Category Archives: Living with Hep B

HBF is pleased to connect our blog readers to Christine Kukka’s monthly HBV Journal Review that she writes for the HBV Advocate. The journal presents the
 latest in hepatitis B research, treatment, and prevention from recent academic and medical journals. This month, the following topics are explored:

• Adding Interferon to Ongoing Antiviral Treatment Is Highly Successful
• Vitamin E Helps HBV-Infected Children Lose HBeAg, Reducing Liver Damage
• Common Chinese Toad May Hold the Key to Preventing and Treating Liver Cancer
• Even at Top Hospitals, Doctors Fail to Treat Hepatitis B Patients Properly
• Study Finds Doctors More Likely to Treat Hepatitis B in Men Than Women
• Study Confirms Doctors Frequently Fail to Screen and Vaccinate Those at Risk
• Antiviral Treatment Dramatically Improves Liver Cancer Test Accuracy
• $50 Cash Incentive Increases HBV Immunization 12-Fold
• Hepatitis B and C Cause Ten-Times More Deaths Than HIV in Europe

HBV Journal Review
May 1, 2014
Volume 11, Issue 5
by Christine M. Kukka

Adding Interferon to Ongoing Antiviral Treatment Is Highly Successful 

Adding pegylated interferon to ongoing antiviral treatment produced remarkable rates of hepatitis B “e” antigen (HBeAg) loss and even hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss, according to a study presented at the International Liver Congress held in London in April.

Eighty-three HBeAg-positive patients in China, who had been on antivirals for more than two years, had 48 weeks of interferon treatment added to their treatment regimen. A control group continued on only antivirals:

• 60% of the group treated with add-on interferon lost HBeAg and their viral loads dropped below 2,000 IU/mL. In contrast, only 13.8% of patients treated with only antivirals achieved those benchmarks.
• 27.7% of patients in the combination treatment group lost HBsAg. No one in the antiviral group lost HBsAg.
• All patients who had low HBsAg levels (less than 1,000 IU/mL) at the start of interferon treatment achieved HBeAg loss and 91% cleared HBsAg.

” Sequential combination therapy of (antivirals) and pegylated interferon effectively resulted in high rates of complete response and HBsAg loss in patients with prior long-term exposure to (antivirals),” researchers wrote. (Abstract 0117)

Another study exploring the benefits of sequential antiviral and interferon treatment found that HBeAg-positive patients who had been on antivirals for three years or longer also experienced high rates of HBeAg loss and development of “e” antibodies (HBeAg seroconversion) when their antivirals were replaced with pegylated interferon.

At week 48, the HBeAg seroconversion rate in the interferon-treated group was 66.67% compared to 2.5% in the antiviral group. (Abstract P1071)

A third study from India also found notable improvements when pegylated interferon was added to ongoing tenofovir treatment. Sixty patients were treated with tenofovir for 12 weeks (300 mg daily), then:

• One group had pegylated interferon added to the ongoing tenofovir regimen for 24 weeks, and then were followed for another 28 weeks.
• The other half continued their tenofovir treatment for 52 weeks.

Sixty percent of the interferon-plus-tenofovir group achieved healthy liver health, with normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, compared to 30% in the tenofovir-only group. The combination-treatment group also experienced greater viral load (HBV DNA) declines and HBeAg seroconversion (53.3% vs. 23.3% in the antiviral-only group).

“Sequential therapy using tenofovir and pegylated interferon may provide rapid and high biochemical and virological response in selected HBeAg-positive patients,” researchers noted. “Long-term clinical trials are needed to assess (the) sustained durable response.” (Abstract P1092)

Source: www.hbvadvocate.org/EASL_2014_
Abstracts.pdf

Vitamin E Helps HBV-Infected Children Lose HBeAg, Reducing Liver Damage

A small study, presented at the 2014 Liver Congress found that HBeAg-positive children who were treated with vitamin E (15 mg/kg/daily) for 12 months achieved higher rates of HBeAg conversion, lower viral loads and normal ALT levels than did untreated children.

