New therapeutic options for persistent low-level viremia in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection: Increase of entecavir dosage.

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (CHB) is a public health concern worldwide. Current therapies utilizing nucleos(t)ide analogs (NA) have not resulted in a complete cure for CHB. Furthermore, patients on long-term NA treatment often develop low-level viremia (LLV).

Efficacy and safety of elbasvir/grazoprevir in treatment-naive Chinese adults with hepatitis C virus infection: A randomized trial.

Background And Aim: In China, clinical experience with direct-acting antiviral treatments for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is still emerging. C-CORAL is a phase 3, multinational, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of elbasvir/grazoprevir (EBR/GZR) in participants with HCV infection from the Asia-Pacific region and Russia. Here, we report the data from participants enrolled in China.

Tolvaptan in Chinese cirrhotic patients with ascites: A randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial.

Objective: To evaluate tolvaptan as a novel therapeutic option for Chinese patients with liver cirrhosis-associated ascites in a phase 2 clinical trial.

Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial was conducted in patients with insufficient responses to combination therapies of an oral loop diuretic and an aldosterone antagonist. Reduction in body weight and abdominal circumference, increase in 24-h cumulative urine volume and improvement in serum sodium level from baseline to the end of treatment in the tolvaptan groups (15 mg/day or 30 mg/day orally) were compared with those in the placebo group.

Phase IIb trial of electroporation mediated dual-plasmid hepatitis B virus DNA vaccine in chronic hepatitis B patients under lamivudine therapy.

Aim: To assess the efficacy and safety of electroporation (EP)-mediated dual-plasmid hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA vaccine placebo for sequential combination therapy with lamivudine (LAM) in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Methods: Two hundred and twenty-five patients were randomized to receive either LAM + vaccine (vaccine group, = 109) or LAM + placebo (control group, = 116). LAM treatment lasted 72 wk.

Quantitative hepatitis B core antibody level is a new predictor for treatment response in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients receiving peginterferon.

A recent study revealed that quantitative hepatitis B core antibody (qAnti-HBc) level could serve as a novel marker for predicting treatment response. In the present study, we further investigated the predictive value of qAnti-HBc level in HBeAg-positive patients undergoing PEG-IFN therapy. A total of 140 HBeAg-positive patients who underwent PEG-IFN therapy for 48 weeks and follow-up for 24 weeks were enrolled in this study.

Management of hepatitis C virus infection in hemodialysis patients.

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) is relatively higher than those without MHD. Chronic HCV infection detrimentally affects the life quality and expectancy, leads to renal transplant rejection, and increases the mortality of MHD patients. With the application of erythropoietin to improve uremic anemia and avoid blood transfusion, the new HCV infections during MHD in recent years are mainly caused by the lack of stringent universal precautions.

[Comparative analysis of electro-chemiluminescence immunoassay and chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay abilities to quantitatively assess hepatitis B surface antigen].

Objective: To perform a systematic comparative analysis of two different commercial automated systems using chemiluminescence immunoassay to quantitatively detect hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) in patient sera.

Methods: The Elecsys2010 electrical chemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA; manufactured by Roche) and the ARCHITECT il000 chemiluminescence magnetic microparticle immunoassay (CMIA; manufactured by Abbott) were used to detect HBsAg in 100 serum samples of individuals who presented at our department with suspected hepatitis infection between January and May 2012. The manufacturer's protocols were strictly followed.

[Acetoacetate extract from Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb inhibits growth of RFP-xenografted human liver carcinoma].

To investigate the inhibitory effect of acetoacetate extract from Celastrus orbiculatus Thumb (COT) on the growth of red fluorescent protein (RFP)-xenografted human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a nude mouse model. Human HCC HepG2 cells were transduced with RFP and inoculated into the liver of BALB/c nude mice. The tumor-bearing mice were randomly divided into five groups: control group (G1), oxaliplatin positive control group (G2; 25 mg/kg), COT low-dose group (G3; 20 mg/kg), COT high-dose group (G4; 40 mg/kg), and COT early treatment group (G5; 20 mg/kg).

Genetic characteristics and pathogenicity of human hepatitis E virus in Nanjing, China.

Aim: To investigate the genetic characteristics and pathogenicity of hepatitis E virus (HEV) and assess the potential risk factors for sporadic hepatitis E.

Methods: Sixty-two serum samples from the patients with acute hepatitis E were collected, including 23 cases coinfected with hepatitis B virus. Anti-HEV detection and partial HEV RNA amplification were performed by enzyme immunoassays and reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nPCR) method, respectively, and PCR products were sequenced.

Peginterferon alpha-based therapy for chronic hepatitis B focusing on HBsAg clearance or seroconversion: a meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials.

Background: Interferon alpha (IFNα) therapy has been widely used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) for decades. Nucleos(t)ide analogues are also increasingly used to treat CHB recently. More and more studies are being carried out concerning the clearance or seroconversion of HBsAg, which is recognized as an ideal goal of CHB therapy.

[Lamivudine, interferon-alpha and oxymatrine treatment for the surviving hepatic failure patients with hepatitis B].

Objective: To investigate the effect of lamivudine, interferon alpha and oxymatrine treatment for surviving hepatic failure patients with hepatitis B.

Methods: 200 hepatitis B patients, including 100 subacute or acute-on-chronic hepatic failure survivals (group A), and 100 chronic (group B, n=100) hepatic failure survivals, were enrolled in this study. Patients in group A received interferon alpha (n=35), lamivudine (n=33) , or combinational lamivudine and oxymatrine (n=32) therapy for six months; Patients in group B received lamivudine (n=49), or combinational lamivudine and oxymatrine (n=51) therapy for six months, respectively.

The impact of family history of type 2 diabetes on pancreatic beta-cell function.

Aims: To study the impact of genetic factor on pancreatic beta-cell function in the Chinese population.

Methods: 233 first-degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with no history of blood glucose abnormalities and their 190 spouses, who did not have a family history of T2D, underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Based upon the OGTT, these two groups were further divided into three subgroups, including groups with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired glucose regulation (IGR), and type 2 diabetes.