The unique composite E1E2/D32.10 epitope seems to be essential for HCVsp entry and thus the D32.10 mAb a novel inhibitor of HCV infection, with most relevant potential in the context of liver transplantation to prevent reinfection of the graft. This new HCVsp-HepaRG infection system could also be most useful for screening HCV entry inhibitors. Additional Supporting

Information may be found in the online version of this article. “
“Aim:  The aim of the present study was to assess the changes of liver stiffness (LS) and its associated factors in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) after interferon (IFN)-based therapy. Methods:  Patients with chronic HCV who had previously undergone at least 20 weeks of IFN-based therapy were enrolled. The patients’ initial LS measurement was taken at the time of enrollment, and a second LS measurement R788 research buy was made after an interval of at least 38 weeks. LS measurement was carried out with FibroScan®, and changes of LS and its associated factors were analyzed. Results:  One hundred and forty-four patients, including 95 sustained virological response (SVR) patients and 49 non-sustained virological response

(NSVR) patients, were enrolled. There was a significant decrease of LS among SVR patients (median, 0.6; P < 0.001). NSVR patients showed an increase of LS (median, 0.8; P = 0.557). For SVR patients, a high initial LS was the predictive factor of a rapid reduction see more of LS values. However, advanced fibrosis stage before therapy, higher body mass index (BMI) and longer time remission were predictive factors for slow reduction of LS values. Conclusions:  LS decreases in sustained responders following IFN-based therapy in patients with chronic HCV. Advanced fibrosis, higher

BMI, longer time for remission and lower initial LS value are predictive factors for a slow improvement of LS in sustained responders. “
“We conducted a budget impact analysis to evaluate the next short term financial consequences of introducing IFN-free DAA-based regimens to treat HCV-infected patients in France. According to a previous mathematical model, a population of 56250 F0-4 patients aged 18 to 70 aware of their HCV infection was considered for treatment. Their characteristics in 2014 were: mean age (51 years), genotype (1/2/3/4: 62%/8%/15%/15%), naive (49%), fibrosis at diagnosis (naive/non-naive: 56%/38 %in F0-1, 21%/23 %in F2, 23%/39 %in F3-4). A Markov model simulated fibrosis progression and cost of treating HCV in these patients over a 3-year period, according to the following assumptions: treatment if ≥ F2; prioritize treatment if F3-4; ≤ 20,000 patients treated/year; considering only drug costs. DAA considered were sofosbuvir+ledipasvir for genotype 1 during 12 weeks; sofosbuvir+ribavirin for genotype 2 during 12 weeks, for genotype 3 or 4 during 24 weeks.