Article: Treatment with ledipasvir and sofosbuvir improves patient-reported outcomes: Results from the ION-1, -2, and -3 clinical trials—ZM Younossi—et. al
Source: Hepatology 2015 Jun;61(6):1798-808. doi: 10.1002/hep.27724. Epub 2015 Mar 18.
Results and Conclusions: In the phase 3 clinical trials of ledipasvir and sofosbuvir with and without ribavirin patient report outcomes were measured. There was a total of 1,952 patients in the study. Patients were treated for 8, 12 or 24 weeks. In the groups that received ledipasvir and sofosbuvir (without ribavirin) who had early viral load suppression there was improved quality of life that was maximized by the end of treatment. In the group that received ledipasvir/sofosbuvir and ribavirin their quality of life decreased regardless of treatment duration until the end of treatment.
Source: Hepatology 2015 Jun;61(6):1798-808. doi: 10.1002/hep.27724. Epub 2015 Mar 18.
Results and Conclusions: In the phase 3 clinical trials of ledipasvir and sofosbuvir with and without ribavirin patient report outcomes were measured. There was a total of 1,952 patients in the study. Patients were treated for 8, 12 or 24 weeks. In the groups that received ledipasvir and sofosbuvir (without ribavirin) who had early viral load suppression there was improved quality of life that was maximized by the end of treatment. In the group that received ledipasvir/sofosbuvir and ribavirin their quality of life decreased regardless of treatment duration until the end of treatment.
The Bottom Line: Ribavirin during treatment reduced quality of life, but achieving a cure improved quality of life for all of the groups including the groups who received ribavirin.
Editorial Comments: This is a no-brainer, but we need more of these studies to show that being cured improved quality of life and improved overall survival. I hope that insurance companies are hearing this and loosen up the restrictions.
Article: Antigenic cooperation among intrahost HCV variants organized into a complex network of cross-immunoreactivity—P Skums
Source: Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2015 May 26;112(21):6653-8.doi:10.1073/pnas.1422942112. Epub 2015 May 4.
Source: Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2015 May 26;112(21):6653-8.doi:10.1073/pnas.1422942112. Epub 2015 May 4.
Results and Conclusions:
Most people who become acutely infected with hepatitis C become chronically infected – up to 85%. The reason there is such a high rate of chronic infection is not completely understood, but there are many theories. The current paper presented a mathematical model to show how the virus contributes to hepatitis C chronicity.
Most people who become acutely infected with hepatitis C become chronically infected – up to 85%. The reason there is such a high rate of chronic infection is not completely understood, but there are many theories. The current paper presented a mathematical model to show how the virus contributes to hepatitis C chronicity.
What is interesting is that various proteins of the hepatitis C virus seem to act together to escape the human host—that is certain proteins of the virus work together to draw off parts of the immune system cells so that other parts of the hepatitis C virus can survive and persist in the body and infect liver cells. This enables the hepatitis C virus to act as a network of parts to establish a chronic infection.
The Bottom Line: As with any discovery in science these findings need to be replicated. If the exact mechanism can be understood an effective protective vaccine could be developed.
Editorial Comment: Isn’t science interesting? The hepatitis C virus is a wily little bugger and endlessly fascinating. The key would be to understand why this strategy works for some and not others. This could lead to the development of an effective vaccine.
Article: Differentiation of acute from chronic hepatitis C virus infection by nonstructural 5B deep sequencing: A population-level tool for incidence estimation—V. Montoya et. al
Source: Hepatology Volume 61, Issue 6, pages 1842–1850, June 2015
Source: Hepatology Volume 61, Issue 6, pages 1842–1850, June 2015
Results and Conclusions: In the current study the authors examined the viral proteins from 13 acute and 54 chronic individuals by sequencing the NS5B region of the virus. They were able to differentiate the viral diversity between the acute and chronic infection. The viral diversity was significantly different between acute vs. chronic infection.
Editorial Comment: This and the last issue of the HCV Advocate have discussed the difficult task of trying to diagnose an acute infection of HCV. If this study is replicated and IF the tool is made available at a reasonable cost it could be a game changer in the way we understand how many people are acutely infected with hepatitis C.
Source: http://hcvadvocate.org/news/newsLetter/2015/advocate0815.html#3
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