Long-term lamivudine treatment is associated with the emergence of lamivudine-resistant mutants, which has occasionally find more been associated with severe, and even fatal, flares of hepatitis.21 In this study, the patients with lamivudine treatment were followed up for only 12 weeks. We did not detect any clinical evidence of drug-resistant mutants during the 3-month lamivudine treatment in the survivors. The method of PCR-RFLP

is incapable of detection of YMDD mutants under 1 × 104 copies/mL, which limits its sensitivity. The adverse effects of YMDD mutations may be overcome by the addition of adefovir dipivoxil. In conclusion, our study suggests that lamivudine treatment can significantly decrease the mortality of patients with a MELD score of 20–30, but have no effect on patients with a MELD score higher than 30. For ACLF patients with this website a MELD score of 20–30, a low pretreatment viral load and rapid decline of HBV DNA load are good predictors for the survival of patients with lamivudine treatment. A significant weakness in the present study is the use of a retrospective control cohort leading

to a possible sources of bias. Our report suggests the need for a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of lamivudine in patients with ACLF. “
“Genotype 3 of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been long considered an easy-to-treat infection, with higher cure rates (∼70%) than other viral genotypes with the standard combination of pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin. However, the relative insensitivity of this genotype to most protease inhibitors and the recent unexpected data on decreased effectiveness of sofosbuvir have raised questions on how to achieve universal cure, a goal that seems reasonable

for other genotypes. In addition, increasing clinical and experimental data show that HCV genotype 3 may be associated not only with severe steatosis, but also with accelerated fibrosis progression rate and increased oncogenesis. Conclusion: Currently available data suggest that we should increase our efforts to understand the virology and pathogenesis click here of HCV genotype 3, aiming at better and more potent, genotype-targeted treatments. (Hepatology 2014;59:2403–2412) “
“Aim:  To evaluate the association between liver stiffness measured by transient elastography (FibroScan) and the efficacy of long-term nucleoside analog (NA) treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis B. Methods:  Study 1: Forty-four chronic HBV patients had liver stiffness measured by FibroScan and underwent liver biopsy. Study 2: Group A: 22 patients started NA treatment at entry and FibroScan was done annually for 3 years. Group B: 23 patients started NA treatment prior to pretreatment FibroScan measurement, and FibroScan was done for from 3 to 5 years after the start of NA treatment.