Improving the quality of life of patients living with HIV, as well as reducing long-term toxicity and promoting patient adherence, are the objectives of a new antiretroviral therapy in a single tablet recently approved in Mexico.
“This is a combination made of two drugs (dolutegravir/lamivudine) that affect the activity of the virus in two different places in the same way as three or four drugs did,” internist and infectiologist Marco Banda said Thursday at a press conference.
This, said the expert, means the first treatment of two drugs in a single tablet to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection approved in the country.
Banda recalled that this type of treatment represents an important innovation in the management of this condition, since until now up to three different drugs could sometimes be used simultaneously, which affects the quality of life of patients.
The expert recalled that in the world there are currently more than 37 million people living with HIV.
While in Mexico, 301,182 people with HIV infection are on the epidemiological surveillance registry of the National Center for the Prevention of HIV and AIDS (Censida), of whom 36% have died and 5% are unknown their current status.
Today, Banda said, antiretroviral treatment has changed the course of HIV infection to become a chronic disease, reducing a person's viral load to undetectable levels, which means that not only an improvement in the quality of life, but also reduces the risk of HIV transmission .
This antiretroviral therapy with only two drugs proved its effectiveness and safety in GEMINI 1 and 21 clinical studies, as well as TANGO2.
However, the expert emphasized that “it is not a cure for HIV, but a strategy to eliminate it from the blood”.
“But removing it from the blood allows patients to maintain a quality of life and health that is very similar to what they had before they were infected,” he said, and that the viral load reduced to virtually undetectable levels reduces the risk of transmission.
For his part, Jaime Andrade, internist, infectiologist and director of the Guadalajara Civil Hospital, pointed out another advantage of this therapy is that it has fewer adverse effects than other antiretroviral treatments.
In addition, the fact that patients have to consume fewer drugs helps to prevent other diseases from joining HIV infection, since it is a lifelong treatment, many patients at age 50 already live with chronic diseases resulting from prolonged drug use.
The therapy, aimed at people over 12 years of age who weigh at least 40 kilograms, is especially indicated for newly diagnosed or those who have never suffered from virological failure to antiretroviral treatment, and seeks to ensure that patients have greater benefits.
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