Among 89 patients with a follow-up longer than 60 months, 65 (73%) had aminotransferase levels lower than twice the upper limit of normal (2002 criteria), but only 23 (25.8%) consistently maintained normal aminotransferase levels (2010 criteria) with low steroid doses (2-4

mg of methylprednisolone daily or every other day). Interestingly, from a clinical standpoint, after a mean follow-up longer than 100 months, only 1 of the 23 patients (4%) fulfilling the 2010 criteria of remission experienced buy Kinase Inhibitor Library histological worsening of the disease (mild to severe liver histology), whereas 36 of the 66 patients (54.5%) whose aminotransferase levels did not normalize had histological (14 with severe histology and 9 with cirrhosis) or clinical evidence (11 with end-stage liver disease, 1 with decompensated cirrhosis, and 1 with hepatocellular carcinoma) of uncontrolled and evolving liver disease. In summary, in our experience, the application of the 2010 criteria flips the previously codified remission rate from

73% to 26%. Complete-response patients have a very good long-term prognosis virtually free of significant clinical events, whereas patients whose serum aminotransferases see more are unable to be stably normalized are those www.selleckchem.com/products/Everolimus(RAD001).html with the highest probability of developing long-term complications, which not rarely may prove to be lethal. These are the patients most likely to benefit from new pharmacological, cellular, and molecular therapies.4, 5 Luigi Muratori M.D.* †, Paolo Muratori M.D.* †, Giulia Lanzoni M.D.* †, Silvia Ferri M.D.* †, Marco Lenzi M.D.* †, * Department of Clinical Medicine, Alma Mater Studiorum–University of Bologna,

Bologna, Italy, † Sant’Orsola-Malpighi Polyclinic, Bologna, Italy. “
“We read with great interest the article by Pascale et al.,[1] reporting a man with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1b infection who relapsed after telaprevir-based triple therapy and achieved sustained virologic response (SVR) with a subsequent 48-week course of dual therapy (peginterferon alfa/ribavirin). We think the definition of failure to respond to telaprevir-based triple therapy seems not appropriate. This patient received telaprevir, peginterferon alfa-2a, and ribavirin for only 12 weeks in the phase 2 study.