Thursday, July 26, 2012

Promising results for a new treatment combination



The study compared this combination with tenofovir/emtricitabine (Truvada), and both arms also took atazanavir boosted with ritonavir. The new combination is unusual in that it doesn’t contain a drug from the NRTI class

After 96 weeks, 67.8% of people taking maraviroc and 82.0% of those on Truvada had undetectable viral loads – the goal of HIV treatment. Using a less sensitive test, 78.0% and 83.6%, respectively, had a viral load below 400.
Rises in CD4 cell count were similar on both the treatment combinations. 

More people taking maraviroc had serious side-effects than those on Truvada (22 vs 18%). These included jaundice because of raised bilirubin, a known side-effect of atazanavir.
But fewer people on maraviroc had indicators of reduced kidney function or of bone problems (tenofovir is known to cause kidney and bone problems in some people). 

A new trial is now underway testing maraviroc with a different protease inhibitor, darunavir (Prezista).

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