Definition
Hepatitis B is an inflammatory disease of viral origin, which involves the liver altering its functionality.
Hepatitis B can occur both in acute and in chronic form. Usually, the acute form is self-limiting and resolves by itself, while for the chronic form it is necessary to resort to the use of drugs.
Causes
Hepatitis B is caused by a DNA virus belonging to the Hepadnaviridae family: hepatitis B or HBV virus.
HBV is transmitted through blood or body fluids (such as vaginal secretions and sperm) of infected individuals.
The subjects exposed to a greater risk of infection are surely drug addicts who often use used syringes (perhaps from infected people) to inject drugs, people who have unprotected sex and health and first aid personnel who can easily enter into contact with blood and body fluids of patients. In addition, newborns whose mothers are infected with hepatitis B can become infected during childbirth.
Symptoms
Most individuals with hepatitis B show no symptoms whatsoever. In the case of symptomatic hepatitis B, nausea and vomiting, weakness, fever, loss of appetite, muscle pain, abdominal pain, dark urine, light stools and jaundice may occur.
In adult patients, hepatitis B usually occurs in an acute and asymptomatic form and tends to self-purify. In children, however, the hepatitis B virus can cause chronic infections more easily than adults. Chronic hepatitis B can lead to dangerous complications such as cirrhosis, fibrosis, liver failure and liver cancer.
Information on Hepatitis B - Hepatitis B Drugs is not intended to replace the direct relationship between health professional and patient. Always consult your doctor and / or specialist before taking Hepatitis B - Hepatitis B Treatment Medicines.
drugs
The use or not of drugs for the treatment of hepatitis B depends on the form in which the pathology occurs.
In fact, the acute form of hepatitis B usually does not require any kind of therapy, since the immune system is able to eradicate the virus independently. Nevertheless, patients suffering from acute hepatitis B must still monitor the course of the disease by appropriate analyzes and must introduce small changes in their lifestyle.
More in detail, this category of patients must adopt a balanced diet rich in light foods, avoiding hyperlipidic foods and alcohol, drinking plenty of fluids and staying at rest. To learn more: Diet and Hepatitis
The issue is different, however, for patients with chronic hepatitis B. In this case, in fact, it is necessary to resort to the use of drugs, such as antivirals and immunostimulants, although it is not always possible to completely eradicate the infection.
Interferons
Interferons are proteins that are normally produced by our immune system when the presence of dangerous agents such as viruses, bacteria, parasites and even cancer cells is detected.
The interferon-based medicines contain, precisely, these proteins and are defined immunostimulant drugs because they are able to "collaborate" with the immune system of the patient helping him, in this case, to eliminate the viral infection.
Among the interferons used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, we find:
- Natural alpha interferon (Alfaferone ®): although the optimal drug dosage for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B has not yet been established exactly, the dose of normally used interferon alfa is 2.5-5 million IU / m2 body surface area, to be administered three times a week intramuscularly or subcutaneously. The duration of treatment is generally 4-6 months.
- Interferon alfa-2a (Roferon-A ®): the dose of medication usually administered for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B is 2.5-5 million IU / m2 of body surface area, to be administered subcutaneously three times a week, for a period of 4-6 months.
- Interferon alfa-2b (IntronA ®): for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, the usual dose of drug is 5-10 million IU, to be administered subcutaneously three times a week on alternate days.
- Peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys ®): the usual drug dose used to treat chronic hepatitis B in adults is 180 micrograms once a week, to be administered subcutaneously. For children, the amount of drug to be administered varies according to their height and body weight.
Antivirals
As can be deduced from their own name, the antiviral drugs used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B have the task of combating and eradicating the HBV virus.
Among the antivirals used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, we find:
- Lamivudine (Zeffix ®, Lamivudine Teva ®): the dose of medication usually administered is 100 mg a day, to be taken orally. In patients with kidney problems, your doctor may decide to prescribe a lower dose of lamivudine than is normally used.
- Adefovir (Hepsera ®): the dose of antiviral usually used is 10 mg a day, to be taken orally. In patients with kidney problems, lower doses of adefovir may be prescribed.
The drugs described above can be taken individually or in combination. In fact, the following combination therapies can also be undertaken for the treatment of hepatitis B:
- Interferon alpha + lamivudine;
- Peginterferon alfa + lamivudine or adefovir;
- Adefovir + lamivudine.
Furthermore, it should be remembered that all patients with hepatitis B (acute or chronic) should avoid the use of paracetamol, ibuprofen, acetylsalicylic acid and other drugs that can overload the liver already proven by the disease.
Vaccines
In any case - despite the presence of different therapeutic strategies for the treatment of hepatitis B - prevention is the best weapon against this disease. TO
In this regard, a vaccine and treatments with immunoglobulins that are used in the immunoprophylaxis of hepatitis B are available:
- Hepatitis B vaccine (Hbvaxpro ®): the vaccine is administered in three different doses of 5 micrograms each in patients aged 0 to 15 years. Administration takes place intramuscularly (generally in the thigh of newborns and infants and in the deltoid muscle of children and adolescents). The first two injections must be carried out one month apart from the other, while the third dose is injected six months after the first administration.
The vaccine is able to guarantee an immunization against the hepatitis B virus for a period of about 20 years.
- Anti-hepatitis B immunoglobulins (Igantibe ®, Niuliva ®): immunoglobulins allow passive immunization against hepatitis B virus.
Immunoglobulins can be administered intramuscularly in non-immunized subjects who have come into contact with HBV at a dose of 500 IU, but the injection should preferably be made within 24-72 hours after contact with the virus.
Immunoglobulins are also used to prevent the onset of the disease in newborns whose mothers are affected by hepatitis B at a dose of 30-100 IU / kg body weight.
Moreover, if necessary, immunoglobulins can be administered in subjects who have already received the hepatitis B vaccine, even on the same day, provided that the administration takes place at different points.
