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AIDSinfo At-a-Glance Issue No. 6February 10, 2006
AIDSinfo.nih.gov is pleased to provide you with a weekly update of highlights about what has happened in the world of HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and research. We hope you find this encapsulated view of HIV/AIDS news useful.
Study Suggests That Earlier HAART Leads to Better
Health, Fewer Toxicities A retrospective epidemiological
study based on the medical records of over 2000 HIV patients suggests that
beginning HAART earlier may result in better health outcomes and fewer
drug-related toxicities.
Researchers at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the University of Colorado Health
Sciences Center reported their results at the 13th Conference
on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), held earlier this
week in Denver, Colorado. The study compared patients who started HAART
with a CD4 count of 200 cells/mL or less with patients who began treatment
with a CD4 count of 350 cells/mL or more. Those who began treatment with a
higher CD4 count were less likely to develop kidney problems, peripheral
neuropathy and lipoatrophy.
These results were surprising because conventional wisdom held that delaying treatment would lessen toxicity by reducing exposure to drugs and their side effects. This study suggests the opposite: that by beginning treatment earlier, side effects are minimized.
Study Evaluates
Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS) in HIV-1 Infected
Patients The
National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is
sponsoring a cohort
observational study evaluating the incidence and immunopathogenesis of
immune reconstitution syndrome (IRIS) following investigation of HAART in
HIV-1 infected patients with CD4 counts below 100
cells/mL. Immune Reconstitution
Syndrome (IRS), also known as immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome
(IRIS), is an inflammatory reaction that can occur when an
immunocompromised person's immune system improves, such as when a person
with HIV disease begins anti-HIV treatment and experiences a rise in CD4
cell count. Fever, along with swelling, redness, or discharge at the site
of an injury or infection, may signal that an infection previously
unnoticed by a weak immune system is now a target of a stronger immune
system. Although IRS indicates that a person's immune system has grown
healthier, it can be a serious, sometimes fatal condition and must be
treated aggressively. To
read more about this study, go to: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00286767?order=1.
ClinicalTrials.gov Info
New HIV/AIDS trials have been added to ClinicalTrials.gov
in the last 30 days:
click here. Please send comments or suggestions to ContactUs@aidsinfo.nih.gov
ISSN 1558-3228 |
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