Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - 17 Aug 95
The study of more than 1,600 volunteers infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, found that treatment with AZT before the onset of full-blown AIDS does not fend off the disease.
In the study, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at San Francisco General Hospital and the AIDS Clinical Trials Group wrote that the drug, also known as zidovudine, does not significantly prolong either AIDS-free symptoms or survival.
The research counters earlier studies that lauded AZT as a successful way to slow the deadly disease.
A 1990 study suggested that the drug substantially slowed the clinical progression to AIDS in HIV-infected people who were not showing symptoms.
Patients in the most recent study, a continuation of the earlier research, received either a placebo or AZT.
The study found almost no difference in the death rate between patients given AZT when they did not have symptoms and their white blood cell count was greater than 500 per cubic millimeter, and volunteers who took the drug after their white blood cell count dropped below 500.
The subjects were followed for up to 6 1/2 years.
Dr. Paul Volberding and his colleagues said they found "no additional clinical benefit" from the drug's use. They also said that routine use of AZT may not be justified as long as white blood cell counts remain at 500 per cubic millimeter or higher.
But another study in the journal found that early AZT treatment may improve the symptoms and increase the patient's white blood cell count.
That study, conducted on just 77 patients, found that AZT treatment reduced the frequency of minor infections 15 months after treatment and substantially increased the patients' white blood cell count.
The researchers concluded that AZT should be considered when treating patients with primary HIV infections.
Copyright 1995/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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