The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7206 p45
13 July 2002

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AIDS 2002 Conference (www.aids2002.org)

Interrupting HIV treatment safe

Interrupting HIV treatment may be safe in some patients, according to a study presented at the AIDS conference in Barcelona this week.

Treatment interruptions are sometimes used following early therapy of acute HIV syndrome, either following suppressive antiretroviral therapy or as a salvage method after therapy has failed. Although recent guidelines do not generally recommend this approach (see above), a trial of extended interruption followed by treatment found this practice safe in certain patients.

The trial, carried out by Dr Chad Achenbach, Feinberg school of medicine, Chicago, focused on stopping highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to minimise complications. It involved 25 HIV-infected patients who had experienced viral suppression for at least six months while receiving HAART. Patients had their therapy interrupted for an average of nine months.

No patient had HIV-related infections or illness during the interruption, though all had increases in virus levels and reductions in CD4 counts.

When HAART was resumed in 11 of the patients, they experienced maximum viral suppression and robust increases in CD4 cell counts. "We were surprised that so many patients were able to remain off their therapy for so long a period," Dr Achenbach said. He added that this approach "may be an important HIV treatment strategy for the reduction of long-term toxicity, medication burden and expense."