Thymopentin as adjuvant therapy to hepatitis B vaccination in formerly non-or hyporesponding hemodialysis patients.

Thirteen patients who were on chronic hemodialysis for renal failure received booster vaccination with 40 micrograms HB-Vax while receiving thymopentin as adjuvant therapy. A 50-mg dose of thymopentin was administered subcutaneously 3 times weekly for 3 weeks and vaccination was given after the first week's treatment. Seven of the 13 patients had never developed any measurable anti-HBs titers in spite of 4-5 previous vaccinations, although 6 out of these 7 had used interferon as adjuvants to their last vaccination. The remaining 6 patients were hyporesponders, but the antibodies had vanished in all before the study was started. Twelve out of the 13 patients developed anti-HBs after revaccination while on thymopentin adjuvant therapy. The antibody production started in most cases within 2 weeks after the booster HB-Vax and showed an increasing trend for up to 6 weeks. Protective titers persisted in the responder cases for the duration of the study (2-3 months). Thus thymopentin may represent a valuable tool to achieve a successful hepatitis B vaccination in hemodialysis patients.