Dataset Information

Effect of aspirin on HIV disease progression among HIV-infected individuals initiating antiretroviral therapy: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

An increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD) among people living with HIV infection is linked to platelet and immune activation, a phenomenon unabolished by antiretroviral (ARV) drugs alone. In small studies, aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid [ASA]) has been shown to control immune activation, increase CD4+ count, halt HIV disease progression and reduce HIV viral load (HVL). We present a protocol for a larger ongoing randomised placebo controlled trial on the effect of an addition of ASA to ARV drugs on HIV disease progression.

Methods and analysis

A single-centre phase IIA double-blind, parallel-group randomised controlled trial intends to recruit 454 consenting ARV drug-naïve, HIV-infected adults initiating ART. Participants are randomised in blocks of 10 in a 1:1 ratio to receive, in addition to ARV drugs, 75 mg ASA or placebo for 6 months. The primary outcome is the proportion of participants attaining HVL of <50 copies/mL by 8, 12 and 24 weeks. Secondary outcomes include proportions of participants with HVL of >1000 copies/mL at week 24, attaining a >30% rise of CD4 count from baseline value at week 12, experiencing adverse events, with normal levels of biomarkers of platelet and immune activation at weeks 12 and 24 and rates of morbidity and all-cause mortality. Intention-to-treat analysis will be done for all study outcomes.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval has been obtained from institutional and national ethics review committees. Findings will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals and presented in scientific conferences.

Trial registration number

PACTR202003522049711.

SUBMITTER: Mwakyandile T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8565540 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundIn sub-Saharan Africa, severely immunocompromised HIV-infected individuals have a high risk of mortality during the first few months after starting antiretroviral therapy (ART). We hypothesise that universally providing ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) would increase early weight gain, thereby reducing early mortality compared with current guidelines recommending ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for severely malnourished individuals only.MethodsWe did a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial, open-label, parallel-group trial at inpatient and outpatient facilities in eight urban or periurban regional hospitals in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Eligible participants were ART-naive adults and children aged at least 5 years with confirmed HIV infection and a CD4 cell count of fewer than 100 cells per μL, who were initiating ART at the facilities. We randomly assigned participants (1:1) to initiate ART either with (RUSF) or without (no-RUSF) 12 weeks' of peanut-based RUSF containing 1000 kcal per day and micronutrients, given as two 92 g packets per day for adults and one packet (500 kcal per day) for children aged 5-12 years, regardless of nutritional status. In both groups, individuals received supplementation with RUTF only when severely malnourished (ie, body-mass index [BMI] <16-18 kg/m2 or BMI-for-age Z scores <-3 for children). We did the randomisation with computer-generated, sequentially numbered tables with different block sizes incorporated within an online database. Randomisation was stratified by centre, age, and two other factorial randomisations, to 12 week adjunctive raltegravir and enhanced anti-infection prophylaxis (reported elsewhere). Clinic visits were scheduled at weeks 2, 4, 8, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48, and included nurse assessment of vital status and symptoms and dispensing of all medication including ART and RUSF. The primary outcome was mortality at week 24, analysed by intention to treat. Secondary outcomes included absolute changes in weight, BMI, and mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC). Safety was analysed in all randomly assigned participants. Follow-up was 48 weeks. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01825031) and the ISRCTN registry (43622374).FindingsBetween June 18, 2013, and April 10, 2015, we randomly assigned 1805 participants to treatment: 897 to RUSF and 908 to no-RUSF. 56 (3%) were lost-to-follow-up. 96 (10·9%, 95% CI 9·0-13·1) participants allocated to RUSF and 92 (10·3%, 8·5-12·5) to no-RUSF died within 24 weeks (hazard ratio 1·05, 95% CI 0·79-1·40; log-rank p=0·75), with no evidence of interaction with the other randomisations (both p>0·7). Through 48 weeks, adults and adolescents aged 13 years and older in the RUSF group had significantly greater gains in weight, BMI, and MUAC than the no-RUSF group (p=0·004, 0·004, and 0·03, respectively). The most common type of serious adverse event was specific infections, occurring in 90 (10%) of 897 participants assigned RUSF and 87 (10%) of 908 assigned no-RUSF. By week 48, 205 participants had serious adverse events in both groups (p=0·81), and 181 had grade 4 adverse events in the RUSF group compared with 172 in the non-RUSF group (p=0·45).InterpretationIn severely immunocompromised HIV-infected individuals, providing RUSF universally at ART initiation, compared with providing RUTF to severely malnourished individuals only, improved short-term weight gain but not mortality. A change in policy to provide nutritional supplementation to all severely immunocompromised HIV-infected individuals starting ART is therefore not warranted at present.FundingJoint Global Health Trials Scheme (UK Medical Research Council, UK Department for International Development, and Wellcome Trust).

