HIV Patients Get Long-Term Boost with Short, Intermittent Drug
RegimenDate: April 26, 2004 Source: National Institutes of
Health (NIH) Author: National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID) National Institutes of Health (NIH)
scientists report that brief, widely-spaced courses of the
experimental immune-boosting drug interleukin-2 (IL-2) allow
people with HIV to maintain near normal levels of a key immune
system cell for long periods. The researchers, from NIH's
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
and the Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center, describe their
findings in the May 1 issue of the journal Blood. "These data
provide strong evidence that IL-2 therapy, which can be self-
administered by patients, could be an important adjunct to
highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)," says NIAID Deputy
Director John R. La Montagne, Ph.D. The new report summarizes
the experience of 77 HIV-positive individuals who enrolled in
extension phases of three long-running AIDS clinic