Characteristics of Patients Enrolled in the Present Study.

Data are given as the medians with ranges. *Results are expressed as the means ± standard deviation. Unless otherwise indicated, data were collected at pre-treatment (before administration of IFN therapy; pre-Tx). Several biochemical measurements were made at both pre-Tx and post-treatment (24 weeks after completion of IFN therapy; post-Tx). Abbreviations: AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; γ-GTP, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase; HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin; BMI, body mass index; AFP, α-fetoprotein; HCV, hepatitis C virus; PEG-IFN, pegylated interferon; RBV, ribavirin. Characteristics of Patients Enrolled in the Present Study.