Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - Monday, November 02, 1998
That's as potent as currently approved drugs, which can drive the AIDS virus down to undetectable levels when taken longer. The experimental drug showed the 99-percent reductions in the four patients who took the highest dose.
The drug, called T-20, sabotages HIV's machinery for penetrating into the body's cells, a different strategy from that used in approved HIV medications.
Unlike the standard medications, T-20 wouldn't work as a pill. So it was given by injection to the 16 patients in the two-week study. Results are reported in the November issue of the journal Nature Medicine by scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the drug company Trimeris, Inc., of Durham, N.C., and elsewhere. Trimeris is developing T-20.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Douglas Richman of the University of California, San Diego, cautioned that much more study will be needed to assess how useful T-20 might be.
Scientists will have to investigate side effects when T-20 is taken long-term, as well as the possibility that HIV will become resistant with chronic therapy, he wrote.
981102
AP981101
Copyright © 1998 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1998. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 1998. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .