Yasmina Kattou et Manon Fossat
An Inserm study shows that taking HIV treatment over four consecutive days with a three-day break is as effective as taking it daily seven days a week. important issues for developing countries.
More than 34 million people worldwide are infected with HIV. In France, they are more than 170,000 according to the latest available data. Inserm (National Institute for Health and Medical Research) looked into treatment for this disease and analyzed the consequences of a reduction in treatment on 636 patients. And it is an understatement to say that the results of this published study The Lancet are bearers of hope.
After one year of treatment four days a week instead of 7, the condition of 96% of HIV patients has not deteriorated. Indeed, reducing the intake of anti-retrovirals makes it possible to reduce the side effects in patients and improves the comfort of life: 59% of the participants in the study say that they tolerate taking the treatment better with three days of exposure. A small revolution for Fred Bladou, HIV positive and activist of the Aids association, which fights against HIV. “It’s three days during which we will be able to forget that we are HIV-positive. We will not risk anything for our health because the treatments are effective, which means that we will not fall ill and that we will won’t infect anyone,” he said.
An economic issue
Another advantage of this reduction in treatment is the savings that this entails: for an HIV-positive person, the annual cost is currently more than 7,000 euros. With four days of processing instead of seven, the bill would increase to 4,127 euros. An important issue in developing countries, where more people could be treated for HIV.