Update on HIV/HCV coinfection.

Abstract

Liver disease is currently one of the leading causes of hospitalization and death in HIV-positive individuals. Coinfection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major contributor to this trend. Besides hepatic damage, which is enhanced in the presence of HIV-associated immunosuppression, HCV may contribute to disease in coinfected individuals by potentiating immune activation and chronic inflammation, which ultimately account for an increased risk of cardiovascular events, kidney disease, and cancers in this population. Fortunately, hepatitis C therapeutics has entered a revolutionary era in which we hope that most patients treated with the new oral direct-acting antivirals (DAA) will be cured. However, many challenges preclude envisioning a prompt elimination of HCV from the coinfected population. Issues that should be addressed include the following: (1) rising incidence of acute hepatitis C in men who have sex with men, and expansion/recrudescence of injection drug use in some settings/regions; (2) adverse drug interactions between antiretrovirals and DAA; and (3) high cost of DAA, which may lead many to defer or fail to access appropriate therapy.

• Authors: Vincent Soriano, Eugenia Vispo, Jose Vicente Fernandez-Montero, Pablo Labarga, Pablo Barreiro
• Journal: Current HIV/AIDS reports (Curr HIV/AIDS Rep) Vol. 10 Issue 3 Pg. 226-34 (Sep 2013) ISSN: 1548-3576 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23832718 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)

Chemical References

• Anti-HIV Agents
• Antiviral Agents

Topics

• Anti-HIV Agents (therapeutic use)
• Antiviral Agents (therapeutic use)
• Coinfection (drug therapy, immunology)
• Drug Therapy, Combination (adverse effects)
• HIV Infections (drug therapy, immunology)
• Hepatitis C (drug therapy, immunology)
• Humans
• Liver Diseases (etiology)