Document 0838
 DOCN  M95A0838
 TI    Perspectives in drug therapy of HIV infection.
 DT    9510
 AU    Darbyshire J; Medical Research Council HIV Clinical Trials Centre,
       University; College London Medical School, England.
 SO    Drugs. 1995;49 Suppl 1:1-3; discussion 38-40. Unique Identifier :
       AIDSLINE MED/95339778
 AB    Current key issues in the drug therapy of HIV infection include the
       timing of treatment initiation, the use of multiple-drug therapy and the
       duration of treatment. Although most clinicians agree that symptomatic
       HIV disease should be treated, there is no consensus as to whether
       patients should be treated before symptoms develop; the results of the
       Concorde trial failed to demonstrate any long term improvement in
       disease progression or survival when antiretroviral therapy was
       initiated in asymptomatic individuals rather than deferring it until the
       development of AIDS or ARC. However, combination therapy may prove to be
       the most effective long term option. In the future, monitoring viral
       load or viral resistance may be a useful aid in determining whether
       antiretroviral therapy should be stopped or changed, particularly if any
       clinical benefits are transient or if adverse effects persist. New
       antiretroviral therapies must be evaluated in terms of both risks
       (associated adverse effects) and benefits (increase in survival, delay
       in disease progression or improvement in quality of life). There is an
       urgent need to identify the best surrogate markers to permit more rapid
       evaluation of therapeutic strategies.
 DE    Didanosine/*ADMINISTRATION & DOSAGE/ADVERSE EFFECTS  Drug Administration
       Schedule  Drug Therapy, Combination  Human  HIV Infections/*DRUG THERAPY
       Time Factors  Zidovudine/*ADMINISTRATION & DOSAGE/ADVERSE EFFECTS
       JOURNAL ARTICLE

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