Scientists find a way to cure hepatitis C with 6 weeks of treatment

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/eaft-sfa040816.php

Public Release: 16-Apr-2016
Scientists find a way to cure hepatitis C with 6 weeks of treatment
Short treatment with sofosbuvir and ledipasvir over only 6 weeks is sufficient to cure acute hepatitis C (HCV)
European Association for the Study of the Liver

A pilot study presented today found that all patients with acute HCV who were treated with a direct-acting antiviral treatment over a 'short-duration' of six weeks had undetectable HCV after a 12 week follow-up. The investigator-initiated study, presented at The International Liver CongressTM in Barcelona, Spain, demonstrated that the combination of sofosbuvir and ledipasvir for only six weeks is sufficient to treat patients with acute HCV.

Those infected with HCV usually develop acute Hepatitis C, which spontaneously clears in 10 to 50% of infected persons. Early diagnosis of HCV infection is rare and the disease may go unnoticed until patients have already developed serious liver damage.1 Sofosbuvir and ledipasvir is one possible regimen for treatment of patients with chronic HCV. Sustained virologic response (SVR) is greater than 95% with a 12-week course of this treatment.2

"Given the high cost of sofosbuvir and ledipasvir, and the associated side effects that occur during treatment, we set out to assess whether shortened treatment duration could be an effective option for acute Hepatitis C patients," said Katja Deterding from Hannover Medical School, Germany and study author. "Our research demonstrates that not only is the combination of sofosbuvir and ledipasvir safe, well tolerated and effective in acute HCV genotype 1 patients who have severe liver disease with very high liver enzymes, but a shorter treatment duration does not appear to hinder efficacy," confirmed Professor Heiner Wedemeyer, the senior author of this study.

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