Titre : Editorial: direct-acting antivirals significantly improve quality of life in patients with HCV
link : Editorial: direct-acting antivirals significantly improve quality of life in patients with HCV
Editorial: direct-acting antivirals significantly improve quality of life in patients with HCV
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Editorial: direct-acting antivirals significantly improve quality of life in patients with hepatitis C virus infection
Authors S. Sanagapalli, M. Danta
First published: 17 January 2018
DOI: 10.1111/apt.14467
Abstract
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This article is linked to Younossi et al and Younossi papers. To view these articles visit http://ift.tt/2DEU211 and http://ift.tt/2DfjKIc.
The effect of direct-acting antiviral chronic Hepatitis C (HCV) therapies on patients’ quality of life has been a topic of minor attention compared with their impressive effects on virological endpoints. Yet, therapeutic benefits on quality of life are important to patients, and knowledge regarding such benefits may be an important tool in improving compliance in real-world scenarios.[1] For this reason, Younossi and colleagues are to be commended for their study, which describes clinically significant improvements in almost all measured physical and mental health-related quality of life outcomes following therapy with sofosbuvir and velpatasvir with or without voxilaprevir.[2] This replicates findings from other direct-acting antiviral regimens, but also confirms our own observations from clinical experience using these drugs.
Comparison with quality of life data from the interferon era may help us to tease out the mechanisms behind these findings. First, impairments in both mental and physical aspects of quality of life have long been described in chronic HCV, with or without cirrhosis, using the SF-36, one of the four instruments used in this study.[3] Second, very similar improvements in quality of life parameters were described 24 weeks after completion of interferon-based therapy, with the benefit confined only to those with sustained virological response.[4] More recent data comparing interferon-containing to interferon-free regimens clearly demonstrates that while both regimens result in equivalent improvements in quality of life (in responders) post therapy, the interferon-containing treatments are associated with significant worsening of quality of life during therapy. In contrast, quality of life seems to be improved early during interferon-free therapy and improves further following completion of successful treatment.[5, 6] Taken cumulatively we can infer that virological clearance plays a key role in improvement of quality of life, but cannot be the only factor, since improvement continues long after the virus has completely cleared from the serum.
What might such other factors be? The authors propose that improvement of liver function may play a role, though this still fails to explain the persistent improvement in benefit in non-cirrhotics post therapy. On the other hand, cerebral inflammation due to chronic HCV may explain some of the findings. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and positron emission tomography scanning have demonstrated significant metabolic abnormalities in the brains of noncirrhotics with HCV, implying a low-grade inflammatory state, with the microglial cells being a focus of activation.[7, 8] In a small study, Byrnes and colleagues demonstrated that successful treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin led to normalisation of these central nervous system metabolic changes. Crucially, however, normalisation occurred gradually and improvement in metabolic abnormalities continued until 12 weeks post therapy, implying that the neuroinflammatory process may take time to settle after HCV therapy.[9] While the underlying mechanisms for improved quality of life are of interest, this study adds to the weight of evidence for the overall benefits of direct-acting antiviral therapies for HCV.
Editorial: direct-acting antivirals significantly improve quality of life in patients with hepatitis C virus infection
Authors S. Sanagapalli, M. Danta
First published: 17 January 2018
DOI: 10.1111/apt.14467
Abstract
Linked Content
This article is linked to Younossi et al and Younossi papers. To view these articles visit http://ift.tt/2DEU211 and http://ift.tt/2DfjKIc.
The effect of direct-acting antiviral chronic Hepatitis C (HCV) therapies on patients’ quality of life has been a topic of minor attention compared with their impressive effects on virological endpoints. Yet, therapeutic benefits on quality of life are important to patients, and knowledge regarding such benefits may be an important tool in improving compliance in real-world scenarios.[1] For this reason, Younossi and colleagues are to be commended for their study, which describes clinically significant improvements in almost all measured physical and mental health-related quality of life outcomes following therapy with sofosbuvir and velpatasvir with or without voxilaprevir.[2] This replicates findings from other direct-acting antiviral regimens, but also confirms our own observations from clinical experience using these drugs.
Comparison with quality of life data from the interferon era may help us to tease out the mechanisms behind these findings. First, impairments in both mental and physical aspects of quality of life have long been described in chronic HCV, with or without cirrhosis, using the SF-36, one of the four instruments used in this study.[3] Second, very similar improvements in quality of life parameters were described 24 weeks after completion of interferon-based therapy, with the benefit confined only to those with sustained virological response.[4] More recent data comparing interferon-containing to interferon-free regimens clearly demonstrates that while both regimens result in equivalent improvements in quality of life (in responders) post therapy, the interferon-containing treatments are associated with significant worsening of quality of life during therapy. In contrast, quality of life seems to be improved early during interferon-free therapy and improves further following completion of successful treatment.[5, 6] Taken cumulatively we can infer that virological clearance plays a key role in improvement of quality of life, but cannot be the only factor, since improvement continues long after the virus has completely cleared from the serum.
What might such other factors be? The authors propose that improvement of liver function may play a role, though this still fails to explain the persistent improvement in benefit in non-cirrhotics post therapy. On the other hand, cerebral inflammation due to chronic HCV may explain some of the findings. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and positron emission tomography scanning have demonstrated significant metabolic abnormalities in the brains of noncirrhotics with HCV, implying a low-grade inflammatory state, with the microglial cells being a focus of activation.[7, 8] In a small study, Byrnes and colleagues demonstrated that successful treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin led to normalisation of these central nervous system metabolic changes. Crucially, however, normalisation occurred gradually and improvement in metabolic abnormalities continued until 12 weeks post therapy, implying that the neuroinflammatory process may take time to settle after HCV therapy.[9] While the underlying mechanisms for improved quality of life are of interest, this study adds to the weight of evidence for the overall benefits of direct-acting antiviral therapies for HCV.
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