Monthly Shots of HIV Drugs Are as Effective as Daily Pills, 2 Big Studies Show

SEATTLE (AP) — Monthly shots of HIV drugs worked as well as daily pills to control the virus that causes AIDS in two large international tests, researchers reported Thursday. If approved by regulators in the United States and Europe, the shots would be a new option for people with HIV and could help some stay on treatment. Instead of having to remember to take pills, patients instead could get injections from a doctor or nurse each month. “Some people will be thrilled” at the convenience, said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, an AIDS advocacy group. Condoms remain the most widely available and inexpensive form of HIV prevention. Pills taken daily can keep HIV levels so low the virus is not transmittable to sex partners, but not everyone takes them as prescribed. The shots could improve how well some people stick to treatment, perhaps helping those who have trouble remembering to take daily medicine to keep infection at bay. There are other potential benefits. Getting shots at a clinic can lend more privacy to patients worried about the stigma of filling an HIV prescription at a pharmacy, said Dr. Susan Swindells of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, who presented results Thursday at an HIV conference in Seattle. Cost will be an issue “to make sure that everyone has access to this medication,” said Dr. Hyman Scott of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, who was not part of the study. It’s not clear how...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized AIDS/HIV anti hiv drugs onetime Source Type: news