IAS 2015: Fatty Liver May Contribute to Higher Risk of Death for HIV/HCV Coinfected People

About a quarter of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfected people in a New York City cohort died over a 10-year follow-up period -- a "strikingly low" survival rate -- according to a poster presented at the 8th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention last month in Vancouver. Researchers saw trends toward an association between steatosis (fatty liver) and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and overall survival.

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Injection Drug Use and Hepatitis C Coinfection Increase Risk of Death for People with HIV

HIV-positive people who inject drugs and those who are coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) have elevated mortality rates, according to a report from the ART Cohort Collaboration published in the July 1 Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. HIV/HCV coinfected drug injectors had a high risk of liver-related death, but those without HCV still had higher mortality due to various causes compared with non-injectors.

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IAS 2015: Accessing Hepatitis C Treatment [VIDEO]

While new interferon-free direct-acting antiviral therapy can cure more than 90% of people with chronic hepatitis C -- including those with HIV/HCV coinfection -- access to treatment remains a major challenge, experts said at a media briefing on HIV and hepatitis coinfection at the 8th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention last month in Vancouver.

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Do Sex and HIV/HCV Coinfection Affect Response to Antiretroviral Treatment?

HIV-positive men and women coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) showed impaired CD4 T-cell restoration after starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) and had a 40% greater risk of death than people with HIV alone, though they were equally likely to achieve HIV viral suppression, according to study findings published in the May 18 advance edition of AIDS Patient Care and STDs.

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IAS 2015: PrEP and the Risk of Hepatitis C Virus Infection [VIDEO]

 Are gay and bisexual men who take Truvada for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) at greater risk for sexually transmitted hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection? Experts discussed this issue and others at a media briefing on HIV and hepatitis coinfection at the 8th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention last month in Vancouver.

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CROI 2015: HCV Sexual Transmission Linked to Anal Sex, Drug Use, Lower CD4 Count

In addition to the usual risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) sexual transmission seen in most previous studies -- such as anal sex and having other sexually transmitted infections -- researchers in the Netherlands also saw an association with nasal and injection drug use and lower CD4 T-cell count, they reported in a poster presentation at the recent 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle.

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IAS 2015: Daclatasvir + Sofosbuvir Cures Most Coinfected People in French Compassionate Use Study

 Interferon-free treatment using daclatasvir (Daklinza) and sofosbuvir (Sovaldi), with or without ribavirin, was well-tolerated and produced sustained virological response rates of 95%-100% for HIV/HCV coinfected people with advanced liver disease, according to a presentation at the 8th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015) last month in Vancouver. These results, from a French program that provides new drugs to patients in need of treatment prior to regulatory approval, demonstrate that outcomes in the "real world" can be as good as those seen in clinical trials of the new drugs.

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CROI 2015: End-Stage Liver Disease Among HIV+ People with Hepatitis B or C

People coinfected with HIV and hepatitis B or C virus are more likely to progress to end-stage liver disease, or liver failure, compared to those with HIV alone, and individuals triply infected with all 3 viruses are at greatest risk, according to study findings presented at the recent 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle.

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IAS 2015: Interferon-free Hepatitis Treatment Highly Effective for HIV/HCV Coinfected People

A trio of interferon-free regimens -- sofosbuvir/ledipasvir, AbbVie's 3D regimen, and grazoprevir/elbasvir -- were well-tolerated and cured more than 90% of HIV/HCV coinfected participants in 3 clinical trials, confirming that HIV-positive people can respond as well as HIV-negative people to modern hepatitis C treatment, according to a set of reports presented at the 8th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015) last week in Vancouver.

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CROI 2015: Re-infection Due to Ongoing Risk Is Probably the Cause of HCV Recurrence After SVR

Rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) recurrence after successful therapy differ markedly between risk groups, according to the results of a meta-analysis presented at the recent 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle.

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IAS 2015: Effective New Treatment for HIV/HVC Coinfection [VIDEO]

Jürgen Rockstroh from the University of Bonn presented an overview of HIV/HCV coinfection during a press briefing at the 8th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention last week in Vancouver. Rockstroh covered topics including faster fibrosis progression and effective interferon-free therapy for coinfected people.

