[Therapeutic effects of polyI:C and prednisone withdrawal followed by polyI:C on chronic type B hepatitis--results of two double-blind randomized trials].

Twenty patients received PolyI:C and twenty patients received inosine in first clinical trial. Final evaluation at 6 months after completion of treatment revealed that SGPT activities fell into normal range or nearly into normal range in 16 (80%) patients of the PolyI:C group and in 8 (40%) patients of the inosine group. These data show that patients treated with PolyI:C have a tendency toward normalization of SGPT activities, but changes of serum HBeAg and DNAP were not significantly different between the two groups. Thirty-five patients were treated with prednisone withdrawal followed by PolyI:C and thirty-five patients received placebo alone in a second clinical trial. Final evaluation at 6 months after completion of treatment revealed that effective rates of reducing serum HBeAg (51.4%) and HBV-DNA (65%) were significantly higher in the treated group than in the control group. It is shown that prednisone withdrawal followed by PolyI:C therapy may be more promising for successful treatment of chronic type B hepatitis than PolyI:C therapy alone.