Impact of HIV-1 subtype and Korean Red Ginseng on AIDS progression: comparison of subtype B and subtype D

Background: To date, no study has described disease progression in Asian patients infected with HIV-1 subtype D. Methods: To determine whether the disease progression differs in patients infected with subtypes D and B prior to starting combination antiretroviral therapy, the annual decline (AD) in CD4+ T cell counts over 96 ± 59 months was retrospectively analyzed in 163 patients and compared in subtypes D and B based on the nef gene. Results: CD4+ T cell AD was significantly higher in the six subtype D–infected patients than in the 157 subtype B–infected patients irrespective of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) treatment (p 2-fold higher risk of death and a 2.9-fold greater rate of progression than subtype B, regardless of KRG treatment. Keywords: AIDS, Disease progression, HIV-1 subtype D, Korean Red Ginseng, nef gene