Chronic hepatitis C, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease: What impact of direct-acting antiviral treatments?

Chronic hepatitis C, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease: What impact of direct-acting antiviral treatments? World J Gastroenterol. 2018 Nov 07;24(41):4617-4621 Authors: Adinolfi LE, Rinaldi L, Nevola R Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with extrahepatic manifestations, among these there is an increased risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease as well as an increased cardiovascular mortality. Several direct and indirect HCV pro-atherogenic mechanisms have been proposed. HCV lives and replicates within carotid plaques, promoting a local environment of pro-atherogenic factors. In addition, it causes conditions such as insulin resistance, diabetes, hepatic steatosis, cryoglobulinemia and endotoxinemia that are associated with the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Therapeutic regimens based on direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA) are currently available with high efficacy in HCV clearance and improvement of liver disease, but does HCV eradication also improve atherosclerosis and the risk of cardiovascular disease? Recently, a multi-center study has shown that elimination of HCV improves carotid atherosclerosis. Two studies have shown that DAA treatments significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. Several studies have assessed the impact of HCV clearance on pro-atherosclerosis metabolic conditions showing improvement in cardiovascular risk biomarkers, disappearan...
Source: World Journal of Gastroenterology : WJG - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: World J Gastroenterol Source Type: research