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Early antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected infants: can it lead to HIV remission?

ABSTRACT: Interventions to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission have been extremely successful, but new HIV infections continue to occur in infants. Strong evidence indicates that combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) for treatment should be started in HIV-infected infants to prevent early morbidity and mortality. In 2013, the report of the Mississippi baby, who was started on ART within 30 h of life and maintained off-treatment remission for 27 months before HIV was once again detectable, generated renewed interest in very early ART initiation. The case stimulated interest in the possibility of HIV remission, which we define as maintenance of plasma viraemia below the threshold of detection in the absence of ART, after early treatment initiation. The possibility of HIV remission elicits much hope, given that children with HIV infection currently face a lifetime of treatment. The potential for early ART to lead to HIV remission in infants can be thought of in terms of six factors: rapidity of viral suppression with very early ART; initial viral suppression rate with early ART; later virological control after early treatment; the effect of early treatment on the viral reservoir size; outcomes of randomised trials of structured treatment interruption; and the likelihood of viral rebound in neonates after ART cessation. Review of existing data suggests that achieving long-term remission off treatment remains elusive, and concentrated attention and commitment of the scientific community is needed to investigate the factors that might help to reach this goal.

SUBMITTER: Shiau S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7487171 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Early antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected infants: can it lead to HIV remission?

Shiau Stephanie S Abrams Elaine J EJ Arpadi Stephen M SM Kuhn Louise L

The lancet. HIV 20180501 5

Interventions to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission have been extremely successful, but new HIV infections continue to occur in infants. Strong evidence indicates that combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) for treatment should be started in HIV-infected infants to prevent early morbidity and mortality. In 2013, the report of the Mississippi baby, who was started on ART within 30 h of life and maintained off-treatment remission for 27 months before HIV was once again detectable, generate ...[more]

PMID: 29739699

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Project description:In countries with a high seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), HIV infection contributes significantly to infant mortality. We investigated antiretroviral-treatment strategies in the Children with HIV Early Antiretroviral Therapy (CHER) trial.HIV-infected infants 6 to 12 weeks of age with a CD4 lymphocyte percentage (the CD4 percentage) of 25% or more were randomly assigned to receive antiretroviral therapy (lopinavir-ritonavir, zidovudine, and lamivudine) when the CD4 percentage decreased to less than 20% (or 25% if the child was younger than 1 year) or clinical criteria were met (the deferred antiretroviral-therapy group) or to immediate initiation of limited antiretroviral therapy until 1 year of age or 2 years of age (the early antiretroviral-therapy groups). We report the early outcomes for infants who received deferred antiretroviral therapy as compared with early antiretroviral therapy.At a median age of 7.4 weeks (interquartile range, 6.6 to 8.9) and a CD4 percentage of 35.2% (interquartile range, 29.1 to 41.2), 125 infants were randomly assigned to receive deferred therapy, and 252 infants were randomly assigned to receive early therapy. After a median follow-up of 40 weeks (interquartile range, 24 to 58), antiretroviral therapy was initiated in 66% of infants in the deferred-therapy group. Twenty infants in the deferred-therapy group (16%) died versus 10 infants in the early-therapy groups (4%) (hazard ratio for death, 0.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.11 to 0.51; P<0.001). In 32 infants in the deferred-therapy group (26%) versus 16 infants in the early-therapy groups (6%), disease progressed to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stage C or severe stage B (hazard ratio for disease progression, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.41; P<0.001). Stavudine was substituted for zidovudine in four infants in the early-therapy groups because of neutropenia in three infants and anemia in one infant; no drugs were permanently discontinued. After a review by the data and safety monitoring board, the deferred-therapy group was modified, and infants in this group were all reassessed for initiation of antiretroviral therapy.Early HIV diagnosis and early antiretroviral therapy reduced early infant mortality by 76% and HIV progression by 75%. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00102960.)

