Methods:  Patients aged 18 to 65 years were included in this observational, prospective study if they had evidence of a HCV genotype 1 infection. The serum HCV RNA concentration was determined at baseline and week 12. A

qualitative HCV RNA test was performed at baseline and at weeks 48 and 72. Liver function tests were performed at each study visit. The primary efficacy measure was the sustained virological response in the intention-to-treat population. Logistic regression analyses were also performed to explore predictors of virological response. Results:  A sustained virological response was observed in 100 of the 175 patients (57%). An early virological response and end-of-treatment response were seen in 159 patients Selleckchem Nutlin 3a (91%) Selleckchem JNK inhibitor and 133 patients (76%), respectively. Thirty-seven of the 122 evaluable patients for this outcome (30%) showed

a rapid virological response. A higher viral load was a significant predictor for a lack of rapid virological response and lack of sustained virological response. There were not any unexpected safety or tolerability findings. Conclusions:  Our study suggests that the efficacy of the combination of peginterferon α-2a and ribavirin in patients with HCV genotype 1 infection and normal ALT levels is at least similar to that reported in patients with elevated ALT levels. “
“High levels of dietary saturated fat have been closely associated with the development of hepatic steatosis, but the factors that mediate this process remain elusive. Here, we observed that the level of cell death-inducing DNA fragmentation factor-alpha-like effector a (Cidea) expression was highly correlated with the severity of hepatic steatosis in humans. Overexpression of Cidea in mouse liver resulted in increased hepatic lipid accumulation and the formation of large lipid droplets (LDs). In contrast, mice with a Cidea deficiency had decreased lipid accumulation and alleviated hepatic steatosis when

they received Bupivacaine a high-fat-diet feeding or in ob/ob mice. Furthermore, the knockdown of Cidea in livers of ob/ob mice resulted in significantly reduced hepatic lipid accumulation and smaller LDs. Importantly, we observed that Cidea expression in hepatocytes was specifically induced by saturated fatty acids (FAs), and such induction was reduced when sterol response element-binding protein (SREBP)1c was knocked down. In contrast, the overexpression of SREBP1c restored the saturated FA-induced expression of Cidea. In addition, we observed that the stability of Cidea protein in hepatocytes increased significantly in response to treatment with FAs. Conclusion: Cidea plays critical roles in promoting hepatic lipid accumulation and in the development of hepatic steatosis by acting as a sensor that responds to diets that contain FAs.