Antiretroviral Therapy to Reduce the Transmission of HIV
Introduction
The advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the early 1980s and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens have dramatically reduced the morbidity and mortality associated with HIV infection through sustained reduction in HIV viral replication. This sustained suppression of viral load has led researchers to consider ARVs as a prevention tool; ARVs would lower the viral load and, thus, the infectiousness of an HIV-infected person to an uninfected partner. This research is particularly relevant for prevention among serodiscordant couples, many of whom will continue to be sexually active despite their differing infection status.
Additionally, researchers are considering the possibility that antiretroviral drugs might be used by uninfected, at-risk persons before exposure to HIV and that these drugs might be able to block or prevent infection from occurring. This potential strategy, called Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PREP), does not require participation of a sexual partner (as does condom use), could be highly complementary to other prevention strategies, and empowers women who wish to protect themselves from HIV. As such, one of NIAID’s scientific priorities is to develop PREP approaches as a viable HIV prevention strategy.
Research Activities
NIAID is supporting a number of research studies utilizing ARV as a strategy to prevent transmission of HIV.
- HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN)
Co-sponsored by NIAID, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the HPTN is a worldwide collaborative clinical trials network that develops and tests the safety and efficacy of primarily non-vaccine interventions designed to prevent the transmission of HIV.
For more information about antiretroviral therapy to prevent HIV infection research at the HPTN, including ongoing clinical studies, click here.
- CRISP database
This online database can be used to search for ongoing research supported by NIAID. (Keywords: ART for prevention, PREP, prevention.)
- AIDSinfo
This government Web site has information on HIV/AIDS related health topics, treatment and prevention guidelines, information on drugs and vaccines, and a database of all federally funded HIV/AIDS clinical trials.
NIAID Contact
David Burns, M.D., M.P.H.
Division of AIDS, Prevention Sciences Branch
E-mail: burnsda@niaid.nih.gov