Combination anti-retroviral therapy increases life expectancy by greater than 13 years
Jul 25, 2008 - 11:29:47 PM
, Reviewed by: Dr. Sanjukta Acharya
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"Since their introduction in 1996 cART regimens have become more effective, better tolerated and easier to follow," said Michael Mugavero, M.D.,
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By University of Alabama at Birmingham,
[RxPG] The life expectancy for patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has increased by more than 13 years since the late 1990s thanks to advancements in antiretroviral therapy, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Improved survival has led to a nearly 40 percent drop in AIDS deaths among 43,355 HIV-positive study participants in Europe and North America, bolstering the call for improved anti-HIV efforts worldwide, the study authors said.
The study is published in the British medical journal The Lancet. It was compiled by The Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration, which includes UAB, Simon Fraser University and more than a dozen other research sites around the world.
The authors looked at changes in life expectancy and mortality among the 43,355 HIV patients taking a cocktail of drugs called combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Data was compiled from a total of 14 studies in Europe and North America.
"Since their introduction in 1996 cART regimens have become more effective, better tolerated and easier to follow," said Michael Mugavero, M.D., an assistant professor in UAB's Division of Infectious Diseases and a co-author on the study.
"We are now seeing the benefits of years of research, hard work and efforts to make these medications widely available. This has led to dramatic improvements in life expectancy, but patients who start cART with more advanced HIV infection do not have the same level of benefit," Mugavero said.
The new Lancet study found cART yielded a 13.8-year life-expectancy increase - from 36.1 years in study participants who began therapy during the 1996-1999 period to 49.9 years in participants who began therapy during the 2003-2005 period.
Despite the good results, the study found life expectancy for HIV patients is far lower on average than the general population, which includes all those with other chronic illnesses. For example, an HIV-positive patient starting cART at age 20 will live to 63, about 20 years shorter than the average life span of non-infected adults.
With nearly half of all patients diagnosed with advanced HIV infection, the life expectancy benefits of cART are not fully realized, said Mugavero and lead study author Robert Hogg, Ph.D., of Simon Fraser University. Improved AIDS testing and increased access to care is needed.
Funding information and declaration of competing interests:
Funding from the study came from the UK Research Council and from GlaxoSmithKline
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About Dr. Sanjukta Acharya
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This news story has been reviewed by Dr. Sanjukta Acharya before its publication on RxPG News website. Dr. Sanjukta Acharya, MBBS MRCP is the chief editor for RxPG News website. She oversees all the medical news submissions and manages the medicine section of the website. She has a special interest in diabetes and endocrinology. She can be reached for corrections and feedback at [email protected]
RxPG News is committed to promotion and implementation of Evidence Based Medical Journalism in all channels of mass media including internet.
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Additional information about the news article
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The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Since opening its doors in 1969, The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has used its entrepreneurial spirit to rapidly evolve from a small extension center into a comprehensive research university that encompasses 82 city blocks. What once was a commuter school for just over 5,000 students is now home to more than 17,000 students, of whom nearly 11,000 are undergraduates.
There are approximately 1,150 predoctoral students and nearly 300 postdoctoral trainees at UAB. UAB doctoral programs attract students from all areas of the U.S. and from many other countries. In 2006-2007 UAB awarded 192 doctoral degrees.
As the state’s largest single employer, UAB’s annual impact on the Alabama economy is significant – exceeding $3 billion. In just two decades, the UAB Research Foundation has created more than $40 million in royalty and license fees with more than 1,800 invention disclosures, 700 patents and more than 500 licenses and other agreements. UAB is committed to helping create new companies based on technologies its researchers develop.
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