Abstract:

Objective   To observe the efficacy of telbivudine(LdT) treatment for 52 weeks on chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and its influence on serum interleukin-2(IL-2) and interleukin-6(IL-6). Methods   34 hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg) positive CHB patients(including 7 females) were enrolled and received LdT 600mg once daily for 52 weeks. All the patients were devided into two groups by HBV-DNA results at the end of the study. The patients with HBV-DNA undetected at week 52 were served as  complete virological response (CVR) group, while the other patients with HBV-DNA detected were served as partial virological response (PVR) group. The levels of serum IL-2 and IL-6 were detected by ELISA and compared between the two groups at the baseline, 12 weeks and 52 weeks after treatment. Then, we evaluated the relationship between the levels and the antiviral efficacy of LdT. Results   At the end of the 52-week study, there were 17 patients achieved CVR， and 17  patients achieved PCR. There was no difference in the levels of transaminase、IL-2 and IL-6, but there was significant difference in the quantities of HBsAg and HBV-DNA(P<0.05) at baseline between the two groups. The liver function was  improved obviously (P<0.05)， the concentration of IL-6 desreased gradually and the quantities of HBsAg、HBeAg and HBV-DNA decreased significantly (P<0.01) after the treatment in all patients. However, compared with that of the patients who achieved PVR, the concentration of IL-6 and the quantities of HBeAg and HBVDNA decreased more significantly(P<0.01) and the concentration of IL-2 increased (P>0.05) in the patients who achieved CVR. Further study suggested that the IL6 concentration was negatively correlated with the transaminase and HBV-DNA levels(P<0.05). Conclusion   LdT  treatment  can improve liver function and virology index of CHB patients, and partly correct the cytokines imbalance state, especially among the patients with higher transaminase and IL-6 levels， lower quantities of HBsAg and HBVDNA at baseline.

Key words: Hepatitis B, chronic;Telbivudine; Serum; Interleukin-2； Interleukin-6