title: Successful antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis C in patients with rare comorbidities. Two case-reports.
abstract: Antiviral therapy in patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and rare comorbidities cannot be easily started, as it can reduce the likelihood of a good therapeutic response with an increased frequency of side effects. We report two patients presenting unusual comorbidities associated with chronic C hepatitis: one with the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a rare genetic disease caused by a defect in collagen synthesis, the other one with the Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT) disease, an uncommon but severe form of demyelinating peripheral neuropathy. Both patients were successfully treated with pegylated Interferon (Peg-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) combined therapy, with the achievement of a sustained viral response (SVR) and a low occurrence of adverse effects. Up to now there are no reports of patients suffering from chronic C hepatitis associated with these uncommon but severe comorbidities treated with antiviral therapy. In conclusion, in such clinical situations, anti-HCV therapy may be started and tailored, especially if the patient is highly motivated and if optimal predictors of response (i.e. young age, favourable genotype and low baseline viraemia) do exist.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Ferrara, Italy. violaguardigni@viriglio.it
authors.forename: Viola
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Guardigni
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fabbri
authors.forename: Anastasio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grilli
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Contini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002607:Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004535:Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a