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Fatty liver may contribute to higher risk of death for HIV/HCV co-infected people
Liz Highleyman, 2015-08-26 11:30:00
About a quarter of people in a New York City cohort who had HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) died over a ten-year period -- a "strikingly low" survival rate -- according to a poster presented at the Eighth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015) last month in Vancouver.
HIV/HCV co-infected individuals typically experience more aggressive liver disease progression than those with HIV or HCV alone, and they are more likely to develop liver steatosis (fat accumulation) and fibrosis (build-up of scar tissue). Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NAFLD and NASH) are growing causes of cirrhosis, liver cancer and the need for liver transplantation in Europe and the US.
Carrie Down and colleagues at the Weill Cornell Medical School liver disease unit at New York Presbyterian Hospital explored the impact of steatosis on fibrosis progression, cardiovascular disease and survival over time in HIV/HCV co-infected people.
This retrospective study analysed clinical outcomes among 105 co-infected patients attending Weill Cornell who initially received liver biopsies between 1998 and 2003 for HCV-related liver disease. The research team evaluated this group in 2005 and continued follow-up for ten years.
The earliest patients received biopsies during the first years after the advent of effective combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV, and follow-up ended just as interferon-free direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C started to become widely available.
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