Thymostimulin in the treatment of hepatitis B surface antigen-positive chronic active hepatitis. Controlled clinical trial--two years follow-up.

In this paper results obtained with thymostimulin (TP-1 Serono) in patients with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive chronic active hepatitis after 2 years follow-up are reported. The favourable trend observed in a previous trial was confirmed after a longer observation period, most patients showing a significant amelioration of clinical, biochemical and histological parameters, with respect to control group. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) serology, too, showed a significantly higher rate of seroconversion and antigen disappearance in treated patients. Finally, hospitalization period of the latter was significantly lower. These results, though obtained in a small population of patients, seem to indicate a role for thymic hormone therapy in the management of chronic active hepatitis.