Interferon Treatment for Hepatitis C depletes B Vitamin and Iron

I for one am very pleased to see this report.

I have worked over many years with people who have Hepatitis C. During this course of time I found it very clear that people with Hep C (PWHC) have an extraordinarily high need for B vitamins. This large amount is not supported by typically available B vitamin products sold today.

Successfully used to provide B complex in a form that is usable by PWHC is our BioSupplemente Naturalle.

One of our key projects for 2009 is to re-manufacture BioSupplemente in the powder form. It will be sold as a bulk powder for human and companion animal use, as it had been in the past. At this time I do not forsee that we will be manufacuring a capsule form.

Currently only the homeopathic liquid form of this product is available as RK BioDrops.

Drug Treatment for Hepatitis C depletes B Vitamin and Iron Stores

Reference: "Vitamins B depletion, lower iron status and decreased antioxidative defense in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated by pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin," Lin CC, Yin MC, et al, Clin Nutr, 2008 Nov 28; [Epub ahead of print]. (Address: Department of Internal Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung City, Taiwan, Republic of China).

Summary: In a study involving 152 healthy subjects and 109 patients infected with hepatitis C (HCV), treatment with pegylated interferon combined with ribavirin was found to decrease levels of vitamin B6, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and iron. Infection with HCV was associated with reduced levels of vitamin B6 and folate, and the drug treatment further diminished B vitamin status, and was associated with a higher percentage of patients with insufficient iron status. Furthermore, HCV infection was associated with higher plasma levels of malondialdehyde and 8-isoprostane; drug treatment for HCV further exacerbated lipid oxidation. HCV infection was also associated with significantly lower vitamin C and glutathione levels; drug treatment was found to reduce alpha-tocopherol level and activity of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. These results suggest that supplementation with B vitamins, iron, and vitamin C may be beneficial to patients with HCV, particularly those treated with pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin. Additional research is warranted.

Generally people are not provided with the information about Interferon that supports the damaging end result of its use such as liver and kidney failure.

There are also other nutritional needs we have found that are critical for PWHC. Again this information is not provided by mainstream medical providers.

While Interferon is a genetically modified product, properly prepared herbal extracts of St. John's Wort offers its use as an anti-viral and natural form of interferon.