Evaluation of Quality of Life, Neurocognitive Performance, Fatigue, and Emotional State in HCV Patients Before, During, and in the (Long-term) Follow-up of an IFN-free Antiviral Therapy

Chronic hepatitis C is one of the most frequent infectious diseases worldwide and a major cause of chronic liver disease. At diagnosis, approximately 20 % of patients with chronic hepatitis C already have liver cirrhosis.

Therapy for hepatitis C has meanwhile reached a high level of efficacy and effectiveness: at present, about 90 % of patients treated with a combination of peginterferon alfa, ribavirin and sofosbuvir for up to 12 weeks will reach a sustained loss of hepatitis C virus.

Psychiatric side effects of interferon alfa are well known and may require dose reduction or even premature discontinuation of therapy.

As patients on interferon treatment sometimes report concentration or memory impairment that in some cases interferes considerably with their capacity to manage the requirements of everyday life, the investigators planned and intend to conduct a prospective and longitudinal study evaluating - among other parameters - neurocognitive performance before, during, and after therapy with an antiviral IFN-free therapy.

In previously performed scientific work, the investigators were able to show that interferon-based combination therapy of chronic hepatitis C may cause reversible impairment of neurocognitive performance during treatment period. Moreover, the investigators have recently demonstrated that successful IFN-based antiviral treatment (criterion: SVR, sustained virological response) leads to significant improvement of relevant aspects of attentional and neurocognitive performance. These results indicate that HCV-related neurocognitive impairment is potentially reversible.