Project description:Abstract Background Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CYP2B6 have previously been associated with a 10-fold range in trough plasma efavirenz concentrations, but associations between these SNPs and efavirenz (EFV)-mediated viral suppression and tolerability remain unclear. Methods We evaluated three SNPs in CYP2B6 (rs3745274, rs28399499, and rs4803419, Illumina OmniExpress) among HIV-infected Ugandans observed in a cohort study every 3–4 months from 2005–2015. Genotypes from these SNPs were used to group participants into previously described pharmacokinetic strata: extensive (EXT), intermediate (INT), and slow metabolizers (Figure 1). The primary outcomes were viral suppression, defined by an undetectable viral load in the first measurement a minimum of three months after ART initiation, and incident depression in the first two years, defined by a mean score >1.75 on the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. We fitted standard and generalized estimating equations (GEE) logistic regression models for viral suppression and depression, respectively. Models were adjusted for clinical and demographic covariates that reached a significance of P < 0.25 in unadjusted models. Results Among 103 participants with genotyping, there were no differences in pre-ART viral load or depression by metabolism strata (P > 0.5). Minor allele frequencies for rs3745274, rs28399499, and rs4803419 were 33%, 7%, and 4%, respectively. Approximately 79%, 78%, and 94% of participants were suppressed at their first viral load measurement in the extensive, intermediate, and slow metabolizer strata, respectively (Figure 2; P = 0.35). In adjusted models, metabolism strata were not associated with viral suppression (AORINT 0.81, 95% CI 0.26–2.56; AORSLOW 3.92, 95% CI 0.39–39.40) or with depression (AORINT 1.95, 95% CI 0.75–5.09; AORSLOW 0.72, 95% CI 0.17–3.02; Table). Conclusion We did not identify an association between efavirenz-metabolizing polymorphisms and viral suppression or depression in a cohort of HIV-infected individuals initiating ART in southwestern Uganda. Future work should reassess these relationships with larger samples and longer-term outcomes and explore additional polymorphisms that may be associated with efavirenz metabolism in this population. Disclosures P. Hunt, Merck: Consultant, Consulting fee; Gilead: Consultant, Consulting fee; Viiv: Consultant, Consulting fee

Project description:BACKGROUND:Inflammation and hemostasis perturbation may be involved in vascular complications of HIV infection. We examined atherogenic biomarkers and subclinical atherosclerosis in HIV-infected adults before and after beginning highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). METHODS:In the Women's Interagency HIV Study, 127 HIV-infected women studied pre and post HAART were matched to HIV-uninfected controls. Six semiannual measurements of soluble CD14, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alfa, soluble interleukin (IL) 2 receptor, IL-6, IL-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, D-dimer, and fibrinogen were obtained. Carotid artery intima-media thickness was measured by B-mode ultrasound. RESULTS:Relative to HIV-uninfected controls, HAART-naive HIV-infected women had elevated levels of soluble CD14 (1945 vs 1662 ng/mL, Wilcoxon signed rank P < 0.0001), TNF-? (6.3 vs 3.4 pg/mL, P < 0.0001), soluble IL-2 receptor (1587 vs 949 pg/mL, P < 0.0001), IL-10 (3.3 vs 1.9 pg/mL, P < 0.0001), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (190 vs 163 pg/mL, P < 0.0001), and D-dimer (0.43 vs 0.31 ?g/mL, P < 0.01). Elevated biomarker levels declined after HAART. Although most biomarkers normalized to HIV-uninfected levels, in women on effective HAART, TNF-? levels remained elevated compared with HIV-uninfected women (+0.8 pg/mL, P = 0.0002). Higher post-HAART levels of soluble IL-2 receptor (P = 0.02), IL-6 (P = 0.05), and D-dimer (P = 0.03) were associated with increased carotid artery intima-media thickness. CONCLUSIONS:Untreated HIV infection is associated with abnormal hemostasis (eg, D-dimer), proatherogenic (eg, TNF-?), and antiatherogenic (eg, IL-10) inflammatory markers. HAART reduces most inflammatory mediators to HIV-uninfected levels. Increased inflammation and hemostasis are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in recently treated women. These findings have potential implications for long-term risk of cardiovascular disease in HIV-infected patients, even with effective therapy.

Project description:BackgroundThere is conflicting evidence on the immunologic benefit of treating helminth co-infections ("deworming") in HIV-infected individuals. Several studies have documented reduced viral load and increased CD4 count in antiretroviral therapy (ART) naïve individuals after deworming. However, there are a lack of data on the effect of deworming therapy on CD4 count recovery among HIV-infected persons taking ART.Methodology/principal findingsTo estimate the association between empiric deworming therapy and CD4 count after ART initiation, we performed a retrospective observational study among HIV-infected adults on ART at a publicly operated HIV clinic in southwestern Uganda. Subjects were assigned as having received deworming if prescribed an anti-helminthic agent between 7 and 90 days before a CD4 test. To estimate the association between deworming and CD4 count, we fit multivariable regression models and analyzed predictors of CD4 count, using a time-by-interaction term with receipt or non-receipt of deworming. From 1998 to 2009, 5,379 subjects on ART attended 21,933 clinic visits at which a CD4 count was measured. Subjects received deworming prior to 668 (3%) visits. Overall, deworming was not associated with a significant difference in CD4 count in either the first year on ART (? = 42.8; 95% CI, -2.1 to 87.7) or after the first year of ART (? = ?-9.9; 95% CI, -24.1 to 4.4). However, in a sub-analysis by gender, during the first year of ART deworming was associated with a significantly greater rise in CD4 count (? = 63.0; 95% CI, 6.0 to 120.1) in females.Conclusions/significanceEmpiric deworming of HIV-infected individuals on ART conferred no significant generalized benefit on subsequent CD4 count recovery. A significant association was observed exclusively in females and during the initial year on ART. Our findings are consistent with recent studies that failed to demonstrate an immunologic advantage to empirically deworming ART-naïve individuals, but suggest that certain sub-populations may benefit.