Update on viral kinetics and hcv antiviral therapy

During interferon-based antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, the dynamics of HCV RNA typically follow a biphasic decline. Mathematical kinetic models have become an important tool in assessing the initial viral kinetics and even have the potential to reveal mechanisms of antiviral therapy. They also enable the estimation of individual kinetic parameters from data of the first few days or weeks of therapy. Typical kinetic parameters are infected cell loss, the degradation rate of free virus, and an efficiency factor on viral production. Knowledge of these parameters is helpful for the prediction of virologic response and can be used for comparing different treatment schedules or patient populations. In particular, they reflect the lower treatment response in specific patient populations.