Delaying a treatment switch in antiretroviral-treated HIV type 1-infected patients with detectable drug-resistant viremia does not have a profound effect on immune parameters: AIDS Clinical Trials Group Study A5115

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2009 Feb;25(2):135-9. doi: 10.1089/aid.2008.0200.

Abstract

Some patients are unable to achieve and maintain an undetectable plasma HIV-1 RNA level with combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) and are therefore maintained on a partially suppressive regimen. To determine the immune consequences of continuing ART despite persistent viremia, we randomized 47 ART-treated individuals with low to moderate plasma HIV-1 RNA levels (200-9999 copies/ml) to either an immediate switch in therapy or a delayed switch (when plasma HIV-1 RNA became > or =10,000 copies/ml). After 48 weeks of follow-up, naive and memory CD4+ T cell percents were comparable in the two groups. The proportion of subjects with a lymphocyte proliferative response to Candida, Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex, or HIV-gag was also not significantly different at week 48. Delaying a treatment switch in patients with partial virologic suppression and stable CD4+ T cells does not have profound effects on immune parameters.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / drug therapy*
  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / immunology*
  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / virology
  • Anti-Retroviral Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active*
  • CD4 Lymphocyte Count
  • Candida / immunology
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Drug Resistance, Viral*
  • HIV-1 / drug effects*
  • Humans
  • Mycobacterium avium Complex / immunology
  • RNA, Viral / blood
  • Viral Load

Substances

  • Anti-Retroviral Agents
  • RNA, Viral