Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International; Monday, September 29, 1997 - 1:15 PM EDT
Ed Susman UPI Science News
At a major infectious disease meeting in Toronto, sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology, a new study which compares three triple-therapy regimens, found all treatments equally effective although there were fewer side effects without AZT.
Dr. Joseph Eron, assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina, says, ``These studies provide important insights as we begin to adopt new standards of care for people living with HIV/AIDS.''
In the six-month study, a regimen of AZT, 3TC and indinavir was compared to d4t, 3TC and indinavir and d4t, ddI and indinvar. AZT, 3TC, d4T and ddI are all drugs known as nucleoside analogues; indinavir is a protease inhibitor. The drugs attack the virus in different ways, enhancing their combined effect.
Eron finds each regimen reduced virus in the blood more than 95 percent; making it undetectable by standard measurements in more than 80 percent of patients.
To date, AZT, the first AIDS drug, has been a staple of most combination therapies.
In another AIDS drug study, Dr. Frank Duff, associate clinical director of Roche Laboratories, Nutley, N.J., says the new soft-gel form of Hoffman LaRoche's protease inhibitor saquinavir was well-tolerated and reduced HIV levels better than the original drug.
Saquinavir was the first protease inhibitor marketed in the United States. Subsequent drugs proved superior. Approval of saquinavir's new formulation is pending before the Food and Drug Administration.
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