"The best sentence in the English language is not 'I love you' but 'It's benign'."-- Woody Allen 1935-- : "Deconstructing Harry" (1998 film)
Took the shot last night, pills this morning, and I feel fine. Cool
INTERFERON
The interferons have been synthesized using recombinant DNA technology.
The goal of interferon therapy is to eradicate a virus from an infected person. Using interferon, for example, to eradicate the hepatitis B or C virus will, it is hoped, prevent the future development of cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. This may require months and even years of interferon treatment and may not be effective in many patients.
In therapeutic doses, interferon can be hard to tolerate because of the side-effects, with flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, headache and aches and, less regularly, low thyroid activity, arthritis, low platelet count and depression which can attain suicidal proportions.
Interferon was discovered in 1957 by the Alick Isaacs and Jean Lindenmann (who did not receive the Nobel Prize for their discovery). Interferon is so named because of its ability to interfere with virus reproduction.
RibavirinRibavirin is used with another medication called an interferon to treat hepatitis C. Ribavirin is in a class of antiviral medications called nucleoside analogues. It works by stopping the virus that causes hepatitis C from spreading inside the body. Ribavirin is also sometimes used to treat viral hemorrhagic fevers (viruses that can cause bleeding inside and outside of the body, problems with many organs, and death). In the event of biological warfare, ribavirin may be used to treat viral hemorrhagic fever that has been spread deliberately. Ribavirin is also sometimes used to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS; a virus that may cause breathing problems, pneumonia, and death).
A naturally occurring substance that interferes with the ability of viruses to reproduce. Interferon also boosts the immune system.
There are a number of different interferons. They fall into three main classes : alpha, beta, and gamma. All are proteins (lymphokines) normally produced by the body in response to infection. The interferons have been synthesized using recombinant DNA technology.
The goal of interferon therapy is to eradicate a virus from an infected person. Using interferon, for example, to eradicate the hepatitis B or C virus will, it is hoped, prevent the future development of cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. This may require months and even years of interferon treatment and may not be effective in many patients.
In therapeutic doses, interferon can be hard to tolerate because of the side-effects, with flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, headache and aches and, less regularly, low thyroid activity, arthritis, low platelet count and depression which can attain suicidal proportions.
Interferon was discovered in 1957 by the Alick Isaacs and Jean Lindenmann (who did not receive the Nobel Prize for their discovery). Interferon is so named because of its ability to interfere with virus reproduction.
Best - Randy Tessier
1 comment:
Randy, my wife was diagnosed with hep c in 2000 after going in to donate blood, she had worked as a phlebotomist for a few years when we lived in Flint and probably contractedthe virus during work. She was treated with Interferon and Ribavirin, self injecting 3 times a week. The sysmptoms were real, nausea, hair loss, no energy, depression, etc. She did this for almost 2 years and thankfully has been carrying an undetectable level of the virus ever since. It is often said the treatment is worse than the disease for many as in the early to mid stages hep C is virtually symptom free while the "cure" leaves you feeling lousy. Of course the other side effect is the stigma some idiots put on the disease and the way people may treat you. My wife did not try to hide the fact she had the disease and even went to speak with others about the importance of completing the treatment. It worked for her and for many others. Thanks for sharing stories of this journey we call life. God's speed in returning you to full health. David Cryderman
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