The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7176 p767-773
1 December 2001

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Early monitoring predicts response to HIV treatment

Assessing changes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) levels as early as one week after the start of therapy can be used to predict the long-term effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment, say American researchers. Early assessment is important for preventing the emergence of drug-resistant virus and unnecessary exposure to ineffective and toxic drugs.

The team of researchers analysed the decay of HIV-1 over 12 weeks in 124 infected patients who were being treated with a protease inhibitor for the first time. They found that the change in HIV-1 concentration between initiation and day six of treatment correctly predicted 84 per cent of responses to treatment at week 12. "[The decay rates] offer a very early measure of individual long-term responses, suggesting that treatment could be optimised after only a few days of therapy."

However, they note that adherence to treatment is a major problem and the proposed approach could only be used if information on compliance is provided (Lancet 2001;358:1760).

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