Project description:BACKGROUND:Interim results from the children with HIV early antiretroviral (CHER) trial showed that early antiretroviral therapy (ART) was life-saving for infants infected with HIV. In view of the few treatment options and the potential toxicity associated with lifelong ART, in the CHER trial we compared early time-limited ART with deferred ART. METHODS:CHER was an open-label randomised controlled trial of HIV-infected asymptomatic infants younger than 12 weeks in two South African trial sites with a percentage of CD4-positive T lymphocytes (CD4%) of 25% or higher. 377 infants were randomly allocated to one of three groups: deferred ART (ART-Def), immediate ART for 40 weeks (ART-40W), or immediate ART for 96 weeks (ART-96W), with subsequent treatment interruption. The randomisation schedule was stratified by clinical site with permuted blocks of random sizes to balance the numbers of infants allocated to each group. Criteria for ART initiation in the ART-Def group and re-initiation after interruption in the other groups were CD4% less than 25% in infancy; otherwise, the criteria were CD4% less than 20% or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention severe stage B or stage C disease. Combination therapy of lopinavir-ritonavir, zidovudine, and lamivudine was the first-line treatment regimen at ART initiation and re-initiation. The primary endpoint was time to failure of first-line ART (immunological, clinical, or virological) or death. Comparisons were done by intention-to-treat analysis, with use of time-to-event methods. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00102960. FINDINGS:377 infants were enrolled, with a median age of 7·4 weeks, CD4% of 35%, and HIV RNA log 5·7 copies per mL. Median follow-up was 4·8 years; 34 infants (9%) were lost to follow-up. Median time to ART initiation in the ART-Def group was 20 weeks (IQR 16-25). Time to restarting of ART after interruption was 33 weeks (26-45) in ART-40W and 70 weeks (35-109) in ART-96W; at the end of the trial, 19% of patients in ART-40W and 32% of patients in ART-96W remained off ART. Proportions of follow-up time spent on ART were 81% in the ART-Def group, 70% in the ART-40W group, and 69% in the ART-96W group. 48 (38%) of 125 children in the ART-Def group, 32 (25%) of 126 in the ART-40W group, and 26 (21%) of 126 in the ART-96W group reached the primary endpoint. The hazard ratio, relative to ART-Def, was 0·59 (95% CI 0·38-0·93, p=0·02) for ART-40W and 0·47 (0·27-0·76, p=0·002) for ART-96W. Three children in ART-Def, three in ART-40W, and one in ART-96W switched to second-line ART. INTERPRETATION:Early time-limited ART had better clinical and immunological outcomes than deferred ART, with no evidence of excess disease progression during subsequent treatment interruption and less overall ART exposure than deferred ART. Longer time on primary ART permits longer subsequent interruption, with marginally better outcomes. FUNDING:US National Institutes of Health.

Project description:For adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection who have CD4+ T-cell counts that are greater than 200 and less than 350 per cubic millimeter and who live in areas with limited resources, the optimal time to initiate antiretroviral therapy remains uncertain.We conducted a randomized, open-label trial of early initiation of antiretroviral therapy, as compared with the standard timing for initiation of therapy, among HIV-infected adults in Haiti who had a confirmed CD4+ T-cell count that was greater than 200 and less than 350 per cubic millimeter at baseline and no history of an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) illness. The primary study end point was survival. The early-treatment group began taking zidovudine, lamivudine, and efavirenz therapy within 2 weeks after enrollment. The standard-treatment group started the same regimen of antiretroviral therapy when their CD4+ T-cell count fell to 200 per cubic millimeter or less or when clinical AIDS developed. Participants in both groups underwent monthly follow-up assessments and received isoniazid and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis with nutritional support.Between 2005 and 2008, a total of 816 participants--408 per group--were enrolled and were followed for a median of 21 months. The CD4+ T-cell count at enrollment was approximately 280 per cubic millimeter in both groups. There were 23 deaths in the standard-treatment group, as compared with 6 in the early-treatment group (hazard ratio with standard treatment, 4.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6 to 9.8; P=0.001). There were 36 incident cases of tuberculosis in the standard-treatment group, as compared with 18 in the early-treatment group (hazard ratio, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2 to 3.6; P=0.01).Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy decreased the rates of death and incident tuberculosis. Access to antiretroviral therapy should be expanded to include all HIV-infected adults who have CD4+ T-cell counts of less than 350 per cubic millimeter, including those who live in areas with limited resources. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00120510.)

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Early antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected infants: can it lead to HIV remission?

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Early antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected infants: can it lead to HIV remission?

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