Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune (CT) - TUESDAY, September 30, 1997 Edition: NORTH SPORTS FINAL Section: BUSINESS Page: 3 Word Count: 304
Judith Graham, Tribune Staff Writer.
The study by the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trial Group is the first to find that large numbers of children treated with protease inhibitors, used in combination with other drugs, respond by showing undetectable levels of HIV in their blood.
It was released Monday at an infectious disease conference in Toronto, the occasion for many new announcements about advances in AIDS treatments.
"This shows we can get the same kinds of results with children that we have gotten with adults over the past two years," said Dr. Margo Heath-Chiozzi, associate medical director of Abbott Laboratories' antiviral venture.
That should be a boost to companies that make the drugs, such as Abbott. Researchers have been uncertain that protease inhibitors could help suppress the AIDS virus substantially in children.
Because of biological differences, children generally have higher levels of HIV in their blood than adults.
More than 4,700 children in the U.S. have AIDS; about 20,000 are infected with HIV.
The clinical report was based on 12 weeks of data for 162 children ages 2 to 16. The children were divided into three groups:
Two of the groups underwent drug regimens that included protease inhibitors, and one group received first-generation AIDS-drug ther- apies.
The two groups that were treated with protease inhibitors were about four times more likely than the other group to have their HIV viral loads reduced to undetectable levels.
Double- and triple-drug "cocktail" therapies became an option for children in the U.S. last March, when the Food and Drug Administration approved two protease inhibitors for use in children. They are Norvir, produced by Abbott, and Viracept, manufactured by Agouron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Copyright 1997/The Chicago Tribune. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Chicago Tribune, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611.
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