Delta hepatitiscaused by the HDV virus, it is the most aggressive form of chronic hepatitis, with high rates of progression in cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation and hepatocellular carcinoma even in young subjects. For years, since the HDV virus was discovered by the Italian researcher Mario Rizzetto in 1977, there was no ad hoc therapy for this pathology, until 2020, when it was made available the first specific and effective drug against Delta hepatitis. This extraordinary step forward on the therapeutic front was discussed at the first ‘Delta Cure International Meeting‘, the first international congress on the treatment of HDV infection, organized by Pietro Lamperticofull professor of gastroenterology at the University of Milan and director of the gastroenterology and hepatology unit of the Policlinico di Milano.
“In Europe, in 2020 – says the expert – an anti-hepatitis drug Delta was approved for the first time. 45 years after its discovery, the HDV virus can now be fought with bulevirtide, an entry inhibitor that blocks Delta virus entry into liver cells. The clinical practice studies conducted on the drug, all European – together with the pivotal study that we presented at the European Congress in June of this year – demonstrate the efficacy and safety of this therapy, in monotherapy with the 2 mg dose, even in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis and significant portal hypertension. For the first time it is possible to block the viral replication of the Delta virus without the use of interferon and therefore also patients with advanced disease “.
Delta hepatitis is characterized by being a co-infection: Hdv is in fact a defective virus that needs another virus to replicate and spread, in this case the hepatitis B virus. and Hepatology of the Milan Polyclinic. “Worldwide it is believed that about 5% of patients with hepatitis B – explains Lampertico – have also contracted the hepatitis Delta virus, for a total of 10-20 million people co-infected with hepatitis B and Delta. Italy it is estimated that about 10 thousand subjects have contracted the HDV virus in addition to that of hepatitis B “.
The first Delta Cure International Meeting is also an opportunity to make known the important contribution of Italian researchers and research institutes in the study of this serious pathology, as Lampertico explains: “The first ‘Delta Cure International Meeting’ was organized in Italy because in our country, 45 years ago, Professor Mario Rizzetto discovered the hepatitis virus Delta. For this extraordinary discovery, the researcher will be awarded a prize during the congress. Even the choice of Milan is anything but random: the Lombard capital is in fact one of the Italian centers that has participated most in the study of the disease, through numerous studies that describe the natural history, therapy and prognosis of patients affected by this aggressive form of chronic hepatitis. recently Milan was among the Italian centers that contributed most to the studies on new drugs specially formulated for affected patients gives you Delta hepatitis. “