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HIV Rebounds For Some On Drug Cocktail
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
Thursday, November 21, 2002 / 04:37 PM
SUMMARY: A European study found that nearly half of HIV patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) experience a return of the virus after an initial suppression.
A European study found that nearly half of HIV patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) experience a return of the virus after an initial suppression to nearly undetectable levels.
The research focused on 1,470 patients who were using HAART, calculating the incidence of viral rebounds overall and in different subsets of subjects.
Overall, 45.9 percent experienced a rebound of HIV, reported Reuters Health. The rate of rebound was 38.8 percent in the first six months, but it decreased over time to 9.8 percent at or after two years of initial suppression.
People who were taking five or more anti-HIV drugs were more likely to have a rebound than those who were on three drugs. Older patients were less likely to rebound, as were those who had higher CD4 counts, which measure the number of a type of white blood cells.
The findings were presented on Tuesday at the Sixth International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection in Glasgow, Scotland.
The researchers concluded that patients are at greatest risk for viral rebound within the first six months of initial viral suppression.
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