HAART may help reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission.Byline: ANI Washington, Aug 2 (ANI): Highly active antiretroviral therapy Noun 1. highly active antiretroviral therapy - a combination of protease inhibitors taken with reverse transcriptase inhibitors; used in treating AIDS and HIV drug cocktail, HAART (HAART HAART highly active antiretroviral therapy. HAART Highly active antiretroviral therapy, triple combination therapy AIDS The concurrent administration of 2 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors–eg, AZT and 3TC, and a protease ) can prove helpful in preventing mother-to-child transmission of 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. in poor countries, according to an editorial in response to a research study in the August 15 issue of JAIDS JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes : Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. In the new research study, HIV-positive pregnant women in Nairobi, Kenya, were randomly assigned to one of two treatments to prevent HIV transmission to their infant. One group received the standard treatment for poor countries: treatment of the mother with the antiviral drug zidovudine starting six weeks before delivery, plus a single dose of the drug nevirapine nevirapine /ne·vir·a·pine/ (ne-vir´ah-pen) a nonnucleoside inhibitor of HIV-1reverse transcriptase, used in combination with other antiretroviral agents in the treatment of HIV infection. for the infant after birth (ZDV/sdNVP). Another group received a three-drug HAART combination. This "triple therapy" combination-the standard treatment for HIV-infected pregnant women in wealthier countries-also started six weeks before delivery. HAART then continued for six months after birth, with the goal of preventing HIV transmission during breast-feeding. The two groups were compared for measures of HIV resistance to antiretroviral drugs. Three months after treatment, sophisticated gene studies found that HAART reduced drug resistance, though did not eliminate it completely. Low levels of resistant virus were detected in 75 percent of women receiving ZDV/sdNVP, compared to just 18 percent of those receiving HAART. The study "provides strong evidence that short-course HAART results in lower rates of antiretroviral resistance compared with the standard ZDV/sdNVP regimen," according to the researchers. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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