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Improvement in Glycemic Control of Type 2 Diabetes After Successful Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus 

"Eradication of HCV has been shown to reduce the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, to improve liver fibrosis, and to decrease the risk of other complications of chronic liver disease (39). However, the effects of HCV eradication on the extrahepatic manifestations of HCV have not been well studied in the new era of DAAs. Our study supports the idea that HCV eradication leads to a reduction in HbA1c in patients with diabetes."

Improvement in Glycemic Control of Type 2 Diabetes After Successful Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus
Diabetes Care 2017 Sep - Justine Hum,1 Janice H. Jou,1 Pamela K. Green,2 Kristin Berry,2 James Lundblad,3 Barbara D. Hettinger,3 Michael Chang,1 and George N. Ioannou2,4 1Division of Gastroenterology, Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, OR 2Health Services Research and Development, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle, WA 3Division of Endocrinology, Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, OR 4Division of Gastroenterology, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Healthcare System and University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with diabetes and may worsen glycemic control in patients with diabetes. We aimed to investigate whether eradication of HCV infection with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents is associated with improved glycemic control in patients with diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
We identified 2,435 patients with diabetes who underwent interferon-free and ribavirin-free DAA-based antiviral treatment for HCV in the national Veterans Affairs health care system. Changes in average hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level and use of antidiabetic medications 1 year before and after antiviral treatment were compared between patients who achieved sustained virologic response (SVR) and those who did not.

RESULTS
Among patients with elevated baseline HbA1c, the drop in HbA1c associated with antiviral treatment was greater in those who achieved SVR (0.98%) than in those who sustained treatment failure (0.65%) (adjusted mean difference 0.34, P = 0.02). Use of antidiabetic medications decreased more in patients who achieved SVR than in those who sustained treatment failure, especially for the use of insulin, which dropped significantly from 41.3% to 38% in patients achieving SVR compared with a slight increase from 49.8% to 51% in those who sustained treatment failure.

CONCLUSIONS
DAA-based eradication of HCV is associated with improved glycemic control in patients with diabetes as evidenced by decreased mean HbA1c and decreased insulin use. These endocrine benefits of SVR provide additional justification for considering antiviral treatment in all patients with diabetes.

Full Text - http://www.natap.org/2017/HCV/091317_01.htm