Viral Hepatitis is a worldwide infectious disease with great hazard to human health, and at least five pathogens of hepatitis virus have been found, i.e, HAV, HBV, HCV, HDV and HEV respectively. All of the 5 viruses can induce acute Hepatitis, which can progress to chronic hepatitis in the case of HBV, HCV and HDV infection. Acute Hepatitis has self-limited chracteristic and the patients with acute hepatitis can be healed completely, whereas the treatment of chronic Hapatitis is very difficult, in particular hepatitis B with high disease incidence. At present, over 280 million people are HBeAg carriers, among whom about 78 million suffer from Hepatitis B.
The following are current clinical agents mainly useful in the treatment chronic Hepatitis B.
1. anti-viral agents such as Interferon
Interferon is a relatively ideal anti-chronic Hepatitis B agent at present, and remission occurs in 30.about.45% of the IFN-treated patients, with HBeAg undetectable and the liver histologically improved. And 5.about.25% of the patients can be cured, negative for both HBeAg and HBsAg. However, incapable for oral administration and with comparatively high cost, INF therapy is not likely to be widely used, particularly among the non-hospitalized patients. Moreover, patients treated with Interferon are usually associated with sever side effects such as high fever, shivering, hypotention, nausea, diarrhea, myalgia, headache and lassitude. All these factors consist of great barrier for extensive use of INF.
2. other anti-viral agents such as Vidarabine, Vidarabine phosphate, Aciclovir, Forscarnet, Zidovudine, Suramin, Polycytidylic Acid, 2', 3'-dideoxyl cytidine.
Due to indefinite clinical efficacy and sever side effects, these agents are not put into general use.
3. Immunomodulant
(1) Cytokines such as Thymosine, immune RNA, Transferfactors and Interleukin-2
(2) Hormone such as Adrenocortical hormone and Prostaglandin
(3) Specific and non-specific antigen or specific antibody such as HB vaccine, BCG vaccine, Polysacchride from Mycobacterium graminis, and high potency Immunoglobulin
(4) Compound effecting intercellular cyclic nucleotide such as imidazole agents.
However, these Immunomodulants are still studied in the stage of experimental research.
4. Chinese traditional medicine such as Polyporus umbellatus polysaccharose, aqueous injection with active ingredient from the root of subprostrate sophora, Matrine in injection form and Polylentinan whose herapeutic efficacy, however, remains to be furtherly verified.
Therefore, it is necessary for developping novel anti-viral Hepatitis agents with high efficacy, lower side effect and convenient administration.