Successful treatment with lamivudine may correlate with reduction of serum ferritin levels in the patients with chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis type B.
OBJECTIVE
To study the changes in serum ferritin levels in lamivudine (LAM)-treated patients with chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis type B and determine whether successful treatment with LAM results in a reduction of serum ferritin levels.


METHODS
Thirty patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection were followed prospectively during their treatment with LAM for 12 months. Serum HBV DNA, ferritin levels, and emergence of YMDD mutants were monitored. A case of severe liver cirrhosis with hepatic hemosiderosis that was treated successfully with LAM also is shown as a representative case.


RESULTS
Serum alanine aminotransferase and ferritin levels decreased significantly more in the patients treated with LAM without YMDD mutants (n = 23) than those with mutants (n = 7). Hepatic hemosiderosis along with serum iron markers improved greatly in the representative patient.


CONCLUSIONS
Successful treatment with LAM may reduce serum ferritin levels and improve hepatic siderosis in a subset of patients with chronic HBV infection.
Ohkoshi
Shogo
S
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences of Niigata University, 1-754, Asahimachi-Dori, Niigata-city, 951-8122, Japan, okoshi@med.niigata-u.ac.jp.
Yoshimura
Akira
A
Yamamoto
Satoshi
S
Yano
Masahiko
M
Kurita
So
S
Yamazaki
Kazuhide
K
Aoki
Yo-Hei
YH
Yamagiwa
Satoshi
S
Wakabayashi
Hiroto
H
Sugiyama
Motoya
M
Takahashi
Tohru
T
Ishikawa
Tohru
T
Matsuda
Yasunobu
Y
Ichida
Takafumi
T
Kamimura
Tomoteru
T
Aoyagi
Yutaka
Y