title: Vitamin A supplementation and human immunodeficiency virus load in injection drug users.
abstract: The use of vitamin A therapy during human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is under clinical investigation, and vitamin A could potentially modulate HIV replication because the virus genome contains a retinoic acid response element. A randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted to determine the impact of single high-dose vitamin A supplementation, 60-mg retinol equivalent (200,000 IU), on HIV load and CD4 lymphocyte count. HIV-infected injection drug users (120) were randomly allocated to receive vitamin A or placebo. Plasma vitamin A level, CD4 lymphocyte count, and HIV load were measured at baseline and 2 and 4 weeks after treatment. Vitamin A supplementation had no significant impact on HIV load or CD4 lymphocyte count at 2 and 4 weeks after treatment. This study suggests that high-dose vitamin A supplementation does not influence HIV load.
authors.affiliation: Department of Opthalmology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Semba
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lyles
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Margolick
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Caiaffa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Farzadegan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cohn
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vlahov
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010919:Placebos; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous; D019562:Viral Load; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D010919:Placebos; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014801:Vitamin A