Study: Hepatitis
C coinfection does not speed HIV progression

A new study in the journal AIDS shows that HIV patients who are coinfected with hepatitis C do not experience more rapid HIV disease progression and are not at a higher risk of developing AIDS-related opportunistic infections or dying than HIV patients not coinfected with hepatitis. Researchers analyzed more than 10,000 patient records from more than 100 U.S. clinics to gauge the effect of hepatitis C coinfection on HIV-positive adults taking antiretroviral drugs. They found that hepatitis coinfection did not boost the risks of an opportunistic infection or of death, nor did it result in higher HIV viral levels or lower CD4-cell counts. Instead, the study found that alcoholism and the type of antiretroviral drugs prescribed were linked to more rapid HIV progression. (The Advocate)