HIV patients who
are able to suppress blood-based viral levels to below
400 copies per milliliter of blood between six and 18 months
after beginning antiretroviral therapy are highly
likely to maintain long-term viral control, according
to a study in the journal Clinical Infectious
Diseases. Reuters Health reports that researchers
in Denmark studied more than 2,000 HIV patients, and
96% of those with viral loads under 400 copies after six to
18 months of therapy maintained that low viral level
after six years of treatment. Only 57% of study
subjects who had viral levels above 400 copies after
six to 18 months of treatment were able to suppress those
levels to below 400 copies at the six-year mark.
After six years
of treatment, about 93% of HIV patients who suppressed
blood-based viral levels below 400 copies for six to 18
months after starting drug therapy were still alive.
Among those with early viral levels that remained
above 400 copies, about 76% were still living after
six years of treatment.
Lead researcher
Nicolai Lohse of Odense University Hospital in Odense,
Denmark, says that because long-term treatment success was
predicted by early viral control, physicians should
work with their HIV patients to ensure that HIV levels
are adequately suppressed during early stages of
treatment. (Advocate.com)