title: Spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus in a patient co-infected with hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus: a case report.
abstract: The effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains unclear. Spontaneous HCV clearance with initiation of HAART in non-cirrhotic HCV patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been reported. We describe an HIV/HCV patient with decompensated cirrhosis, who had spontaneous HCV clearance after an episode of elevated liver enzymes and a change in HAART regimen. His HCV RNA level remained undetectable for six months by quantitative and qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. The disappearance of HCV RNA may be due to a combination of host immune recovery, genetic polymorphism and direct effect of HAART against HCV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA. aung.kaung@cshs.org.
authors.forename: Aung
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaung
authors.affiliation: Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Vinay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sundaram
authors.affiliation: Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Tram T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Tran
mesh_terms: D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D060085:Coinfection; D057915:Drug Substitution; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D012367:RNA, Viral