taking antiretrovirals intermittently is as effective as taking them daily

Taking antiretroviral tablets once morest HIV four days a week allows you to maintain the same level of effectiveness as taking them daily, according to the final results of a study released on Tuesday by the French National Agency for AIDS Research ( ANRS).

Antiretroviral drugs can limit the viral load in the body of infected people and keep them healthy, as well as preventing the transmission of HIV to their partners.

Many projects have been seeking, for several years, to lighten the daily lives of HIV-positive patients and reduce the cost of their treatment while keeping the virus dormant.

Limit drug toxicity

“Several strategies aimed at limiting long-term drug toxicity and improving compliance with treatment are currently being explored, for example the use of long-acting injectable treatments, switching to dual therapy or even reducing doses.“, recalls the ANRS in a press release.

The ANRS Quatuor trial, conducted in collaboration with Inserm research teams and AP-HP clinicians, showed that taking antiretroviral tablets four days a week was as effective as taking them daily. .

This trial, the subject of an article published in early February in the Lancet HIV, included, between September 2017 and January 2018, 636 adults infected with HIV and on triple antiretroviral therapy, in 59 French hospitals. The follow-up lasted 48 weeks.

“The Quatuor strategy uses the same effective and tolerated combination already in use with the patient, without introducing a new molecule“, according to Pierre de Truchis, infectiologist at the Raymond Poincaré hospital in Garches who participated in the management of the study and is quoted in the press release.

Lower costs

A group of 318 patients took their antiretroviral treatment four days in a row, before a three-day break. In 96% of the cases, the study participants showed a positive immune response, compared to 97% of the 318 patients taking antiretrovirals every day.

Adverse effects of treatment were seen less in the group of patients on the intermittent regimen than in those on daily treatment.

And, in 59% of cases, patients taking their medication four days out of seven reported an improvement in their quality of life, compared to 7% of the continuous group.

The results of this study also pave the way for reducing the cost of antiretroviral treatment, an even more important issue for poor countries. Four days of treatment lower the bill to 4,127 euros per year on average, once morest 7,207 euros for a daily dose, according to the ANRS.

“Additional virological and pharmacological studies, as well as longer-term efficacy (96 weeks), are being analyzed“, according to Dr. Roland Landman, one of the co-pilots of the study, quoted in the press release.