Hepatitis C subtype-1b and carriage of IL28B gene associated with improved treatment responses in HIV-co-infected patients

Hepatitis C treatment responses in patients co-infected with HIV are better in patients infected with hepatitis C subtype-1b and 1a, according to Spanish research published in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. The research also showed that the presence of the IL28B gene influenced treatment responses.

“We noticed that on treatment responses and SVR [sustained virological response] rates were uniformly worse in HCV-1a as compared to HCV-1b patients,” comment the authors. “Another important finding of our study was that early viral kinetics in HCV-1 patients was significantly influenced by…IL28B.”

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