FDA conditionally OKs third AIDS drug.The drug zalcitabine--also known as dideoxycytidine dideoxycytidine /di·de·oxy·cy·ti·dine/ (-si´ti-den) a dideoxynucleoside in which the base is cytosine; it is an antiretroviral agent that acts by inhibiting reverse transcriptase and is used in treating acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. (DDC See VESA DDC. ) --last week became the third drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for combating infection with HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. , the virus that causes AIDS. However, since tests of zalcitabine zalcitabine /zal·ci·ta·bine/ (zal-si´tah-ben) 2'3'-dideoxycytidine, an antiretroviral agent that inhibits the action of reverse transcriptase; used in the treatment of HIV infection. zal·ci·ta·bine n. are still in progress, the FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. approved the drug's use only in combination with the AIDS drug zidovudine, or AZT. The agency also suggested that physicians use zalcitabine only for AIDS patients whose counts of CD4 cells, a key immune system component, have dropped below 300 per cubic millimeter of blood. The FDA based its approval on data from two small studies--each with fewer than 100 patients--and said it would review the decision within six months, based on the outcome of a larger, ongoing trial. The small studies indicated that a combination of zidovudine and zalcitabine could raise the CD4 counts of AIDS patients. An earlier study suggested the drug combo could also improve neurological AIDS symptoms (SN: 9/10/88, p.172). |
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