Case Study Demonstrates Importance of HCV Control for Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

A case report of a 52-year-old woman with hepatitis C virus infection and type 2 diabetes mellitus demonstrates the important role that controlling hepatitis can have in mediating other health issues a patient may face.

Raymond Anthony Pashun, MD, of the Department of Medicine, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and his colleagues reported on the patient in Case Reports in Hepatology. 

The woman was diagnosed in 2002 with hepatitis C “secondary to intravenous drug use,” and then diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus about 3 years later, according to Dr Pashun and colleagues. 

The woman was prescribed 40 units daily of insulin glargine and 8 units of insulin aspart before meals, as well as lifestyle modifications. She was also prescribed a triple direct acting antiviral therapy regimen to control the hepatitis C. 

“Control of type 2 diabetes mellitus is usually advised prior to HCV therapy in order to increase response rates,²” the researchers wrote. “However, with the advent of potent direct acting antiviral therapies, viral eradication may be possible despite poor glycemic control and may actually be an effective means of improving diabetic control.”

The researchers noted their study points to the key role that controlling hepatitis C virus can have on other conditions.

References

1. Pashun RA, Shen nT, Jesudian A, et al. Markedly Improved Glycemic Control in Poorly Controlled Type 2 Diabetes following Direct Acting Antiviral Treatment of Genotype 1 Hepatitis C. Case Reports Hepatol. 2016. doi:10.1155/2016/7807921.
2. Ghany MG, Strader DB, Thomas DL, Seeff LB. Diagnosis, management, and treatment of hepatitis C: an update. Hepatology. 2009(4):1335–1374. doi:10.1002/hep.22759.