Interferon-α
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Reactions 980 - 6 Dec 2003 ★ Interferon-α Ageusia (first report) and hyposmia: case report A 40-year-old man developed reversible ageusia and a diminished sense of smell after receiving interferon-α for active chronic hepatitis C virus infection. The man started receiving interferon-α 3MU three times/week and ribavirin and almost immediately experienced a loss of taste and a diminished sense of smell. In addition, he experienced restlessness and insomnia, which responded well to symptomatic treatment. He developed a major loss of appetite due to his diminished sense of taste and, due to resulting weight loss, discontinued treatment after 24 weeks. He subsequently completely regained his sense of taste and smell and, at 12-months’ follow-up, had a sustained response to interferon-α therapy. Author comment: "In our patient, the loss of taste and the diminished sense of smell developed at the beginning of treatment and disappeared completely when treatment was discontinued." Aleixandre SI, et al. Reversible ageusia and hyposmia induced by interferon in a patient with chronic hepatitis C. Revista Espanola de Enfermedades Digestivas 95: 364-365, No. 5, May 2003 [Summarised from a translation] - Unknown 807214688 » Editorial comment: A search of AdisBase and Medline did not reveal any previous case reports of ageusia associated with interferon-α. The Who Adverse Drug Reactions database contained six reports of taste loss associated with interferon. 1 Reactions 6 Dec 2003 No. 980 0114-9954/10/0980-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved
Transcript of Interferon-α
Reactions 980 - 6 Dec 2003
★Interferon-αAgeusia (first report) and hyposmia: case report
A 40-year-old man developed reversible ageusia and adiminished sense of smell after receiving interferon-α foractive chronic hepatitis C virus infection.
The man started receiving interferon-α 3MU threetimes/week and ribavirin and almost immediately experienceda loss of taste and a diminished sense of smell. In addition, heexperienced restlessness and insomnia, which responded wellto symptomatic treatment. He developed a major loss ofappetite due to his diminished sense of taste and, due toresulting weight loss, discontinued treatment after 24 weeks.He subsequently completely regained his sense of taste andsmell and, at 12-months’ follow-up, had a sustained responseto interferon-α therapy.
Author comment: "In our patient, the loss of taste and thediminished sense of smell developed at the beginning oftreatment and disappeared completely when treatment wasdiscontinued."Aleixandre SI, et al. Reversible ageusia and hyposmia induced by interferon in apatient with chronic hepatitis C. Revista Espanola de Enfermedades Digestivas 95:364-365, No. 5, May 2003 [Summarised from a translation] -Unknown 807214688
» Editorial comment: A search of AdisBase and Medline didnot reveal any previous case reports of ageusia associated withinterferon-α. The Who Adverse Drug Reactions databasecontained six reports of taste loss associated with interferon.
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Reactions 6 Dec 2003 No. 9800114-9954/10/0980-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved
