en Internal Internal Short Communication Short Communication <font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 176.05pt"><b><i><span style="color: blue"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Abstract</font></span></i></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 161.6pt text-indent: 0cm"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><i><span style="color: blue font-size: 10pt">Background: </span></i></b><span style="color: black font-size: 10pt mso-bidi-language: FA">Different factors like</span><span style="font-size: 10pt"> age, sex, route of infection, initial viral load, levels of liver function tests and genotypes</span><span style="color: black font-size: 10pt mso-bidi-language: FA"> may affect response to treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of these factors in the treatment of these patients.</span></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 161.6pt text-indent: 0cm"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><i><span style="color: blue font-size: 10pt">Methods:</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 10pt"> From 2004 to 2012, different genotypes of chronic HCV (Hepatitis C virus) patients in Babol, North of Iran who were treated with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin with standard doses (48 weeks for genotype 1, and 24 weeks for genotypes 2 and 3) were entered in the study. HCV RNA was measured during and after treatment based on genotype and protocol. The outcome measure was defined as sustained virological response (SVR) (negative HCV RNA after six months of therapy) was achieved. The data were collected and analyzed.</span></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 161.6pt text-indent: 0cm"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><i><span style="color: blue font-size: 10pt">Results:</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 10pt"> </span><span style="color: black font-size: 10pt mso-bidi-language: FA">The mean age of the patients (61 males, 5 females) was 33.82±9.64 years. Twenty seven (40.9%), 37 (56.1%) and 2 (%3) were genotypes 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Twenty one (77.8%) with genotype 1, and 34 (91.9%) with genotype 3 achieved SVR (P=0.045). Fifty-five of 61 men (90.2%) and 2 out of 5 females (40%) achieved SVR (P=0.01). SVR was seen in 22 (88%) of 25 IV drug patients versus in 35 (85.4%) of the non-addict cases (p>0.05). There were no significant differences regarding age, viral load, and liver aminotransferase levels with treatment. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font size="2"> </font></span></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font><p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 161.6pt text-indent: 0cm"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><i><span style="color: blue font-size: 10pt">Conclusion: </span></i></b><span style="color: black font-size: 10pt mso-bidi-language: FA">The results show that genotypes 2 and 3, and the male sex had better SVR. Further studies with large number of cases are recommended.</span></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font> Chronic hepatitis C, Treatment, Genotype, Virological response, Sex, IV drug abuser. 219 222 http://caspjim.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-62-201&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mehdi Heidari 10031947532846002470 10031947532846002470 No Masomeh Bayani 10031947532846002471 10031947532846002471 No Ali Bijani 10031947532846002472 10031947532846002472 No Mohammad Reza Hasanjani Roushan hagar2q@yahoo.ca 10031947532846002473 10031947532846002473 Yes