TWO COMMON ANTIRETROVIRALS ARE EQUALLY EFFECTIVE, BUT ONE HAS FEWER SIDE EFFECTS

Johns Hopkins Medicine
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MEDIA CONTACT: David March
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July 11, 2004

 TWO COMMON ANTIRETROVIRALS ARE EQUALLY EFFECTIVE, BUT ONE HAS FEWER SIDE

In the July 14 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers from Johns Hopkins and other institutions will present results from what is believed to be the first three-year, randomized, double-blind, clinical trial comparing antiretroviral therapies for HIV infection.

Their findings, to be made public July 11 at a JAMA media briefing, show that combination regimens including tenofovir DF (Viread) or stavudine (d4T, Zerit) are equally effective, but tenofovir DF has less toxic outcomes with respect to cholesterol levels, lipodystrophy (changes in distribution of body fat) and peripheral neuropathy (pain or numbness in legs.)

The study involved more than 600 patients in 81 centers in the United States, South America and Europe, and was conducted from July 2000 to January 2004.

"These results support the use of tenofovir DF as a component of initial therapy for HIV infection," says study lead author Joel Gallant, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor and associate director of the AIDS Service at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Comparing the Efficacy and Safety of Tenofovir DF vs. Stavudine in Combination Therapy in Antiretroviral-Na ve Patients. Joel E. Gallant, Schlomo Staszewski, Anton L. Pozniak, Edwin DeJesus, Jamal M.A.H. Suleiman, Michael D. Miller, Dion F. Coakley, Biao Lu, John J. Toole, Andrew K. Cheng,. (JAMA. 2004; 292:191-201.)

THE 2004 XV INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AIDS, JULY 11-16, BANGKOK, THAILAND

(JAMA will held a media briefing about this study and others included in its special edition on HIV/AIDS, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., local time, Sunday, July 11, Chao Phya Room, Oriental Hotel,  Bangkok, Thailand.)