title: Combined therapy with zidovudine, recombinant granulocyte colony stimulating factors and erythropoietin in asymptomatic HIV patients.
abstract: The aim of this randomized, comparative, double-blind study was to determine the efficacy of zidovudine (ZVD) either alone or in combination with recombinant granulocyte-colony stimulating factors (rG-CSF) and erythropoietin (Epo) in asymptomatic HIV-infected subjects with a CD4+ cell count < 500/mm3, classified as CDC II stage. We recruited 20 HIV Ab+ asymptomatic patients who were randomized into two groups: A and B. Group A was treated with ZVD at the dosage of 500 mg daily in combination with rG-CSF (10 micrograms/Kg/biweekly) and Epo (50 IU/Kg/biweekly). Group B was treated with ZVD (500 mg/day) alone. The primary end-point was progression to an AIDS-defining event and the secondary end-point included changes in the CD4+ cell count, p24 Ag status, beta-2-microglobulin, and ferritin levels. The patients of Group A showed no significant changes in transaminase, ferritin and beta-2-microglobulin levels while CD4 cells, Hb and neutrophil levels increased significantly compared to Group B (p < 0.001) and baseline values (p < 0.05). Conversely, 5 patients in Group B showed a significant decrease in CD4 cells (p < 0.01), Hb and neutrophil levels (p < 0.01) compared to baseline values, while beta-2-microglobulin increased (p < 0.05) compared to initial values. Our preliminary study may indicate that the combination of zidovudine with these hematopoietic growth factors could reduce the possibility of virus-related hematologic toxicity and could be more efficacious than zidovudine alone in prolonged therapy.
authors.affiliation: III Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital D. Cotugno, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Perrella
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Finelli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perrella
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tartaglia
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Scognamiglio
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scalera
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count / Q000187:drug effects; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D004921:Erythropoietin; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor; D015215:Zidovudine