Combination Therapy with Famciclovir and Interferon-α for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B
Interferon-α (IFN-α) treatment results in long-term remissions in only 25%–40% of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Famciclovir, the oral prodrug of penciclovir, inhibits HBV DNA replication. Five adults with chronic HBV infection in whom previous IFN-α therapy had failed were...
Saved in:
Published in | The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 178; no. 5; pp. 1483 - 1487 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Chicago, IL
The University of Chicago Press
01.11.1998
University of Chicago Press |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Interferon-α (IFN-α) treatment results in long-term remissions in only 25%–40% of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Famciclovir, the oral prodrug of penciclovir, inhibits HBV DNA replication. Five adults with chronic HBV infection in whom previous IFN-α therapy had failed were treated in a pilot study of overlapping IFNa and famciclovir therapy totaling 20 weeks. HBV DNA levels decreased by 0.9 log units during the initial 4-week period of famciclovir alone, followed by a further decrease of 1.8 logs during the middle 12-week period of combination therapy. HBV DNA rose by 0.9 log during the final 4-week period of IFN-α alone. Two patients cleared HBV DNA, and their liver disease improved by clinical and histologic criteria. The combination of famciclovir and IFN-α appeared to be at least additive in suppressing HBV DNA. Efficacy trials of combination therapy with famciclovir and IFN-α are warranted. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | Presented in part: 37th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Toronto, 28 September to 1 October 1997 (paper H-035). ark:/67375/HXZ-ZZCGW155-B istex:129D507C3C08C1C3BBBD0C87C323803A3EC82B75 ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0022-1899 1537-6613 |
DOI: | 10.1086/314430 |