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According to researchers in Madrid,
Spain, intestinal bacteria in blood (bacterial translocation) is associated
with more severe liver disease in persons with HIV/hepatitis C virus coinfection.
To determine the association between
the severity of bacterial translocation and the extent and pace of liver
disease, the researchers studied 255 co-infected individuals who had undergone
a liver biopsy between 2000 and 2007. One hundred blood donors who were not
infected with HIV/hepatitis C were used as controls. All participants were
tested for DNA of intestinal bacteria in their blood, and coinfected
individuals were assessed for the stage and pace of liver fibrosis.
People with more advanced fibrosis
and faster progression of liver disease had higher levels of intestinal
bacteria in their blood than those without the markers of liver disease. The
authors concluded that bacterial translocation was associated with severe liver
disease among HIV-infected patients with chronic hepatitis C. The study was
reported online in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
The study, "Bacterial DNA
Translocation and Liver Disease Severity Among HIV Infected Patients With
Chronic Hepatitis C," was published ahead of the print version of the
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (DOI:10.1097/QAD.0b013e318263q109,
2012).
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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