Safety, tolerability and efficacy of peginterferon alpha-2a and ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C in clinical practice: The German Open Safety Trial

The combination treatment of peginterferon alpha-2a (PEG-IFN alpha-2a; Pegasys®) plus ribavirin (RBV) is recommended as a standard care for HCV infections. Side effects and aspects of efficacy and safety have to be balanced. This study evaluates clinical practice data on safety and efficacy of HCV treatment with PEG-IFN in combination with RBV over 24 and 48 weeks. This study was a phase III, multi-centre, open-label study with two treatment groups: PEG-IFN in combination with RBV for 24 or 48 weeks. The allocation to the treatment groups was at the discretion of the investigator; 309 patients entered active treatment: 90 patients received PEG-IFN plus RBV for 24 weeks and 219 patients PEG-IFN plus RBV for 48 weeks. A sustained virological response (SVR) was achieved in 48.9% of all patients. Genotype 1 patients with a 48-week combination treatment achieved an SVR of 39.9%. In the 48-week group a low baseline viral load was associated with a higher SVR rate (47.0% vs. 32.4%). For genotype 2 or 3 patients, the SVR was 67.9%. For these patients there was no relevant difference between patients with low and high viral loads; 97.7% of the patients experienced at least one adverse event. The incidence of serious adverse events was distinctly lower in the 24-week group (4.4% vs. 10.5%). This investigation confirms the well-known risk–benefit ratio found in controlled studies in a clinical practice setting. The safety profile is similar and shows the highest incidence of adverse events in the first 12 weeks of treatment

Heritage Work: the Preservations and Performances of Thames Sailing Barges

‘Heritage’ represents a series of contested and contingent relationships in the preservation and performance of the past. It is a relationship made all the more complex by taking into account the work that goes into both aspects: preserving what would otherwise be lost, and actively seeking public exposure and support. Work has been central to studies of heritage practices in the context of deindustrialisation: how working identities and communities use or become used in the development of heritage-led regeneration. This article examines what it is to engage in forms of work defined by their personal, community and commercial heritage appeal. It presents a study of those who live and work on Thames sailing barges – historic cargo vessels whose future survival relies on the impetus to preserve them as part of an industrial heritage, and in their fulfilment of a number of (often problematic) performative roles

Zur Anwendung von Bewertungssystemen im Bauwesen

SIGLETechnische Informationsbibliothek Hannover: AC 6223. / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Eco-evolutionary perspectives of the dynamic relationships linking senescence and cancer

International audienc