Relation of Changes in Hepatitis B Virus Replication Markers to the Outcome of Interferon Treatment in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The relationship between the behavior of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication markers and the response to treatment with recombinant alpha-2b interferon (IFN) was investigated in 11 patients with chronic hepatitis. At the end of 6 months of treatment, 4 patients showed a complete response to IFN: 2 more patients had seroconversion to HBeAb after 8 and 9 months of follow-up, respectively. The response to IFN was partial in the remaining patients. Pre-treatment levels of HBV DNA in patients showing complete response were lower than pre-treatment levels in patients with partial response: in addition, serum HBV DNA clearance during the treatment was associated with sustained remission more frequently than changes in the HBeAg/HBeAb system.