HIV, Hep C, and Your T Cells

There's good news for HIVers coinfected with hepatitis C. Coinfection does not hamper the immune system's ability to rebound on a successful antiretroviral regimen. Previous research has shown that HIV infection does accelerate liver disease progression caused by hep C, and there were fears that hepatitis C may have a similar reverse effect on HIV disease or on the ability of anti-HIV medications to suppress the virus and boost CD4-cell counts. But a study of more than 4,000 coinfected adults reported in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes seems to put those worries to rest. Data showed that there was not a difference in CD4-cell rebounds between coinfected adults and those with only HIV infection. There's one caveat, though. The study included only HIV-HCVers with fully suppressed HIV viral loads. 'We cannot evaluate the influence of HCV coinfection on the CD4-cell count in patients who are not fully suppressed,' the researchers said.