pointed out that deaths have resulted from improper use of Chinese herbs
and said that complementary remedies needed to be subjected to the same
clinical trial procedure as modern pharmaceuticals.
Selenium is of benefit
A trial involving 259 HIV-positive patients on combination therapy showed
that a selenium supplementation is effective at lowering the risk of developing
the so-called mycobacterial diseases - these include tuberculosis, the
most common Aids defining illness worldwide, and MAC. The trial showed
that people with low blood levels of selenium were 13 times more likely
to develop one of these potentially fatal illnesses.
T-20 trial a success
A HAART salvage regime incorporating the new fusion inhibitor T-20 is
significantly more effective at lowering viral load than a regime not
using the drug. After 24 weeks of the TORO 2 study, people who received
T-20 as part of their treatment experienced an average fall in viral load
of 94 per cent - whereas the average fall in those taking standard HAART
was just 65 per cent.
Tenofovir microbicide gel studied
The first microbicide incorporating an anti-retroviral drug has been devised.
The gel, which can be incorporated in a sexual lubricant contains the
nucleotide drug tenofovir, which is already used in HIV combination therapy.
The product has just gone into initial safety tests for vaginal use. (More
on microbicides)
Atazanavir goes to be licensed
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