The Effects Of Obesity On Patients With Hepatitis C

In order to confirm a series of hypotheses regarding the major influence of obesity and metabolic anomalies in facilitating and accelerating the progression of viral hepatitis, medical researchers have recently conducted several different studies. All the performed studies produced similar results and doctors were finally able to draw a conclusion upon this matter. According to recent study findings, obesity and the so called “metabolic syndrome� (a wide spectrum of disorders that also comprise insulin resistance and abnormally high blood fat levels) can be directly linked with steatosis (accumulation and deposition of fat at the level of the liver), liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, as well as hepato-cellular carcinoma.

Recently published findings of an extensive study performed on more than 3000 patients with hepatitis C from 10 clinics in France, Switzerland, Italy, Australia and the United States have confirmed the fact that certain metabolic factors and obesity play major roles in the occurrence and progression of liver disease. Such factors have also been identified as responsible for facilitating the development of steatosis and fibrosis among patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C. In addition, the study has also revealed the fact that obesity actually reduced the potency of existing treatments and therapies for acute and chronic forms of hepatitis C.

Although the exact way by which metabolic anomalies and obesity facilitate the occurrence of steatosis and

fibrosis are still unknown to medical science, doctors suspect a series of factors such as inflammation, pronounced autoimmune response and abnormal levels of hormones and cytokines (leptin, adiponectin) inside the body to be responsible for causing such forms of liver disease. According to recent findings, fat tissues produce a variety of hormones known as adipokines that control the production of glucose and lipids at the level of the liver, and also determine a series of immune activities. Leptin, for instance has been identified to facilitate inflammatory processes and fibrogenesis.

Obesity is suspected to cause insulin resistance, which further determines the accumulation and deposition of fat inside liver cells. Considering the fact that hepatitis C also causes insulin resistance, obese patients with hepatitis C are confronted with highly elevated insulin levels. On these premises, most medications used in the treatment of hepatitis C are inappropriately absorbed by the body and thus fail to produce efficient results.

A possible solution to the problem consists in administering anti-diabetes drugs such as metformin (Glucophage), pioglitazone (Actos), and rosiglitazone (Avandia) in order to reduce the phenomenon of fat deposition in the liver. In addition, the use of pegylated interferon and ribavirin in higher doses and in long-term treatments may also help in enhancing the action of other medications administered to obese patients with hepatitis C. Medical scientists are currently performing additional research in order to find efficient solutions to the reduced response of obese patients to common treatments of hepatitis C.



By: Groshan Fabiola