Hepatitis C augments cognitive deficits associated with HIV infection and methamphetamine.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the contribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection to neurocognitive dysfunction in individuals with comorbid HIV infection or methamphetamine (METH) dependence.

METHODS

Neurocognitive functioning was examined in 430 study participants who were either normal controls or had HCV infection, HIV infection, history of METH dependence, or combinations of these factors as risks for cognitive deficits.

RESULTS

Rates of global and domain-specific neuropsychological (NP) impairment increased with the number of risk factors. HCV serostatus was a significant predictor of NP performance both globally and in the areas of learning, abstraction, and motor skills, with trends in speeded information processing and delayed recall. HCV serostatus did not predict scores in attention/working memory or verbal fluency.

CONCLUSION

Hepatitis C virus infection contributes to the neuropsychological deficits observed among HIV-infected and stimulant-dependent populations.