Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - Monday October 13 6:21 AM EDT
In a statement, the company cited evidence presented to the sixth European Conference on Clinical Aspects of Treatment and HIV Infection in Hamburg by Peter Portegies, an expert on HIV and the brain at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam.
"We need new drugs which will get into the brain and suppress the virus there," Portegies said.
"Until we do, AZT should be part of all combination therapies wherever possible, to ensure that maximum suppression of the virus in the brain, as well as the rest of the body, is achieved."
Portegies said although combination of drugs had been shown to suppress the AIDS virus in the blood to almost undetectable levels, the virus was known to persist in sanctuary sites.
"The brain is probably the most important sanctuary for HIV because the majority of drugs are unable to enter this part of the body," he said.
In order to penetrate the brain, drugs have to cross the blood-brain barrier, membranes between the blood supply and the cells of the brain.
Portegies said data from animal studies to be presented in Hamburg would show AZT, also known as Retrovir, penetrated the blood, the fluid surrounding the spine and the brain tissue.
He said the data showed a similar class of drug to AZT, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's (BMY) Zerit (stavudine), was present in the blood and spinal fluid "but only in minimal amounts in the brain tissue."
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