***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: UNLABELLED Although two pegylated interferons ( Peg-IFN ) are available to treat chronic hepatitis C virus ( HCV ) infection , no head-to-head comparative studies have been published . We aim to compare the efficacy and safety of PEG IFN alfa-2b ( PEG 2b ) versus PEG IFN alfa-2a ( PEG 2a ) , plus ribavirin ( RBV ) . A prospect i ve , r and omized , multi-center , open-label clinical trial including 182 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-hepatitis C virus ( HCV ) patients naïve for HCV therapy was performed . Patients were assigned to PEG 2b ( 80 - 150 mug/week ; n = 96 ) or PEG 2a ( 180 mug/week ; n = 86 ) , plus RBV ( 800 - 1200 mg/day ) for 48 weeks . The primary endpoint was sustained virological response ( SVR : negative HCV-RNA 24 weeks after completion of treatment ) . At baseline , both groups were well balanced : 73 % male ; 63 % HCV genotype 1 or [ corrected ] 4 ; 29 % had fibrosis index of 3 or greater . The overall SVR was 44 % ( 42 % PEG 2b versus 46 % PEG 2a , P = 0.65 ) . Among genotypes 1 or [ corrected ] 4 , SVRs were 28 % versus 32 % ( P = 0.67 ) and 62 % versus 71 % ( P = 0.6 ) in genotypes 2 or [ corrected ] 3 for PEG 2b and PEG 2a , respectively . Early virological response ( EVR ; > or=2 log reduction from baseline or negative HCV-RNA at week 12 ) was 70 % in the PEG 2b group and 80 % in the PEG 2a group ( P = 0.13 ) , reaching a positive predictive value of SVR of 64 % and a negative predictive value of 100 % in both arms . Side effects were present in 96 % of patients but led to treatment discontinuation in 10 % of patients ( 8 % on PEG 2b and 13 % on PEG 2a , P = 0.47 ) . CONCLUSION In patients with HIV , HCV therapy with PEG 2b or PEG 2a plus RBV had no significant differences in efficacy and safety BACKGROUND A sustained virological response ( SVR ) rate of 41 % has been achieved with interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin therapy of chronic hepatitis C. In this r and omised trial , peginterferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin was compared with interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin . METHODS 1530 patients with chronic hepatitis C were assigned interferon alfa-2b ( 3 MU subcutaneously three times per week ) plus ribavirin 1000 - 1200 mg/day orally , peginterferon alfa-2b 1.5 microg/kg each week plus 800 mg/day ribavirin , or peginterferon alfa-2b 1.5 microg/kg per week for 4 weeks then 0.5 microg/kg per week plus ribavirin 1000 - 1200 mg/day for 48 weeks . The primary endpoint was the SVR rate ( undetectable hepatitis C virus [ HCV ] RNA in serum at 24-week follow-up ) . Analyses were based on patients who received at least one dose of study medication . FINDINGS The SVR rate was significantly higher ( p=0.01 for both comparisons ) in the higher-dose peginterferon group ( 274/511 [ 54 % ] ) than in the lower-dose peginterferon ( 244/514 [ 47 % ] ) or interferon ( 235/505 [ 47 % ] ) groups . Among patients with HCV genotype 1 infection , the corresponding SVR rates were 42 % ( 145/348 ) , 34 % ( 118/349 ) , and 33 % ( 114/343 ) . The rate for patients with genotype 2 and 3 infections was about 80 % for all treatment groups . Secondary analyses identified bodyweight as an important predictor of SVR , prompting comparison of the interferon regimens after adjusting ribavirin for bodyweight ( mg/kg ) . Side-effect profiles were similar between the treatment groups . INTERPRETATION In patients with chronic hepatitis C , the most effective therapy is the combination of peginterferon alfa-2b 1.5 microg/kg per week plus ribavirin . The benefit is mostly achieved in patients with HCV genotype 1 infections BACKGROUND Treatment with peginterferon alfa-2a alone produces significantly higher sustained virologic responses than treatment with interferon alfa-2a alone in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus ( HCV ) infection . We compared the efficacy and safety of peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin , interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin , and peginterferon alfa-2a alone in the initial treatment of chronic hepatitis C. METHODS A total of 1121 patients were r and omly assigned to treatment and received at least one dose of study medication , consisting of 180 microg of peginterferon alfa-2a once weekly plus daily ribavirin ( 1000 or 1200 mg , depending on body weight ) , weekly peginterferon alfa-2a plus daily placebo , or 3 million units of interferon alfa-2b thrice weekly plus daily ribavirin for 48 weeks . RESULTS A significantly higher proportion of patients who received peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin had a sustained virologic response ( defined as the absence of detectable HCV RNA 24 weeks after cessation of therapy ) than of patients who received interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin ( 56 percent vs. 44 percent , P<0.001 ) or peginterferon alfa-2a alone ( 56 percent vs. 29 percent , P<0.001 ) . The proportions of patients with HCV genotype 1 who had sustained virologic responses were 46 percent , 36 percent , and 21 percent , respectively , for the three regimens . Among patients with HCV genotype 1 and high base-line levels of HCV RNA , the proportions of those with sustained virologic responses were 41 percent , 33 percent , and 13 percent , respectively . The overall safety profiles of the three treatment regimens were similar ; the incidence of influenza-like symptoms and depression was lower in the groups receiving peginterferon alfa-2a than in the group receiving interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin . CONCLUSIONS In patients