title: Adenine arabinoside 5'-monophosphate in patients with chronic hepatitis B: comparison of the efficacy in patients with high and low viral replication.
abstract: This study compared the response to adenine arabinoside 5'-monophosphate (ARA AMP) in 60 patients with chronic hepatitis B according to the pretreatment serum hepatitis B virus DNA concentration. The level of hepatitis B virus replication was defined as low (30 patients) or high (30 patients) when serum hepatitis B virus DNA concentration was below or above 100 pg/ml, respectively. Patients received a 28 day course of ARA AMP and a second course of ARA AMP was given six months later to patients with persistent hepatitis B virus replication. At the end of the first course of ARA AMP, 11 of the patients (37%) with low replication and one of the patients (3%) with high replication became negative for hepatitis B virus DNA (p = 0.0012); five of the patients (17%) with low replication and none of the patients with high replication had HBe seroconversion (p = 0.06). Two of these five patients lost HBsAg. Kinetics of serum hepatitis B virus DNA during treatment showed a considerable but transient antiviral effect of ARA AMP. Three of 32 retreated patients became negative for hepatitis B virus DNA and one patient had HBe seroconversion. In conclusion, ARA AMP exerts a considerable but transient antiviral effect on hepatitis B virus. Complete and sustained inhibition of hepatitis B virus replication was only obtained in the patients with low hepatitis B virus replication.
authors.affiliation: Service d'Hépatologie, Hôpital Beaujon, Clichy, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marcellin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pouteau
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Loriot
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boyer
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Degos
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Calès
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bettan
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bacq
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Coppére
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Grange
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004261:DNA Replication; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000502:physiology; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D001084:Vidarabine Phosphate / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens; D001084:Vidarabine Phosphate; D000410:Alanine Transaminase