Continue reading the HBV Journal Review… 

 

HBF is pleased to connect our blog readers to Christine Kukka’s monthly HBV Journal Review that she writes for the HBV Advocate. The journal presents the
latest in hepatitis B research, treatment, and prevention from recent academic and medical journals. This month, the following topics are explored:

• Tests for Antigens and Drug-Resistant Virus Emerge as Valuable Diagnostic Tools
• Experts Issue a Report Card on Side Effects from Antivirals
• Experts Weigh in on Why They Prefer Either Antivirals or Interferon
• Doctors Explain Which Medical Guidelines They Follow, Or Ignore
• Truvada Effective in Lowering Viral Load in Young Adults with High Viral Load
• Hepatitis B Causes Most Liver Cancer Deaths in China
• Smoking Shortens Survival after Liver Cancer Surgery

 HBV Journal Review

February 1, 2014
Vol 11, no 2
by Christine M. Kukka

Tests for Antigens and Drug-Resistant Virus Emerge as Valuable Diagnostic Tools

Measuring the amount of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in your bloodstream or conducting quick tests for drug-resistant hepatitis B virus (HBV) may soon be part of your office visit in the brave new molecular world of hepatitis B treatment.

Doctors increasingly are measuring HBsAg levels to determine if treatment is needed or if current medications are working. HBsAg tests—along with measuring alanine aminotransferase (ALT) for signs of liver damage and HBV DNA for viral load—may become essential tools to assess hepatitis B progression or remission.

HBsAg is the protein that makes up the outer covering of HBV. When a patient has a high viral load (and is positive for the hepatitis B “e” antigen—HBeAg), there are often large quantities of HBsAg circulating in the blood stream. When viral replication slows and HBeAg disappears, there can be lower quantities of HBsAg.

But experts are learning that high HBsAg levels can increase cancer risk, even in HBeAg-negative patients, according to a study published in the journal Annales de Biologie Clinique. (1) As a result, there is heightened attention on HBsAg as a key indicator of a patient’s health. For example:

• In HBeAg-negative patients, HBsAg levels less than 1,000 international units per milliliter (IU/mL) along with low viral load (HBV DNA) under 2,000 IU/mL indicate the patient is an “inactive” patient.
• When patients are treated with pegylated interferon, doctors can tell if the treatment is working if there is a decline in HBsAg levels within 12 weeks. This early indicator can save money if the drug isn’t working and help to avoid uncomfortable side effects. Doctors recommend patients with genotypes B and C should stop interferon at week 12 if their HBsAg levels remain at 20,000 UI/mL or higher.

Another team of French researchers, also exploring the implications of HBsAg in an article published in the February 2014 issue of the journal Liver International, suggest that as HBsAg levels decline, so does the risk of liver cancer.

They also suggest that during antiviral treatment, a rapid decline in HBsAg may indicate which patients will eventually clear HBsAg. A 100-fold decline or more of HBsAg over six months of treatment, “… could be a marker of a sustained response after treatment cessation,” they wrote.(2)

In another diagnostic breakthrough, researchers writing in the December journal of Clinical Molecular Hepatology promoted the value of a HepB Typer-Entecavir kit that can precisely detect HBV that have viral mutations that can “resist” the antiviral drug entecavir (Baraclude). This diagnostic tool allows doctors to select the most effective antiviral for each individual patient based on the molecular makeup of their HBV.(3)

1. Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24235324  
2. Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24373085  
3. Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24459645

Experts Issue a Report Card on Side Effects from Antivirals
Hong Kong researchers evaluated the side effects of commonly-used antivirals in the December 2013 issue of the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Antivirals disrupt the genetic make-up of HBV, making it difficult for the virus to replicate. While generally safe, patients must take antiviral pills daily over several years and side effects include damage to the mitochondria of the body’s cells (called mitochondria toxicity.)

Continue reading this and additional studies for Februrary