Ribavirin Helps Early Hepatitis C Treatment in People with HIV

Adding ribavirin to pegylated interferon increases the likelihood of a cure for early hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in people with HIV, according to study findings published in the May 2, 2012, advance online edition of AIDS.

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CROI 2012: HIV Positive People Need Ribavirin for Optimal Treatment of Acute Hepatitis C

HIV positive people acutely infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 2 or 3 benefit from receiving weight-based ribavirin in addition to pegylated interferon, according to study findings presented at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2012) this month in Seattle.

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Liver Fibrosis Tests Predict Mortality in HIV/HCV Coinfected Women

More advanced liver fibrosis, as diagnosed by 2 non-invasive biomarker tests, is associated with a higher risk of death for HIV positive women coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), according to a report in the March 13, 2012, issue of AIDS.

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CROI 2012: Long-term Tenofovir Promotes HBsAg Decline in HIV/HBV Coinfected People

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels declined steadily in HIV/HBV coinfected patients treated with tenofovir for up to 8 years, especially those with rising CD4 T-cell counts, researchers reported at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2012) this month in Seattle.

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CROI 2012: HIV Treatment May Reduce Mother-to-Child Hepatitis C Transmission

Effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV and maintaining a high CD4 T-cell count may decrease the risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission from HIV/HCV coinfected mothers to their babies, according to study findings presented at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2012) this month in Seattle.

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Interferon-Based Therapy Reduces Liver Fibrosis Progression in HIV/HCV Coinfected Patients

Interferon-based treatment for chronic hepatitis C helps slow liver disease progression among HIV/HCV coinfected patients as it does for people with hepatitis C alone, according to study findings reported in the January 2012 Journal of Hepatology.

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CROI 2012: Detectable HIV Raises Risk of Incomplete Hepatitis B Suppression

HIV/HBV coinfected people with detectable HIV viral load and higher baseline HBV viral load were less likely to completely suppress hepatitis B after a year on tenofovir (Viread), but CD4 cell count did not show an effect, researchers reported at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2012) this month in Seattle.

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Experts Issue Provisional Guidance on New Hepatitis C Drugs for HIV/HCV Coinfected Patients

HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) experts have issued preliminary recommendations for the use of the new HCV protease inhibitors boceprevir (Victrelis) and telaprevir (Incivek) for HIV/HCV coinfected patients. Though not yet FDA-approved for this group, studies to date show that the drugs improve the likelihood of a cure for coinfected as well as HCV monoinfected people.

[Editors' note (2/27/12): the preliminary recommendations have been temporarily withdrawn and removed from the Clinical Infectious Disease advance publication web section due to new data that may influence the guidance] 

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