Cognitive assessment in patients with Hepatitis C submitted to treatment with Sofosbuvir and Simeprevir or Daclatasvir

ABSTRACT Background: Hepatitis C can be defined as an infectious disease that develops an inflammatory activity, which may cause an impairment in the central nervous system, may cause cognitive impairments and symptoms of depression. Objective: The objective of this study was to verify the cognitive performance of patients with chronic hepatitis C before and after treatment with simeprevir, sofosbuvir, and daclatasvir. Methods: A prospective study was carried out in three stages: before, right after treatment, and six months after. Fifty-eight patients under clinical follow-up were evaluated at the Emílio Ribas Infectology Institute, in São Paulo, Brazil. The following instruments were used: sociodemographic questionnaire, Lawton’s Scale, Beck’s Depression Inventory, and a battery of neuropsychological tests that evaluated: intellectual function, memory, attention, executive function, and motor and processing speed). For statistical analysis, the analyses described (mean, frequency, and standard deviation), chi-square, and ANOVA were used. Results: Most of the participants were male (n=30, 51.7%), with a mean of 58.23±8.79 years, mean schooling of 9.75±4.43 years. Comparing the results of neuropsychological evaluations (before, just after completion of drugs, and six months), a significant improvement was observed in relation to the acquisition of new knowledge (p=0.03), late visual memory (p=0.01), and tendency towards alternate attention (p=0.07). Conclusion: The treatment of the hepatitis C virus improved cognitive performance, especially in relation to memory.