title: Results of the ALBI trial: a randomized comparison of stavudine/didanosine, zidovudine/lamivudine and alternating treatment in antiretroviral-naive patients.
abstract: In the ALBI trial, 151 antiretroviral-naive patients with plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA levels of 10,000 to 100,000 copies/ml and CD4 cell counts > or = 200 cells/mm3 received 24 weeks of treatment with stavudine/didanosine (n=51), zidovudine/lamivudine (n=51) or stavudine/didanosine for 12 weeks followed by zidovudine/lamivudine (n=49). Baseline plasma HIV-1 RNA and CD4 cell counts were comparable in the treatment groups. The mean decrease in plasma HIV-1 RNA at 24 weeks in the stavudine/didanosine group (2.26 log10) was significantly greater than that in either the zidovudine/lamivudine group (1.26 log10) or the alternating treatment group (1.58 log10) (P<0.0001 for both). Proportions of patients with plasma HIV-1 RNA level <500 copies/ml (91% vs 42% and 60%) and <50 copies/ml (47% versus 4% and 9%) were significantly greater in the stavudine/didanosine group (P<0.001 for pairwise comparisons). Stavudine/didanosine was associated with a mean increase in CD4 cell count (124 cells/mm3) significantly greater than that in the zidovudine/lamivudine group (62 cells/mm3, P<0.01) and comparable to that in the alternating group (118 cells/mm3). All study regimens were well tolerated. These findings, indicating superiority of stavudine/didanosine over zidovudine/lamivudine in virological and immunological response over 24 weeks, suggest that the combination should be considered as a basis for highly active antiretroviral therapy.
authors: Department of Infectious Diseases, Saint Louis Hospital, Paris, France. molina@chu-stlouis.fr
authors: J M
authors: JM
authors: Molina
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Chêuc
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Ferchal
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Journot
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Pellegrin
authors: M N
authors: MN
authors: Sombardier
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Rancinan
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Cotte
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Madelaine
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Debord
authors: J M
authors: JM
authors: Decazes
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016049:Didanosine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D019259:Lamivudine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018119:Stavudine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019562:Viral Load; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D012367:RNA, Viral; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D019259:Lamivudine; D015215:Zidovudine; D018119:Stavudine; D016049:Didanosine