Antiviral Treatment of Chronic Type B Hepatitis

Excerpt

Vidarabine (adenine arabinoside; Ara-A) is an adenine analogue with potent activity against several DNA viruses including most herpesviruses. In a large, multicenter trial done in the mid-1970s, vidarabine was shown to be beneficial as primary therapy of herpes simplex virus encephalitis (1). The development, evaluation, and licensure of vidarabine was an important milestone in antiviral research. Vidarabine was the first drug licensed in the United States as a major, systemic antiviral agent.

Encouraged by the potent and broad-spectrum antiviral activity of vidarabine against herpesviruses, Pollard and coworkers (2) did a small pilot study of vidarabine in patients with chronic type