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Purpose: To elucidate the efficacy and safety profile of interferon α-2b in vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC)., Methods: In this prospective interventional study, VKC patients fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included and their signs and symptoms were scored based on the Clinical Scoring System. Patients were treated with topical interferon α-2b eye drop (1 MIU/ml) QID dosing for 6 weeks. Changes in symptoms and signs were evaluated at 2, 4, 8 weeks and 6 months after initiating treatment. A higher score meant severe disease, and a decline in score meant improvement in clinical signs and symptoms. Categorical variables were presented in number and percentage (%) and continuous variables as mean ± standard deviation (SD). Post-medication total subjective symptom score (TSSS) and total objective sign score (TOSS) were compared with baseline, and a P- value of <0.05 was considered significant. Possible ocular and systemic complications were evaluated., Results: The study included 40 patients (32 male and eight female) with a mean age of 8.05 ± 2.33 years. Mean baseline TSSS and TOSS were 6.71 ± 0.564 and 6.59 ± 0.262, respectively, which reduced to 2.71 ± 0.011 ( P = 0.040) and 2.96 ± 0.210 ( P = 0.032), respectively, at 4 weeks and further reduced to 0.42 ± 0.552 and 0.47 ± 0.434, respectively, at 8 weeks. After 6 months of stopping the drug, mean TSSS and TOSS did increase to 2.80 ± 0.820 ( P = 0.044) and 2.50 ± 0.520 ( P = 0.030), respectively, but was still statistically significant improvement compared to the baseline. Also, no ocular or systemic side effects were observed anytime during the study period., Conclusion: Eye drop interferon α-2b (1 million IU/ml) is a safe and effective option as first-line monotherapy for VKC. No side effects and recurrence were observed for 6 months., (Copyright © 2024 Copyright: © 2024 Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.)

Aims: To analyze the efficacy and safety of sofosbuvir (SOF)-based regimens in Thai patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection who had pre-existing significant liver fibrosis., Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study, conducted between 1 June 2018 and 31 May 2019 at Rajavithi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. All patients completed 12 weeks of SOF-based regimens and had follow-up for at least 12 weeks after therapy discontinuation. The primary outcome was sustained virological response (SVR) 12 weeks after the end of therapy., Result: A total of 185 patients were included, with 52, 63 and 70 taking SOF+Ledipasvir (SOF+LDV), SOF+LDV+ribavirin (RBV) and SOF+Pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN)+RBV (SOF+Peg-IFN+RBV) respectively. Genotype (GT) 1 was predominant at 40.0%, followed by GT3 at 37.8%, and GT6 at 22.2%. Overall 95.1% of patients in this study achieved SVR (n = 176/185), and the only factor associated with SVR was HCV genotype (p = 0.001). GT6 patients had lower SVR rates compared to GT1 and GT3 patients (82.9%, 98.6%, and 98.6% respectively) while there was no association between SVR and other factors (p >0.05) such as gender, age, BMI, underlying cirrhosis, baseline HCV viral load, or prior treatment history. No serious adverse events were reported in the present study., Conclusion: Sofosbuvir-based regimens in the treatment of patients with chronic HCV infection were highly efficacious with excellent safety and tolerability profiles in a real-world setting; however, further research is required to establish whether or not such a regimen is an adequate treatment for all genotype 6 patients., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Like most protein macromolecular drugs, the half-life of rhIFNɑ-2b is short, with a low drug utilization rate, and the preparation and release conditions significantly affect its stability., Methods: A nanoporous ion-responsive targeted drug delivery system (PIRTDDS) was designed to improve drug availability of rhIFNα-2b and target it to the lung passively with sustained release. Chitosan rhIFNα-2b carboxymethyl nanoporous microspheres (CS-rhIFNα-2b-CCPM) were prepared by the column method. Here, an electrostatic self-assembly technique was undertaken to improve and sustain rhIFNα-2b release rate., Results: The size distribution of the microspheres was 5~15 μm, and the microspheres contained nanopores 300~400 nm in diameter. The in vitro release results showed that rhIFNα-2b and CCPM were mainly bound by ionic bonds. After self-assembling, the release mechanism was transformed into being membrane diffusion. The accumulative release amount for 24 hrs was 83.89%. Results from circular dichrogram and SDS-PAGE electrophoresis showed that there was no significant change in the secondary structure and purity of rhIFNα-2b. Results from inhibition rate experiments for A549 cell proliferation showed that the antitumor activity of CS-rhIFNα-2b-CCPM for 24 hrs retained 91.98% of the stock solution, which proved that the drug-loaded nanoporous microspheres maintained good drug activity. In vivo pharmacokinetic experimental results showed that the drugs in CS-rhIFNα-2b-CCPM can still be detected in vivo after 24 hrs, equivalent to the stock solution at 6 hrs, which indicated that CS-rhIFNα-2b-CCPM had a certain sustained-release effect in vivo. The results of in vivo tissue distribution showed that CS-rhIFNα-2b-CCPM was mainly concentrated in the lungs of mice (1.85 times the stock solution). The pharmacodynamics results showed that CS-rhIFNα-2b-CCPM had an obvious antitumor effect, and the tumor inhibition efficiency was 29.2%., Conclusion: The results suggested a novel sustained-release formulation with higher drug availability and better lung targeting from CS-rhIFNα-2b-CCPM compared to the reference (the stock solution of rhIFNα-2b), and, thus, should be further studied., Competing Interests: There is no interest dispute between the project and the company that the authors were employed by. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Background: Ovarian cancer has no definitive second line therapeutic options, and largely recurs in the peritoneal cavity. Locoregional immune therapy using both interferons and monocytes can be used as a novel approach. Interferons have both cytostatic and cytotoxic properties, while monocytes stimulated with interferons have potent cytotoxic properties. Due to the highly immune suppressive properties of ovarian cancer, ex vivo stimulation of autologous patient monocytes with interferons and infusion of all three agents intraperitoneally (IP) can provide a strong pro-inflammatory environment at the site of disease to kill malignant cells., Methods: Patient monocytes are isolated through counterflow elutriation and stimulated ex vivo with interferons and infused IP through a semi-permanent catheter. We have designed a standard 3 + 3 dose escalation study to explore the highest tolerated dose of interferons and monocytes infused IP in patients with chemotherapy resistant ovarian cancer. Secondary outcome measurements of changes in the peripheral blood immune compartment and plasma cytokines will be studied for correlations of response., Discussion: We have developed a novel immunotherapy focused on the innate immune system for the treatment of ovarian cancer. We have combined the use of autologous monocytes and interferons alpha and gamma for local-regional administration directly into the peritoneal cavity. This therapy is highly unique in that it is the first study of its type using only components of the innate immune system for the locoregional delivery consisting of autologous monocytes and dual interferons alpha and gamma. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02948426, registered on October 28, 2016. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02948426.