Chronic Hepatitis B Drugs

[Guest guest]

Chronic Hepatitis B Drugs

Treatment options for chronic hepatitis B have never been as good as they are today. Currently, there are at least six drugs available, which means that your doctor has options in finding the drug (or combination of drugs) that works best for you. To help you understand these drugs a little better, here are some of their strengths and weaknesses.

Interferon (interferon alpha-2b or pegylated interferon)

Pros:

Usually a good choice for young people without serious liver disease (well-compensated liver disease).

Good choice for genotype A infection.

Treatment duration is relatively short (24 to 48 weeks) compared to other hepatitis B therapies.

Cons:

Very serious side effects for some people.

Not available for people with failing livers (decompensated liver disease).

Most expensive (regular or pegylated) compared to the other drugs.

Pegylated interferon not approved for children.

LamivudinePros:

Least expensive compared to the other hepatitis B drugs.

One of the older hepatitis B drugs, so a lot is known about its safety.

Might be helpful in treating HIV co-infection in combination with tenofovir.

Approved for both children and adults.Cons:

Often loses its effectiveness against the hepatitis B virus because of drug resistance.

Because of resistance, it can be less effective than many of the newer hepatitis B drugs.

Requires long-term treatment.

Adefovir dipivoxilPros:

Can be used in patients with lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B virus.Cons:

Can be toxic to your kidneys at high doses.

Requires long-term treatment.

EntecavirPros:

Has an extremely low rate of resistance.

Might be helpful in patients with failing livers (decompensated liver disease).Cons:

A newer drug, so it has less research available about its safety--especially in certain conditions.

Known to cause cancer in rodents when given in high doses, but no human data supports an increased risk in patients.

Requires long-term treatment.

TelbivudinePros:

Might be a more powerful antiviral drug than lamivudine and adefovir.Cons:

As likely as lamivudine to become resistant to hepatitis B virus.

Requires long-term treatment.

Not approved for children.

TenofovirPros:

Excellent at treating regular and drug-resistant types of hepatitis B virus.

Might be a good treatment choice when adefovir doesn't work well.

Treats both HIV and the hepatitis B virus.Cons:

It's a relatively new drug for treating hepatitis B, so more studies need to be completed.

Not approved for children.

Requires long-term treatment.

Regular monitoring of kidney function is necessary.

http://hepatitis.about.com/od/treatment/a/HepatitisBDrugsPros.htm