Antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects of Viusid in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Table 2 Baseline characteristics

Variable	Viusid (n = 30)	Placebo (n = 30)	P value1
Age (yr)	49.3 ± 2.1	49.7 ± 2.2	0.90
Sex, n (%)
Male	10 (33)	16 (53)	0.19
Female	20 (67)	14 (47)
Body mass index (kg/m2)	25.3 ± 0.7	26.4 ± 0.7	0.28
HCV RNA > 600 000 IU/mL, n (%)	24 (80)	21 (70)	0.36
Genotype 1, n (%)	30 (100)	30 (100)	1.00
Ishak inflammation score	5.98 ± 3	5.88 ± 3	0.55
Ishak fibrosis score	1.88 ± 0.91	2.06 ± 1.8	0.68
ALT (IU/L)	66.9 ± 7.6	75.4 ± 8.4	0.45
AST (IU/L)	55.9 ± 7	65.8 ± 7.6	0.34
Fasting plasma glucose (mmol/L)	5.1 ± 0.14	5.8 ± 0.4	0.09
Alkaline phosphatase (mmol/L)	217.8 ± 12.8	221.1 ± 13.7	0.86
Creatinine (mmol/L)	80.4 ± 2.8	82.8 ± 3.6	0.59
Hemoglobin (g/L)	126.4 ± 1.4	131.3 ± 2.7	0.11
γ-glutamyltransferase (IU/L)	72.7 ± 13.5	84.1 ± 13.8	0.55
Bilirubin (mmol/L)	11.4 ± 1.4	14.1 ± 1.3	0.16
Albumin (g/L)	47.8 ± 0.5	47.6 ± 0.9	0.80
Uric acid (mmol/L)	257 ± 16.8	276 ± 13.4	0.37
IL-1α (pg/mL)	3.26 ± 0.7	3.09 ± 0.5	0.89
IL-1β (pg/mL)	3.7 ± 0.1	4 ± 0.1	0.29
IL-2 (pg/mL)	17.9 ± 2.3	19.9 ± 4.7	0.93
IL-6 (pg/mL)	2.5 ± 0.2	2.1 ± 0.3	0.35
IL-10 (pg/mL)	2.6 ± 0.6	2.8 ± 4.1	0.67
IL-12 (pg/mL)	7.5 ± 1.4	7.6 ± 1.2	0.92
IFN-γ (pg/mL)	1.92 ± 0.2	1.80 ± 0.1	0.63
TNF-α (pg/mL)	6.6 ± 0.2	6.9 ± 0.5	0.45
TNF-β (pg/mL)	8.5 ± 0.4	9.1 ± 0.6	0.58
Cathepsin L (ng/mL)	1.7 ± 0.1	1.7 ± 0.1	0.99
GM-CSF (pg/mL)	4.4 ± 0.1	4.3 ± 0.1	0.97
MDA (μmol/L)	0.97 ± 0.05	1.12 ± 0.09	0.17
4-hydroxyalkenals (μmol/L)	1.75 ± 0.09	1.92 ± 0.14	0.30
Cu/Zn SOD (U/mg Hb)	17.6 ± 1.1	18.7 ± 0.9	0.46
CAT (U/mg Hb)	235 ± 23.7	289 ± 21.8	0.09
GR (mU/mg Hb)	6.1 ± 0.7	6.9 ± 1.1	0.73
GPx (mU/mg Hb)	169 ± 11.6	176 ± 11.2	0.66
GSH (μmol/L)	26.3 ± 2.3	31.8 ± 3.2	0.16
MPO (ng/mL)	221 ± 6.6	221 ± 6.7	0.91
AOPP (μmol/L)	36.1 ± 5.4	26.2 ± 5.5	0.20

¹P values are for the comparison between Viusid and placebo; Plus-minus values are mean ± SE of mean; For all laboratory measures and for continuous demographics: P value Mann-Whitney U-test; Proportions: Percentage, P value χ². HCV: Hepatitis C virus; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; IL: Interleukin; IFN: Interferon; TNF: Tumor necrosis factor; GM-CSF: Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; MDA: Malondialdehyde; Cu/Zn SOD: Copper/Zinc superoxide dismutase; CAT: Catalase; GR: Glutathione reductase; GPx: Glutathione peroxidase; GSH: Glutathione; MPO: Myeloperoxidase; AOPP: Advanced oxidation protein products.