title: Efficacy of telbivudine in the treatment of chronic hepatitis b and liver cirrhosis and its effect on immunological responses.
abstract: This study was aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of telbivudine (LdT) in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and HBV-related liver cirrhosis (LC) and to observe the changes of immunological responses during LdT treatment. Clinical data of 80 CHB and 28 HBV-related LC patients who were administered with LdT for 108 weeks and followed up were retrospectively analyzed. The liver function indicators including ALT, AST and γ-GT, HBV DNA copy number in serum and the rates of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion were analyzed before and 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96 and 108 weeks after LdT treatment in CHB and LC groups. Four serum fibrosis-related markers, including hyaluronic acid (HA), human laminin (LN), human type IV collagen (IV-C) and human N-terminal procollagen III peptide (PC-III), were detected before and after LdT treatment in LC group. The results showed favorable viral suppression and biochemical responses after treatment with LdT for 12 weeks, and a high rate of virological and biochemical control was maintained during the course of 108-week treatment in both CHB and LC groups. The four fibrosis-related markers, especially HA and LN, were down-regulated to some degrees in LC group. Moreover, LdT treatment led to the fluctuation of the circulating interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels at different time points in CHB group. It was concluded that LdT could favorably lead to the virological suppression and biochemical remission. Besides, IFN-γ and IL-10 may represent a suitable and effective predictor of responsiveness during LdT therapy.
authors: Institute of Liver Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
authors: Nan
authors: N
authors: Meng
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Liyuan Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
authors: Xiao
authors: X
authors: Gao
authors: Institute of Liver Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Yan
authors: Institute of Liver Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
authors: Mi
authors: M
authors: Wang
authors: Institute of Liver Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
authors: Ping
authors: P
authors: Liu
authors: Institute of Liver Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
authors: Xiao-Dan
authors: XD
authors: Lu
authors: Institute of Liver Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
authors: Shu-Juan
authors: SJ
authors: Zhang
authors: Institute of Liver Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
authors: Ya-Qi
authors: YQ
authors: Lu
authors: Institute of Liver Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. tangwx@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn.
authors: Wang-Xian
authors: WX
authors: Tang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077712:Telbivudine; D013936:Thymidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000077712:Telbivudine; D013936:Thymidine