Advanced fibrosis associated with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in Spain: results of a Delphi study

OBJECTIVE

To describe in detail the epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical management, treatment options, impact on quality of life and unmet needs of patients with advanced liver fibrosis (F3-F4) associated with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in Spain.

METHODOLOGY

Delphi study of two rounds of consultation rounds with 41 expert hepatologists from 16 autonomous communities to collect their experience in clinical practice.

RESULTS

The estimated prevalence of adult patients diagnosed with F3-F4 fibrosis associated with NASH in Spain is 0.019% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.019-0.020%). Approximately 7,588 adults with this condition are currently diagnosed and managed in the Digestive System Services of Spanish hospitals, and around 1,881 new patients are diagnosed each year. Management is multidisciplinary and includes the specialties of Digestive System, Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, considering the frequently associated metabolic comorbidities (obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus or dysmetabolic iron overload). Despite a clear impact on quality of life, this it is not routinely evaluated in clinical practice. The most widely used non-invasive diagnostic techniques are transitional elastography and liver fibrosis index 4 (FIB-4). The absence of effective and safe treatments appears as the main unmet need for the management of these patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides a representation of the current situation of patients diagnosed with F3-F4 fibrosis associated with NASH in Spain, increasing the evidence available and contributing to informed decision-making by professionals and the health system.

Eradication of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Reduces Immune Activation, Microbial Translocation, and the HIV DNA Level in HIV/HCV-Coinfected Patients

Background

There are contradictory data about the influence that hepatitis C virus (HCV) has on immune activation and inflammation in patients coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HCV.

Methods

HIV/HCV-coinfected patients receiving antiretroviral treatment who achieved a sustained virological response with interferon-free regimens were consecutively enrolled in a prospective study. The following factors were assessed before, immediately after the end of, and 1 month after the end of therapy: expression of HLA-DR/CD38, PD-1, and CD57 on CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells; measurement of the total HIV DNA load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells; and determination of plasma levels of soluble CD14 (sCD14), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA), interleukin 6 (IL-6), D-dimers, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP).

Results

Ninety-seven patients were consecutively included. At the end of therapy and 1 month later, there were significant reductions in the expression of HLA-DR and CD38 in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, as well as levels of proviral HIV DNA, sCD14, LPS, 16S rDNA, and D-dimer (P < .001). By contrast, the expression of PD-1 and CD57 in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and levels of IL-6 and hsCRP did not change. The improvement in levels of immune activation markers, proviral HIV DNA, and microbial translocation markers did not translate into an increased CD4+ T-cell count or increased ratio of the CD4+ T-cell count to the CD8+ T-cell count.

Conclusions

HCV eradication in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients results in significant decreases in levels of immune activation markers, proviral HIV DNA load, microbial translocation markers, and D-dimers. These findings support the use of HCV treatment for all HIV/HCV-coinfected patients, even those with low-grade fibrosis.

Viral Kinetics in Semen With Different Antiretroviral Families in Treatment-Naive Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients: A Randomized Trial

Background

There are several regimens for starting antiretroviral treatment, but it remains unknown whether either of them is more advantageous regarding the time course and magnitude of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA decay in semen.

Objective

To evaluate the differential effect of different antiretroviral drug families on viral kinetics in seminal plasma (SP) of treatment-naive HIV-infected patients.

Methods

Phase II, randomized, open-label study in which participants were randomized 1:1:1 to receive tenofovir-disoproxil fumarate (DF) plus emtricitabine, and either cobicistat-boosted elvitegravir (EVGcobi), rilpivirine (RPV), or ritonavir-boosted darunavir (DRVrtv). The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants with undetectable HIV-RNA in SP at week 12. HIV type 1 (HIV-1) RNA was measured in paired SP and blood plasma (BP) at baseline and after 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, and 24 weeks. Elvitegravir (EVG), RPV, and darunavir (DRV) concentrations were quantified by the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method.

Results

In SP, the HIV-RNA decay rate with RPV was as fast as with EVGcobi; by week 12, all participants in the RPV and the EVGcobi groups reached an undetectable viral load but only 58.3% in the DRVrtv arm (P = .003). The highest SP/BP drug concentration ratio was for EVG (0.43), followed-up by RPV (0.19), and DRV (0.10). For both EVG and RPV, the SP concentrations exceeded >2-fold the protein binding-adjusted EC90 for wild-type HIV-1; for DRV, only 33.7% of the SP showed concentrations above the protein binding-adjusted EC90.

