Watson Julia
Gilead Sciences Inc., Foster, CA 94404, USA.
Curr Opin Investig Drugs. 2002 May;3(5):680-3.
Ribavirin, in combination with interferons, has proved clinically useful for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection despite uncertainty as to its true mechanism of action. Its immunomodulatory effects have been proposed to be crucial for its efficacy in HCV treatment. Two new derivatives of zibavirin, Levovirin and virmidine, are currently in development as HCV therapeutics. Both drugs retain ribavirin's immunomodulatory properties but appear to be less toxic than the parent drug. Clinical evaluation of these drugs may aid in understanding the relevant mechanism of action of ribavirin itself, as well as the role of immunomodulators in HCV therapy.
利巴韦林与干扰素联合使用，已被证明在临床上对治疗丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染有效，尽管其真正的作用机制尚不确定。有人提出其免疫调节作用对其在HCV治疗中的疗效至关重要。利巴韦林的两种新衍生物，左旋利巴韦林和维嘧啶，目前正在作为HCV治疗药物进行研发。这两种药物都保留了利巴韦林的免疫调节特性，但毒性似乎比母体药物小。对这些药物的临床评估可能有助于了解利巴韦林本身的相关作用机制，以及免疫调节剂在HCV治疗中的作用。
