U.S. ceases study on AIDS therapy

WASHINGTON – A major international study of a drug-conserving AIDS therapy has been halted because patients trying the on-again, off-again strategy got sicker than those who never took a break from the high-powered drugs, U.S. researchers announced Wednesday.

The study had enrolled more than 5,000 HIV patients in 33 countries before it was abruptly stopped by the National Institutes of Health after a routine safety analysis.

Researchers concluded that those who took their medicine only when their immune systems waned were more than twice as likely to get sicker or die as people who took the drugs every day.

The finding is a blow to AIDS advocates who had hoped that drug-conserving therapy would reduce side effects – and save money on the expensive medications, particularly in the world’s poorest countries, where AIDS is skyrocketing.

“All around, it’s disappointing news,” said Jose Zuniga, president of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care.

He cautioned that the idea of drug-conserving therapy shouldn’t be shelved permanently: It might work one day, when there are newer, even more potent anti-HIV medicines to choose from.

Combinations of potent anti-HIV drugs help patients live longer, and slow their progression from HIV infection to full-blown AIDS. But the combinations can cause serious side effects; it’s inconvenient to take numerous pills a day, and the drugs are expensive.

While treatment guidelines back continuous therapy, earlier small studies had suggested it might be possible to take medication breaks and still control the virus while reducing side effects and cutting costs.