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Infect Dis Ther 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.

Introduction: In patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and decompensated cirrhosis (DC), it is uncertain whether viral clearance is clinically meaningful and whether it decreases liver-related and non-liver-related mortality. The aim of this study was to assess whether viral eradication reduced liver-related and non-liver-related mortality in patients with HCV infection and DC.

Methods: To clarify the impact of viral eradication on liver-related and non-liver-related mortality, 364 patients with DC who received direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) and achieved sustained virological response (SVR) in the UK (DAA group) were compared with 249 patients with DC who did not receive DAAs and who underwent symptomatic treatment in Japan (non-DAA group). Read More

Expert Opin Drug Saf 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Division of Internal Medicine and Hepatology, Department of Gastroenterology, Humanitas Research Hospital IRCCS, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.

Introduction: Treatment of chronic Hepatitis C with directly acting antivirals (DAAs) can bring to sustained virologic response (SVR) in approximately 95% of patients. Efficacy and safety of DAAs in ageing patients has not been widely analyzed. We aimed to determine safety and efficacy of DAA-based regimens in a cohort of elderly patients in a real-life setting. Read More

bioRxiv 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Infection by SARS-CoV-2 generally causes mild symptoms but can lead to severe disease and death in certain populations, including the immunocompromised. Drug repurposing efforts are underway to identify compounds that interfere with SARS-CoV-2 replication or the immunopathology it can elicit. Rapamycin is among those being currently tested in clinical trials for impacts on COVID-19 severity. Read More

Infect Drug Resist 2021 12;14:1381-1387. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Hepatology, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi, India.

Purpose: Limited literature on the prevalence of baseline resistance associated substitutions (BL-RAS) among HCV-HIV co-infected patients and their association with treatment outcomes is available especially from India. Hence, the present study aimed to study naturally occurring RAS among non-cirrhotic HCV-HIV co-infected patients and their impact on the response to anti-HCV therapy.

Patients And Methods: In this retrospective study, archived blood samples of 80 HCV-HIV co-infected patients, before anti-HCV therapy initiation, were tested for substitutions at the drug acting sites (NS5a and NS5b) in the HCV genome by direct PCR sequencing. Read More

mBio 2021 Apr 20;12(2). Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA

Convalescent plasma is a promising therapy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the antibody characteristics that contribute to efficacy remain poorly understood. This study analyzed plasma samples from 126 eligible convalescent blood donors in addition to 15 naive individuals, as well as an additional 20 convalescent individuals as a validation cohort. Multiplexed Fc Array binding assays and functional antibody response assays were utilized to evaluate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody composition and activity. Read More