Pentoxifylline in the management of metabolic syndrome and chronic hepatitis C.

Metabolic syndrome (MS) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC) are prevalent diseases with many serious and fatal outcomes. Many of these outcomes are attributed to increased level of TNF-α which causes insulin resistance (IR), liver damage, increased incidence and mortality of hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), liver fibrosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). So, an approach that depends on reducing the TNF-α levels is considered a reasonable method to help treat these conditions.

The relation between hepatitis C virus and coronary heart disease.

It is well known that chronic hepatitis C is associated with insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome which are risk factors for atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. As a result, chronic hepatitis C might be thought, through its association with metabolic syndrome, to increase the risk of myocardial infarction. However, unexpectedly it was found that HCV infection is not associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction.