Study Supports Popular HIV Drug Regimen ( But other treatments work well too gi...)

Study Supports Popular HIV Drug Regimen

Date:5/14/2008

But other treatments work well, too, giving patients options

WEDNESDAY, May 14 (HealthDay News) -- The largest study of its kind supports the use of a popular three-drug regimen for HIV patients and suggests a cocktail of two classes of drugs is a good alternative.

But an older regimen works almost as well, said study lead author Dr. Sharon Riddler, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.

"It's not like 10 years ago, where there were huge differences between regimens," Riddler said. "We're looking at relatively small differences, trying to fine-tune what actually works pretty well."

The revolution in AIDS/HIV treatment came more than a decade ago, when combinations of drugs known as "cocktails" entered the market. Patients infected with HIV or who had progressed to AIDS typically had to take numerous pills each day.

Now, pharmaceutical companies have managed to combine multiple drugs into two-pill regimens or even a single pill.

In the new study, published in the May 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers examined the medical records of 753 HIV-positive patients at 55 treatment centers. The patients took one of three regimens, two of which included older drugs known as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). Doctors consider them to be effective, but they can cause a variety of side effects.

The researchers found that the combination of a drug known as efavirenz (also known as Sustiva) plus two NRTI drugs did a better job of keeping a lid on levels of the virus in the body. Only 24 percent of those who took the regimen saw their viral load -- a reflection of the amount of HIV in their body -- return to detectable levels.

The virus gained a foothold in one-third of those who took lopinavir-ritonavir plus efavirenz -- two drugs instead of the usual three -- and in 27 percent of those who took lopinavir-r
'/>"/>

1

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3
Related medicine news :

1. Duska Therapeutics Sponsored University of Pennsylvania Study Demonstrates ATP Improves Sperm Motility and In Vitro Fertilization in Animals
2. Study shows that prostate cancer increases the risk of bone fracture
3. Study Suggests Green Tea May Support the Medical Treatment of Stomach and Colon Cancer
4. Forty-Five Percent of U.S. Employees Have Gained Weight at Their Current Jobs, CareerBuilder.com Study Finds
5. New Study: Texas Seniors 4th Hardest-Hit from Proposed Bush Administration Medicare Cuts
6. Study Finds More Than One in Two Women are Too Embarrassed to Discuss Vaginal Discomfort With Their Doctors
7. Depression and anger can plague recent university graduates: Study
8. Rising Medical Solutions and CEO Are Featured as a Case Study in the Effective Small Business Management, Ninth Edition Textbook
9. Mayo Clinic study shows acupuncture and myofascial trigger therapy treat same pain areas
10. Study: Most female child molesters were victims of sexual abuse
11. HPV linked to better survival in tonsil, tongue cancer, U-M study finds

Post Your Comments:

Study Supports Popular HIV Drug Regimen( But other treatments work well too gi...),Health