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SAN FRANCISCO — Direct-acting antiviral medications can be effective in older patients with hepatitis C, but adverse reactions are common and the adjustment of other medications is often required, new research suggests.
“We need more data about these new treatments in the elderly,” said Berta Pernas, from Corunna University Hospital in Spain.
“I think we can treat these patients, but caution for interactions and adverse events is required,” she said here at the International Conference on Viral Hepatitis 2016.
Patients with hepatitis C who are 65 years and older present particular challenges because they progress rapidly to cirrhosis and are more likely to suffer from extrahepatic manifestations, such as fatigue and neuropsychologic disorders.
These older patients are also more likely to discontinue treatment and experience adverse events, Dr Pernas reported. And rates of sustained viral response resulting from interferon-based therapies are lower in older patients than in younger patients.
Although age does not seem to influence the effectiveness of direct-acting antiviral drugs, not much research has been conducted on the use of this newer class of medication in older patients. In fact, some of the pivotal trials deliberately excluded the oldest patients, she pointed out.
Read more…http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/860406