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Background: The POTENT trial compared the safety and efficacy of tipranavir/ ritonavir (TPV/r) to darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r), each with an optimized background regimen (OBR) in triple-class experienced HIV-1-infected patients with resistance to more than one protease inhibitor (PI). Methodology/Principal Findings: POTENT was a prospective, open-label study of triple-class (PI, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors [NNRTI], nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors [NRTI]), treatment-experienced, HIVpositive patients. Subjects were randomized to either TPV/r (500/200mg twice daily) or DRV/r (600/100mg twice daily) on a genotype-guided, investigatorselected OBR. CD4+ counts andHIV viral loads were assayed at key timepoints. The primary endpoint was time to virologic failure (viral load ≥500 copies/mL). POTENT was prematurely terminated due to slow enrollment. Thirty-nine patients were treated with either TPV/r (n= 19) or DRV/r (n= 20); 82% were male, 77% White, with mean age of 43.6 years. Mean baselineHIV RNA was 3.9 log10 copies/mL.Median prior antiretrovirals was 11, with no prior raltegravir or maraviroc exposure. Raltegravir was the most common novel class agent in the OBRs (n = 14 TPV/r; n = 12DRV/r). In both groups, patients achieved mean viral load decreases ≥2 log10 copies/mL by week 8, and by week 12 mean CD4+ counts rose by 40-50 cells/mm3. Total observation time was 32 weeks. Drug-related adverse events were reported in 21% (TPV/r) and 25% (DRV/r) of patients. Conclusions/Significance: TPV/r- and DRV/r-based regimens showed similar short-term safety and efficacy. These data support the use of next-generation PIs such as tipranavir or darunavir with novel class antiretroviral agents (integrase inhibitors, CCR5 antagonists, or fusion inhibitors). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protease inhibitor (PI) treatment can result in dyslipidemia in a significant proportion of patients. Atazanavir (ATV) is a once-daily PI that has not been associated with clinically relevant increases in total cholesterol (TC), fasting low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), or fasting triglyceride (TG) concentrations. The objectives of this paper were to evaluate lipid profiles in untreated patients, and investigate the frequency and severity of dyslipidemia in the same individuals after treatment with ATV or nelfinavir (NFV) for 48 weeks. Two multinational, randomized, active-controlled, blinded trials compared the safety and efficacy of ATV and NFV in combination with two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) in antiretroviral (ARV)-naive patients. Serum lipid concentrations were analyzed in patients who had available measurements both at baseline and at week 48. Patients who had missing data at either time point were not included. Lipid levels remained within baseline ranges at week 48 with ATV treatment, whereas clinically relevant elevations in TC, fasting LDL-C, and fasting TG concentrations occurred with NFV treatment. Mean changes from pre-treatment to -6 percent to +6 percent in the ATV-treatment groups, and from +27 percent to +31 percent in the NFV-treatment groups. After 48 weeks, there was a substantive increase in the proportion of NFV-treated patients who would be recommended for lipid-lowering treatment by National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines, whereas a lesser proportion of ATV-treated patients would be recommended for lipid-lowering treatment. Atazanavir does not lead to dyslipidemia in ARV-naive patients, and may limit the need for lipid-lowering strategies to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the variables that greatly affect adherence to the complex treatment regimens used in HIV disease as well as available options that could improve patient outcomes. Effective treatment of HIV infection dependent on consistent adherence to prescribed antiretroviral medications; Advantages of antiretroviral agents over historical treatment options.

We report a case of acute Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) associated with a prompt and vigorous immune reconstitution and decrease in the virus load noted during treatment with a potent regimen of highly active antiretroviral therapy. We hypothesize that GBS may have been due to an aberrant immune response or an adverse drug reaction in association with preexisting peripheral neurologic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a well-documented case of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in a patient who presented with fever and altered mental status and who had focal cranial lesions that were evident on both computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging. Only 15 CT scans performed for patients with EEE have been described previously; findings on most were normal or revealed diffuse cerebral edema. It is not widely appreciated that EEE can manifest as discrete lesions on CT. We review the radiographic experience with EEE and interpret it in light of certain clinical and pathological features of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents a letter to the editor about the use of nevirapine for long-term therapy.

Reports on the clinical development of the drug atazanavir, a novel azapeptide HIV-1 protease inhibitor. Administration of the drug once in a day; Tolerability of the drug; Occurrence of lipodystrophy in clinical trials of the drug.