Resolution of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Following Interferon-α Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) mainly affects the liver, but several tissues outside the liver have also been reported to be involved. It has been hypothesized that diabetes could be one of these extrahepatic conditions attributable to HCV infection. The specific mechanisms by which HCV leads to type 2 diabetes are not fully understood, but it seems that an increase in insulin resistance associated with both steatosis and overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines could play a crucial role. We report a patient whose type 2 diabetes that was resolved following interferon-α (IFN-α) therapy for HCV. A 57-year-old man presented with fatigue, polyuria, and polydipsia. He was newly diagnosed as type 2 diabetes and chronic hepatitis C. He was started on subcutaneous insulin and IFN-α. After 24 weeks of treatment with IFN-α, the results of HCV polymerase chain reaction were negative, and his diabetes had resolved. Our case shows a resolution of diabetes after IFN-α therapy for chronic hepatitis C. Although it is unclear whether the resolution of diabetes in this case occurred as an effect of IFN-α or as a result of becoming HCV RNA-negative, our finding suggest roles of IFN-α and HCV infection in the pathogenesis of diabetes.