Hivbook 2009 PDF

With support from
Boehringer-Ingelheim
Abbott
Gilead Sciences
MSD
Pfizer
Tibotec
By
Marcus Altfeld, Boston (USA)
Philip Aries, Hamburg
Georg Behrens, Hannover
Patrick Braun, Aachen
U. Fritz Bredeek, San Francisco (USA)
Thomas Buhk, Hamburg
Christian Eggers, Linz (Austria)
Stefan Esser, Essen
Gerd Ftkenheuer, Cologne
Carole Gilling-Smith, London (UK)
Andrea Gori, Milan (Italy)
Thomas Harrer, Erlangen
Christian Herzmann, Borstel
Christian Hoffmann, Hamburg
Peter Krings, Essen
Christoph Lange, Borstel
Thore Lorenzen, Hamburg
Christoph Mayr, Berlin
Giovanni Battista Migliori, Tradate (Italy)
Till Neumann, Essen
Tim Niehues, Krefeld
Christian Noah, Hamburg
Falk Ochsendorf, Frankfurt
Ramona Pauli, Munich
Mario Ostrowski, Toronto (Canada)
Ansgar Rieke, Koblenz
Jrgen Rockstroh, Bonn
Thorsten Rosenkranz, Hamburg
Andrea Rubbert, Cologne
Bernhard Schaaf, Dortmund
Christiane Schieferstein-Knauer, Frankfurt
Reinhold E. Schmidt, Hannover
Helmut Schfer, Frankfurt
Ulrike Sonnenberg-Schwan, Munich
Matthias Stoll, Hannover
Hendrick Streeck, Boston (USA)
Jan Thoden, Freiburg
Nils Venhoff, Freiburg
Mechthild Vocks-Hauck, Berlin
Ulrich A. Walker, Basel (Switzerland)
Jan-Christian Wasmuth, Bonn
Michael Weigel, Schweinfurt
Thomas Weitzel, Santiago (Chile)
Eva Wolf, Munich
HIV 2009
www.hivbook.com
Edited by
Christian Hoffmann
and
Jrgen K. Rockstroh
Medizin Fokus Verlag
Editors
Christian Hoffmann, M.D., Ph.D.
ICH Mitte (Infektionsmedizinisches Centrum Hamburg)
Dammtorstrasse 17
D 20354 Hamburg
Tel: + 49 40 63607963
Fax: + 49 40 63607964
email: [email protected]
Jrgen K. Rockstroh, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Medicine I
University of Bonn
Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25
D 53105 Bonn
Phone: + 49 228 287 6558
Fax: + 49 228 287 5034
email: [email protected]
HIV Medicine is an ever-changing field. The editors and authors of HIV 2009 have
made every effort to provide information that is accurate and complete as of the date
of publication. However, in view of the rapid changes occurring in HIV medical
science, HIV prevention and policy, as well as the possibility of human error, this site
may contain technical inaccuracies, typographical or other errors. Readers are
advised to check the product information currently provided by the manufacturer of
each drug to be administered to verify the recommended dose, the method and
duration of administration, and contraindications. It is the responsibility of the treating
physician who relies on experience and knowledge about the patient to determine
dosages and the best treatment for the patient. The information contained herein is
provided "as is" and without warranty of any kind. The contributors to this site,
including the editors, disclaim responsibility for any errors or omissions or for results
obtained from the use of information contained herein.
2009 by Medizin Fokus Verlag, Hamburg

Cover/Printing: Gerald Schrder, Schrders Agentur, Vopeliuspfad 6, D-14169 Berlin
Design: Tobias Emskoetter, Hamburg
ISBN: 978-3-941727-02-1
Preface 2009
The story continues - even after Bernd Sebastian Kamps has retired in July 2008. At
this point, we would like to appreciate the tremendous work and contribution of
Bernd, who was one of the founding fathers of this project.
Encouraged by the fact that this textbook had been downloaded and read by ten
thousands physicians worldwide every year, however, we decided to continue with
this textbook - a textbook which is easily readable and which can be used in the
daily practice of HIV treatment. As in previous years, all chapters of HIV 2009
have been thoroughly revised, and new chapters have been added.
Previous issues of the progenitor HIV Medicine were available in several
languages, such as Spanish, Romanian, Russian, Portuguese, Vietnamese and
Persian. Again, under certain conditions, the editors and the authors of this book
might agree to remove the copyright on HIV 2009 for all languages except English
and German. You could therefore translate the content of HIV 2009 into any
language and publish it under your own name, without paying a license fee.
Again, the book is freely available on the Internet (www.hivbook.com). That is
the way, we firmly believe, that medical textbooks should be handled in the 21st
century.
