<div class="indexheaders">Science &amp; Medicine&nbsp;|&nbsp;Simpler, Less Expensive Methods of Controlling HIV Progression Possible, Studies Suggest</div> <div class="bodytext"><font size="">[Aug 18, 2006]</font> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There might be a simpler and less expensive method of controlling the progression of HIV, according to several preliminary studies presented Thursday at the <a href="http://www.aids2006.org/" target="_blank"><font color="#394b6b">XVI International AIDS Conference</font></a> in Toronto, the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-sci-aids18aug18,1,6903440.story?coll=la-news-a_section" target="_blank"><cite><font color="#394b6b">Los Angeles Times</font></cite></a> reports (Chong, <cite>Los Angeles Times</cite>, 8/18). In one study, published Monday in the <a href="http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/296/7/806" target="_blank"><cite><font color="#394b6b">Journal of the American Medical Association</font></cite></a>, Susan Swindells of the <a href="http://www.unmc.edu/" target="_blank"><font color="#394b6b">University of Nebraska Medical Center</font></a> and colleagues for 24 weeks followed the progress of 34 HIV-positive people whose viral levels had been lowered for 48 weeks or longer and who were given a combination of atazanavir and ritonavir instead of a three-drug antiretroviral regimen to determine whether the former could be used as a maintenance therapy. The study finds that the simplified antiretroviral combination sustains virologic suppression and might be an effective maintenance therapy for some HIV-positive people. Researchers reported that after 24 weeks, 91% of the people who had switched to the simplified combination therapy continued to have suppressed viral loads (<a href="http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=1&amp;DR_ID=39117" target="_blank"><cite><font color="#394b6b">Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report</font></cite></a>, 8/14). Another study, conducted in Spain and presented Thursday, shows that 85% of HIV-positive people who changed from a combination therapy to a single protease inhibitor lopinavir, which is produced by <a href="http://www.abbott.com/" target="_blank"><font color="#394b6b">Abbott Laboratories</font></a> and sold under the brand name Kaletra, maintained undetectable viral levels for a year. The study compared the viral loads of 100 HIV-positive people taking the lopinavir regimen with 98 HIV-positive people who took the combination therapy. Another study, presented Thursday and conducted by French researchers, examines the efficacy of using lopinavir alone at the beginning of HIV treatment. The HIV-positive participants taking lopinavir alone developed undetectable viral levels at comparable rates to those who began their HIV treatment on a three-drug combination that included lopinavir, the study finds. The French researchers also found that two of the 83 participants taking lopinavir alone developed a virus that was resistant to protease inhibitors, compared with one of the 53 participants taking the three-drug combination that included lopinavir. <p><b>Comments </b><br />A single-drug regimen could help reduce drug costs and prevent some side effects that result from combination therapies, the <cite>Times </cite>reports. It also could allow physicians to save the stronger antiretroviral treatment for HIV-positive people who become resistant to first-line therapy, according to Joseph Gathe, a Houston-based infectious diseases specialist who was involved with one of the studies. But many physicians at the conference said that a single-drug regimen could make HIV-positive people quickly become resistant to the drug, which was what had motivated researchers to develop a three-drug combination therapy. A single-drug therapy is "potentially viable for the future, but I wouldn't use it routinely in practice now," Scott Hammer, an infectious diseases specialist at <a href="http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/" target="_blank"><font color="#394b6b">Columbia University Medical Center</font></a> who led the development of new AIDS treatment <a href="http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/296/7/827" target="_blank"><font