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Ribavirin for Chronic Hepatitis C
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
TO THE EDITOR:
As a clinical gastroenterologist interested in viral hepatitis, I wish to point out two important, recently published articles that had conflicting conclusions despite similar data.
Di Bisceglie and colleagues [1] reported that ribavirin was not effective in eradicating hepatitis C virus, despite its remarkable success in suppressing liver inflammation and viral RNA levels. Dienstag and coworkers [2] found lamivudine to be effective in suppressing hepatitis B inflammation and viral DNA levels. Each drug suppressed the virus studied to a more successful degree than any other drug available, yet ribavirin was considered a failure. If the virus cannot be eradicated, control of the virus certainly becomes the major goal.
I hope that ribavirin and lamivudine will soon be available for long-term use in patients with hepatitis in whom interferon fails. In Di Bisceglie and colleagues' study, ribavirin should be viewed as a success in treating hepatitis C.
Marvin A. Chinitz
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
- Copyright ©2004 by the American College of Physicians
