| Iconoclaster 2005-09-26, 4:43 pm |
| Paper #7: Impact of Hepatitis C Virus on Immune Restoration in
HIV-Infected Patients Who Start Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy: A
Meta-analysis -
This is indeed a Meta-analysis, i.e., a literature search and comparison
of a number of papers on the subject. The authors note:
>"This meta-analysis is dependent on the published literature, and the
studies reviewed are very different in their design. In all of the
studies, the increase in the CD4 cell count was a secondary outcome, and
many of the studies are statistically underpowered to examine the specific
question of interest to us."
Nevertheless, the conclusion of this study is:
>"This meta-analysis shows that patients with HIV-HCV coinfection do, in
fact, have less immune reconstitution, as determined by CD4 cell count
after 48 weeks of HAART, than do patients with HCV infection alone. "
The auhors don't come up with an explanation of this phenomenon.
My objection is that, again, "HCV infection" is taken for granted. Like
"HIV infection" it is based on an antibody test. As there is no standard
in the form of a pure HCV preparation (if there were, they would have
cited a reference), the term "HCV infection" has no real meaning.
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