Kids' Responses to Meds Vary by Age

Immulogical responses to highly active antiretroviral therapy in children varies with age'with younger children the most likely to post larger CD4-cell increases but also being more likely to maintain higher viral loads, according to a study in the September 24 edition of the journal AIDS. CD4-cell percentage increases of more than 10% after six months of antiretroviral therapy were shown to be more common in younger children and in those starting therapy with the lowest CD4-cell percentages, researchers report. Suppressing HIV viral levels to below 400 copies, however, was most likely in older children, and was shown to be unrelated to pre-HAART viral levels or CD4-cell counts. Because higher viral levels are often a sign of the development of drug-resistance, the reseachers say younger HIV-positive children may be at a higher risk for treatment failure and faster HIV disease progression than older HIV-positive kids.