AEGiS-NIAID: NIAID MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Study Suggests HIV-infected Patients Should Start HAART Sooner

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

NIAID MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Study Suggests HIV-infected Patients Should Start HAART Sooner

NIH News; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Monday, October 27, 2008
Media Contact: Kathy Stover, (301) 402-1663, kstover@niaid.nih.gov

What: Under current treatment guidelines, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) should be considered for HIV-infected patients when their CD4+ T-cell counts fall below 350 cells per cubic millimeter (mm3). However, new epidemiological research suggests that patients with HIV may have less risk of dying if they begin HAART sooner.

HIV ravages CD4+ T-cells, one of the human immune system's primary weapons for fighting off infection. As virus levels increase in the blood, HIV-infected patients experience a decrease in CD4+ T-cells and declining health. HAART -- a combination of at least three HIV medicines -- is used to reduce virus levels.

Although current treatment guidelines recommend that patients begin HAART once their CD4+ T-cell counts fall below the 350 cells/mm3 threshold, the optimal time to begin therapy has been unclear because of lacking clinical trial data. U.S. and Canadian researchers, working through the International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA), set out to take steps toward establishing a clinical basis for initiating treatment. IeDEA, a global network of clinics that serve HIV patients and collect data important to key HIV/AIDS research questions, was initiated by and is funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). IeDEA is co-funded by the National Cancer Institute and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

From 1996 to 2006, the research team examined 8,374 HIV-infected study participants with CD4+ T-cell counts of 351-500 cells/mm3 who had never taken antiretroviral treatment and were free of AIDS-related illnesses. Thirty percent (2,473) of the study participants began taking HAART, while the remaining 70 percent (5,901) of participants deferred treatment until their CD4+ T-cell counts fell below 350 cells/mm3. The researchers found a 71 percent higher risk of death for patients who deferred treatment rather than initiating HAART, suggesting that therapy should begin at an earlier stage of HIV disease than currently recommended. A randomized clinical trial will be necessary to confirm this finding and support changes to established treatment guidelines.

Mari M. Kitahata, M.D., of the University of Washington in Seattle, presented the findings on October 26, 2008, during the joint annual meeting of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) in Washington, D.C.

Who:

Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID director, and Rosemary McKaig, M.P.H., Ph.D., the study's project scientist within NIAID's Division of AIDS, are available to comment on the findings.

Contact:

To schedule interviews, please contact Kathy Stover, 301-402-1663, kstover@niaid.nih.gov.

NIAID conducts and supports research--at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide--to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)--The Nation's Medical Research Agency--includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
081027
NIH081003

Published 2008 - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases . All material contained in this report is in the public domain and may be used and reprinted without special permission; citation to source, however, is appreciated.

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, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2008. 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, 2008. 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. .