Injectable AIDS drug may work 'as well' as pills: study
At present people have no option but to take lifelong, daily doses of antiretroviral therapy which keeps HIV under control, but does not kill it
A two-drug cocktail injected every month or two may be just as effective as a daily pill at keeping the Aids virus under control, according to a new study.
At present people have no option but to take lifelong, daily doses of antiretroviral therapy (ART) which keeps HIV under control, but does not kill it.
People who forget to take their medication run the risk of the virus rebounding to make them ill, or developing resistance to the drugs they were using – which would require a more expensive replacement.
In an ongoing study, nearly 300 HIV positive people were given a course of daily pills to bring the virus under control. Once achieved, some continued taking oral treatment while the rest were moved onto the prototype, injectable ARV, administered every four or eight weeks.
At 96 weeks, the virus was still subdued in 84 per cent of the pill group, 87 per cent in the injectable group, and 94 per cent in the eight-weekly group.
The results were published in The Lancet medical journal to coincide with an HIV science conference in Paris by the International Aids Society.