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CROI 2015: Sustained Virological Response Represents a Long-term Cure for Hepatitis C

Almost all patients with hepatitis C virus alone or HIV/HCV coinfection who achieved sustained virological response (SVR) to treatment with sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) plus ribavirin or sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (Harvoni) still had undetectable HCV RNA up to 2.4 years later, confirming that SVR represents a cure, according to a poster presented at the recent 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle.

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IAS 2015: Access to Screening and Treatment Are Key Issues for Hepatitis B and C

The development of effective new interferon-free treatment makes it possible to cure more than 90% of people with chronic hepatitis C, including most people with HIV/HCV coinfection, researchers said at the 2nd International HIV/Viral Hepatitis Co-infection Meeting, preceding the 8th International AIDS Society Conference (IAS 2015) taking place this week in Vancouver. Looking at hepatitis B, antiviral therapy can effectively suppress the virus long-term, but most people are still not cured.

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CROI 2015: Sofosbuvir/Ledipasvir May Alter Antiretroviral Levels in HIV/HCV Coinfected People

HIV/HCV coinfected people who take sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (Harvoni) to treat hepatitis C along with boosted protease inhibitor antiretroviral regimens may experience changes in drugs levels, but these are mostly not considered clinically relevant, according to a drug-drug interaction study presented at the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) last month in Seattle. However, data on the safety and efficacy of combining sofosbuvir/ledipasvir and boosted protease inhibitors during treatment are lacking, and increased tenofovir exposure may be a concern.

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IAS 2015: International AIDS Society Conference Starts this Weekend in Vancouver

The 8th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015) starts this Sunday and runs July 19-22 in Vancouver. HIV prevention -- including treatment-as-prevention and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) -- will be a major focus of the meeting. Other topics will include antiretroviral drugs in development, expanding access to treatment and retention in care, and HIV/hepatitis coinfection. HIVandHepatitis.com will be on site covering the latest news.

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CROI 2015: Hepatitis C -- Mission Accomplished? [VIDEO]

New interferon-free treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) has brought about a revolution in treatment, but challenges still remain -- among them too few people with HCV being diagnosed and the high cost of the new drugs -- before the mission can be declared a success. A panel of hepatitis C experts discuss research presented at the recent 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections(CROI) in Seattle with HIVandHepatitis.com editor Liz Highleyman in this IFARA video.

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HIV/HCV Coinfected People with Moderate or Worse Fibrosis at Risk for Liver-Related Death

HIV-positive people coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) are more likely to die of liver-related causes if they have moderate or worse fibrosis or cirrhosis, and they should therefore be prioritized for the new antiviral treatment, according to a study described in the June 19 edition of AIDS.

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CROI 2015: Deferring Hepatitis C Treatment Can Lead to Liver Cancer and Death

HIV/HCV coinfected people who delay hepatitis C treatment remain at risk for liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver-related death even after being cured -- with outcomes worsening the longer it is put off -- indicating that treatment should not be deferred until advanced disease, according to a presentation at the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) last week in Seattle. Treating only after progression to cirrhosis increased the risk of liver-related death by more than 5-fold and the duration of infectiousness by 4-fold.

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Coverage of the 2015 International AIDS Society Conference

HIVandHepatitis.com coverage of the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015), July 19-22, in Vancouver, Canada.

Conference highlights include HIV treatment as prevention, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), new antiretroviral therapies, HIV cure research, hepatitis C and HIV/HCV coinfection, and global scale-up of prevention and treatment.

Full listing by topic

IAS 2015 website

7/22/15

Coverage of the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections

HIVandHepatitis.com coverage of the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic infections (CROI 2015), February 23-26, 2015, in Seattle.

Conference highlights include PrEP and HIV treatment as prevention, hepatitis C treatment for HIV/HCV coinfected people, new antiretroviral drugs, HIV cure research, HIV-related conditions, TB, Ebola virus, and access to care.

HIVandHepatitis.com coverage by topic

CROI website

3/2/15