Lamivudine-Associated Remission of Chronic Hepatitis Delta
Authors: Pietro Andreone, François Spertini, Francesco Negro
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2000)

Letters4 April 2000Lamivudine-Associated Remission of Chronic Hepatitis DeltaPietro Andreone, MD, François Spertini, MD, and Francesco Negro, MDPietro Andreone, MDServizio di Semeiotica Medica; Bologna, Italy 40138 (Andreone)Division d'immunologie et d'allergie; Lausanne, Switzerland 1011 (Spertini)Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire; Geneva, Switzerland 1211 (Negro)Search for more papers by this author, François Spertini, MDServizio di Semeiotica Medica; Bologna, Italy 40138 (Andreone)Division d'immunologie et d'allergie; Lausanne, Switzerland 1011 (Spertini)Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire; Geneva, Switzerland 1211 (Negro)Search for more papers by this author, and Francesco Negro, MDServizio di Semeiotica Medica; Bologna, Italy 40138 (Andreone)Division d'immunologie et d'allergie; Lausanne, Switzerland 1011 (Spertini)Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire; Geneva, Switzerland 1211 (Negro)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-132-7-200004040-00032 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Chronic hepatitis delta is a progressive liver disease caused by hepatitis delta virus (HDV); no satisfactory treatment exists for this condition (1). Hepatitis delta virus is a defective virus that requires co-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) (1). Although HDV partially inhibits HBV replication (1), the additional abatement of HBV with potent antiviral agents may theoretically also suppress HDV. On the basis of this possibility, Lau and colleagues (2) reported results of 1-year lamivudine therapy in five patients with chronic hepatitis delta. After lamivudine therapy began, serum HBV DNA levels decreased in all patients (and became undetectable ...References1. Hadziyannis SJ, Taylor JM, Bonino F, eds. Hepatitis Delta Virus. Molecular Biology, Pathogenesis, and Clinical Aspects. New York: Wiley-Liss; 1993. Google Scholar2. Lau DT, Doo E, Park Y, Kleiner DE, Schmid P, Kuhns MC, Hoofnagle JH. Lamivudine for chronic delta hepatitis. Hepatology. 1999;30:546-9. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Niro GA, Smedile A, Andriulli A, Rizzetto M, Gerin JL, Casey JL. The predominance of hepatitis delta virus genotype I among chronically infected Italian patients. Hepatology. 1997;25:728-34. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Farci P, Mandas A, Coiana A, Lai ME, Desmet V, Van Eyken P, et al . Treatment of chronic hepatitis D with interferon alfa-2a. N Engl J Med. 1994;330:88-94. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Boni C, Bertoletti A, Penna A, Cavalli A, Pilli M, Urbani S, et al . Lamivudine treatment can restore T cell responsiveness in chronic hepatitis B. J Clin Invest. 1998;102:968-75. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Pietro Andreone, MD; François Spertini, MD; Francesco Negro, MDAffiliations: Servizio di Semeiotica Medica; Bologna, Italy 40138 (Andreone)Division d'immunologie et d'allergie; Lausanne, Switzerland 1011 (Spertini)Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire; Geneva, Switzerland 1211 (Negro) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byChronic hepatitis D at a standstill: where do we go from here?Treatment of Hepatitis DTreatment of chronic hepatitis B: Recommendations from an Italian workshopTreatment of chronic delta hepatitis with lamivudine vs lamivudine + interferon vs interferonEfficacy of interferon alpha-2b and lamivudine combination treatment in comparison to interferon alpha-2b alone in chronic delta hepatitis: A randomized trialNatural Course and Treatment of Hepatitis D Virus InfectionTreatment of hepatitis DFamciclovir treatment of chronic delta hepatitis 4 April 2000Volume 132, Issue 7Page: 598KeywordsAminotransferasesChronic hepatitisDNAHepatitis B virusHepatitis D virusImmunosuppressivesLiver diseasesLiver fibrosisPolymerase chain reactionRNA ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 4 April 2000 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2000 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...