In a couple of days, the annual celebration of World AIDS day will once again be celebrated. It was in line with this fact that UN has called for urgent series of actions which is necessary in order to help and protect HIV patients across the globe.
In the recently concluded 2016 AASLD Liver meeting this month, the pooled analysis has shown that the sofosbuvir/ledipasvir also known as Harvoni co-formulation which is widely used in real-world clinical practice has produced good sustained virological response rates , which is similar to those seen in clinical trials for HIV-positive people with hepatitis C co-infection.
Sofosbuvir/Ledispasvir Being Used For HIV Patients, How Effective Was It?
It was found that HIV-positive people who have co infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) experience more rapid liver disease progression on average and did not respond as well as HIV-negative people to interferon-based hepatitis C treatment. As per Aids Map, Susanna Naggie of Duke University and colleagues was found to have compared the efficacy of the sofosbuvir/ledipasvir single tablet regimen for people with HIV/HCV co-infection with HCV genotype 1 in clinical trials against its effectiveness in real-world cohorts.
On the other hand, according to Info Hep, it was found that new and direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) used in interferon-free regimens have made treatment simpler, better tolerated and much more effective. Clinical trials showed that DAAs work as well for HIV-positive as for HIV-negative people with hepatitis C. However, scientists have highly emphasized the fact that despite the study findings, they still need to be aware of potential drug-drug interactions with antiretrovirals.
Ultimately, the researchers of the study concludes that sustained virological response rates were high across all populations including populations with traditional negative predictors such as black race, cirrhosis, and treatment-experienced patients. Accordingly, experts have added that the results have coincided with the recent EASL guidelines and AASLD/IDSA guidelines, which recommend sofosbuvir/ledipasvir for people with HIV/HCV co-infection.
