Long Treatment Interruptions Might Clear Resistant HIV

German researchers report in the October 1 issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes details of a 42-year-old HIV-positive man with multidrug-resistant HIV who mounted a strong and persistent response to antiretroviral therapy after a seven-month treatment interruption. The lengthy break appeared to lead to the gradual replacement of resistant virus with more drug-susceptible strains that replicate more rapidly and have better viral fitness. 'We assume the clinical relevance of this paper to be high,' lead researcher Hauke Walter told Reuters Health. 'There are an increasing number of patients with multidrug-resistant viral strains, and the therapy options for these patients are extremely limited, in particular due to the high level of cross-resistance.'