Publications by authors named "Joan-Carles Quer"
Article Synopsis
- The WHO aims for the elimination of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) by 2030, necessitating improved and simplified HCV testing approaches.
- A decision tree model evaluated two testing strategies: the Point-of-care (POC) "test and treat" method at community centers versus the standard care (SOC) method, highlighting significant differences in treatment access and effectiveness.
- Results showed that POC increased treatment access by 57% and sustained virological response (SVR) rates significantly, indicating that this strategy is an effective public health method for addressing HCV elimination goals.
The introduction of direct-acting antivirals (DAA) and the implementation of the National Strategic Plan has extended the spectrum of patients suitable for treatment to include practically all affected individuals. There has been a change in patient profile. Most patients are previously untreated, with lesser awareness of the disease, and taking polymedication, and are often under treatment with opioid replacement therapy, are active drug users or have psychiatric comorbidities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aim: Accurate information on the epidemiology of hepatitis C and B infection is mandatory to establish a national/regional plan. We aim to update the prevalence of hepatitis C and B infection in Catalonia using point-of-care tests to analyze the risk factors related and to implement a linkage-to-care circuit.
Methods: This is a community-based study.
Article Synopsis
- * Researchers applied a new testing protocol to analyze samples from 220 patients across various Spanish hospitals, finding that 88.6% had at least one RAS, with specific patterns linked to different HCV subtypes.
- * The findings reveal that certain patients had RAS not affected by the drugs they received, indicating the necessity for thorough RAS testing, especially since ribavirin treatment did not impact RAS diversity or type.
Controversy surrounds the possible influence of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene promoter on the risk for alcoholic liver disease. Our aim was to determine whether the SNP of the IL-10 gene promoter are associated with an increased risk for alcoholism and for alcoholic liver disease in male Spaniards. The -627 C>A SNP of the IL-10 gene promoter was assessed in a cohort of 344 Caucasian Spanish men, 168 alcoholics, and 176 nonalcoholics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is thought to be a critical driving force of inflammatory damage in alcoholic liver disease (ALD). We aimed to establish whether there is a correlation between plasma levels of the soluble TNF-alpha receptors 1 and 2 (sTNFR1 and sTNFR2) and the severity of liver damage in patients with ALD. We also aimed to elucidate whether functionally active polymorphisms in the promoter region of the TNF-alpha gene modulate the development of ALD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The relationship of polymorphisms of the genes that encode for alcohol-metabolizing enzymes and individual vulnerability to alcoholism and alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in women is unclear. We determined the genotypes of ADH1B, ADH1C, CYP2E1 (Dra-I and Pst-I) and ALDH2 in a group of Caucasian Spanish women.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional case-control study.