Immediate ART is beneficial

Immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) is preferable in people recently diagnosed with HIV to deferring treatment, a study has found.

According to a new study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, while scientists have been unable to prove the benefits of ART during early HIV-1 infection, earlier initiative is clearly favourable.

The research involved 130 men and non-pregnant women with HIV-1, who had not previously received ART. One group had immediate treatment while the other group had to way 36 weeks.

It found that individuals in the deferred group experienced higher levels of disease progression leading to the need to begin HIV treatment before the end of the study.

"If immediate therapy is not begun, progression to meeting standard criteria for ART initiation may occur more rapidly than expected, especially with changing treatment paradigms," said Dr Christine Hogan, of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and lead researcher.

She added that immediate treatment can be achieved without harm to the patient, in terms of toxicity or drug resistance.

Posted by Ben Evans