Hepatitis B

Treatment

There are three medications available to treat chronic hepatitis B:

• Interferon (IFN): given to patients who have an infection lasting greater than 6 months, with elevated liver enzymes, and actively dividing virus in their blood. Approximately 40% of patients will respond to the therapy.
• Lamivudine is taken by mouth once a month, and the treatment lasts for one year. It is sometimes given as a combination therapy with IFN. Approximately 40% of patients treated with Lamivudine will respond to the therapy.
• Hepsera® is an antiviral drug for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B in adults with active viral replication and either evidence of persistent elevations in serum aminotransferases (ALT or AST) or histologically active disease. Hepsera works by blocking hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA polymerase, an enzyme crucial to the replication of the virus in the body. For more information, click on: www.hepsera.com .