In their study, Dr. Michael R. Charlton and colleagues found that obese patients who are treated for the chronic hepatitis C virus infection are more likely to have a better outcome if the underlying abnormalities caused by excessive fat tissue are corrected first.
According to a report by Reuters, the study which is published in the medical journal Hepatology, suggests that excess weight in patients with HCV infection can cause inflammation and insulin resistance, a "prediabetic" abnormality of blood sugar.
These patients may also have steatosis, "fatty liver disease," progression of fibrosis, scarring of the liver; and poor response to interferon and ribavirin, the standard treatment for HCV infection.
Such HCV patients with obesity-related fatty liver disease are also at greater risk for more advanced liver disease, they notice.
The researchers recommend that weight loss to reduce fat tissue is an important first step in improving response to treatment.
Also they suggest that treatment with diabetes drugs, such as metformin and pioglitazone, will improve insulin sensitivity and reduce fat accumulation in the liver, which might reverse disease progression.
Longer duration of treatment and higher doses of drug may be seen as additional approaches to enhance patients' response to combination drug therapy. The researchers advise that the dosages should be based on Body Mass Index (BMI) of the individual rather on weight.
