预测乙肝耐药

StephenW

Predicting drug resistance in hepatitis B
By April Clarkson, June 7th, 2013

Genetic analysis reveals why some patients fail to respond to therapy for hepatitis B.
Around 1.25 million Americans have chronic hepatitis B infection, a condition that can lead to liver damage and maybe even liver cancer. The anti-viral drug lamivudine is successful in eradicating the hepatitis B virus in some cases, but two thirds of patients develop resistance to the drug.

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center reveal why resistance may occur. They analysed viral DNA in a group of 26 patients undergoing lamivudine treatment. Seven of the patients were responders and in remission, while 12 others were classified as ‘breakthroughs’ with initial response followed by resistance. The rest were non-responders who did not respond to lamivudine at all.

The same gene variant in the virus was found in both breakthroughs and non-responders. This suggests a way of pinpointing those patients who will not benefit from treatment with lamivudine, which will save on costs and direct doctors towards other ways of supporting these people.

遗传分析揭示了为什么有些患者不治疗B型肝炎
大约有125万美国人患有慢性乙型肝炎感染，条件，可导致肝功能损害，甚至肝癌。在某些情况下，在消除了乙肝病毒的抗病毒的药物拉米夫定成功，但是三分之二的患者产生耐药性的药物。

在乔治敦大学医学中心的研究人员揭示为什么抵抗可能发生。他们分析了病毒DNA在接受拉米夫定治疗组26例。七的患者有反应，病情缓解，而其他12人被列为“突破”，其后阻力的初步反应。其余为无应答者谁没有回应拉米夫定。

同样在病毒的基因变异被发现在突破和非应答。这表明针对谁的病人治疗与拉米夫定对其他的方式支持这些人，这将节省成本及直接医生不会从中受益的一种方式。