Study Supports Popular HIV Drug Regimen(itonavir plus two NRTIs. The research...),Health

The researchers reported that all three regimens boosted the immune systems of the patients who took them.

The findings may bolster the use of efavirenz-based treatments in people whose immune systems are moderately to significantly suppressed, such as those who took part in the study, Riddler said. "For the most part, it's a simpler treatment for patients," she said.

Efavirenz isn't for everyone, Riddler cautioned. "A certain proportion of people won't tolerate efavirenz, and it can't be given to pregnant women," she said. For those patients, regimens that rely on so-called protease inhibitors -- like lopinavir-ritonavir -- may make sense, she said.

The study also suggests that it isn't necessary for all patients to be on NRTIs, Riddler said. "That gives us the opportunity to begin to look at other potential combinations now that we have availability of a couple of new classes of drugs."

And still another expert weighed in on the study.

Rowena Johnston, director of research at the Foundation for AIDS Research, said the study "could actually make a difference in patients' lives," because it gives them more information to help them choose among treatments.

Still, doctors and patients will continue to consider a constellation of factors when they decide which drugs are best, she said. Among other things, she said, they can look at different ways of gauging the effectiveness of the drugs plus side effects and the simplicity of regimens.

"If you put those pieces of information together, you have a better chance of finding the (best) combination for you," she said.

More information

Learn more about HIV treatments from avert.org.

SOURCES: Sharon A. Riddler, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh; Row
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