Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

Abstract

In this issue of the Journal, Lai et al.¹ report the results of a one-year trial of lamivudine, an oral nucleoside analogue, in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. The 358 patients were randomly assigned to receive daily lamivudine (25 mg or 100 mg) or placebo orally for one year. The incidence of adverse events was similar in all groups and there were few serious adverse events. Histologic improvements, including a reduction in necroinflammatory activity and fibrosis, were demonstrated in the patients treated with lamivudine, as compared with those receiving placebo. The patients treated with 100 mg of lamivudine had . . .