Hepatitis and the Risk of Brain Disorders
A recent study shows that the risk of neural disorders is particularly more in patients with HIV and Hepatitis C than in the patients of HIV alone. It further increases the risk of death in these people. The brain disorders of epilepsy and seizures are more prevalent in these patients.
There are neurological problems in the HIV and AIDS patient and ultimately leads to the decline in the brain function. These are characterized as mental, behavioral and movement disabilities and reduces the survival rate.
Hepatitis C is caused by the hepatitis C virus and if it remains untreated can cause the scarring of liver, liver cancer and liver failure in the end. It is affecting about 30% people who are HIV-positive. The co-infection stimulates the growth of virus in the body and results in high mortality rate.
The linkage of HIV and Hepatitis C with the brain disorders was tested in persons with both HIV and Hepatitis C. There were 456 HIV positive patients who were receiving treatment at two different community clinics in Canada till 2010. 20% of them had HIV and Hepatitis C, rest had only HIV.
There were AIDS related brain disorders like depression and mood swings. Muscular disorders related to drugs were also recorded and movement diseases like Parkinson and opportunistic infections of brain and spinal cord were also recorded.
The HIV positive patients were mostly homosexual men while sufferers of both diseases were mostly the past users of drugs.
Results showed that carriers of HIV and hepatitis C had multiple brain disorders. The percentage of them was about 60%. 47% people suffering from brain disorders were HIV positive alone. The mortality rate of 24% was recorded in the co-infected patients and was 14% in the HIV alone.
About 58 neurological disorders were found in the participants. The most prevalent among them was the neuropathy which is sensation, pain or feeling numbness in the extremities. HIV related dementia and minor neurocognitive disorder was present in the HIV patients only. Seizures and epilepsy was there in patients suffering from HIV and Hepatitis C.
