Search
Close
Search
Advanced Search
Search Menu
AI Discovery Assistant

Extract

To the Editor—We read with great interest the letter by Antonucci et al. [1] responding to our article describing the relationship between hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype and HCV RNA load, CD4+ T cell count, and HIV‐1 disease progression [2]. Our study, which was conducted in HIV‐1/HCV–coinfected children and adolescents with hemophilia enrolled in the Hemophilia Growth and Development Study (HGDS), made the novel observation that, compared with those with HCV non–genotype 1 infection, those with HCV genotype 1 infection had lower absolute and percentage CD4+ T cell measurements. As with any new finding, confirmation in other cohorts and further study to determine whether the results can be extrapolated to other populations are vital. Antonucci et al. performed a related analysis in a cohort of 302 patients followed longitudinally in the Italian Cohort Naive for Antiretrovirals (I.Co.N.A.). This cohort was considerably different from the HGDS cohort, being an adult cohort of whom ∼24% were women and ∼84% had injection drug use as the primary risk factor for HIV‐1 infection. In addition, the study population included a larger percentage of patients with non–genotype 1 infection than did the HGDS cohort (49% vs. 22%). Despite these differences, Antonucci et al. found the same relationship between HCV genotype and CD4+ T cell count that we reported in our study. Although follow‐up of the I.Co.N.A. was limited to a mean of 4.6 months, compared with up to 7 years for the HGDS cohort, Antonucci et al. also failed to see a difference in change over time in CD4+ T cell count by HCV genotype.

Issue Section:
Correspondence
You do not currently have access to this article.
Download all slides