Important note: Information in this article was accurate in October 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, October 22 & 29, 2001
Michael Greer, Senior Medical Writer
NewsRx -- Patients who are infected with both HIV and the hepatitis G virus fare significantly better than other HIV patients, researchers say.
"The flavivirus GB virus C (GBV-C, also designated hepatitis G virus) was identified in a search for hepatitis viruses, but no disease is currently known to be associated with it," explained Dr. Hans L. Tillmann and colleagues at Hannover Medical School in Hannover, Germany, and Bayer Diagnostics in Emeryville, California.
Tillmann and coworkers found that GBV-C coinfection was strongly linked to more favorable disease parameters and better chances of long-term survival for HIV patients.
Levels of GBV-C plasma RNA were strongly and negatively correlated with HIV viral load in the patients studied, they said. However, no such link between GBV-C and CD4 cell count was seen.
The 16.8% of patients who tested positive for GBV-C had significantly longer lifespans than GBV-C - patients (p<0.001), study data showed. The association between GBV-C infection and longer survival was weaker but still significant when excluding patients who contracted HIV prior to the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (p=0.02).
GBV-C infection was also linked to slower progression to full-blown AIDS and longer survival following progression (Infection with GB virus C and reduced mortality among HIV-infected patients, N Engl J Med 2001 Sep 6;345(10):715-24.
"Coinfection with GBV-C is associated with a reduced mortality rate in HIV infected patients," Tillmann and colleagues concluded. "GBV-C is not known to cause any disease, but it is possible that its presence leads to an inhibition of HIV replication. However, GBV-C infection could also be a marker for the presence of other factors that lead to a favorable HIV response."
The corresponding author for this report is H.L. Tillmann, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Dept. of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Neuberg Strasse 1, D-30623 Hannover, Germany.
Key points reported in this study include:
This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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