[Therapy of hepatitis B].

Worldwide, there are approximately 350 million carriers of hepatitis B virus (HBV), of whom half a million to 1 million die from liver disease. The goal of treatment is to prevent cirrhosis, hepatic failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Substantial progress has been made in the treatment for hepatitis B in the past decade. Currently approved therapeutic options include interferon alpha, lamivudine and adefovir. The efficacy ot the respective antivirals is affected by virological and clinical parameters, thus requiring individual treatment strategies that will be discussed in detail.