Re: Hepatitis B - DNA test

Posted By Dudley on September 19, 1998 at 02:04:27:

In Reply to: Re: Hepatitis B - DNA test posted by HFHSM.D.-jg on September 15, 1998 at 08:01:47:






I am a hepatitis B carrier and I have the following questions:
1. My doctor told me that I can have a DNA blood test to find out the hepatitis B risk level.  This is because a new medicine which has been invented for treatment of HIV is also effective with hepatitis B and can suppress the activities of the hepatitis B virus so that it would not do any harm to your liver. Can you explain to me in details on this.
2.  I took some herbal medicine a few months ago and when I had my annual AFP test 3 months ago, it went up to 16.8 (normal range is 1 - 10), my doctor told me to stop the herbal medicine and one week later, the AFP dropped to 14, two more weeks later, it dropped to 9.3, however further 4 weeks later, it went up to 11 and I check again 5 weeks later, it stays at 10.7.  My doctor said, everything is o.k. I might have small inflammation of the stomach or I smelt too much of 2nd hand smoking.  CT scan done 3 months ago showed that everything was normal.  Can you tell me why and whether it is possible for the reading to drop back to the normal range?
Regards
Dudley
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Dear Dudley:
Most people who have had hepatitis B infection recover and develop an immune response i.e. they are resistant to reinfection.  Approximately 5% of those who are infected become chronic carriers of the virus.  Tthere are a number of different blood tests that can determineyour exact status.  These include measurement of hepatitis B surface anitigen and antibody and core antibody.  A Hepatitis B virus DNA test will determine if you have actively replicating virus.  We usually do liver biopsies to assess the extent of damage done by the virus if there is evidence that a patient has ongoing infection.
Current treatment for hepatitis B includes interferon and Lamivudine (an anti-viral nucleoside analog). Interferon treatment may eliminate the virus in 30-40% of patients.  Lamivudine inhibits viral replication but only eradicates the virus in about 10% of patients.  The initial reports do not indicate that the combination of drugs is better than Interferon alone, but there is still much ongoing work that has not been reported.
AFP levels can fluctuate for reasons that are not known with certainty.  A slight elevation of AFP is often of indeterminate significance.  The declining trend of your AFP after discontinuation of the herbal medicine suggests that the herbal medication may have been causing some hepatic inflammation and/or cell proliferation.  If AFP levels start to rise again, then a MRI of the liver is indicated to look for small tumors.
This information is presented for educational purposes only.  Always consult your personal physician for specific medical questions.
HFHSM.D.-jg
*keywords: hepatitis B,
0.3
Dear Sir,
Following my enquiry above, I had the HBV DNA(hebrid capture) test last week and the result I received two days ago indicated a negative result, i.e. less than 5.0 pg/ml which is within the normal range.  A few years ago when I first discovered that I am a hepititis (hepatitis) B carrier, I checked the HbeAg and HbeAB and the antigen was negative and the antibody was positive.  Am I in good situation, eventhough I experienced the AFP being slightly elevated to 10.7 iu/ml as indicated above.  Please tell me my current condition.  All other reading in normal range.
Dudley