Interferon for hepatitis B: US experience.
This paper reviews the results of recent studies carried out in the USA on the treatment of chronic hepatitis B with interferon alfa-2b. In the US multicentre trial, 37% of patients lost hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA when treated with 5 million units (MU) daily for 16 weeks, compared to 42% in the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) trial treated with 10 MU thrice weekly for 16 weeks. In both studies, the loss of HBeAg and HBV-DNA was associated with virological, biochemical, histological, and clinical improvement. Long term follow up in the National Institutes of Health study showed that 65% of responders had disappearance of HBsAg over a mean of four years, suggesting that termination of the HBV carrier state may be possible.
Perrillo
R P
RP
Gastroenterology Section, Veterans Administration Medical Center, St Louis, Missouri 63106.
D002353:Carrier State; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014481:United States
D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins