— Christine M. Kukka, Project Manager, HBV Advocate
Researchers treated 17 pregnant, HBV-infected women who had
developed drug resistance to the antiviral lamivudine (Epivir) and
telbivudine (Tyzeka) with tenofovir and found the antiviral was highly
effective in reducing the women's viral load and preventing
mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B. The Chinese researchers
reported the antiviral caused no ill effects in either women or infants.
The researchers treated the women with 300 mg
tenofovir pills daily. When treatment began, the women had high viral
loads, averaging about 1 million copies per milliliter and 10 had
elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, indicating liver
damage.
By the time the women delivered, all had normal
ALT levels and their viral loads dropped to less than 500 copies/mL. All
17 infants were healthy and none became infected with hepatitis B.
Doctors reported in the February issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology
that 82.4% of the women enrolled in the study achieved normal ALT
levels and undetectable viral load after 24 weeks of treatment on
average.
The latest report confirms a growing roster of
studies that have found tenofovir safe and effective in pregnant women
with high viral loads. While immediate immunization prevents about 90%
of infections to infants born to HBV-infected mothers, those born to
women with high viral loads frequently become infected.
Tenofovir has been safely used to lower viral
load and prevent vertical transmission of HIV in pregnant women for more
than 20 years. Only in the last two years have doctors increased use
of this antiviral in HBV-infected women with high levels of HBV DNA. It
has extremely low rates of resistance, unlike lamivudine and
telbivudine.
Additionally, this study found no impact on the
women's kidney function during treatment, which is a potential side
effect from antivirals.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25741161
http://www.hbvadvocate.org/news/HBJ12.4.htm
Labels: antivirals when pregnant, tenofovir
