Researchers found that commonly prescribed antiviral drugs are
the most effective for suppressing the virus that causes AIDS. The study has
major implications for doctors as they have to choose from a number of different
drugs to treat individuals infected with HIV.
One of the most commonly used regimens is the most effective
for initial treatment of HIV infection, researchers said.
The finding comes from the first head-to-head trial of the
two main initial drug regimens, as well as a third that is theoretically
attractive but not as widely used, according to Sharon Riddler M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues.
At the end of the study, patients taking a combination of
efavirenz (Sustiva) plus two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors
(NRTIs) had a longer time before the virus rebounded, Dr. Riddler and
colleagues reported in the May 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The other main regimen, lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra) plus
two NRTIs, was significantly less efficacious (P<0.006) in terms of time to
virological failure, the study found; the third regimen, a combination of efavirenz
and lopinavir/ritonavir, was not significantly different from either of the
other two, Dr. Riddler and colleagues reported, according to MedPage Today.
The study involved 757 patients, enrolled from January 2003
through May 2004, and followed for a median of 112 weeks.
“All three regimens were well-tolerated and effective,” Dr.
Riddler said, but “our results showed that efavirenz with NRTIs should still be
considered the gold standard regimen for initial HIV treatment.”
As a conclusion, researchers said that the regimen which is
considered the most commonly used is safe, well-tolerated and effective. They
said it may be more effective than the alternative regimens that are available.