Conclusions

In SP, both RPV and EVGcobi, associated to tenofovir-DF and emtricitabine, behave similarly and achieve an undetectable viral load much faster than DRVrtv.

Registration

European Medical Agency (No. EudraCT: 2014-001348-39).

Pharmacokinetic interactions between cobicistat-boosted elvitegravir and darunavir in HIV-infected patients

Objectives

To evaluate if there are significant drug-drug interactions between cobicistat-boosted elvitegravir and 800 mg darunavir once daily taken simultaneously, as has been suggested previously.

Methods

The study population consisted of three groups of unselected volunteers taking a regimen of elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (150, 150, 200 and 300 mg, respectively) co-formulated in a single tablet plus 800 mg darunavir (group A); only co-formulated elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (group B); and cobicistat-boosted darunavir (800 mg darunavir + 150 mg cobicistat) plus two nucleos(t)ide analogues (group C). Elvitegravir, cobicistat and darunavir concentrations at the end of the dosing interval ( C 24 ) were quantified using a validated LC with tandem MS method.

Results

A total of 170 samples were obtained from 24, 32 and 32 patients in groups A, B and C, respectively. In group A, the elvitegravir C 24 were similar to those in group B (233.67 versus 250.39 ng/mL) ( P  =   0.406) and the darunavir C 24 were similar to those in group C (1293.54 versus 1319.34 ng/mL) ( P  =   0.908). The cobicistat C 24 were comparable in groups A and B (20.2 versus 20.9 ng/mL) and slightly higher in group C (27.7 ng/mL) ( P  =   0.059).

Conclusions

The results provide evidence of similar elvitegravir and darunavir C 24 concentrations when these drugs are co-administered as co-formulated elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate plus 800 mg darunavir or dosed separately.

No differences of immune activation and microbial translocation among HIV-infected children receiving combined antiretroviral therapy or protease inhibitor monotherapy

This is a cross-sectional study of 15 aviremic chronic HIV-infected children revealing no differences in immune activation (IA; HLA-DRCD38 CD4 and CD8 T cells, and sCD14) and microbial translocation (MT; lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and 16S rDNA) among HIV-infected patients under combined antiretroviral treatment (cART; n = 10) or ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor monotherapy (mtPI/rtv; n = 5). In both cases, IA and MT were lower in healthy control children (n = 32). This observational study suggests that ritonavir boosted protease inhibitor monotherapy (mtPI/rtv) is not associated with an increased state of IA or MT as compared with children receiving cART.

Low concordance and resistance mutation emergence in the HIV protease gene among circulating and cell-associated viruses at viral replication episodes during darunavir/ritonavir monotherapy

OBJECTIVE

To assess the changes on the HIV protease gene in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) compartments during viral replication episodes in patients on boosted-darunavir monotherapy (mtDRV/rtv).

METHODS

A prospective study was carried out in which adult HIV-1-infected patients who started mtDRV/rtv after viral suppression for ≥ 6 months with no major darunavir-related resistance mutations were enrolled. Patients with two consecutive plasma HIV RNA measurements >200 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL were considered as having virological failure (VF), while patients with two consecutive plasma HIV RNA measurements >50 copies/mL without meeting the VF criteria were considered to have virological rebound (VR). HIV protease genotypic profiles from plasma and PBMCs were performed at baseline and at VF and VR episodes.

RESULTS

One hundred and fifty patients were included in the study, with overall VF and VR rates of 14% (n=21) and 14.7% (n=22), respectively. No major darunavir resistance mutations were observed in the plasma or PBMC samples. Circulating and cell-associated viruses showed a wild-type protease gene sequence in 54% and 23% of patients, respectively while the remainder patients only harboured minor protease inhibitor-associated mutations. Full concordance between plasma RNA and PBMC DNA protease genotypes was found in 23% of the sequences.

CONCLUSIONS

No darunavir-related mutations were found in patients with VF or VR, either in plasma or in PBMCs; thus, simplification to mtDRV/rtv does not comprise future antiretroviral treatment options.

Comparison of the new Abbott Real Time CMV assay and the Abbott CMV PCR Kit for the quantitation of plasma cytomegalovirus DNAemia

CMV DNA loads measured by the new Abbott RealTime CMV PCR were significantly higher than those quantitated by the Abbott CMV PCR kit (approximately 1 log(10)), and provided a better estimate of the actual CMV load present in plasma specimens as inferred by the use of the WHO standard.