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HCV Treatments and Their Integration Into Rheumatology

  • Infections and Arthritis (K Winthrop, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been associated with distinct rheumatic syndromes including arthritis, sialadenitis, and cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (CV). The therapy of these HCV-associated syndromes includes antiviral therapy with or without the addition of immunosuppressives while clinical response is mainly seen in patients who clear the virus after antiviral therapy. Despite significant therapeutic advances, existing antiviral therapies with interferon-a (IFNa)-based schemes achieve viral eradication only in approximately half the patients. Recently, oral antivirals that target specific HCV proteins referred as direct acting antivirals (DAAs) have been developed and approved. Short-term (12–24 weeks) combination schemes with or without IFN (“IFN-free” regimens) including these inhibitors clear the virus in more than 90 % of treated patients. Here, we review current therapeutic options in HCV-associated rheumatic syndromes and the potential role of the newly available antivirals in an integrated therapeutic approach.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. Vassilopoulos’ work was supported in part by research grants from the Special Account for Research Grants (S.A.R.G.), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

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Conflict of Interest

Dimitrios Vassilopoulos declares the receipt of honoraria from Abbvie; Actelion Pharmaceuticals; Bristol Myers Squibb; Janssen; Merck, Sharp & Dohme; Novartis; Pfizer; Roche; and UCB.

Leonard H. Calabrese declares that he has served as a consultant for Genentech, Roche, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and has received honoraria from Genentech, Roche, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Janssen Pharmaceutica.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, 2nd Department of Medicine, Hippokration General Hospital, Athens University, 114 Vass. Sophias Ave., 115 27, Athens, Greece

    Dimitrios Vassilopoulos

  2. Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Desk A50, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA

    Leonard H. Calabrese

Authors
  1. Dimitrios Vassilopoulos
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  2. Leonard H. Calabrese
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Correspondence to Dimitrios Vassilopoulos.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Infections and Arthritis

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Vassilopoulos, D., Calabrese, L.H. HCV Treatments and Their Integration Into Rheumatology. Curr Rheumatol Rep 17, 51 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-015-0526-z

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