with chronic hepatitis C , once-weekly peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin was tolerated as well as interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin and produced significant improvements in the rate of sustained virologic response , as compared with interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin or peginterferon alfa-2a alone BACKGROUND & AIMS Few studies evaluated the efficacy of HCV re-treatment and the predictors of response in HIV/HCV co-infected patients . The role of insulin resistance as a predictor of response in this population is unknown . The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of pegylated interferon-α-2a and ribavirin in re-treatment of HIV/HCV co-infected patients , predictors of sustained virological response , including insulin resistance , and the relationship between insulin resistance and liver histology . METHODS This prospect i ve , multi-centered study included HIV/HCV co-infected patients with prior interferon-based treatment failure . Patients received pegylated interferon-α-2a and ribavirin for 48 weeks . Serum HCV RNA  was measured 24 weeks post treatment to assess sustained virological response . Insulin resistance was defined as HOMA-IR > 2 . Correlations between baseline insulin resistance and steatosis , and /or cirrhosis were determined . RESULTS Sustained virological response was achieved in 14/96 ( 15 % ) patients . 35 % of patients with HOMA-IR < 2 ( 6/17 ) achieved sustained virological response vs 14 % ( 5/36 ) of those with HOMA-IR between 2 - 4 , and 7 % ( 3/41 ) of those with HOMA-IR > 4 ( p = 0.01 ) . In multivariable analysis , insulin resistance and log₁₀ HCV RNA were negatively associated with sustained virological response [ AOR 0.17 ; 95 % CI 0.05 - 0.64 , p = 0.009 , and AOR 0.36 ; 95 % CI 0.14 - 0.93 , p = 0.04 , respectively ] . Steatosis and cirrhosis correlated with insulin resistance ( p = 0.02 and 0.03 , respectively ) but neither independently predicted sustained virological response . Discontinuations due to severe adverse events occurred in 8 % of cases , and 2 patients died of unrelated causes . CONCLUSIONS In HIV/HCV co-infected patients undergoing re-treatment  , sustained virological response rate is low ; those patients without insulin resistance are significantly more likely to achieve sustained virological response Background : HIV/hepatitis C virus ( HCV ) coinfected patients are known to have lower sustained viral response ( SVR ) rates than HCV monoinfected patients . However , the role of CD4 + T-cell counts on viral kinetics and outcome is not fully understood . Methods : HCV RNA kinetics ( bDNA v3 , lower limit of detection [ LD ] = 615 IU/mL ) was analyzed in 32 HIV/HCV coinfected persons treated with Pegylated-interferon-α2b ( 1.5 μg/kg weekly ) and ribavirin ( 1 - 1.2 g daily ) for 48 weeks and compared with results obtained from 12 HCV monoinfected patients treated with the same regimen . Results : Baseline CD4 + T-cell counts ≥450 cells/mm3 were significantly ( P < 0.002 ) associated with SVR in coinfected genotype 1 patients . First phase decline was significantly lower among patients with low as compared with high CD4 counts ( P < 0.03 ) and among coinfected compared with monoinfected patients ( P < 0.002 ) . Second phase decline slope showed a similar trend for coinfected patients . Conclusions : Low baseline CD4 + T-cell count is associated with slower HCV viral kinetics and worse response to treatment among HIV coinfected patients , suggesting HCV treatment response depends on immune status . HCV genotype 1 coinfected patients have slower first phase viral kinetics than HCV monoinfected patients . First phase viral decline ( > 1.0 log ) and second phase viral decline slope ( > 0.3 log/wk ) are excellent predictors of SVR for coinfected patients BACKGROUND Interferon ( IFN ) regimens for HCV treatment are less effective in HCV/HIV-coinfected patients . There are no effective treatments for patients who fail IFN therapies . We examined the safety and efficacy of peginterferon alfa-2a ( peg-IFNalpha-2a ) plus ribavirin ( RBV ) in 41HCV/HIV-coinfected patients non-responsive to prior IFN treatment . METHODS Patients received peg-IFNalpha-2a ( 180mg/week ) plus RBV ( 800mg/day ) for 24 weeks ( n=41 ) . At week 24 , patients with non-detectable HCV RNA or > or = 2-log decrease from baseline , received peg-IFNalpha-2a ( 180mg/week ) plus RBV ( 800mg/day ) for 24 weeks further . Patients not responding to treatment at week 24 were discontinued . RESULTS Intent to treat ( ITT ) sustained viral response ( SVR ) was 21.9 % . Patients who received at least 24 weeks of peg-IFNalpha-2a plus RBV treatment ( n=35 ) , SVR rates were 25.7 % . SVR was associated with significant improvements in liver histology grade ( p=0.02 ) , stage ( p=0.02 ) , and fibrosis progression rate ( FPR ) ( p=0.03 ) . Patients that failed to achieve SVR had statistically significant decreases in grade ( p=0.09 ) and FPR ( p=0.01 ) . CONCLUSION peg-IFNalpha-2a plus RBV is effective and safe to achieve SVR in HCV/HIV coinfected patients non-responsive to prior IFN treatment . Patients that achieve SVR have significant improvements in liver histology parameters . In patients that do not achieve SVR there are histological benefits beyond virological response that suggest that peg-IFNalpha-2a+RBV therapy may decrease risk of progression to end stage liver disease CONTEXT Treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus ( HCV ) infection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients is a growing concern . 
    Output:
    
Successful HIV suppression by ART predicted a higher rate of treatment success