Christian Hoffmann, Jrgen K. Rockstroh
Hamburg, Bonn October 2009
We would like to thank all the authors and all the people who helped us generously
to realise this project, especially
Nicole Bentrup, Benjamin Breth, Jrgen Bufler, Rob Camp, Christian Dedek, Fiona
Diekhoff, Dariusz Dorn, Sabine Dransfeld, Tobias Emskoetter, Thomas Fischer,
Andr Gaidies, Fiona Gordon, Adolf Hoffmann, Ulrik Hoffmann, Cinnamon N.
Hunter, Brigitte Jung, Tina Kissenbeck, Claudia Krger, Felix Lehmensieck,
Daniela Otto, Britta Ranneberg, Marlene Rodrigues Pereira, Gerald Schrder,
Armin Schuster, Maxie Sinner, Cay Tonn, and Martin Vogel.
Assistant Editors
Rob Camp (Barcelona, Spain)
Fiona Diekhoff (Hamburg, Germany)
Cinnamon N. Hunter (High Point, NC, USA)
Contributors
Marcus Altfeld, MD, PhD
Partners AIDS Research Center
Massachusetts General Hospital
Bldg. 149, 13th Street, 5th floor
Charlestown, MA 02129
USA
Phone: +1 617 724 2461
Fax: +1 617 724 8586
[email protected]
Sven Philip Aries, MD
Max Brauer Allee 45
D 22765 Hamburg
Phone: +49 40 3903534
Fax: +49 40 3903948
[email protected]
Georg Behrens, MD, PhD
Klinische Immunologie
Zentrum Innere Medizin der
Medizinischen Hochschule
Carl-Neuberg-Strae 1
D 30625 Hannover
Phone: +49 511 532 5393
Fax: +49 511 532 9067
Patrick Braun
PZB Aachen
Blondelstrasse 9
52062 Aachen
Phone: +49 241 470970
Fax: +49 241-408652
[email protected]
U. Fritz Bredeek, MD, PhD
Metropolis Medical PC
2351 Clay Street, Suite 512
San Francisco, CA 94115
Phone: +1 415 292-5477
Fax: +1 415 292-5490
Thomas Buhk, MD
ICH Grindel
Grindelallee 35
D 20146 Hamburg
Phone: +49 40 41 32 420
[email protected]
Christian Eggers, MD, PhD
Abteilung fr Neurologie
Krankenhaus der Barmherzigen
Brder, Seilersttte 2
A 4021 Linz
Phone: +43 732 7897 25305
Fax: +43 732 7897 25399
[email protected]
Stefan Esser, MD
Department of Dermatology
University of Essen
Hufelandstrasse 55
D - 45122 Essen
Phone: +49 201-723-3878
[email protected]
Gerd Ftkenheuer, MD, PhD
Department of Internal Medicine
University of Cologne
Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 9
D 50924 Kln
Phone: +49 221 478 4886
[email protected]
Carole Gilling-Smith, MA, FRCOG,
PhD
Assisted Conception Unit
Chelsea & Westminster Hospital
369 Fulham Road
GB London SW10 9NH
Phone: +41 20 8746 8922
Fax: +41-20 8746 8921
[email protected]
10
Contributors
Andrea Gori, MD
Division of Infectious Diseases, San
Gerado Hospital
University Milan-Bicocca
Via Pergolesi 33
IT-20052-Monza
Phone +39 039 233 9310
Fax +39 039 233 9327
[email protected]
Thomas Harrer, MD, PhD
Department of Internal Medicine III
IUniversittsklinikum Erlangen
Krankenhausstrae 12
91054 Erlangen
Phone +49 9131 854 3004
Fax +49 9131 853 4749
[email protected]
Christian Herzmann, MD
Clinical Infectious Diseases, Medical
Clinic, Research Center Borstel
Parkallee 35
D 23845 Borstel
Phone: +49 4537 188 0
[email protected]
Peter Krings, MD
Department of Cardiology
University of Essen
Hufelandstr. 55
D- 45122 Essen
Phone +49 201-723 85679
Fax +49 201-723 5401
[email protected]
Christoph Lange, MD, PhD
Clinical Infectious Diseases, Medical
Clinic, Research Center Borstel
Parkallee 35
D 23845 Borstel
Phone +49 4537 188 332
Fax +49 4537 188 313
[email protected]
Thore Lorenzen, MD
ifi Institute
Lohmhlenstrasse 5
D 20099 Hamburg
Phone +49 40 181885 3780
Fax +49 40 181885 3788
[email protected]
Christoph Mayr, MD
MVZ rzteforum Seestrasse
Seestrasse 64
D-13347 Berlin
Phone +49 30 455095 0
Fax +49 30 455095 25
Giovanni Battista Migliori, MD
WHO Collaborating Center for TB
and Lung Diseases
Fondazione S. Maugeri, Care and
Research Institute
Via Roncaccio 16
IT-21049 Tradate
Phone +39 0331 829404
Fax +39 0331 829404
[email protected]
Till Neumann, MD
Universittsklinikum Essen
Klinik fr Kardiologie
Hufelandstr. 55
D 45122 Essen
Phone +49 201 723 4878
Fax +49 201 723 5401
[email protected]
Tim Niehues, MD, PhD
Immunodeficiency and Pediatric
Rheumatology Centre
Helios Klinikum Krefeld
Lutherplatz 40
D - 47805 Krefeld
Phone +49 2151 32 2301
Fax +49 2151 32 2334
[email protected]
Christian Noah, MD
Labor Lademannbogen
Lademannbogen 61-63
D - 22339 Hamburg
Phone +49 40 53805-706
Fax +49 40 53805-879
[email protected]
Falk Ochsendorf, MD, PhD
Zentrum der Dermatologie und
Venerologie
Klinikum der J.W. Goethe-Universitt
Theodor-Stern-Kai 7
D 60590 Frankfurt am Main
Phone +49 69 6301 6819
[email protected]
Contributors
11
Mario Ostrowski, MD
Clinical Sciences Division
University of Toronto
Medical Sciences Building, Rm 6271
1 King's College Circle
Toronto, ON M5S 1A8
Canada
Phone +1 416 946 5805
Fax +1 416 978 8765
[email protected]
Reinhold E. Schmidt, M.D., Ph.D.

