For patients with rheumatic disease and hepatitis C infection: the end of interferon.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global pathogen and is the cause of rare but complex rheumatic complications but more commonly exists as a challenging comorbidity for patients with existing rheumatic diseases. Until recently, the standard of care of HCV has been the use of interferon-based regimens, which not only have limited effectiveness in curing the underlying viral illness but are poorly tolerated and in patients with rheumatic diseases especially problematic given their association with a wide variety of autoimmune toxicities. Numerous and other more effective and better tolerated regimens are rapidly emerging incorporating direct acting antiviral agents that do not require the use of interferon, that is, interferon free. The potential of interferon free treatment of HCV makes screening for this comorbidity more important than ever. Rheumatologists need to be knowledgeable about these therapeutic advances and partner with hepatologists to craft the most efficacious and toxicity-free regimes possible.
Cleveland Clinic Lerner, College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, RJ Fasenmyer Chair of Clinical Immunology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio , USA.
Leonard H
LH
Calabrese
Inflammation-Immunopathology-Biotherapy Department (DHU i2B) , Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7211 , Paris , France ; INSERM, UMR_S 959 , Paris , France ; CNRS, FRE3632 , Paris , France ; Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Immunology , AP-HP, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière , Paris , France.
Patrice P
PP
Cacoub
Autoimmunity; Infections; Treatment