title: Recombinant gamma-interferon as adjuvant to hepatitis B vaccine in hemodialysis patients.
abstract: Patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis are at high risk of acquiring hepatitis B yet tend to have poor rates of response to hepatitis B vaccine. The effect of recombinant human gamma-interferon (2 million units/m2) on the response to a recombinant hepatitis B vaccine was evaluated in a prospective, randomized controlled trial in 81 hemodialysis patients. A similar proportion of both groups of vaccinees ultimately developed antibody to HBsAg including 81% of the 41 recipients of vaccine alone (group I) and 89% of the 40 recipients of vaccine with gamma-interferon (group II). However, the antibody to HBsAg response occurred earlier in recipients of vaccine with gamma-interferon, so that at 4 mo 63% of group I and 88% of group II had antibody to HBsAg (p less than 0.025). Furthermore, titers of antibody to HBsAg tended to be higher in the vaccinees given interferon; the final geometric mean titers were 232 IU/L in group I and 330 IU/L in group II (p = not significant). Retrospective testing for antibody to hepatitis C virus revealed that 21 (26%) hemodialysis patients were seropositive at entry into this trial, but the presence of antibody to hepatitis C virus did not appear to affect the response rate to the hepatitis B vaccine. These results suggest that the effects of gamma-interferon as an adjuvant in increasing the response rate to hepatitis B vaccination deserve further evaluation perhaps most appropriately in persons who have not responded to an initial course of vaccine.
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain.
authors: J A
authors: JA
authors: Quiroga
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Castillo
authors: J C
authors: JC
authors: Porres
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Casado
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Sáez
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Gracia Martínez
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Gómez
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Inglada
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Sánchez-Sicilia
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Mora
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D013997:Time Factors; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines; D007371:Interferon-gamma