HCV therapy helps to reduce the risk of diabetes and chronic renal failure in HCV/HIV co-infected patients

A group of investigators from Spain have published the results of a cohort study regarding the influence of Hepatitis C eradication on occurrence of non–liver-related and non–AIDS-related events among patients co-infected with HIV.

According to the results, HCV eradication was associated with reductions in diabetes and chronic renal failure in addition to reduced mortality, HIV progression and liver-related events.

The study involved 1,625 patients with HCV/HIV co-infection treated with interferon and ribavirin between 2000 and 2008, and were followed up through May 2014 (median age, 40 years; 75% men; median follow up, about 5 years).

The investigators assessed the non–liver-related and non–AIDS-related events included diabetes, chronic renal failure, cardiovascular events, non–liver-related and non–AIDS-related cancer, bone events, and non–AIDS-related infections.

“Although the study design precludes determination of causality, our results suggest that eradication of HCV in co-infected patients is associated not only with a reduction in overall death, liver-related death, new AIDS-related events, and all types of liver-related events, but also with a statistically significant reduced hazard of diabetes mellitus and a decline in the hazard of chronic renal failure very close to the threshold of significance,” the researchers concluded.

The results of the study prove that all patients with HCV/HIV co-infection should receive therapy for Hepatitis C virus regardless the stage of liver fibrosis.