Do Not Quit Yet

Some people on failing anti-HIV drug regimens'as measured through two consecutive viral load tests rising to above 50 copies'may still post CD4-cell increases and avoid AIDS-related illnesses by sticking to their regimens, according to a study in the December 15 issue of Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. A minority of adults who maintain viral loads below 20,000 copies while sticking to a failing regimen can remain free of clinical disease progression for up to 3H years, according to a study of 25 HIV-positive Chicago adults. Researchers are unclear as to what leads to the continued benefits of the failed regimens but theorize that reduced viral replication capacity and decreased immune activation may play a role. And although some drug resistance was found in most of the study subjects, a majority of the HAART patients with relatively low viral levels responded to at least one drug in two antiretroviral classes.