Abteilung Klinische Immunologie
Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover
D 30625 Hannover
Phone +49 511 532 6656
Fax +49 511 532 9067
[email protected]
Ansgar Rieke, MD
Klinikum Kemperhof Koblenz
II. Med. Klinik
Immunologische Ambulanz
Koblenzer Str. 115-155
D - 56065 Koblenz
Phone +49 261 499 2691
Fax+49 261 499 2690
[email protected]
Helmut Schfer, M.D., Ph.D.

Zentrum der Dermatologie und
Venerologie
Klinikum der J.W. Goethe-Universitt
Theodor-Stern-Kai 7
D 60590 Frankfurt am Main
Phone +49 69 6301 6833
[email protected]
Thorsten Rosenkranz, MD
Neurologische Abteilung
Asklepios Klinik St. Georg
Lohmhlenstrae 5
D 20099 Hamburg
Phone +49 40 181885 2241
Fax +49 40 181885 2971
[email protected]
Andrea Rubbert-Roth, MD, PhD
Department of Internal Medicine
University of Cologne
Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 9
D 50924 Kln
Phone +49 221 478 5623
Fax +49 221 478 6459
Bernhard Schaaf, MD, PhD
Klinikum Dortmund GmbH
Mnsterstrasse 240
D - 44145 Dortmund
Phone +49 231 95318 100
Fax +49 231 95318 199
[email protected]
Christiane Schieferstein-Knauer,
MD
Klinik fr Onkologie und Hmatologie
Medizinische Klinik II am
Krankenhaus Nordwest GmbH
Steinbacher Hohl 2-26
D - 60488 Frankfurt
[email protected]
Ulrike Sonnenberg-Schwan,
Clin. Psych.
AAWS/DAIG e.V.
Wasserturmstr. 20
D 81827 Munich
Phone +49 89 43766972
Fax +49-89-43766999
E-mail: [email protected]
Matthias Stoll, MD, PhD
Klinische Immunologie
Medizinischen Hochschule
D 30625 Hannover
Phone +49 511 532 3637
Fax +49 511 532 5324
[email protected]
Hendrik Streeck, MD
Partners AIDS Research Center
Massachusetts General Hospital
Bldg. 149, 13th Street, 6th floor
Charlestown, MA 02129
Phone +1-617-726-3167
Fax +1-617-726-5411
[email protected]
12
Contributors
Jan Thoden, MD
Department of Rheumatology and
Clinical Immunology
University Hospital Freiburg
Hugstetter Strasse 55
D - 79106 Freiburg
Phone +49 761 270-3401
[email protected]
Jan-Christian Wasmuth, MD
Department of Medicine I
University of Bonn
Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25
D - 53105 Bonn
Phone +49 228 287 6558
Fax +49 228 287 5034
[email protected]
Nils Venhoff, MD
Freiburg University
Dept. of Rheumatology and Clinical
Immunology
Centre of Chronic Immunodefi-ciency
Hugstetter Str. 55
D-79106 Freiburg
Phone +49 761 270 3695
Fax +49 761 270 3531
[email protected]
Michael Weigel, MD, PhD

Frauenklinik LeopoldinaKrankenhaus, Schweinfurt.
Phone + 49 9721 720 2130
[email protected]
Mechthild Vocks-Hauck, MD
KIK Berlin-Kuratorium fr
Immunschwche bei Kindern
Friedbergstr. 29
D 14057 Berlin
Phone/Fax +49 30 3547421
[email protected]
Ulrich A. Walker, MD, PhD
Basel University Dept. of
Rheumatology
Felix Platter Spital
Burgfelderstr. 101
CH-4012 Basel
Switzerland
Phone +41 61 3264222
Fax +41 61 3264018
Thomas Weitzel, MD
Institute of Tropical Medicine
Charit, Univ. Medicine Berlin
Spandauer Damm 130,
D-14050 Berlin, Germany
Currently:
Fundacin Arriarn
Universidad de Chile
Santa Elvira 629, Santiago, Chile
[email protected]
Eva Wolf, Dipl. Phys. Univ., MPH
MUC Research GmbH
Karlsplatz 8
D 80335 Munich
Phone +49 89 558 70 30
Fax +49 89 550 39 41
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Introduction................................................................................................... 24
The HIV epidemic .......................................................................................... 24
Transmission routes........................................................................................ 26
The natural course of HIV infection ............................................................... 29
Disease progression stage............................................................................... 33
Epidemiology ................................................................................................. 34
Summary ........................................................................................................ 35
HIV Testing ................................................................................................... 37
The Basics of HIV Diagnostics ...................................................................... 37
Rapid Tests ..................................................................................................... 39
The diagnostic window................................................................................... 40
HIV Diagnostics in Newborns........................................................................ 40
HIV Diagnostics after Occupational Exposure............................................... 41
What is relevant in practice? .......................................................................... 41
Internet sources related to HIV testing ........................................................... 42
Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection .................................................................. 44
1. The structure of HIV-1 ............................................................................... 45
2. The HIV replication cycle .......................................................................... 49
3. HIV and the immune system ...................................................................... 57
Preventive HIV-1-Vaccine............................................................................ 68
Induction of neutralizing antibodies ............................................................... 68
Induction of HIV-1-specific T cells................................................................ 69
Recombinant viral Vectors ............................................................................. 70
Acute HIV-1 Infection................................................................................... 72
Introduction .................................................................................................... 72
Immunological and virological events during acute HIV-1 infection ............ 72
Signs and symptoms ....................................................................................... 75
Diagnosis ........................................................................................................ 76
Treatment........................................................................................................ 78
ART 2009 ....................................................................................................... 82
1. Perspective.................................................................................................. 82
2. Overview of Antiretroviral Agents ............................................................. 86
3. ART 2009/2010: The Horizon and Beyond.............................................. 129
4. Goals and Principles of Therapy............................................................... 154
5. When to Start ART ................................................................................... 169
6. What to Start With? .................................................................................. 180
7. When to Switch ........................................................................................ 201
14 Contents
8. How to Switch ART ................................................................................. 210
9. Salvage Therapy ....................................................................................... 216
10. When to Stop ART ................................................................................. 227
11. Monitoring.............................................................................................. 238
12. Prevention, compliance, costs................................................................. 249
7. Management of Side Effects ....................................................................... 264
Gastrointestinal side effects.......................................................................... 264
Hepatotoxicity .............................................................................................. 266
Renal problems............................................................................................. 269
CNS disorders............................................................................................... 270
Peripheral polyneuropathy............................................................................ 271
Changes in blood count ................................................................................ 272
Allergic Reactions ........................................................................................ 273
Lactic acidosis .............................................................................................. 275
Avascular necrosis........................................................................................ 276
Osteopenia .................................................................................................... 276
Increased bleeding episodes in hemophiliacs ............................................... 277
Specific side effects ...................................................................................... 277
8. Lipodystrophy Syndrome........................................................................... 281
Background .................................................................................................. 281
Clinical manifestation................................................................................... 281
ART, lipodystrophy syndrome and cardiovascular risk ............................... 283
Pathogenesis ................................................................................................. 284
Diagnosis ...................................................................................................... 287
Therapy......................................................................................................... 288
9. Mitochondrial Toxicity of NRTIs .............................................................. 294
Introduction .................................................................................................. 294
Pathogenesis of mitochondrial toxicity......................................................... 294
Clinical manifestations ................................................................................. 295
Monitoring.................................................................................................... 299
Treatment, prophylaxis of mitochondrial toxicity ........................................ 299
10. HIV Resistance Testing............................................................................... 305
Assays for resistance testing......................................................................... 305
Background & nomenclature........................................................................ 307
Interpretation of genotypic resistance profiles.............................................. 312
Summary ...................................................................................................... 323
Resistance Tables ......................................................................................... 324
Contents 15
11. Opportunistic Infections (OIs) ................................................................... 330
Pneumocystis Pneumonia (PCP) .................................................................. 332
Cerebral toxoplasmosis................................................................................. 339
CMV Retinitis .............................................................................................. 344
Candidiasis ................................................................................................... 349
Tuberculosis ................................................................................................. 352
Atypical Mycobacteriosis ............................................................................. 367
Herpes simplex ............................................................................................. 371
Herpes zoster ................................................................................................ 374
Progressive multifocal Leukoencephalopathy .............................................. 376
Bacterial pneumonia ..................................................................................... 380
Cryptosporidiosis.......................................................................................... 383
Cryptococcosis ............................................................................................. 386
Salmonella septicemia .................................................................................. 390
Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS)................................ 392
