title: Hydroxychloroquine, hydroxycarbamide, and didanosine as economic treatment for HIV-1.
abstract: Most people who have HIV-1 and live in less-developed countries cannot afford standard combination antiretroviral therapy, and more economical approaches to treatment are therefore needed. We treated 22 patients who were infected with HIV-1 (viral load < 100000 copies/mL and CD4 count >150 cells/microL) with hydroxychloroquine (200 mg), hydroxycarbamide (hydroxyurea) (500 mg), and didanosine (125-200 mg), taken twice daily. Treatment was well tolerated, with few serious adverse events. Viral load showed a sustained decrease of 1 3 log, and CD4 count was maintained (percentage increase; 2 9%) over 48 weeks in the 16 evaluable patients. This new combination of drugs could be suitable for countries that have restricted resources, but should first be further investigated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 308433, Singapore. Paton_NIJ@ttsh.com.sg
authors.forename: Nicholas I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Paton
authors.forename: Jamila
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aboulhab
authors.forename: Fatimah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Karim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D016049:Didanosine / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D006886:Hydroxychloroquine / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006918:Hydroxyurea / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D006886:Hydroxychloroquine; D016049:Didanosine; D006918:Hydroxyurea