AIDS Treatment Update, Issue 63, March 1998
Edward King

Between three and five percent of people starting abacavir in a number of studies have experienced the unpredictable reaction, usually one to four weeks after starting treatment. The symptoms are malaise, nausea, vomiting, fever, and sometimes a rash. The reaction goes away when abacavir treatment is stopped. However, six people experienced life-threatening reactions when they re-started abacavir, and one person died as a result. Doctors have now been warned never to re-start abacavir among patients who have had experienced the hypersensitivity reaction.

Despite these safety concerns, there is evidence that abacavir could be potent enough to use with just one other highly active drug. Research presented in Chicago suggested that it may be effective for people with HIV strains that are resistant to either or both AZT and 3TC, although previous evidence indicated that it would be cross-resistant to 3TC; this issue remains to be clarified.

A study in Brighton and other European clinics found that abacavir combined with a licensed protease inhibitor reduced viral load by an average of at least 2 logs (a 99% reduction) after 16 weeks (abstract 4).

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