New measurement for hepatitis B unveiled

 2012/02/19  Taipei, Feb. 19 (CNA) A Taiwanese liver disease research team introduced on Sunday a new measurement that helps to better diagnose hepatitis B infections, which affect roughly 2.5 million people in Taiwan, and gauge whether they are under control. The REVEAL–HBV Study Group, led by Chen Chien-jen, unveiled the new measurement at an annual meeting of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) in Taipei. The new measurement detects the amount of hepatitis B surface antigens (HBsAg) in a person's body. The antigens are proteins produced by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) that peak with the first appearance of clinical disease symptoms. The new measurement reveals how a hepatitis B carrier's immune system responds to the virus and helps doctors evaluate the effectiveness of certain medications, according to Kao Jia-horng, APASL chief and a professor at National Taiwan University's College of Medicine. Chen, an academician at Academia Sinica, Taiwan's top research institution, said that the new measurement complements existing gauges measuring the amount of hepatitis B virus DNA and will help doctors more accurately assess the risk of hepatitis B infections developing into liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Liaw Yun-fan, another academician at the meeting, said that a growing body of research shows the amount of HBsAg is indrectly related to how hepatitis B infections come under control. Liaw said the lower the HBsAg level, the more the infection is under control. Among the other existing measurements for hepatitis B infections are age, sex, and liver function index.