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Teacher Liu is 35 years old and suffers from hepatitis.
After 3 months of interferon treatment, the content of HBVDNA decreased from the 7th power of 10 to less than 100IU/ ml. After 6 months, liver function returned to normal and E antigen turned negative. Teacher Liu is so happy to get such a good curative effect! Nine months later, a bigger surprise appeared. His HBsAg turned negative. Teacher Liu continued to use interferon for a whole year, but before stopping the drug, she found that HBsAg turned positive again. I suggest that he continue to use interferon for 3 months, and if it is still positive, stop taking the drug for observation. Teacher Liu's attitude is very firm. He will continue interferon therapy and will not stop until the surface antigen turns negative. Can antiviral therapy aim at the negative conversion of hepatitis B surface antigen? To understand this problem, we must start with what is hepatitis B surface antigen.
Hepatitis B surface antigen is the eggshell of an egg. Hepatitis B virus must use this eggshell to closely combine with liver cells and invade liver cells.
Hepatitis B surface antigen is produced by hepatitis B virus. If hepatitis B surface antigen is detected in the patient's blood, it can be explained that there must be hepatitis B virus in the patient's liver cells. Moreover, the higher the titer of surface antigen in blood, the more hepatitis B virus is reflected in the liver. Hepatitis B virus in liver cells can produce a large number of hepatitis B surface antigens. If there is a copy of the virus in the liver, there will be hundreds of units of surface antigen in the blood. People with positive surface antigen must have hepatitis B virus infection.
Among the "three positive" patients who reached the lower limit of HBVDNA detection and seroconversion of E antigen, about 8% could be converted to negative HBsAg. The liver is the base camp of HBV replication, and HBVcccDNA (HBV * * *) in the nucleus of hepatocytes is the seed of HBV replication. At present, nucleoside (acid) drugs can only eliminate hepatitis B virus in blood circulation and inhibit the production of new hepatitis B virus, but have little effect on HBVcccDNA in liver cells. The results of mathematical model calculation show that it takes at least 14.5 years of effective antiviral treatment to completely eliminate HBVcccDNA in hepatocytes. It can be seen that it is difficult for current antiviral drugs to achieve the ideal goal of "hepatitis B surface antigen turning negative", which is an unattainable goal for most patients with chronic hepatitis B. Does it mean that hepatitis B will be completely eradicated and will not recur from now on?
That's not true. Even if hepatitis B surface antigen turns negative, it does not mean that hepatitis B is completely cured. There is still HBVcccDNA in the nucleus of patients' liver cells, and there is still the risk of recurrence of hepatitis B. Negative conversion of HBsAg and recurrence after interferon treatment are not uncommon in clinic. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve the goal of completely curing hepatitis B with the current treatment level.
Although it is difficult for us to completely eliminate hepatitis B virus at present, through standardized antiviral treatment, virus replication can be suppressed for a long time, the occurrence of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure can be minimized, and patients with hepatitis B can live well and live long, so that our therapeutic purpose is achieved. Your liver will be well protected through standardized antiviral treatment. At the present level of scientific and technological development, in five or ten years, mankind will certainly find a cure to completely eliminate hepatitis B virus!
After standardized antiviral treatment, the HBVDNA quantification remained below the detection limit and the liver function was normal for a long time. Most patients with hepatitis B can live a safe, healthy and long life. Only hepatitis B surface antigen is positive, and a small amount of hepatitis B virus remains in liver cells. What does it matter to check regularly? Why should we go beyond the current level of hepatitis B treatment and pursue the perfect treatment goal of hepatitis B surface antigen turning negative? Throughout the history of celebrities, how many lives are perfect? Not to mention us ordinary people. You know, life is imperfect, and imperfection is life!