How effective is adefovir dipivoxil in treating liver disease? How long will it take?
The traditional antiviral drugs for hepatitis B are mainly interferon and nucleoside drugs, and adefovir dipivoxil is another nucleoside drug besides lamivudine. Adefovir dipivoxil is suitable for liver function compensation Patients with chronic hepatitis B are especially suitable for those who need long-term medication or those who have developed lamivudine resistance.
Adefovir dipivoxil is a new drug against hepatitis B virus. It has been used in the treatment of hepatitis B in Europe and the United States, and it is also a commonly used drug for hepatitis B in China. From the perspective of scientific research, adefovir dipivoxil can inhibit the DNA polymerase of hepatitis B virus (HBV reverse transcriptase), or produce a useful substance that is integrated into the viral DNA chain to cause chain termination, so it has a strong inhibitory effect on HBV - DNA replication.
Adefovir dipivoxil is used in the treatment of hepatitis B. The metabolites of adefovir dipivoxil can only prevent the extension of the DNA chain of the hepatitis B virus, but cannot improve the body's immunity. Therefore, adefovir dipivoxil cannot fundamentally remove the hepatitis B virus, so Also can only play the effect of alleviating the state of an illness when treating hepatitis B, and can not fundamentally treat hepatitis B. At the same time, patients with adefovir dipivoxil will have different degrees of side effects in the treatment of hepatitis B.
Adefovir dipivoxil side effects
Patients often have adverse reactions after taking it, which can be seen in headache, weakness, nausea, flatulence, diarrhea, indigestion and abdominal pain.
During the use of adefovir dipivoxil, if the drug is stopped suddenly, the condition will aggravate, liver enlargement, and pain in the liver area will occur.
Long-term use of adefovir dipivoxil has toxic effects on the kidneys, and patients with renal dysfunction or potential risk of renal dysfunction should closely observe renal function and adjust the dose in time when using this drug.
Long-term use of adefovir dipivoxil can cause drug resistance of hepatitis B virus, and lactic acidosis may occur, even with steatosis and hepatomegaly.
Therefore, adefovir dipivoxil has a certain effect in the treatment of hepatitis B, but its side effects cannot be ignored. Therefore, patients with hepatitis B should be reminded to take the drug under the guidance of a professional liver doctor.
How long should I take adefovir dipivoxil?
Adefovir dipivoxil cannot be stopped casually, and long-term use will cause the hepatitis B virus to mutate and become drug-resistant. The doctor of liver disease pointed out that when the liver function is normal, HBV-DNA is negative, the symptoms are obviously relieved, and the condition is stable for half a year, under the guidance of the doctor of liver disease, The drug can be stopped correctly. In addition, if the treatment effect is not obvious, it is necessary to stop the drug and adjust the treatment plan under the guidance of a liver disease doctor.
Adverse reactions of adefovir dipivoxil:
Common adverse reactions in foreign clinical studies are weakness, headache, abdominal pain, nausea, (gastrointestinal) flatulence, diarrhea and indigestion. Adverse reactions in domestic clinical studies were leukopenia (mild), diarrhea (mild) and hair loss (moderate). In the clinical study, 1 serious adverse event occurred, which was a case of acute myeloid leukemia M3 type after taking this product for 29 weeks, which was judged by the investigator to have nothing to do with this product.
It is pointed out that among the patients who stopped taking the drug after 48 weeks of treatment with adefovir dipivoxil, the therapeutic effect of most people disappeared after stopping the drug, and the virus returned to the original level. By week 96, only 8 percent of patients had virus levels below 1000 copies per milliliter, and by weeks 49 to 144, side effects were similar to those in the first 48 weeks, and after 144 weeks, 5.9 percent of patients developed antiviral effects. Drug-resistant viral mutations.