Nevirapine no worse for your liver
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The non-nucleoside drug nevirapine has a reputation for
causing liver damage. But a review of a large database of patients starting
therapy reveals that regimes based on nevirapine are no more likely to
involve liver problems than others. In fact, certain drugs, including
abacavir and indinavir, were actually associated with a higher liver failure
risk than nevirapine. Nevirapine did carry a slightly higher risk than
the other two non-nucleoside drugs, efavirenz and delavirdine.
Dr Doug Mayers of nevirapine manufacturers Boehringer Ingelheim said between
two and five per cent of patients experience transient liver problems
when starting therapy that is independent of pre-existing liver disease.
Replacing 'old-style' protease inhibitors with the new PI drug atazanavir leads to a reduction in blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or 'bad' cholesterol, researchers have found. After 12 weeks of a study, the switch was associated with a 16 per cent reduction in total cholesterol, a 21 per cent reduction in LDL cholesterol and a five per cent increase in high-density (or 'good') cholesterol. High levels of LDL are a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease - the largest cause of death worldwide.
Four drugs no better than three
An American/Italian study, involving 980 subjects, has found that starting with a four-drug cocktail is no more effective than beginning with just three. It also found that a combination of AZT, 3TC and efavirenz was a more effective initial therapy than one
