DURHAM, N.C., May 4 (UPI) -- U.S. medical researchers say they've found the addition of the anti-viral drug telaprevir significantly benefits the standard treatment for hepatitis C.
The Duke Clinical Research Institute scientists said adding the anti-viral drug can shorten the duration of therapy and increase the number of patients cured.
"Standard treatment for the most common type of hepatitis C is 48 weeks of a combination of two drugs, peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin, which cures less than half of patients and has significant side effects that make it very difficult for some patients to continue their treatment," said Dr. John McHutchison, who led the research. "Our study found that by combining the standard therapy with the direct anti-viral drug telaprevir, we could reduce the duration of treatment by 50 percent, to 24 weeks, and, at the same time, improve the cure rate by 50 percent."
The study is reported in the April 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
