Hepatitis C and HIV neurological implications

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a blood-borne viral infection that disproportionately affects individuals in the birth cohort encompassing from 1945 to 1965, as well as those who have received unscreened blood transfusions or blood products (including tattoos), and those who use intravenous drugs or who may have been exposed to contaminated materials in a healthcare setting. HCV infection exerts systemic inflammatory effects on all organ systems including the central nervous system as evidenced by activity in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid. Those with uncontrolled human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection show higher sequelae of neurological, cognitive, and somatic symptoms. New direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for HCV infection holds promise to eradicate the disease from the body and thus eliminate any further neurological, systemic, and hepatic morbidity.