Adrian Di Bisceglie, M.D., chief of hepatology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine says many Hepatitis B patients currently take an antiviral called Hepsera.
Medical professionals are currently investigating the drug called Tenofovir, which is very similar to Hepsera in that it is a "nucleotide analog" that helps stop the virus from propagating.
Di Bisceglie says, "We have high hopes that Tenofovir will be more potent than the current drug regimen for hepatitis B patients."
Hepatitis B is a disease passed down from mother to infant during pregnancy and has reached epidemic levels in China, Vietnam and sub-Saharan Africa.
Di Bisceglie says, "It is a terrible disease because it kills people in their prime of their lives - in their 30s, 40s and 50s. What makes it even more devastating is that there are mild non-specific symptoms or sometimes no symptoms at all."
Most American women who undergo prenatal screening are also screened for hepatitis B, Di Bisceglie says, and because there is a safe, effective vaccine, hepatitis B is a "controllable" disease.
