PI Perspective 24: AZT and Mother to Child Transmission

PI Perspective 24: AZT and Mother to Child Transmission

Project Inform - April, 1998

The reduction in HIV transmission from mother-to-infant with the use of anti-HIV drugs has been a remarkable success story. However, it has not been a reality for many nations where the complexity of the therapy regimen, along with poor access to the necessary drugs, inadequate prenatal care, wide scale malnutrition and the potential for transmission through necessary breast feeding, has blocked the ability to share in this major advance. Results from a new study in Thailand show the success of a simplified regimen of AZT which reduced by 51% the mother-to-child transmission among women who are not breast feeding (from 18.6% without AZT to 9.2% with AZT). In this study, women were given 300 mg. AZT twice a day orally starting approximately 26 weeks after conception through birth. Unlike the standard US regimen, the babies were not given AZT after birth, nor were the mothers given AZT intravenously during labor.

This greatly simplified regimen offers a more viable possibility for women in developing countries, even if it is slightly less efficacious (the US regimen produced a 66% drop in transmission, versus 51% for the simplified regimen.) This simplified AZT regimen will be less costly, potentially allowing many developing nations to implement a useful campaign to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Further research will need to be done to determine the effectiveness for women who are breast feeding and whether still simpler regimens might be found for women who do not access care until delivery.

980401
PI980417

Always watch for outdated information.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.

©1998. This document is copyrighted by Project Inform, 205 13th Street, #2001, San Francisco, CA 94103. Treatment Hotline: 800-822-7422 (toll-free) or 415-558-9051 (in the San Francisco Bay Area and internationally) All Project Inform materials may be reprinted and/or distributed without prior permission. However, reprints may not be edited and must include the following text: "From Project Inform, for more information contact the Project Inform National HIV/AIDS Treatment Hotline, 800-822-7422." For permission to edit any Project Inform material for further publication, contact David Evans at the Project Inform office.

Project Inform, established in 1985 as a national, non profit, community-based HIV/AIDS treatment information and advocacy organization, serves HIV-infected individuals, their care-givers, and their healthcare and service providers through its national, toll-free treatment hotline, the PI Perspective and other information publications, educational Town Meetings, on-line services and research and drug access advocacy programs. All information is available free of charge; donations are strongly encouraged. For more information, contact the Project Inform National HIV/AIDS Treatment Hotline. Email: web@projinf.org; Website: http://www.projinf.org.

The original of this article can be found at http://www.projinf.org/pub/24/hepatitis.html

This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1998. AEGiS.