title: Determining the relative efficacy of highly active antiretroviral therapy.
abstract: Despite the clinical benefits of combination antiviral therapy, whether maximal antiviral potency has been achieved with current drug combinations remains unclear. We studied the first phase of decay of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA in plasma, one early indicator of antiviral activity, after the administration of a novel combination of lopinavir/ritonavir, efavirenz, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, and lamivudine and compared it with that observed in matched cohorts treated with alternative combination regimens. On the basis of these comparisons, we conclude that the relative potency of highly active antiretroviral therapy may be augmented by as much as 25%-30%. However, it is important to emphasize that further study is warranted to explore whether these early measurements of relative efficacy provide long-term virologic and clinical benefits. Nevertheless, we believe that optimal treatment regimens for HIV-1 have yet to be identified and that continued research to achieve this goal is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Louie
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hogan
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Mascio
authors.forename: Arlene
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hurley
authors.forename: Viviana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rooney
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brun
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Alan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Perelson
authors.forename: David D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Markowitz
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000480:Alkynes; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000379:methods*; D048588:Benzoxazines; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003521:Cyclopropanes; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D019259:Lamivudine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D061466:Lopinavir; D063065:Organophosphonates; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010078:Oxazines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011744:Pyrimidinones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019438:Ritonavir / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000068698:Tenofovir; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000480:Alkynes; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D048588:Benzoxazines; D003521:Cyclopropanes; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors; D063065:Organophosphonates; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D010078:Oxazines; D011744:Pyrimidinones; D012367:RNA, Viral; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D061466:Lopinavir; D019259:Lamivudine; D000068698:Tenofovir; D000225:Adenine; C098320:efavirenz; D019438:Ritonavir