Pegylated interferon α and ribavirin therapy may induce working memory disturbances in chronic hepatitis C patients

ObjectiveThis study was designed to determine the effect of 12-week pegylated IFNα plus ribavirin (peg-IFNα/RBV) treatment on cognitive performance in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients.MethodForty-seven CHC patients were consecutively enrolled and divided into two groups: active treatment and control (26 and 21 participants, respectively). Treatment-group patients received peg-IFNα/RBV treatment for 48 weeks in standard doses. Control-group patients did not receive the above treatment. Both groups underwent neuropsychological examination at the beginning and after 12 weeks of treatment or observation. Neuropsychological evaluation consisted of Stroop Color–Word Test and Trail Making Test.ResultsCognitive performance decreased significantly in the treatment group after 12 weeks of combination therapy, which was not seen in the control group.ConclusionThe findings suggest that peg-IFNα/RBV therapy of CHC patients is related to cognitive performance decline and is a result of IFNα-induced neurotransmission abnormalities in the limbic system, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex.