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The frequencies of and the risk factors for discordant responses at 6 months on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in previously treatment-naive HIV patients from resource-limited countries are assessed. The frequency of and risk factors for discordant responses are comparable with those of developed countries, but longer follow-up is required to assess the long-term impact of discordant responses on mortality in the resource-limited settings.

The differences in coreceptor use in subjects infected with HIV-1 envelope subtypes A and D are examined order to analyze the differences in progression rates between these subtypes in rural Uganda cohort. The subtype differences in coreceptor are used to describe the faster progression rates in individuals infected with subtype D when compared with subtype A.

Individual level, interpersonal, and structural factors associated with achieving undetectable plasma viral load (UVL) among US injection drug users (IDUs) receiving recommended highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is examined. Results suggest the major role of social support in facilitating effective HAART use in this population and suggest that active drug might interfere with HAART use by adversely affecting social support.

The effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on numerical distribution, expression of chemokine receptors, and ex vivo production of inflammatory cytokines by peripheral blood (PB) monocytes and dendritic cells (DC's) in a cohort of chronically infected HIV- 1-positive patients is analyzed. The results show an incomplete T- cell immune reconstitution in chronically infected patients who had undetectable plasma viremia while taking ART for 1 year.

A heat- denatured (HD) HIV p24 amplified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay from Perkin-Elmer and CD38(super +)CD8(super +) T- cell levels, determined by flow cytometry, for their capacity to predict viral load (VL) in HIV- 1- infected patients from Senegal is evaluated and compared. Median fluorescence intensity (MFI) of CD38 expression on memory CD8(super +) T cells appeared to be better alternative to monitor ART in HIV- infected patients from Senegal.

In a substudy of an ongoing multicenter randomized trial, comparisons of body composition and metabolic changes among antiretroviral-naive patients randomly assigned to didanosine and stavudine- (ddlI + d4T) vs. abacavir and lamivudine-(ABC + 3TC) containing regimens were assessed. The metabolic and body composition changes varied according to whether subjects received ddI + d4T or ABC + 3TC.

Research has been conducted on zidovudine prophylaxis which is recommended for perinatal HIV-1 transmission reduction. Results demonstrate that zidovudine monotherapy can be considered as chemoprophylaxis in perinatal HIV transmission reduction for HIV-infected pregnant women.

Research has been conducted on mortality rates in HIV-1-infected patients in Thailand. This study has been carried out in investigating the effect of antiretroviral drug therapy o n mortality, and the results demonstrate that suboptimum antiretroviral drug regimens including dual therapy have survival benefit.

Research has been conducted on HIV reverse transcriptase evolution and protease-associated antiretroviral drug resistance mutations during genotypic drug resistant testing. Results demonstrate that there is association between duration of previous protease-associated antiretroviral therapy and gain of reverse transcriptase-associated resistance mutations, and that the patients should continue current therapy until test results are available.

Research has been conducted on protease inhibitor atazanavir. The dose levels of this medication have been compared with those of nelfinavir as a monotherapy and in combination with didanosine and stavudine, and the results of this clinical trial carried out to compare safety, tolerability and antiretroviral efficacy of these three doses are reported.

Research has been conducted on adherence to antiretroviral therapy and its effect on antiviral drugs leading to their therapeutic success or failure. Results demonstrate the importance of monitoring adherence to these drugs in order to prevent the development of mutated strain which are often cross-resistant to antiretroviral drugs.

The authors provide an overview of the adherence literature focusing on interventions and determinants. The topics of interest include the conceptual model of determinants used in organizing the literature for future investigations, and the importance of determinant identification for the development of interventions improving adherence to HIV treatment.

Research has been conducted on willingness to participate in future HIV vaccine trials in HIV-negative people. Results suggest that improvement of the participants' knowledge about preven tative HIV vaccine trials may help to ensure informed consent.

Research has been conducted on the use of indinavir /ritonavir plus nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in patients failing protease inhibitor regimen. The efficacy and safety of indinavir/ritonavir plus nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors have been investigated, and the results based on the 24-week study are presented.

Research has been conducted on the use of indinavir/ritonavir plus nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor regimen . The efficacy and tolerability of this twice -daily regimen in protease inhibitor patients have been tested, and the results are discussed.

Research has been conducted on B-lymphocytes . The role of long-term highly active antiretroviral therapy in improving and completely restoring normal B-lymphocyte function has been investigated, and the results are reported.

Research has been conducted on zidovudine resistance mutations. The role of these mutations in virologic response to treatment with zidovudine or stavudine in combination with lamivudine and indinavir has been investigated, and the results demonstrate that zidovudine resistance mutations do not preclude a durable response to treatment with a three-drug regimen in the patients.

