Please help interpret my HBV results

[psychicrage]

Please help me interpret my results.
Am I a high-risk carrier? Can you suggest treatment?

HBsAg Reactive 29.2
Anti-HBs Non-Reactive
HBeAg Non-Reactive 0.60
Anti HBe Reactive 0.05
SGPT (ALT) 118.00 U/L
Cholesterol 207.45 mg/dL
Anti-HCV Non-Reactive 0.08
HBV-DNA Viral Load 6,367 IU/ml

I have been trying to eat right and avoid alchohol.
I weigh 208 lbs now than 235 lbs in 2006.
I am really concerned about my HBV results because I plan
to immigrate abroad (Australia or New Zealand).



Thanks in advance.

[britgirl477]

As informative as usual bberry. Thanks for taking the time to explain. Huge scottish hugs for explaining it all once again lol
Britty

[bberry]

psychicrage
well, it isnt high in terms dna quant. they can be somewhere in billions in children and 100's of millions in adults. so 6300 IU/mL isnt high in number BUT.. once you're converted to hbeag  negative then you are assumer to be at a stable condition and your immune system has taken control of the virus's activity .
what makes it a bit worse for you is that you ALT has shot twice the normal high. guideline for 2007 suggests that in a case like yours treatment is needed.

why? well "why" should answer brit's question.
see, the virus starts as hbsag positive and then hbeag postive. hbea sometime down the line whether with treatment or spontaneoulsy will turn negative.. some dont acheive a negative state but most do. now the ultimate goal for hbsag postive and hbeag postive to to convert into hbeag negative and hbeab positive. that means your immune system has developed antibodies to the e antigen and has created some immune control over the virus. this is considered an inactive or heathy state..thats why we call somon a healthy carrier.. the ultimate immdiate goal is now reached. doctors will monitor closely after conversion to hbeag negative before they call off treatment.
well britty, since you've already acheived this goal , you are thought to have a control over the activity of the virus and therefore any getting away by the virus is alarming. you've already turnd hbeag negative so the goal has become meaningless ( sort of speak) . you will not go back to going e antigen postive.. you will stay negative but still the virus has escaped  the "control" your immune system has developed. the virus then become active , hence, psychicrage's ALT shoots higher, DNA level go higher and immune system loses its way and thus treatment is needed to keep it under control

brit, a carrier has acheived his or her goal by turning e negative. virus escapes, ALT higher than normal, dna level higher than limit allowed..you start treatment to bring it back into control but what is your immediate and untimate goal now..? you're already hbeag negative.. you know if you quit your meds that its no safety and that the virus will get away since it has done it before so the only way to make sure it stays in check is by "keep" taking the meds.. as long as you're taking meds you are assumed t be doing well.. so its a life sentence basically... unless ofcourse one day we can come up with a cure..hopefully sooner than later for the sake of some 400-500 million B heppers worldwide.

[britgirl477]

bberry, why does the negative hbeantigen mean that you will be on meds for life? I have not really ever understood this.
Brit

[psychicrage]

Thanks for your response bberry.

Do you think my HBV viral load is very high? Will the HBV be highly communicable at my levels?

[bberry]

2007 guideline suggests treatment.

also note since you are hbeag negative if you start treatment that you will be on it infedintely.. for life, in other words..

speak to your doctor about your options but it looks as if with double the standard number for ALT and a higher than 2000IU/mL DNA quant that treatment may be needed.


good luck