Study:Antiviral drugs for Hepatitis C treatment could help with cognitive impairment

According to several studies Hepatitis C viral replication might be associated with neuroinflammation and could result in cognitive deficits in patients with the Hepatitis C virus, with or without HIV co-infection. Also some studies have shown that cognitive deficits are more common among patients with Hepatitis C and HIV co-infection than among those with just Hepatitis C infection.

A group of scientists from Germany have completed a study aimed to investigate whether or not new revolutionary interferon-free therapy could reverse the cognitive declines in those patients.

The study involved 25 patients with hepatitis C, 15 of whom had HIV co-infection. Patients had an average age of 43.8, and only one patient was female. They were matched with 30 healthy individuals.

The results of the study have been published in the journal Neurology. 

“At baseline, the patient group showed significantly poorer performance in the domains of visual and working memory, processing speed, attention, and executive functioning,” the scientists stated .After successful completion of interferon-free therapy the patients had shown no signs of continued decline were found, but there was some indication of improvement in visual memory, processing speed, attention, and executive functioning.