Immunomodulatory treatment of HBsAg positive chronic hepatitis with specific substance Maruyama (SSM).

Twenty-six patients with HBsAg positive chronic hepatitis were treated for over 6 months with specific substance Maruyama (SSM) extracted from the cell wall of human tubercle bacilli. HBeAg was found to disappear in 6 out of the 14 patients (42.9%) with positive HBsAg 10.0•}7.4 months after the treatment began, and HBe seroconversion was found in 4 out of the 6 cases. A decrease of more than 22 in the anti-HBc titer (IAHA) was obser ved in 9 out of 11 patients (82%) positive for HBeAg, and in 2 out of 7 patients (29%) negative for HBeAg. None of the patients became negative for HBsAg, although a fall in titer was found in 3 out of 10 HBeAg positive patients. A transient rise in SGOT and SGPT coincident with disappearance of HBeAg was found 3 or 6 months after the start of treatment. These results suggest that SSM induces an immunomodulatory response and has a beneficial effect on HBsAg positive chronic hepatitis.