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About INTRON® A Therapy Chronic Hepatitis B The treatment for chronic hepatitis B usually involves taking injections of INTRON® A for 4 months. About half of all patients with chronic hepatitis B who are treated with interferon will have some benefit from the treatment — there will be less virus in their blood, their liver damage may slow down, and their symptoms will improve. In clinical studies, 45% of patients who are treated for chronic hepatitis B with INTRON® A have no evidence of the hepatitis virus in their blood over time. While you are being treated, your doctor may regularly check your alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels to see if your liver is still inflamed. He or she may also use the anti-HBeAg or the HBV-DNA test to see if there is still virus in your blood, and how much there is. It can take a while for all evidence of the virus to clear from your blood. As a result, your HBsAg test may still be positive for weeks to years after you have been treated. Many patients get rid of the virus for good, but some patients may have a relapse. Even if the virus is controlled, it can take time for your liver to recover from the infection. Despite the absence of virus, the liver needs time to grow healthy new cells to replace those that were damaged or destroyed by the infection. See also: |
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