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Focusing HIV Treatment Helps Control Concurrent Hepatitis B Infection WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- July 15, 2009 -- Prolonged use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to treat patients coinfected with both HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) helps to better control the hepatitis B infection and could delay or prevent liver complications, according to a study published in HIV Clinical Trials. Researchers also found that patients who had higher levels of a common liver enzyme upon beginning treatment for HIV-HBV co-infection were at an increased risk of being diagnosed with cirrhosis within the first few years of follow-up. "One of the most interesting findings was the confirmation that a simple marker, such as transaminase levels before treatment, is useful in identifying patients at higher risk of developing HBV-related complications in a few years," said lead researcher Marina Núñez, MD, Section on Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Dr. Núñez and colleagues found that prolonged use of HAART, including 1 or more drugs active against HBV, can lead to clearance of the HBV infection in co-infected patients. For the study, researchers reviewed medical records of patients seen in an adult HIV clinic between 1990 and 2008. They included all patients with positive HIV antibody, hepatitis B, and at least 3 months of follow-up care on record. Of the 72 patient charts reviewed, primarily black males with a median age of 39 years and advanced HIV disease at the time of diagnosis, 64 of the patients received HAART that included drugs effective in treating HBV, for a median duration of 1 year. The researchers were looking for whether the patients were diagnosed with liver complications such as cirrhosis and liver cancer over the course of treatment, and whether the chronic HBV infection improved. Analysis showed that receiving HAART combined with HBV treatment for a longer period of time was significantly associated with reduced and, in some cases cleared, chronic HBV infection. Dr. Núñez said the findings "stress the importance of good control of the HIV and HBV infections through maintained compliance with HAART including drugs to treat HBV." "In HBV-HIV patients with the elevated enzyme levels that signal liver damage, it is even more important to control the HBV infection in an attempt to decrease the risks of complications. Those patients should also be more closely screened for liver complications." SOURCE: Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version