Interferon-alpha: Elective therapy in viral myocarditis and idiopathic dilative cardiomyopathy?

Abstract

The therapeutic effects of human leucocytic interferon-α (IFN) on viral myocarditis and dilative cardiomyopathy (IDC) were investigated interferon-α in a dose of 3 million U/m body surface area daily for 4 weeks was administered i.m. to 7 patients, while 44 patients were treated with conventional therapy alone. During the 7-year follow-up period, initially depressed cardiac function normalized in patients treated with IFN, while it improved insignificantly in conventionally treated patients. Five patients on conventional therapy alone died during the follow-up period compared to one patient treated with interferon-α. No significant side effects attributable to interferon-α were observed during the study. According to several studies enterovirus genomes are found in about 25% of endomyocardial biopsies in patients with myocarditis and IDC, so that double-blind randomized trials to evaluate the therapeutic effects of IFN in this subgroup of patients are warranted.