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Specific drug combination may be more effective in patient with high HIV viral load.
By jeremyc | December 2, 2009
MedPage Today (12/1, Smith) reported, “In patients with a high HIV viral load at the start of initial therapy, regimens based on tenofovir/emtricitabine (Truvada) were more effective than those based on abacavir/lamivudine (Epzicom),” Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers found after evaluating 1,858 patients. “Current guidelines for initial HIV therapy suggest a regimen based on two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and either a protease inhibitor or a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor.” While such combinations are “potent,” it has “not been clear if they differ in antiviral activity, tolerability, and safety.” The new “surprise finding,” however, “suggests that physicians should be aware of the difference when prescribing initial treatment for patients with a high level of HIV-1 RNA in their blood,” according to the paper in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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