Famciclovir treatment of chronic delta hepatitis

Background/Aims: Interferon is the only established therapy for chronic delta hepatitis and alternative treatment options are an urgent need. Since successful treatment of a case of post-transplant delta hepatitis with the nucleoside analogue famciclovir had been reported, a pilot study was undertak...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hepatology 2002-08, Vol.37 (2), p.266-271
Main Authors: Yurdaydin, Cihan, Bozkaya, Hakan, Gürel, Selım, Tillmann, Hans L, Aslan, Nuray, Okçu-Heper, A, Erden, Esra, Yalçin, Kendal, Iliman, Nevzat, Uzunalımoǧlu, Özden, Manns, Michael P, Bozdayi, A.Mithat
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
2-Aminopurine - administration & dosage
2-Aminopurine - analogs & derivatives
Adult
Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents
Antiviral agents
Antiviral Agents - administration & dosage
Biological and medical sciences
Biopsy
Delta hepatitis
Famciclovir
Female
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA
Hepatitis D, Chronic - drug therapy
Hepatitis D, Chronic - pathology
Hepatitis Delta Virus - genetics
Hepatitis Delta Virus - isolation & purification
Hepatitis delta virus RNA
Humans
Liver - pathology
Liver - virology
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Pilot Projects
RNA, Viral - analysis
Treatment
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background/Aims: Interferon is the only established therapy for chronic delta hepatitis and alternative treatment options are an urgent need. Since successful treatment of a case of post-transplant delta hepatitis with the nucleoside analogue famciclovir had been reported, a pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the use of famciclovir in the treatment of chronic delta hepatitis. Methods: A total of 15 adult patients, 13 men, two women, ages 20–52 years, with chronic delta hepatitis were treated with famciclovir, 500 mg, three times a day for 6 months and were then followed-up for 6 months posttreatment. All patients had compensated chronic liver disease, elevated liver enzymes and were hepatitis delta virus (HDV) RNA positive by polymerase chain reaction at baseline. Patients were monitored and tested for HBsAg, hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA and HDV RNA levels. Liver biopsies were obtained before starting famciclovir and within 1 month of completion of treatment. Results: HBV DNA levels decreased in nine of the 15 patients and levels rose again after treatment ( P
ISSN:0168-8278
1600-0641
DOI:10.1016/S0168-8278(02)00162-9