Monthly injections can replace pills for HIV
This form of treatment helped control the virus in 87-94% of patients
Natalia Pelezneva, Naked Science
An international group of scientists presented the results of a two-year study of an injectable form of a drug regimen including cabotegravir and rilpivirine. In 87% of patients, injections every four weeks allowed to maintain an undetectable level of viral load. In the control group of patients who took pills daily, an undetectable level was achieved only in 84% of patients.
Achieving an undetectable level of viral load is one of the main goals of HIV treatment. This level reduces the risk of transmission of the virus to other people and the appearance of drug resistance.
The study involved 309 patients diagnosed with HIV-1, the most common form of HIV. During the 20 weeks of the introductory stage, all test participants took cabotegravir in the form of tablets together with abacavir and lamivudine (abacavir+lamivudine, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors often used in HIV therapy). 16 weeks after the start of the study, the viral load in 286 patients decreased to 50 copies of the virus RNA per ml of blood plasma. This level allowed them to be admitted to the next study period.
For the remaining four weeks of the introductory stage, rilpivirine was added to their treatment regimen. The patients were then divided into three groups. 115 people in the first and second groups received a mixture of cabotegravir and rilpivirine in the form of injections every 4 and 8 weeks, respectively. 56 people in the control group continued to take medications daily in the form of tablets. At the 96th week of the trial, the viral load was not determined in 84% of patients from the control group, in 87% of those who received injections every four weeks, and in 94% of people who received injections every eight weeks. Only a few patients reported side effects. Most said they would like to continue treatment with injections.
Replacing pills with monthly injections will improve the quality of life of patients. They will not have to adhere to a daily schedule of taking various medications. In the future, tests of this form of treatment can be carried out for other drug regimens.
The results of the study are published in the journal The Lancet.
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25.07.2017