Wasting syndrome ........................................................................................ 397
Rare OIs........................................................................................................ 400
12. Kaposis Sarcoma........................................................................................ 409
Pathogenesis ................................................................................................. 409
Signs, symptoms and diagnosis .................................................................... 410
Diagnosis ...................................................................................................... 410
Treatment...................................................................................................... 411
13. Malignant Lymphomas............................................................................... 416
Systemic Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) ................................................. 417
Primary CNS lymphoma .............................................................................. 427
Hodgkins disease (HD) ............................................................................... 430
Multicentric Castleman's Disease (MCD) .................................................... 432
14. HIV and Gynaecology................................................................................. 438
Prophylaxis ................................................................................................... 438
Infections ...................................................................................................... 439
HPV-associated diseases .............................................................................. 442
15. HIV and Pregnancy .................................................................................... 447
HIV therapy in pregnancy ............................................................................ 447
Antiretroviral agents in pregnancy ............................................................... 450
Antiretroviral transmission prophylaxis ....................................................... 453
Treatment during delivery ............................................................................ 455
Therapy of neonates...................................................................................... 456
16 Contents
16. HIV and Wish for Parenthood................................................................... 461
Introduction .................................................................................................. 461
Pre-conception counselling........................................................................... 462
Male HIV infection....................................................................................... 463
Female HIV infection ................................................................................... 465
HIV infection of both partners...................................................................... 466
Psychosocial aspects..................................................................................... 467
The future ..................................................................................................... 467
17. Antiretroviral Therapy in Children .......................................................... 469
Characteristics of HIV infection in childhood .............................................. 469
Diagnosis of HIV infection in children......................................................... 472
When to initiate ART ................................................................................... 473
General considerations for treatment of HIV-infected children ................... 474
Strategy......................................................................................................... 475
Classes of Antiretrovirals ............................................................................. 476
Drug interactions .......................................................................................... 480
Monitoring efficacy and watching out for failure......................................... 481
Change of therapy......................................................................................... 481
Supportive therapy and prophylaxis ............................................................. 482
Conclusion.................................................................................................... 482
18. HIV and HBV/HCV Coinfections.............................................................. 486
HIV and HCV Coinfection ........................................................................... 486
HIV and HBV coinfection............................................................................ 496
19. GBV-C Infection ......................................................................................... 504
Is GBV-C a friendly virus?........................................................................... 505
Proposed pathomechanisms.......................................................................... 506
How to deal with GBV-C in clinical practice? ............................................. 507
20. HIV and Renal Function ............................................................................ 510
Nephroprotection.......................................................................................... 510
Clinical manifestation/diagnosis of nephropathy.......................................... 510
Routine tests for renal impairment ............................................................... 511
HIV-associated nephropathy (HIV-AN)....................................................... 512
Post-infectious glomerulonephritis............................................................... 513
Principles of therapy of glomerulonephritis ................................................. 514
Renal safety of antiretroviral therapy ........................................................... 515
Typical side effects of antiretroviral therapy................................................ 515
Dosage of antiretrovirals in renal insufficiency............................................ 517
OIs and renal insufficiency........................................................................... 518
Contents 17
21. HIV and Cardiac Diseases.......................................................................... 522
Coronary artery (heart) disease (CHD)......................................................... 522
Congestive Heart Failure .............................................................................. 524
Pericardial Effusion ...................................................................................... 525
Cardiac Arrhythmias..................................................................................... 526
Valvular Heart Disease................................................................................. 526
Further Cardiac Manifestations .................................................................... 527
22. Sexual Dysfunction in HIV/AIDS .............................................................. 529
Introduction .................................................................................................. 529
Definitions .................................................................................................... 529
Etiology of SD in HIV/AIDS ....................................................................... 529
Ongoing research.......................................................................................... 530
Diagnosis of sexual dysfunction................................................................... 531
Therapy for sexual dysfunction .................................................................... 532
23. HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases ................................................... 536
Epidemiology ............................................................................................... 536
Syphilis (Lues.............................................................................................. 536
Gonorrhea (the clap)..................................................................................... 541
Chlamydia Infection, lymphogranuloma venereum ..................................... 542
Genital ulcers (Ulcus molle, soft chancre, chancroid ................................... 543
Condylomata acuminate (fig warts).............................................................. 544
24. HIV-associated Skin and Mucocutaneous Diseases.................................. 547
Introduction .................................................................................................. 547
Dermatological examination and therapy in HIV-infected patients ............. 548
ART: Influence on skin and mucocutaneous diseases.................................. 549
Appendix: Frequent HIV-associated skin diseases....................................... 550
25. HIV-1-associated Encephalopathy and Myelopathy................................ 562
HIV Encephalopathy .................................................................................... 562
HIV-associated myelopathy ......................................................................... 568
26. Neuromuscular Diseases............................................................................. 570
Polyneuropathy and Polyradiculopathy ........................................................ 570
Myopathy...................................................................................................... 578
27. Traveling with HIV ..................................................................................... 580
Travel preparations ....................................................................................... 580
Antiretroviral therapy (ART)........................................................................ 580
General precautions ...................................................................................... 581
Vaccinations ................................................................................................. 581
Malaria prophylaxis...................................................................................... 582
18 Contents
28.
