Treatment of chronic hepatitis delta with pegylated interferon-α2b

Authors: Erhardt, Andreas¹; Gerlich, Wolfram²; Starke, Christine¹; Wend, Ulrike²; Donner, Andreas³; Sagir, Abdurrahman¹; Heintges, Tobias¹; Häussinger, Dieter¹

Source: Liver International, Volume 26, Number 7, September 2006 , pp. 805-810(6)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

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Abstract:

Erhardt A, Gerlich W, Starke C, Wend U, Donner A, Sagir A, Heintges T, Häussinger D. Treatment of chronic hepatitis delta with pegylated interferon-α2b.

Liver International 2006: 26: 805-810.

Chronic hepatitis D is difficult to treat. The present pilot study investigated the efficacy and tolerability of pegylated (PEG)-interferon (IFN)-α2b in chronic hepatitis D. Patients and Methods:

Twelve patients with chronic hepatitis D were prospectively treated with 1.5 μg/kg PEG-IFN-α2b for 48 weeks and followed for 24 weeks. Sustained response (SR) was defined as undetectable hepatitis delta virus (HDV) RNA by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and normalization of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) at 6 months after treatment. Investigations included HDV RNA kinetics, determination of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HDV genotypes and histological evaluation. Results:

An SR was achieved in two out of 12 of patients (17%). The negative predictive value of a less than 3 log HDV RNA decrease at month 6 was 100%. The positive predictive value of a more than 3 log HDV RNA decrease at month 6 was 67%. A marked ALT reduction at the end of treatment was observed in responders and nonresponders. Ishak histological score was comparable at baseline and significantly improved in responders compared with nonresponders at the end of follow-up (13.5 vs. 8.0; P<0.02). Conclusion:

The present study indicates that PEG-IFN-α2b is a promising treatment option in chronic hepatitis D. Nonresponders could be identified by a less than 3 log decrease of HDV RNA at 6 months of treatment.

Keywords: hepatitis; interferon; treatment; virus

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-3231.2006.01279.x

Affiliations: 1: Klinik für Gastroenterologie, Hepatologie und Infektiologie, Universitätsklinikum der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2: Institut für Medizinische Virologie, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany, 3: Institut für Pathologie, Universitätsklinikum der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

Publication date: 2006-09-01

Treatment of chronic hepatitis delta with pegylated interferon-α2b

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