Hepatitis coinfection
HIV/HCV. The PROBE-C Study
An emerging problem worldwide is the epidemics of acute hepatitis C in HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM), firstly described in London in the beginning of 2000, and subsequently reported by several investigators in different countries. NEAT initial plan was to conduct a multinational clinical trial to test efficacy and safety of different treatments for this condition. However, two main considerations led NEAT General Assembly to modify the plan: the high costs of this study and the several controversies existing in the field. Indeed, the natural history of the disease and its actual incidence are still unknown. Therefore, a “hepatitis group” has been set up within NEAT that includes the major experts in the field and contributors to > 90% of published cases on acute HCV infection. This group will work at establishing a cohort of patients for the PRospective OBservational Evaluation (PROBE) study on the natural history and treatment of acute HCV in HIV positive individuals in Europe. Besides collecting unique information on this new epidemics, PROBE will provide a clinical platform to explore safety and efficacy of different treatment approaches.
List of partners involved in the study
AP-HP, Hôpital La Pitié Salpétrière, Paris, France | Brigitte Autran Stephanie Dominguez Marguerite Guiguet Christine Katlama Marc-Antoine Valantin |
Hospital Carlos III, Madrid, Spain | Francisco Blanco Vincent Soriano |
Fundacio Lluita contra la SIDA, Barcelona, Spain | Bonaventura Clotet Cristina Tural |
Saint Pierre University Hospital, Brussels, Belgium | Nathan Clumeck |
Università degli studi di Milano, Italy | Massimo Galli |
European AIDS Treatment Group, Brussels, Belgium | Diego Garcia |
Hospital Clinic i Provincial de Barcelona, Spain | Jose Gatell Jose Mallola |
University College London, United Kingdom | Richard Gilson |
Wojewodzki Szpital Zakazny, Warsaw, Poland | Andrzej Horban |
University of Bonn, Germany | Guido Lüchters Jürgen K. Rockstroh Martin Vogel Christoph Boesecke Svetlana Hass |
Medical School Hannover, Germany | Dirk Meyer-Olson Reinhold Schmidt |
St. Stephens AIDS Trust / Chelsea Westminster Hospital, London, United Kingdom | Mark Nelson Emma Page |
Centre of excellence for Health, immunity and Infections, CHIP, Denmark | Lars Peters |
Università degli Studi di Brescia Institute of Infectious and tropical diseases, Italy | Massimo Puoti |
Academisch Medisch Centrum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands | Peter Reiss |
University of Frankfurt / Main, Germany | Christoph Stephan Markus Bickel Pavel Khaykin |