Washington Blade Online, August 21, 1998
Lisa Keen
In an article published in the July 30 issue of the journal AIDS, doctors at the University of Amsterdam said they compared the results of a five-drug regimen versus the standard three-drug one in a total of 24 patients.
The five-drug regimen consisted of three nucleosides (AZT-3TC-abacavir), the protease inhibitor indinavir, and the non-nucleoside nevirapine. The three-drug therapy consisted of the current standard of therapy ù two nucleosides and one protease inhibitor (AZT-3TC-ritonavir).
The Dutch researchers reported that patients on the five-drug regimen saw their viral loads drop below 50 copies per milliliter within four weeks. The three-drug group took 12 weeks to drop that low.
Ritonavir switches to liquid, temporarily
People with HIV who are taking the protease inhibitor ritonavir have been switching from capsules to liquid during the past month, due to some kind of "manufacturing difficulties" which is causing the company which produces them to run out of capsules this month.
Abbott spokesperson Melissa Brotz said Wednesday that the company would be shipping out its last supply of capsules this week and still has no idea of when it will be able to produce capsules again.
According to Abbott, something in production caused a defect in the way the ritonavir capsules dissolve and, thus, Abbott has suspended production of capsules until it can find out how to fix the problem.
The company said late last month that none of the capsules currently in circulation are affected. To ensure that the 60,000 or more people with HIV who are taking the drug are able to maintain their regimens, Abbott began notifying doctors and patients last month that it would begin providing the medication in liquid form until the current production problem can be solved.
The liquid form reportedly tastes "very bad," and some AIDS treatment activists suggest this can be mitigated by either taking the medication through a straw or mixing it into chocolate milk (as long as the dose is taken within one hour of the mixing). Also, the liquid form can not be refrigerated but must be kept at room temperature (between about 68 and 77 degrees). Abbott is providing a specially designed dose cup to go with the liquid medication.
For more information, consult AbbottÆs special Web site at www.norvir.com or call 1-800-637-2400.
In brief ...
FIGHTING FATIGUE: Testosterone therapy can help about 80 percent of men with HIV infection who are suffering from fatigue and depression, according to the Aug. 15 General Hospital Psychiatry journal. Decreased testosterone levels are reported in many men with HIV, often resulting in fatigue, low sex drive, and other symptoms. The report, from researchers at New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City, was based on a study of 73 men with HIV, most with full-blown AIDS, and suffering from fatigue. After receiving twice-weekly injections of testosterone for 12 weeks, 79 percent of the men reported significant improvement in their energy levels.
K.S. NOT IN THE KISS: A study in the July issue of the journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases suggests that the herpes virus believed to cause KaposiÆs sarcoma is probably not transmitted through saliva. According to the report, researchers in Sweden analyzed saliva specimens from 44 people with HIV ù 29 who had symptoms of disease and 15 who did not. They found no HHV-8 in those without symptoms and found evidence of HHV-8 in only five of the 29 who had symptoms.
NIH STUDIES NEED VOLUNTEERS: The National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases is seeking volunteers -- both people with and without HIV -- for studies.
People who are HIV-negative are needed for a study of a new genetically engineered vaccine (Call Grace Kelly at 1-800-772-5464, ext. 403).
People with HIV are needed for one of two studies involving an antiviral therapy involving injections of interleukin 2 (Call Doreen Chaitt at the above toll-free number, ext. 428, or Barbara Hahn at ext. 426).
Another study is seeking to determine whether the four-drug combination of AZT-3TC-indinavir-nevirapine can "reverse the effects of HIV-1 infection" (Call Christian Yoder at ext. 399).
There are also studies to test treatments for MAC (Call Betsey Herpin at ext. 304 or Barbara Hahn at ext. 426) and CMV infection (Call Barbara Baird at ext. 420).
For an information packet on all clinical trials seeking volunteers, call 1-800-243-7644.
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