Let’s assume we have a HBV-infected (chronic disease) individual with 10,000 IU/mL HBsAg levels. If we transfuse / replace all of individual’s blood (let’s not consider how realistic or how dangerous that would be) with healthy blood - how long would it take for HBsAg return to the base level (10,000 IU/mL)?
Were there any animal studies which would try this approach to see if it affects/improves treatment?
Hi @mantana,
Great question and one that has been addressed in HBV patients using an interesting method: https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciy1100
Essentially researchers gave 6 patients “heavy water” which is regular water that is made of isotopes of hydrogen that are heavier than regular hydrogen, then measured how quickly the HBsAg without heavy isotopes are cleared. They found that half of the HBsAg in the serum is replaced every 7 days (so relatively quickly).
Hope this helps,
Thomas