Recombinant interferon-α2a hastens the rate of HBeAg clearance in children with chronic hepatitis B

✍ Scribed by Cristiana Barbera; Flavia Bortolotti; Carlo Crivellaro; Alessandra Coscia; Lucia Zancan; Paolo Cadrobbi; Gabriella Nebbia; Maria Nazarena Pillan; Loredana Lepore; Teresa Parrella; Giuseppe Dastoli; Maurizia R. Brunetto; Ferruccio Bonino

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 445 KB
• Volume: 20
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0270-9139
• DOI: 10.1002/hep.1840200203

✦ Synopsis

We conducted a prospective controlled study of the efficacy of recombinant interferon-+, in 77 children (44 boys, 33 girls, mean age 8 yr) with chronic hepatitis B. All patients had seropositive results for HBeAg and hepatitis B virus DNA, 52 had chronic persistent or nonspecific reactive hepatitis, and 25 had mild active hepatitis. Twenty-one children (group 1) received recombinant interferon-%, 7.5 megaunits/m* three times weekly for 6 mo, 19 children (group 2) received megaunits/m2 on the same schedule and 37 (group 3) remained untreated. At 6 mo, HBe antigen-to-antibody seroconversion associated with biochemical remission was seen in 24% of patients in group 1, 5% in group 2 and 3% in group 3 (p < 0.05 vs. group 1). At 18 mo, seroconversion rates were 30% in group 1,21% in group 2 and 13.5% in group 3. These results suggest that a course of recombinant interferon-+, accelerates HBeAg-HBe antibody seroconversion in children. High baseline ALT levels were sensitive predictors of seroconversion in both treated and untreated patients. In contrast, baseline IgM HBc antibody levels influenced the rate of anti-HBe seroconversion only in untreated patients. These findings suggest that, in children as well as in adults, recombinant interferon-%, favors the clearance of hepatitis B virus replication, enhancing the host antiviral immunoresponse. (HEPATOLOGY 1994;20:287-290.) The efficacy of recombinant interferon-a,, (rIFN) in the treatment of chronic viral hepatitis B in adults has been demonstrated in several controlled studies (1-4). Approximately 40% of patients with replicative disease respond to therapy with loss of circulating HBV DNA and HBeAg, and stable biochemical remission. The results of rIFN therapy in children with chronic hepatitis B are less conclusive, in view of the limited number