New AIDS Research | Examine Risks with Long-Term ARV Use

New research finds no evidence of increased risk of all-cause and non-AIDS death with long-term ARV use..

Antiretroviral drugs are medications for the treatment of infection by retroviruses, primarily HIV. When several such drugs, typically three or four, are taken in combination, the approach is known as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART. The American National Institutes of Health and other organizations recommend offering antiretroviral treatment to all patients with AIDS.  Because of the complexity of selecting and following a regimen, the severity of the side-effects and the importance of compliance to prevent viral resistance, such organizations emphasize the importance of involving patients in therapy choices, and recommend analyzing the risks and the potential benefits to patients with low viral loads. 

There are different classes of antiretroviral drugs that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle.

The new research paper:-

Long-term exposure to combination antiretroviral therapy and risk of death from specific causes: no evidence for any previously unidentified increased risk due to antiretroviral therapy.

Kowalska JD, Reekie J, Mocroft A, Reiss P, Ledergerber B, Gatell J, d’Arminio Monforte A, Phillips A, Lundgren JD, Kirk O; for the EuroSIDA study group.

Abstract –

BACKGROUND:
Despite the known substantial benefits of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), cumulative adverse effects could still limit the overall long-term treatment benefit. Therefore we investigated changes in the rate of death with increasing exposure to cART.

METHODS:
A total of 12 069 patients were followed from baseline, which was defined as the time of starting cART or enrolment into EuroSIDA whichever occurred later, until death or 6 months after last follow-up visit. Incidence rates of death were calculated per 1000 person-years of follow-up (PYFU) and stratified by time of exposure to cART (≥3 antiretrovirals): less than 2, 2-3.99, 4-5.99, 6-7.99 and more than 8 years. Duration of cART exposure was the cumulative time actually receiving cART. Poisson regression models were fitted for each cause of death separately.

RESULTS:
A total of 1297 patients died during 70 613 PYFU [incidence rate 18.3 per 1000 PYFU, 95% confidence interval (CI) 17.4-19.4], 413 due to AIDS (5.85, 95% CI 5.28-6.41) and 884 due to non-AIDS-related cause (12.5, 95% CI 11.7-13.3). After adjustment for confounding variables, including baseline CD4 cell count and HIV RNA, there was a significant decrease in the rate of all-cause and AIDS-related death between 2 and 3.99 years and longer exposure time. In the first 2 years on cART the risk of non-AIDS death was significantly lower, but no significant difference in the rate of non-AIDS-related deaths between 2 and 3.99 years and longer exposure to cART was observed.

CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, we found no evidence of an increased risk of both all-cause and non-AIDS-related deaths with long-term cumulative cART exposure.

PMID: 22112597

SOURCE- http://www.aidstruth.org/new-research/2012/new-research-finds-no-evidence-increased-risk-all-cause-and-non-aids-death-long

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NOTE JAN-26-12  Join amfAR, The IDSA Center for Global Health Policy, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for a briefing discussing combination prevention approaches.  It will take place on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 from 12-1 pm in the Kennedy Caucus Room (Senate Russel 325).  The entrance is at the corner of Deleware Ave. & Constitution Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002.  Lunch will be provided.  Please RSVP to .

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