Early Start of Antiretrovirals Does Not Provide Better Immune Recovery

Beginning highly active antiretroviral therapy when CD4-cell counts are above 350 does not provide better immune system recovery, according to a study in the March edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. An analysis of data from 20 separate studies showed that patients who began HAART when their CD4-cell counts were above 350 had identical average CD4-cell rebounds as did those who started the drugs with counts between 201 and 350. Both groups experienced an average recovery of about 119 cells. The largest CD4-cell rebounds were seen in patients who began HAART within one year of infection, while those who started therapy with CD4-cell counts below 200 had the smallest increases.