29.
30.
31.
Entry regulations and travel insurance.......................................................... 582

Special risks.................................................................................................. 583
Medical problems after traveling.................................................................. 586
Links............................................................................................................. 587
Vaccinations and HIV................................................................................. 588
Vaccinations in HIV-infected children ......................................................... 589
Practical approach to vaccinations................................................................ 590
Details of selected vaccines .......................................................................... 591
Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) ............................................................. 600
Transmission................................................................................................. 600
Transmission risk.......................................................................................... 600
Effectiveness and limitations of PEP............................................................ 601
When is PEP indicated?................................................................................ 602
Potential risks of PEP ................................................................................... 602
Initial interventions....................................................................................... 603
Initiation of PEP ........................................................................................... 604
Management of PEP ..................................................................................... 605
The New (HIV infected) Patient................................................................. 607
The initial interview...................................................................................... 607
The Laboratory ............................................................................................. 608
The examination ........................................................................................... 609
Drug Profiles................................................................................................ 612
3TC (lamivudine) ......................................................................................... 612
Abacavir (ABC)............................................................................................ 613
Acyclovir ...................................................................................................... 613
Amphotericin B ............................................................................................ 614
Atazanavir .................................................................................................... 615
Atovaquone .................................................................................................. 616
Atripla ......................................................................................................... 616
Azithromycin................................................................................................ 617
AZT (zidovudine)......................................................................................... 617
Cidofovir ...................................................................................................... 618
Clarithromycin.............................................................................................. 619
Clindamycin ................................................................................................. 620
Combivir ..................................................................................................... 620
Co-trimoxazole (Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole)...................................... 621
d4T (stavudine)............................................................................................. 621
Dapsone ........................................................................................................ 622
Contents 19
ddI (didanosine)............................................................................................ 623
Delavirdine ................................................................................................... 624
Doxorubicin (liposomal)............................................................................... 625
Efavirenz ...................................................................................................... 625
Emtricitabine (FTC) ..................................................................................... 626
Ethambutol ................................................................................................... 627
Etravirine (TMC125).................................................................................... 628
Fluconazole .................................................................................................. 628
Fosamprenavir .............................................................................................. 629
Foscarnet ...................................................................................................... 630
Gancyclovir .................................................................................................. 631
G-CSF........................................................................................................... 631
Indinavir ....................................................................................................... 632
Interferon alfa 2a/2b ..................................................................................... 632
Isoniazid (INH)............................................................................................. 633
Itraconazole .................................................................................................. 634
Kivexa (US: Epzicom)................................................................................ 634
Lopinavir/r.................................................................................................... 635
Maraviroc ..................................................................................................... 636
Nelfinavir...................................................................................................... 637
Nevirapine .................................................................................................... 638
Pentamidine .................................................................................................. 639
Pyrimethamine.............................................................................................. 640
Raltegravir .................................................................................................... 640
Ribavirin....................................................................................................... 641
Rifabutin....................................................................................................... 641
Rifampin....................................................................................................... 642
Ritonavir....................................................................................................... 643
Saquinavir..................................................................................................... 644
Sulfadiazine .................................................................................................. 645
T-20 (enfuvirtide) ......................................................................................... 645
Tenofovir ...................................................................................................... 646
Tipranavir ..................................................................................................... 647
Trizivir ........................................................................................................ 648
Truvada ....................................................................................................... 648
