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Background and aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotyping is a pivotal tool for epidemiological investigation, guiding management and antiviral treatment. Challenge existed in identifying subtypes of genotype-1 (G-1) and genotype (GT) of indeterminate. Recently, the Abbott HCV RealTime Genotype Plus RUO assay (HCV GT Plus) has been developed aiming to overcome the limitations. We aimed to evaluate the performance of the assay compared with 5' UTR sequencing in clinical samples. Materials and methods: Eligible individuals were treatment chronic hepatitis C patients that were enrolled consecutively in a medical center and two core regional hospitals in southern Taiwan from Oct 2017 through Aug 2018. The patient with genotype 1 without subtype and indeterminate previously genotyped by Abbott RealTime HCV GT II will further determinate by Abbott HCV RealTime HCV GT Plus. All of the genotype results were validated by 5' UTR sequencing as a reference standard. Results: A total of 100 viremic CHC patients were recruited, including 63 G-1 patients (male: 28), and 37 patients (male: 15) of indeterminate genotyped by Abbott RealTime HCV GT II assay (HCV GT II), respectively. The detection rate of 63 GT1 samples without subtype were 93.7% (59/63), 37 indeterminate samples without genotype were 62.2 (23/37) by HCV GT Plus. 5' UTR sequencing confirmed HCV GT Plus characterized results for 84.7% (50/59) of type1, with 100% (4/4), 82.8 (24/29) and 84.6% (22/26) for 1a, 1b and type6; 65.2% (15/23) of indeterminate with 100% (3/3) and 60% (12/20) for 1b and type 6 samples, respectively. Conclusions: The Abbott RealTime HCV GT Plus RUO assay provides additional performance in GT detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim Chronic hepatitis C virus ( HCV) infection has been suggested to be associated with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and lipid profiles. This study aimed to investigate the possible relationships of insulin resistance ( IR) and lipid profiles with chronic hepatitis C ( CHC) patients in Taiwan. Methods We enrolled 160 hospital-based CHC patients with liver biopsy and the 480 controlled individuals without CHC and chronic hepatitis B from communities without known history of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( HDL- C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( LDL- C), triglycerides ( TGs), alanine aminotransferase, and serum insulin levels, and homeostasis model assessment ( HOMA-IR) were tested. Results When comparing factors between CHC patients, and sex- and age-matched controls who had no HCV infection, patients with HCV infection had a significantly higher alanine aminotransferase level, fasting plasma glucose level, insulin level, and HOMA-IR ( P < 0.001, P = 0.023, P = 0.017, and P = 0.011, respectively), and significantly lower TG level ( P = 0.023), total cholesterol, and HDL- C and LDL- C levels (all P < 0.001) than 480 controls. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, a low total cholesterol, a low TGs, and a high HOMA-IR are independent factors significantly associated with chronic HCV infection. In the 160 CHC patients (41 patients with high HOMA-IR [> 2.5]), a high body mass index, TGs, and HCV RNA level are independent factors significantly associated with high HOMA-IR in multivariate logistic analyses. Conclusions Chronic HCV infection was associated with metabolic characteristics including IR and lipid profile. IR was also associated with virological characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Insulin resistance (IR) might be associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. This study aimed to elucidate impact of IR and beta-cell function on the response to peginterferon-alpha (PEG-IFN)/ribavirin combination therapy in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. Methods: Three hundred and thirty patients without overt diabetes were treated with combination therapy with (PEG-IFN)/ribavirin for 24 weeks. The IR and beta-cell function were evaluated by homeostasis model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) and homeostasis model assessment of beta-cell function (HOMA-beta) before treatment. Results: HCV genotype, pretreatment HCV RNA level and pretreatment HOMA-IR, but not HOMA-beta, were independent factors associated with sustained virologic response (SVR). In 150 patients with genotype 1b infection, pretreatment HCV RNA level, HOMA-IR and age were independent predictors for SVR. The significantly lower SVR rate in high HOMA-IR patients was observed in 76 patients with high HCV RNA levels (⩾400,000IU/mL) who were defined as ‘difficult-to-treat’ patients. The mean HOMA-IR of ‘difficult-to-treat’ patients was significantly lower in 42 sustained responders than in 34 non-responders. Conclusions: IR was associated with SVR to (PEG-IFN)/ribavirin therapy for CHC, especially among ‘difficult-to-treat’ patients. These findings suggested clinical application of pretreatment HOMA-IR could enable treatment outcome to be predicted and treatment regimens to be determined. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]