2 ± 13 . 2 weeks ( range : 2 - 47 weeks ). the mean hemoglobin level in the subjects who received epoetin alpha decreased from baseline by 25 . 4 ± 8 . 9 percent ( from 14 . 3 ± 1 . 4 g / dl to 10 . 6 ± 1 . 0 g / dl ). after initiation of epoetin alpha , hemoglobin increased by an average of 65 . 5 ± 56 . 3 percent . at the last visit , mean hemoglobin levels were not significantly different in the two groups ( 12 . 7 ± 1 . 7 g / dl in the epoetin alpha group vs . 13 . 1 ± 1 . 4 g / dl in the comparison group ; n . s .). among the 53 patients with complete data , the frequency and duration of symptoms were similar between the two groups with two exceptions ( table 2 ). dyspnea was reported by significantly more subjects in the epoetin alpha group than in the group that did not receive epoetin alpha ( 80 . 0 % vs . 23 . 6 %, respectively , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). likewise , the median duration of fatigue was significantly more prolonged among those in the epoetin alpha group in comparison to those in the other group ( 8 . 2 vs . 5 . 3 weeks , respectively , p & lt ; 0 . 05 ). anecdotal reports by health care providers indicated that anemia - related symptoms improved in two - thirds of patients in the epoetin alpha group by the time of the last visit . table 3 shows a lab average for hcv / hiv patients on interferon and rbv . once - weekly recombinant human erythropoietin ( epoetin alpha ) facilitates optimal ribavirin ( rbv ) dosing in hepatitis c virus ( hcv )- infected patients receiving interferon - α - 2b ( ifn )/ rbv combination therapy . rbv dose reduction or discontinuation has been the standard approach to treating hemoglobin ( hb ) decreases resulting from ifn / rbv therapy in hcv - infected patients . a recent retrospective analysis suggested that maintaining rbv doses greater than 80 % ( 10 . 6 mg / kg per day ) of the recommended dose was associated with higher sustained virologic response rates ( mchutchison et al ., aasld . 2000 : 223a . abstract 247 ). an open - label , randomized , multicenter study was conducted to assess the efficacy and tolerability of once - weekly ( qw ) epoetin alpha therapy for hemoglobin decreases associated with ifn / rbv therapy and to evaluate the impact of epoetin alpha therapy on rbv dosing . hcv - infected patients who developed hemoglobin levels ≦ 12 g / dl during the first 24 weeks of combination ifn / rbv therapy ( n = 60 ) were randomly assigned to treatment with epoetin alpha ( 40000 units ) subcutaneously once weekly for up to 36 weeks or standard of care ( soc ). the primary and secondary efficacy end points were changes from baseline ( at week 16 ) in hemoglobin level and rbv dose , respectively . at baseline , mean hemoglobin levels and rbv doses were similar between the epoetin alpha and soc groups ( 11 . 0 g / dl , for both , and 998 vs . 986 mg / day , respectively ). at the last available assessment ( last ), the mean changes from baseline hemoglobin levels were + 2 . 7 vs . + 0 . 4 g / dl for epoetin alpha vs . soc groups ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ), respectively ; and the mean changes in rbv doses were − 25 and − 190 mg / day , respectively ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ). the last available assessment mean hemoglobin level in the epoetin alpha group ( 13 . 8 g / dl ) was significantly greater ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) than that of the soc group ( 11 . 3 g / dl ). based on the last available assessment , 77 % vs . 50 % ( p & lt ; 0 . 01 ) of patients in the epoetin alpha vs . soc groups , respectively , were treated with rbv doses greater than 10 . 6 mg / kg per day . once weekly epoetin alpha therapy effectively increased hemoglobin levels in hcv - infected patients treated with inf / rbv . epoetin alpha was well tolerated and increased the proportion of patients able to tolerate rbv doses greater than 10 . 6 mg / kg per day , which has been shown to increase the likelihood of sustained virologic response to ifn / rbv treatment . attached as fig2 are plots of hemoglobin levels by time for 18 epo - treated patients . 1 . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 172 , 046 b1 , issued : jan . 9 , 2001 to albrecht , “ combination therapy for eradicating detectable hcv - rna in patients having chronic hepatitis c infection .” 2 . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 610 , 054 , issued : mar . 11 , 1997 to draper , “ enzymatic rna molecule targeted against heptatitis c virus .” 3 . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 869 , 253 , issued : feb . 9 , 1999 to draper , “ method and reagent for inhibiting hepatitis c virus replication .” 4 . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 132 , 966 , issued : oct . 17 , 2000 to draper , “ method and reagent for inhibiting hepatitis c virus replication .” 5 . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 399 , 551 , issued : mar . 21 , 1995 to ise et al ., “ enhancer for the antianemia effect of erythropoietin and method of augmenting the antianemis effect of erythropoietin .” 6 . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 604 , 198 , issued : feb . 18 , 1997 to poduslo et al ., “ method to enhance permeability of the blood / brain blood / nerve barriers to therapeutic agents .” 7 . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 670 , 477 , issued : sep . 23 , 1997 to poduslo et al ., “ method to enhance permeability of the blood / brain blood / nerve barriers to therapeutic agents .” 8 . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 661 , 125 , issued : aug . 26 , 1997 to strickland , “ stable and preserved erythropoietin compositions .” 9 . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 063 , 772 , issued : may 16 , 2000 to tam , “ specific modulation of th 1 / th2 cytokine expression by ribavirin in activatedt - lymphocytes .” 10 . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 543 , 390 , issued : aug . 6 , 1996 to yatvin et al ., “ covalent microparticle - drug conjugates for biological targeting .” 11 . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 543 , 391 , issued : aug . 6 , 1996 to yatvin et al ., “ covalent microparticle - drug conjugates for biological targeting .” 12 . jen f , glue p , gupta s , et al ., population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis of ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis c ( therapeutic drug monitoring , vol . 22 , no . 3 , 2000 ). 13 . weisz k , goldman d , talal a , et al ., interferon ( ifn ) and ribavirin ( rbv ) therapy for hepatitis c ( hcv ) in hiv - coinfected patients , 12 month follow - up , 7 th conference on retroviruses and opportunistic infections , at the birth of a century , research toward ending aids , program and abstracts , jan . 30 - feb . 2 , 2000 . 14 . national institutes of health management of hepatitis c consensus development statement . mar . 24 - 26 , 1997 . 15 . jelkmann w b , fandrey j , frede s , et al . inhibition of erythropoietin production by cytokines : implications for the anemia involved in inflammatory states . ann ny acad sci 1994 ; 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