Valgancyclovir ............................................................................................. 649
Voriconazole................................................................................................. 650
20 Contents
32. Drug-drug interactions ............................................................................... 651
Part 1: ART + ART ...................................................................................... 652
Part 2: ART + concomittant medications ..................................................... 654
Gastrointestinal agents.................................................................................. 654
Antiarrhythmic drugs.................................................................................... 654
Antibiotics .................................................................................................... 655
Antidepressants............................................................................................. 656
Antihistamine agents .................................................................................... 657
Anticonvulsants ............................................................................................ 657
Antimycotic agents....................................................................................... 658
Calcium channel inhibitors........................................................................... 658
Immunosuppressants / Chemotherapeutic agents ......................................... 659
Contraception ............................................................................................... 660
Antimalarials/ Antiprotozoals....................................................................... 660
Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors.............................................................. 661
Statins / Lipid lowering drugs....................................................................... 661
Anti-addictive drugs ..................................................................................... 661
Antiviral drugs.............................................................................................. 662
Index..................................................................................................................... 663
Abbreviations
AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
AIN Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia
ART Antiretroviral Therapy
AUC Area under the curve
BAL Bronchoalevolar Lavage
BGA Blood Gas Analysis
BMI Body Mass Index
CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CMV Cytomegalovirus
CNS Central Nervous System
CROI Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections
CT Computed Topography
CTL Cytotoxic T Cells
CVC Central Venous Catheter
DD Differential diagnosis
DEXA Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry
DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid
EAP Expanded Access Program
EBV Epstein-Barr-Virus
ED Erectile Dysfunction
ELISA Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay
ELISPOT Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Spot Assay
EMEA European Medicines Agency
FDA US Food and Drug Administration
FDC Follicular Dendritic Cells
G-CSF Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor
GFR Glomerular Filtration Rate
HAART Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy
HbsAG Hepatitis B Surface Antigen
HBV Hepatitis B Virus
HCC Hepatocellular Carcinoma
HCV Hepatitis C Virus
HDL High-density Lipoprotein
HHV-8 Human Herpesvirus 8
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HIVAN HIV-Associated Nephropathy
HIVE HIV-Encephalopathy
HLA Human Leukocyte Antigen
HPV Human Papillomavirus
HSR Hypersensitivity Reaction
HSV Herpes Simplex Virus
IC50 50% Inhibitory Concentration
IRIS Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome
ITP Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
22 Abbreviations
ITT Analysis Intention-to-Treat Analysis
IU International Unit
CHD Coronary Heart Disease
KS Kaposis sarcoma
LDH Lactate Dehydrogenase
LDL Low-Density Lipoprotein
LGV Lymphogranuloma venereum
LIP Lymphocytic Interstitial Pneumonia
LTNP Long-Term Non-Progressor
MAC Mycobacterium Avium Complex
MDR Multi-Drug Resistant
MHC Major Histocompatibility Complex
MRT Magnet Resonance Tomography
MSM Men who have sex with men
NASBA Nucleic Acid Sequence Based Amplification
NHL Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma
NK-Cells Natural Killer Cells
NNRTI Non-nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor
NRTI Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor
OHL Oral Hairy Leukoplakia
OI Opportunistic Infection
PBMC Peripheral Mononuclear Cell
PCNSL Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
PCP Pneumocystis Pneumonia
PCR Polymerase Chain Reaction
PEL Primary Effusion Lymphoma
PEP Post Exposure Prophylaxis
PI Protease Inhibitor
PML Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
PNP Polyneuropathy
RNA Ribonucleic Acid
SD Sexual Dysfunction
SIV Simian Immunodeficiency Virus
STD Sexually Transmitted Diseases
STI Structured Treatment Interruption
TAM Thymidine Analogue Mutation
TCR T Cell Receptor
TDM Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
TSH Thyroid-stimulating Hormone
VL Viral Load
VZV Varicella Zoster Virus
For abbreviations of antiretroviral agents, see ART chapter.
Part 1
The Basics
24
1. Introduction
Jrgen Rockstroh
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was described back in 1981 as a
new clinical entity for the first time. Initial reports were based on an unusual increase in the incidence of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and Pneumocystis pneumonia
(PCP), diseases that were considered at that time to occur rarely. While both diseases are occasionally observed in different populations (e.g., KS in older men from
the Mediterranean region or PCP in patients with leukemia after intensive chemotherapy), the occurrence of these diseases as indicators for severe immunodeficiency had not been observed before in otherwise healthy young individuals. Because the initially affected population were men who had sex with men the disease
as well as their carriers were highly stigmatized. Though initially life-style and behavioral factors were hypothesized to be causally related, finally in 1983 the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was identified as the true cause of AIDS.
In 1987 the first antiretroviral agent, AZT (zidovudine, Retrovir) was licensed for
the treatment of HIV. Despite the failure of this therapeutic concept in terms of a
monotherapy to achieve long-term suppression of HIV replication, symptoms and
clinical manifestations of HIV infection were temporarily relieved with AZT (at
1500 mg/ day) and the occurrence of AIDS was slightly delayed. What happened
next is unprecedented in medicine to date - within a few years of its discovery an
inevitably deadly disease turned into a disease with durable and effective treatment
options. The rapid introduction of further antiretroviral drug classes and the concept
of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART, an acronym that will be replaced in
this book by ART) enabled a durable suppression of viral replication thereby preventing further disease progression as long as the antiretroviral drugs were regularly taken and tolerated. Long-term toxicities and resistance emergence led to a
search for and identification of further promising drugs with other therapeutic
mechanisms of action or better resistance profiles. In parallel, administration modalities and tolerability of antiretroviral drug regimens were improved. In 2009 several HIV therapies are now available that only require an intake of 13 tablets once
a day.
All these advances should not be confused with the fact that lifelong medical therapy will probably lead to substantial problems, in particular in terms of adherence
to therapy and long-term toxicities. With only 10 years of experience so far, the
latter aspect has thus far only been captured in part. Infection with HIV should still
be avoided by all means. Apart from further improvement of ART and development
of new therapeutic concepts such as eradication, a main focus of our endeavors
must be on the prevention of HIV in order to contain the further spread of disease.
