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Adefovir serum levels do not differ between responders and nonresponders
Author(s) -
Deterding K.,
Naesens L.,
Buti M.,
Janssen H.,
Kirschner J.,
Guerrero A.,
Reijnders J.,
Neyts J.,
Zoulim F.,
Wedemeyer H.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of viral hepatitis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.329
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1365-2893
pISSN - 1352-0504
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2010.01404.x
Subject(s) - adefovir , medicine , drug , cmax , hepatitis b virus , gastroenterology , hepatitis b , chronic hepatitis , viral load , pharmacology , virus , virology , pharmacokinetics , lamivudine
Summary. Primary or secondary failure of adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) therapy of chronic hepatitis B is not infrequent. The reasons for suboptimal responses are not well defined. In HIV and hepatitis C virus infection, failure of antiviral drug therapy has been linked with low blood drug levels. We have studied 20 well‐defined patients with chronic hepatitis B who were treated with ADV for drug and virus kinetics. Importantly, neither Cmax levels (mean 26 ng/mL, range 14–59 ng/mL) nor the time to maximal drug levels (mean 4 h, range 2–8 h) differed between patients showing a complete virological response to adefovir ( n = 10), patients with secondary treatment failure ( n = 7) and patients with suboptimal primary response (hepatitis B virus‐DNA >10 000 IU/mL after 6 months of treatment; n = 3). Thus, adefovir treatment failure is unlikely to be due to an inability to mount sufficient drug levels in the blood.