Effect of diethylcarbamazine on HIV load, CD4%, and CD4/CD8 ratio in HIV-infected adult Tanzanians with or without lymphatic filariasis: randomized double-blind and placebo-controlled cross-over trial.
We assessed the effect of anti-filarial treatment (diethylcarbamazine, DEC) on HIV load, CD4%, and CD4/CD8 ratio in HIV-positive individuals with and without infection with the filarial parasite Wuchereria bancrofti in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial. The study was conducted in Tanga Region, Tanzania, in 2002 and involved 27 adults. A significant decrease in HIV load (54%) and an insignificant increase in CD4% were observed in the HIV-positive individuals with filarial co-infection at 12 weeks after treatment. HIV load and CD4% both increased, although not statistically significantly, in the HIV-positive individuals without filarial infection. The findings suggest that DEC affected HIV load through its effect on the filarial infection rather than through a direct (pharmacodynamic) effect on HIV. Global efforts to control lymphatic filariasis by annual mass treatment with DEC may have a beneficial effect on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in areas where HIV and lymphatic filariasis co-exist.
Nielsen
Nina O
NO
DBL-Centre for Health Research and Development, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. nnielsen@dblnet.dk
Simonsen
Paul E
PE
Dalgaard
Peter
P
Krarup
Henrik
H
Magnussen
Pascal
P
Magesa
Stephen
S
Friis
Henrik
H
D000328:Adult; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004049:Diethylcarbamazine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004605:Elephantiasis, Filarial / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D010919:Placebos; D013636:Tanzania; D019562:Viral Load