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Efficacy of intramuscular matrine in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B
Yao Long1, Xiao-Tian Lin, Kun-Lun Zeng
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang 524001, China. zjlongyao@sina.com
Insights
Intramuscular matrine effectively treats chronic hepatitis B by improving liver function and viral markers. This safe and economical treatment offers a promising option for patients with chronic hepatitis B infection.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Pharmacology
- Virology
Background:
- Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major global health concern, causing cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Over 350 million people are HBV carriers, with one million deaths annually from liver disease.
- Optimal treatments for chronic hepatitis B remain limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of intramuscular matrine in treating chronic hepatitis B.
- To evaluate matrine's impact on clinical symptoms, liver function, and HBV markers.
Main Methods:
- 120 chronic hepatitis B patients were randomized into matrine (n=60) and control (n=60) groups.
- Matrine group received 100 mg intramuscular matrine daily for 90 days plus conventional drugs.
- Control group received conventional liver-protective drugs alone.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements in clinical symptoms, liver function, and serological markers (HBeAg/anti-HBe, HBV DNA) were observed in the matrine group.
- Matrine treatment showed more pronounced effects compared to the control group.
- No serious side-effects were noted, apart from mild injection site pain in a few patients.
Conclusions:
- Intramuscular matrine is an economical, efficacious, and safe drug for treating chronic hepatitis B.
- Matrine demonstrates potential as a valuable therapeutic agent for chronic HBV infection.
Background:
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, a global public health problem, is the leading cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide. There are more than 350 million HBV carriers in the world and up to one million die annually due to hepatitis B associated liver disease. So far no optimal treatment is available for patients with chronic hepatitis B. In the paper we investigated the efficacy of intramuscular matrine in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
Methods:
One hundred and twenty patients with chronic hepatitis B were randomly divided into matrine treatment group (n=60) and control group (n=60). The patients of the matrine group were given intramuscularly with matrine (an alkaloid extracted from a traditional Chinese herb Radix Sophorae Flavescentis by Guangzhou Ming Xing Pharmaceutical Factory, Guangzhou, China) of 100 mg daily for 90 days in addition to conventional liver-protective drugs including glucurone, inosine, compound vitamin B and caryophyllin. The control group received conventional liver-protective drugs alone. Clinical manifestations and laboratory parameters including liver biochemistry and serum hepatitis B virus markers were monitored before and after treatment in the two groups.
Results:
Significant differences were seen between the two groups in terms of improvement of clinical symptoms and signs, recovery of liver functions, and serum conversion from hepatitis Be antigen to HBe antibody and from positive to negative serum HBV DNA (P<0.05-0.01). The result of the matrine group was more marked than that of the control group. Serious side-effects were not observed except mild pain at the site of injection of matrine in a few patients.
Conclusion:
These results indicate that intramuscular matrine may be an economical, efficacious, safe drug for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
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