PEDIATRICS Vol. 99 No. 2 February 1997, pp. 222-225 (doi:10.1542/peds.99.2.222)
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PEDIATRICS Vol. 99 No. 2 February 1997, pp. 222-225

Pilot Interferon-beta Trial in Children With Chronic Hepatitis B Who Had Previously Not Responded to Interferon-alpha Therapy

Received Nov 14, 1995; accepted Apr 10, 1996.

Mercedes Ruíz-Moreno*, Patricia Fernández*, Ana Leal*, Javier BartoloméDagger , Inmaculada CastilloDagger , Horacio Oliva§, and Vicente CarreñoDagger

From the * Department of Pediatrics, Dagger  Hepatology Unit, and § Department of Pathology, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain.

Background.  Recombinant interferon alpha  (IFN-alpha ) treatment is useful in 40% of children with chronic hepatitis B. However, nonresponder children continue to have viral replication and a progressive disease.

Objective.  To administer natural IFN-beta to hepatitis B virus chronic carrier children who had not responded to a previous IFN-alpha cycle.

Methods.  Twenty-two children with chronic hepatitis B, nonresponders to a previous IFN-alpha cycle, were retreated with 5 MU/m2 of body surface of natural IFN-beta , administered intramuscularly, three times per week for 24 weeks.

Results.  At the end of treatment, 9 (41%) of 22 children became hepatitis B virus DNA negative. Hepatitis B e antibodies (anti-HBe) developed in 5 of these children, and 6 had normal alanine aminotransferase values. At the end of the posttreatment follow-up (21 months from the beginning of the study), 10 (45%) of 22 children were viral DNA negative, 7 (32%) of 22 were anti-HBe positive (none of them had viral DNA in serum), and 11 (50%) of 22 had normal alanine aminotransferase levels (10 without detectable viral DNA and 7 anti-HBe positive).

Conclusion.  IFN-beta seems to be an effective retreatment therapy for children with chronic hepatitis B who are nonresponders to a first IFN-alpha cycle; however, a controlled study should be performed to confirm these results.

Key words: interferon-beta, children, chronic hepatitis B.