United Press International - Thursday, November 26, 1998

The study, involving more than 7,000 people monitored since 1994, will be published Saturday in The Lancet, a British medical journal. It was authored by Dr. Jens D. Lundgren of Hvidovre University Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Professor Andrew Phillips, head of a statistical team in London sponsored by The European Commission.

The researchers said treatment of HIV-infected people with two and three-drug combination "cocktails" of anti-retroviral drugs has been shown in comparative trials to delay the onset of AIDS and to increase survival in AIDS patients.

The full extent of the impact of such drugs on death rates in Europe had not been shown previously.

Lundgren said, "These findings are very satisfactory, not only because of the scientific result, but also because of the fact that lives of many patients have been prolonged."

Lundgren told United Press International that 7,300 HIV-infected patients from 50 clinical sites in 17 European countries were tracked since May 1994. He said the study "represents the best available estimate of the health status of HIV-infected patients currently followed in Europe, and we can therefore study how new medical interventions translate in to altered prognosis of the general HIV community."

A variety of new treatments for HIV have been marketed in the past two years. He told UPI the effects of new treatments needed to be analyzed with an "unselected patient population," which made their research "an ideal situation to study this."

In Europe, the prognosis of HIV-infected patients has improved by 84 percent in the last two years, he said, due to the widespread introduction of anti-HIV combination-drug therapy.

The anti-retroviral drugs come in three classes - nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors. Each works by reducing the amount of HIV virus replicating within the infected person. Combinations of three or more drugs appear to provide greater effects than each drug used alone.

Despite the optimistic results, the researchers cautioned that death rates may well rise again in the future.

"Virus levels are not controlled indefinitely by the new drug regimens," they stressed. "Rises in virus levels can be due to drug resistance, inability to continue to take large numbers of pills regularly, adverse effects or other factors."

Lundgren said that "eventually these issues will result in a renewed increase in rates of new disease or death," but the timing has not been defined.

Lundgren told UPI, "We will continue to follow the patients in the next years to see whether this better survival will be sustained for longer periods of times."

981126
UP981110

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. .