title: The SWITCHMRK studies: substitution of lopinavir/ritonavir with raltegravir in HIV-positive individuals.
abstract: Protease inhibitors potently suppress HIV viral load but are often associated with metabolic disturbances such as dyslipidemias and lipodystrophy. In addition to exercise, diet modification and anti-lipid therapies, one potential management strategy for HIV-positive patients with dyslipidemia is to switch any antiretrovirals that may be exacerbating the condition to more lipid-neutral drugs. The SWITCHMRK studies examined the effects of substituting lopinavir/ritonavir, a protease inhibitor known to cause dyslipidemias, with the integrase inhibitor raltegravir. Participants who switched from lopinavir/ritonavir to raltegravir experienced an improvement in cholesterol and triglycerides at 12 weeks; however, a large proportion of patients in the raltegravir arms did not maintain HIV virologic suppression at less than 50 copies/ml at week 24. Further analyses are underway to determine why more patients in the raltegravir arms experienced increased virologic failure and to determine whether switching lopinavir/ritonavir with raltegravir may be appropriate for specific subgroups of patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy, 521 Parnassus Avenue, C-152, Box 0622, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. cocohobaj@pharmacy.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cocohoba
mesh_terms: D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D061466:Lopinavir; D011744:Pyrimidinones / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011760:Pyrrolidinones / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000068898:Raltegravir Potassium; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019562:Viral Load / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors; D011744:Pyrimidinones; D011760:Pyrrolidinones; D061466:Lopinavir; D000068898:Raltegravir Potassium