Earlier treatment for young patients with chronic Hepatitis B may be more effective in clearing virus

Scientists from A*STAR’s Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), together with clinical collaborators from London, discovered for the first time that children and young patients with chronic Hepatitis B Virus infection (HBV carriers) do have a protective immune response, contrary to current belief, and hence can be more suitable treatment candidates than previously considered. This discovery by the team of scientists led by Professor Antonio Bertoletti, programme director and research director of the infection and immunity programme at SICS, could lead to a paradigm shift in the current treatment of patients with chronic HBV. Current guidelines from international liver associations recommend delaying therapy until HBV carriers show clear signs of active liver disease, which generally appear after the age of 30. This is based on two assumptions: One, young patients are unable to react to treatment because they are immune-tolerant to the virus. This means that there is no protective immune response...