SHO-SAIKO-TO for Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C: A Phase II Study
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2011-02-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Researchers want to see whether Sho-saiko-to (SST) can help in patients with chronic
hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis C may cause swelling within the liver and this can lead to
scar tissue. In some patients, severe scarring of the liver, liver failure and liver cancer
can occur. Standard treatment for chronic hepatitis C is a drug called interferon with or
without another drug called ribavirin. There are a number of side effects that some patients
are unable to take. Other patients may have an initial response, but then the virus and the
inflammation come back.
Sho-saiko-to is an herbal medicine that has been used for many years in Asia to treat liver
disease. The purpose of the study is to evaluate whether Sho-saiko-to may improve liver
swelling and injury caused by chronic hepatitis C.