Hepatitis-B virus is a serious problem in Korea, and about 7 to 8 % of the populations are in carrier state. The only drugs currently approved for hepatitis-B infection is a -inteferon. However, the cure rate with this treatment is low. Some patients ...
Hepatitis-B virus is a serious problem in Korea, and about 7 to 8 % of the populations are in carrier state. The only drugs currently approved for hepatitis-B infection is a -inteferon. However, the cure rate with this treatment is low. Some patients are unresponsive to the interferon, and some relapse when is stopped. Recently, Lamibudine, a novel cytosine analogue, exhibits potent anti-viral activity against hepatitis B virus. The effect of lamibudine treatment is good for almost all patient, but some patients showing refractorlness and the mutant HBV appearance. We studied for what kinds of tests are available for predict the response of lamibudine. HBeAg positive cases are 11.5 % in the HBV -PCR postive group and 0.0% in the HBV-PCR negative group. HBeAg neagtive cases are 88.5% in the HBV-PCR postive group and 100.0% in the HBV-PCR negative group. These results indicate that HBV-PCR test are more reliable for predict the viral state of HBV infection. So the 띠ral status evaluation(infectivity) for HBV infection by HBeAg assay is not recommended. Further studies recruiting on patient’s clinical courses and liver biopsy studies may helpful to determine the HBV viral status.