Hepatitis C and Its Metabolic Complications in Kidney Disease
Journal Title: Annals of Hepatology - Year 2017, Vol 16, Issue 6
Abstract
Introduction. Evidence has been accumulated during the last decade showing that HCV infection plays an important activity at hepatic and extra-hepatic level. Chronic HCV is associated with a large spectrum of extra-hepatic manifestations including lympho-proliferative diseases and metabolic abnormalities (such as insulin resistance and fatty liver disease). Material and methods. We have performed an extensive review of the medical literature regarding the increased risk of cardiovascular and kidney disease that has been observed in various groups of HCV-infected patients. The potential link between such increased risk and the metabolic consequences of chronic HCV infection has been explored. Results. According to a systematic review with a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies (n = 9 clinical observational studies; n = 1,947,034 unique patients), we found a strong relationship between positive anti-HCV serologic status and increased incidence of chronic kidney disease in the adult general population, the summary estimate for adjusted hazard ratio was 1.43 (95% confidence intervals, 1.23; 1.63, P = 0.0001) (random-effects model) in anti-HCV positive patients. In another meta-analysis of clinical observational studies (n = 145,608 unique patients on long term dialysis; n = 14 observational studies), anti-HCV sero-positive status was an independent and significant risk factor for death in patients on maintenance dialysis. The summary estimate for adjusted relative risk (all-cause mortality) was 1.35 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.25; 1.47 (P < 0.01) in anti-HCV positive patients on maintenance dialysis. An updated and stratified analysis (n = 4 studies, n = 91,916 patients on maintenance dialysis) resulted in an adjusted HR for cardiovascular mortality among anti-HCV positive patients of 1.21 (95% CI, 1.06; 1.39) (P < 0.01); the homogeneity assumption was not rejected. The mechanisms underlying such relationships remain unclear; it has been suggested that HCV promotes atherogenesis through direct and indirect mechanisms. Conclusions. Clinical trials are under way to assess whether the clearance of HCV RNA from serum by direct-acting antiviral drugs reduces all cause or disease-specific (cardiovascular) mortality among patients on maintenance dialysis.
Authors and Affiliations
Fabrizio Fabrizi, Francesca M. Donato, Piergiorgio Messa
Sofosbuvir-Based Therapy in the Pre-Liver Transplant Setting: The Canadian National Experience
Introduction and aim. Sofosbuvir (SOF)-based regimen has been shown to have high efficacy even in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Treated patients may experience various degrees of hepatic recovery ranging from st...
Antiviral therapy: Inhibition of Hepatitis C Virus expression by RNA interference directed against the NS5B region of the Viral Genome
Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health problem with 170 million chronically infected people throughout the world. Currently, the only treatment available consists of a combination of pegylated inter...
PTEN at the crossroad of metabolic diseases and cancer in the liver
The tumor suppressor PTEN is a phosphoinositide phosphatase regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathways and mutated or deleted in a variety of human cancers. Recent evidence indicates that dysregulated PTEN expression and...
Factors associated with spontaneous HBsAg clearance in chronic hepatitis B patients followed at a university hospital
Introduction. Few studies have evaluated the factors involved in the spontaneous HBsAg seroclearance in patients with chronic hepatitis B (HBV) followed up on a long-term basis from areas with a low prevalence of HBV inf...
Living Fasciola hepatica in biliary tree: a case reportin a case with congenital biliary anomaly
Here we report a rare case of living Fasciola hepatica in biliary tract. The patient was in acute phase of infection and treated successfully with 10 mg/kg oral triclabendazole after the fluke was extracted using endosco...