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rfmcdonaldThese research findings, reported by BusinesWeek's Michelle Fay Cortez and Simeon Bennett, aren't surprising; informed speculation along this line has been current since the development of effective antiretroviral treatments in the mid-1990s. It's nice to get confirmation, though.
The article suggests that the research, involving heterosexual couples, isn't necessary relevant for same-sex male couples. I'd not think that there would be an especially significant difference, though; the dynamics of infection are similar enough.
Giving HIV patients drug treatment as soon as they are diagnosed makes them less contagious, slashing transmission rates to their sexual partners by 96 percent, an international study found.
The trial, the first to prove treating a person reduces their risk of infecting others, may change the pace of care for people with the virus that causes AIDS. The World Health Organization currently recommends patients with healthy immune systems not get HIV drugs, which can have serious side effects, until their infection-fighting cells fall below a certain level.
The study involving couples where only one person had HIV found 28 new cases linked to the infected partner. A single infection occurred among 886 couples where treatment began immediately with a mix of drugs from companies including Gilead Sciences Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. The 27 other infections were among 877 couples where treatment was delayed.
“This new finding convincingly demonstrates that treating the infected individual -- and doing so sooner rather than later -- can have a major impact on reducing HIV transmission,” Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a statement released today on the study results.
The trial, which started in 2005 and was slated to run until 2015, was halted early to ensure HIV patients were offered antiretroviral therapy proven to protect their partners.
[. . .]
Drugs to treat HIV can cost $12,000 or more a year, and cause side effects including nausea and kidney damage. Studies are under way to identify the best time to start the drugs that must be taken daily for life. There is no hard and fast rule on when to begin treatment for patients who still have a strong immune system without signs of AIDS.
[. . .]
In the study reported today, patients were treated with a triple combination of drugs chosen from among 11 options, with the goal of reducing the amount of virus in their blood to undetectable levels. Researchers hypothesized that HIV patients with lower viral levels would be less likely to infect their partners, and the earlier treatment starts, the greater the benefit.
Half started taking the drugs immediately after joining the trial, and the other half waited until their CD4 cells -- the immune system cells attacked by the virus -- fell below 250 per cubic millimeter of blood.
The study cost about $73 million and was carried out by the HIV Prevention Trials Network. All the participants received condoms and counseling on how best to prevent the spread of HIV.
The article suggests that the research, involving heterosexual couples, isn't necessary relevant for same-sex male couples. I'd not think that there would be an especially significant difference, though; the dynamics of infection are similar enough.
