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[HATIP #20], 19 December 2003
A regular electronic newsletter for health care workers and community-based organisations on HIV treatment in resource-limited settings. It is supported by and produced in collaboration with St Stephen's AIDS Trust and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.

Its publication is also supported by Positive Action of GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer Ingelheim and the Access 4 Trust.
   Last updated: 19.10.05
In this issue
1. About HIV & AIDS Treatment in Practice
2. News links from www.aidsmap.com
3. Learning from Botswana: a report from Botswana's First National Research Conference on HIV/AIDS/STI/Other Related Infectious Diseases

HATIP is published in partnership with the St Stephen's AIDS Trust.

News links from www.aidsmap.com
A selection of news stories which have appeared since 5/12/2003.

More bad news on tenofovir/abacavir/3TC

  • Replacing a suppressive anti-HIV regimen with tenofovir/abacavir/3TC is a risky strategy according to a small, retrospective study published in The Lancet this week.



Better clinical outcomes if HAART started before CD4 cell count falls below 200

  • Individuals who start HAART when their CD4 cell count is below 200 cells/mm3 are more likely to progress to AIDS or death than patients who initiate anti-HIV therapy with a CD4 cell count between 201 - 350 cells, even if they achieve durable HIV suppression, according to US research published in the December 1st edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.



Daily nevirapine safe for breastfed infants

  • Nevirapine can be given safely once a day to breast-feeding infants as a strategy to reduce the risk of mother-to-infant transmission, according to a new study from southern Africa. However, the efficacy of this strategy is yet to be proven.



Landmark study shows why AZT/3TC/efavirenz now preferred as first-line HIV treatment

  • The combination of AZT, 3TC and efavirenz proved more durable than two initial HAART combinations composed of four drugs, and outclassed all combinations based on either d4T/ddI or nelfinavir, according to final results from the ACTG 384 study published in the December 11th edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. Interim findings from this study

were presented to the International AIDS Conference in Barcelona in
2002, and a regimen of AZT, 3TC and efavirenz is one of the initial
regimens of choice recommended in the latest US treatment HIV
guidelines.

Minority can have CD4 rises and no illness for more than 3 years after treatment failure

  • People with a stable low detectable viral load who continue with

existing treatment continue to have rising CD4 cell counts and no
clinical progression for up to three and a half years, according to a
retrospective study from a Chicago clinic, published in the December
15th issue of JAIDS.


South African drug deal bring $140 a year treatment within reach of African nations

  • GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim have conceded defeat in a long-running battle to preserve their antiretroviral drug patents in

South Africa. Following a Competition Commission judgement against the companies in October, the manufacturers announced this morning that they will allow generic versions of their products AZT, 3TC and nevirapine to be produced by South African-based companies at low cost. The deal will also allow South African companies to export the products to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Fat loss in all body regions most common form of lipodystrophy in women

  • Women with HIV are more likely to experience overall body fat loss, rather than peripheral fat loss combined with central fat gain,

according to an American study published in the December 15th edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.



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