Treatment of HBsAg-positive chronic active hepatitis with human fibroblast interferon

SUMMARY Two patients with HBsAg positive chronic active hepatitis have been treated with human fibroblast interferon 107 units daily for two weeks. Before treatment, both patients had high levels of hepatitis B surface antigen, core antibody, and DNA-binding antibody in the blood and one patient had a fourfold rise in serum AST. During treatment there was a striking fall in the core antibody titre and also in thd DNA-binding antibody, which has been maintained for several months subsequently; in one patient the initially high AST level fell to normal. No significant adverse effects occurred, and these observations should encourage further trials of fibroblast inter-feron in hepatitis B. Chronic hepatitis B infection is a major clinical problem, but there is no established method of treatment for the liver disease or for the elimination of the carrier state. Two recent reports have demonstrated modi-fication of certain markers of chronic hepatitis B infection in man by the administration of huma