title: Natural history of liver disease and effect of hepatitis C virus on HIV disease progression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Due to high prevalence rates, the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the HIV cause two viral infections of global importance. Shared routes of transmission lead to a high number of dually infected individuals especially in specific populations such as intravenous drug users or people from highly endemic regions for both viruses. Treatment progress made in the field of HIV in the past three decades diminished the number of HIV patients who die from opportunistic infections and enabled a rise of HCV-associated liver disease in the HIV-HCV-coinfected population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An HIV-HCV coinfection is mainly characterized by a faster progression to liver cirrhosis that may lead to hepatic decompensation or the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The treatment of HIV with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may only partly reverse this effect by the restoration of the immune system. Although no clear deleterious effect of HCV on the course of HIV infection is described, an increased HIV-associated and non-HIV-associated mortality has been described in patients not cured from their HCV infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this article, we review the latest knowledge on the natural course of HCV in the HIV-infected population, the role of HIV treatment, and the possible effects of HCV on HIV disease progression.
authors.affiliation: aMedical Center for Infectious Diseases (MIB), Berlin, Germany bDepartment of Medicine I, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany cGerman Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ingiliz
authors.forename: Jürgen K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Rockstroh
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000473:pathology; D060085:Coinfection / Q000473:pathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D017093:Liver Failure / Q000473:pathology