ABSTRACT
Objective To understand the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in China.Methods A national multi-center,large sample epidemiological survey was carried out and certified by an international third-party testing organization.Internationally accepted method for sequencing analysis of viral genotype was used.Results Patients were those suffered from the 4 major genotypes of chronic hepatitis C,including nine subtypes,which were dominated by genotype 1 (69.6％),with type lb in particular (accounting for 68.38％ ).Among the rare gene-6,we saw more subtypes of 6a.In the south,central,and north areas,there was no significant difference seen between the south and the north areas in the distribution of the genotype 1.However,the rate of gene type 2a increased gradually from south to north.In terms of less common type of gene 3b and gene-6,they were seen mainly in the southern provinces.Conclusion In China,Patients with chronic hepatitis C had 4 HCV genotypes,with 9 subtypes.The rarely seen genotypes 3b and 6 were mainly distributed in the southern provinces.
ABSTRACT
To study the influences of warming kidney prescription on antiviral therapeutic efficacy and creatine kinase (CK) level in telbivudine-treated HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients with kidney yang deficiency syndrome. Ninety-six cases were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups (n=48 each): warming kidney prescription treatment or control. Both groups were treated for 52 weeks with telbivudine monotherapy, but the treatment group received additional treatment with the warming kidney prescription. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome score, biochemical response, virological response, serological response, CK level, and adverse reactions were recorded for each group in order to perform comparative analysis of the warming kidney prescription's effects. A total of 84 patients, including 43 cases in the treatment group, completed the study. The warming kidney prescription led to significantly improved total clinical syndrome efficacy, TCM syndrome score, biochemical response, virological response, and HBeAg serological responses, as evidenced by changes for each parameter observed in the treatment group versus the control group (respectively, 88.37% vs. 63.41%, 4.97+/-1.88 vs. 10.13+/-3.72, 95.35% vs. 75.61%, 81.40% vs. 56.10%, 48.84% vs. 26.83% (all, P less than 0.05)). No patient in either group experienced primary treatment failure. Seven cases, all from the control group, experienced virological breakthrough. Elevated CK was observed in both the treatment and control groups, but significantly more patients in the control group experienced this adverse reaction (respectively, 73.17% vs. 44.19%; P less than 0.01). The warming kidney prescription can increase telbivudine antiviral therapeutic efficacy and decrease the telbivudine-induced increase in creatine kinase in HbeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients with kidney yang deficiency syndrome.