Research has been conducted on Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection. The role of active antiretroviral therapy in circulating Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus load in HIV-infected people with or without Kaposi sarcoma has been investigated, and the results demonstrate the existence of relationship between HIV load response to active antiretroviral therapy and the clinical improvement of Kaposi sarcoma.

Research has been conducted on caspofungin, an echinocandin drug used for the management of esophageal candidiasis with the decreased susceptibility to fluconazole. The efficacy of this drug in adults with Candida esopagitis has been tested and the results confirm that caspofungin is an efficacious therapy for some esophageal candidiasis patients, clinically refractory to fluconazole.

Research has been conducted on the triple antiretroviral combinations capable of delaying AIDS progression of death. The study of the combined nucleotides Combivir + abacavir + efavirenz carried out in evaluating their tolerance, long-term safety and efficacy is presented.

Research has been conducted on the opportunistic infections and neiplasia in late-stage AIDS. The use of clinical data and autopsy findings in investigating the relationship between neuropathological findings, concominant opportunistic infections and neoplasia and clinical progression is discussed.

Research has been conducted on the insulin-sensitizing drugs hiazolidinediones, including rosiglitazone which improve insulin sensitivity. The hypothesis that these drugs can help HIV-infected patients to improve insulin sensitivity and body fat distribution via increasing periferal fat has been tested and the results are reported.

Research has been conducted on the multidrug resistance viruses harbored by HIV-1 infected patients. Results indicate that treatment interruptions can lead to HIV resistence loss.

Research has been conducted on the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy for HIV infections. The topics of interest include the controversies surrounding highly active antiretroviral therapy and its advantages and disadvantages.

Research has been conducted on the abnormal body fat distribution in HIV-infected persons. Results demonstrate that the prevalence of lipodystrophy is higher among the patients treated with stavudine for a longer period of time.

Research has been conducted on CD4 T-cell recovery with antiretroviral therapy. The association between patient-specific factors and CD4 T-cell recovery measures after the triple-drug therapy initiation has been investigated and the details are reported.

The authors discuss a study done to determine the effect of changes in insurance coverage on the use of medication among HIV patients. They found that loss of insurance was less than half as frequent as gaining insurance, but that both led to a decrease in use of antiretrovirals and other drugs.

The authors discuss a study to determine factors involved in HIV patients maintaining their medication regimen. They surveyed participants and based their data on the patients' reports of their own compliance with the medication schedule. They found that the more complex the regimen becomes, the worse the self-reporting and the ability to adhere to the antiretroviral therapy becomes, indicating that simplification of drug therapy is more desirable.

The authors analyzed trends of relationship between combination antiretroviral therapy and AIDS-related cancers at a San Francisco clinic where they had access to dates of first HIV positive tests of patients. Between 1993 and 1996, the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma dropped from 3.5/100 person-years to 0.0/100 person-years, but incidence of lymphoma remained at its ongiong rate.

The use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on persons infected with the HIV virus seems very effective, but the program using combinations of drugs must be started early and followed meticulously. HAART involves the simultaneous use of two or three antiretroviral drugs, usually two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and a protease inhibitor. The patient's progress must be monitored closely and changed if the treatment is not showing results.

Research has been conducted on combinations of protease inhibitors and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. The safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of a once-daily regimen of saquinavir-sgc plus low-dose ritonavir in combination with efavirenz have been tested in HIV-infected patients with prior antiretroviral therapy, and the results are reported.

Research has been conducted on the HIV-associated lipodystrophy syndrome. The roles of the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor usage as an independent risk factor for fat wasting and of the mitochondrial toxicity in the lipoatrophy development have been investigated and are discussed.

Research has been conducted on the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia, a metabolic disorder in HIV-infected patients. The use of fenofibrate for this treatment has been tested and the results demonstrate that it is safe and effective at a dosage of 200 mg/d for treatment of hypertriglyceridemia secondary to highly active antiretroviral therapy.

The documented transmitted drug resistance among recently diagnosed therapy-naive HIV-infected patients whose disease was diagnosed in 2000 in Belgium is studied. The study concluded that stress was of the utmost importance in resistance profiles at baseline when choosing the nucleoside RT inhibitor (NRTI) backbone.

Research has been conducted on HIV protease inhibitors. Results demonstrate that these inhibitors can exert antiapoptotic effect only when lymphocytes are activated, and that this effect can be obtained via dual protease inhibitor regimen which includes low doses of ritonavir.

The authors discuss their study of random venous lactate leve ls among patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy. Result demonstrate that these levels can be reproduced and are usually above the normal range.