less potent less toxic combinations

Jul 27, 2004

It seems drugs today are judged and marketed by how often they suppress viral load to undetctable levels. Is there any research with less potent but less toxic regimes which lower viral load less --maybe to the level seen in long term nonprogressors without treatment but cause fewer or less severe side effects?

Response from Dr. Young

Thanks for your question.

While the idea of lowering viral loads (but not to undetectable levels) makes some sense, the key limitation to this approach is that if viral replication occurs when drugs are present, drug resistance is very likely to happen. Hence, this approach would not be recommended to anyone who has the potential of a fully suppressive combination regimen (whether "toxic" or not).

Furthermore, there now are potent treatment combinations that, in general, are extrememly well tolerated by the large majority of patients who take them (i.e, without "severe" side effects").

Thanks for reading. BY