[Treatment of chronic active hepatitis--newer aspects (author's transl)]

Recent advances in the treatment of chronic active hepatitis based on several controlled studies indicate that immunosuppressive therapy with corticosteroids alone or in combination with low doses of azathioprine for more than one year is the therapy of choice because of the induction of long lasting remissions. with the combination therapy (10 mg prednisone and 50 mg azathioprine per day) the side effects seem to be less pronounced. Clinical, histological and immunological results indicate that the lupoid form of chronic hepatitis may be differentiated from the HBAg positive one. Although many reports seem to underline that immunosuppressive treatment should be performed in all cases of chronic active hepatitis this conclusion cannot be drawn in general because the controlled studies almost exclusively contained BHAg negative patients. Considering the different conceptions on the aetiology of chronic active hepatitis the possibility has been discussed to influence chronic active hepatitis by active immunotherapy. First results of such a treatment were demonstrated.