Therapy Success Is Tied to Viral Levels

Having a baseline HIV viral load above 100,000 is strongly linked with a low likelihood of ever achieving sustained viral suppression and with a higher chance of viral rebound from even partial suppression, researchers report in the March 1 edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. More than 1,400 treatment-naive adults were studied to gauge responses to anti-HIV therapy; data showed that those with baseline viral levels above 100,000 were far less likely to ever achieve sustained viral suppression. A viral load above 50,000 also was associated with a slower response to anti-HIV drugs. 'These findings likely explain the association between baseline HIV RNA levels and mortality and have important implications for the development of treatment guidelines,' the researchers conclude.