— Christine M. Kukka, Project Manager, HBV Advocate
A drug trial that combined the antiviral telbivudine and pegylated
interferon was found to cause nerve damage in seven of 50 patients
treated with the combination, according to a report published in the
August issue of the Journal of Hepatology.
The high rate of peripheral neuropathy, which
causes damage to the nerves that transmit information from the brain
and spinal cord to other parts of the body, prompted the study's global
team to caution against the use of this drug combination.
Investigators compared outcomes in three groups
of hepatitis B patients treated with the drug combination (50), only
interferon (54) and only telbivudine (55). After 24 weeks, peripheral
neuropathy occurred in seven of the 50 patients receiving combination
treatment, in one of the telbivudine-treated patients and in none of
the interferon-treated group.
However, 71% of the combination group achieved
undetectable HBV DNA during the study period, compared to 35% in the
telbivudine-only group and 7% of the interferon-treated group.
"Despite the rapid and profound reductions in HBV
DNA levels, combination therapy with telbivudine and PegIFN should not
be used," researchers cautioned.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25152207
http://www.hbvadvocate.org/news/HBJ11.9.htm Labels: nerve damage, telbivudine interferon combo, warnings
