Aids Conference HighLights. Part 3
Description
This article is from the Health Articles series.
Aids Conference HighLights. Part 3
Treatment Soon After HIV Infection Reduces the Viral Load to Undetectable Levels
This study of patients with very recent HIV infection assessed the ability of two antiviral drug regimens to reduce viral load, or the number of viral particles in a blood sample. The viral load of those who accepted treatment with either the ZDV/ddI or ZDV/3TC combinations were compared to those of patients who had refused treatment. The treated group saw highly significant reductions in viral load beginning one week after therapy was started, with most patients achieving levels around or below the detection limit of the test after 12 weeks of therapy. These levels were sustained over the six months of follow-up now completed. In contrast, untreated patients saw some decline in viral load after the initial measure, but loads remained at these still-high levels for the duration of follow-up. Early detection and treatment of HIV infection has become much more important with the advent of new effective antiviral drugs, which appear to hold out great hope in this context.The Role of Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases in HIV Infection
There are clearly many reasons behind the differences seen in the distribution of heterosexually-transmitted HIV infection around the world. Other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are one part of the puzzle. Several intervention trials have shown a link between other STDs and increased AIDS infectiousness and susceptibility, and revealed something of the mechanisms behind this link. The results make a strong case for the benefits of STD prevention as a means of reducing HIV transmission.Long Second-Stage Labour Increases Risk of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission
Some HIV-positive women will transmit the infection to their children during delivery, while others will not. Factors such as very severe virus in the mother and a long delay between the time membranes are ruptured and birth have been found to increase the likelihood of HIV transmission. The importance of other factors, such as method of delivery, duration of labour, and prematurity, is less established. This study looked at the duration of second-stage labour, which is when the baby is in intimate contact with the cervical and vaginal secretions of the mother, to find out whether the risk of transmission increased when this stage was long. The results were significant for both first-time mothers and experienced mothers, pointing to an increased risk of transmission when second stage labour was long.Ritonavir in Combination Therapy Offers Hope in Advanced HIV Disease
Ritonavir is a new drug that appears to offer hope to patients with very advanced HIV. Combined with existing antiretroviral drugs in this study, it showed great potency in reducing the quantity of HIV present in the blood, though its effect diminished as time wore on and the virus began to break through. The result is a longer life expectancy and more time before the development of clinical AIDS. But ritonavir has an awful taste and some unpleasant side effects that led many of the patients taking it to withdraw from the treatment program.
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