color="#394b6b">guidelines</font></a> for the <a href="http://www.iasusa.org/" target="_blank"><font color="#394b6b">International AIDS Society-USA</font></a>, said. He added that data presented Thursday support prescribing the drugs for HIV-positive people who cannot tolerate certain types of HIV treatment or for those who do not want to take the standard therapy. Many physicians at the conference said they thought further studies involving hundreds of people were needed, the <cite>Times </cite>reports. "I need more convincing," Chinkholal Thangsing, a physician from India who serves as Asia-Pacific bureau chief for the <a href="http://www.aidshealth.org/" target="_blank"><font color="#394b6b">AIDS Healthcare Foundation</font></a>, said (<cite>Los Angeles Times</cite>, 8/18).<br /><br /></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0000ff"><em>Theo Thoi bao Los Angeles, ket qua ban dau cua mot so nghien cuu duoc trinh bay tai hoi nghi AIDS Quoc te tai Toronto, co the co phuong phap re hon va don gian hon ngan chan su phat trien cua HIV. Mot nghien cuu xuat ban tren tap chi cua Hiep hoi y khoa My cho biet Susan Swindells va cac cong su tai Trung tam Y khoa truong dai hoc Nebraska tien hanh nghien cuu tren 34 nguoi nhiem HIV ma da duoc dieu tri va giam duoc luong virus trong thoi gian it nhat la 48 tuan. Cac benh nhan nay duoc cho su dung thuoc atazanavir ket hop voi ritonavir thay cho phac do ket hop cua 3 loai thuoc duoc su dung truoc do. Cac nha nghien cuu theo doi trong vong 24 tuan de xem lieu phap moi co the dung de dieu tri duy tri hay khong. </em></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0000ff"><em>Nghien cuu nay cho thay phac do don gian nay co kha nang duy tri duoc su kiem che phat trien cua virus va co the su dung de dieu tri duy tri cho mot so benh nhan. Cac nha nghien cuu cho biet sau 24 tuan co toi 91% so benh nhan chuyen sang dung phac do don gian hon van duy tri duoc kha nang ngan chan su nhan len cua virus. </em></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0000ff"><em>Mot nghien cuu khac duoc tien hanh tai Tay Ban Nha cho thay 85% so nguoi chuyen tu dieu tri ket hop sang dieu tri mot loai thuoc uc che men tong hop protein (PI) la Lopinavir duoc Abbott san xuat va ban voi ten la Kaletra cung duy tri viec uc che virus sau 1 nam. Nghien cuu nay so sanh nong do virus trong 100 benh nhan su dung Lopinavir voi 98 benh nhan su dung cac phac do ket hop. </em></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0000ff"><em>Mot nghien cuu khac cua cac nha khoa hoc Phap ve hieu qua cua viec chi su dung duy nhat Lopinavir khi bat dau dieu tri HIV cung dat ty le uc che virus tuong duong voi cac benh nhan su dung dieu tri 3 loai thuoc co chua Lopinavir. Cac nha khoa hoc Phap nhan thay chi co 2 trong so 83 nguoi chi dung Lopinavir so voi 1 nguoi trong so 53 benh nhan dung 3 loai thuoc ket hop co chua Lopinavir co hien tuong khang thuoc nhom uc che protein. </em></font></p><strong> <p align="justify"><font color="#0000ff"><em>Nhan xet</em></font></strong><font color="#0000ff"><em> </em></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0000ff"><em>Phac do su dung 1 loai thuoc co the giup giam gia thuoc va ngan ngua mot so tac dung phu do dung nhieu loai thuoc. Phuong phap dieu tri moi nay cung cho phep cac bac sy dieu tri danh duoc cac thuoc khang virus manh hon de dieu tri cho cac benh nhan da khang phac do bac I. </em></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0000ff"><em>Tuy nhien nhieu bac sy lo ngai rang viec dieu tri voi 1 loai thuoc se lam cac benh nhan khang thuoc nhanh hon va day chinh la dong luc thuc day cac nha khoa hoc dua ra phac do 3 loai thuoc ket hop. Mot so cac chuyen gia khac cho rang dieu tri bang 1 loai thuoc co the duoc dung trong tuong lai nhung nhieu nguoi van chua muon ap dung phuong phap dieu tri nay trong thoi gian truoc mat. Mot so bac sy cung cho rang cac ket qua hien tai la bang chung ho tro cho viec ke don thuoc cho cac benh nhan khong the dung nap duoc mot so loai thuoc hoac cho nhung nguoi khong muon dung thuoc theo phac do thong thuong. </em></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#0000ff"><em>Nhieu bac sy tham du Hoi nghi cung cho rang can co cac nghien cuu tiep theo, voi so benh nhan lon hon.</em></font> </p> <p><br /></p></div>