The HIV epidemic

In 1981 the first three clinical descriptions of AIDS were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and later the New England Journal of Medicine.
These described of an epidemic of community-acquired Pneumocystis pneumonia,
in most cases combined with oral thrush in previously healthy homosexual men, as
Introduction
25
well as chronic ulcerating perianal herpes infections (Gottlieb 1981a, Gottlieb

1981b, Masur 1981, Siegal 1981).
A little later, in June 1982, a notice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on three PCP cases among hemophiliacs was issued (CDC 1982a).
In the same year a case of cryptosporidiosis in a hemophiliac patient from Pennsylvania (Eyster 1982) and an AIDS manifestation in an infant after a blood transfusion were reported (CDC 1982b). The occurrence of AIDS among hemophiliacs
triggered a discussion of whether a viral infection could cause AIDS (Marx 1982).
In particular, the similarity of populations at risk for AIDS and hepatitis B led to the
hypothesis of a viral agent causing AIDS.
Studies on AIDS patients comprising different populations at risk quickly revealed
common characteristics: compared to healthy controls, all AIDS cases had diminished counts of CD4-positive T lymphocytes. Conversely, a relative and absolute
increase in CD8-positive T lymphocytes and a reduced mitogen-induced proliferative capacity of lymphocytes was observed (Gottlieb 1981, Masur 1981, Siegal
1981, Mildvan 1982, Stahl 1982). It became quickly clear, however, that the manifestation of AIDS was not a prerequisite for developing an immune deficiency. A
defect of cellular immunity, associated with a generalized lymphadenopathy, had
already been described very early in otherwise asymptomatic men who had sex with
men (Kornfeld 1982, Stahl 1982). In January 1983 two cases of hemophiliacs with
a lymphadenopathy syndrome were reported, both with significant dysfunction of
cellular immunity (Ragni 1983). This led to the assumption that the lymphadenopathy syndrome and the observed cellular immune defects may have been precursors
to AIDS and that a transmission of the AIDS causative agent via blood products
was probable. Subsequently numerous studies on altered states of cellular immunity
among hemophiliac patients were published. The main finding was a reduced
CD4/CD8 ratio, the result of a relative and/or absolute decrease of CD4 lymphocyte
counts together with elevated CD8 T cell counts. Only those patients who had been
treated with small amounts of blood-clotting factors or where blood-clotting factors
had been derived from small donor pools showed normal lymphocyte subpopulations (Luban 1983, Rasi 1984).
The altered immunological findings among hemophiliacs were controversially discussed. In part they were attributed to the chronic antigen exposure due to the
blood-clotting factor substitution. Other groups considered this hypothesis unlikely,
given the fact that, prior to the advent of AIDS, no enhanced risk for infections was
observed among hemophiliacs compared to other populations (except for viral infections, in particular hepatitis B and non-A-non-B-hepatitis via receipt of blood
products). Overall at that time no indication was seen to question the concept of
blood-clotting substitution therapy among hemophiliacs (Anonymous 1983, Goldsmith 1983). As an alternative explanation of AIDS, particularly among the transmission risk group of men who had sex with men, coinfection with human cytomegalovirus, use of injection drugs, inhalation of amylnitrate (poppers) and exposure to foreign proteins (spermatozoa) were discussed (Essex 1997).
In 1983 different working groups raised the hypothesis that a variant of the Tlymphotropic retrovirus (HTLV-I), which had been discovered in 1980 by Gallo
and colleagues, could be the causative agent of AIDS (Essex 1983, Gallo 1983).
Several arguments were in favor of this hypothesis. At that time HTLV-I was the
26
The Basics
only known virus with the potential to infect human CD4-positive T lymphocytes
(Poiesz 1980). In addition HTLV-I shared the same transmission routes with the
potential AIDS agent, i.e., sexual contacts, blood-to-blood and perinatal transmission (Essex 1982).
First experiments to isolate virus related to HTLV-I or -II were only partially successful. Though cross-reactive antibodies with HTLV-related genome sequences
were found in a small subset of AIDS patients, the overall assay reactivity was
weak and suggested a coinfection with HTLV. The observations led to the assumption of a genetically more distant virus, one with weaker assay reactivity, as a putative etiologic agent. Indeed only a short time later HTLV-III, later renamed Human
Immunodeficiency Virus type I (HIV-1), was discovered as the causative agent of
AIDS (Barr-Sinoussi 1983, Popovic 1984). In 2008 the French research group of
Luc Montagnier and Francoise Barr-Sinoussi received the Nobel Prize in Medicine
for their discovery of HIV-1.
Transmission routes
The main transmission routes of HIV are
1.unsafe sex with an HIV-positive partner (in particular, in the case of detectable
HIV RNA)
2.sharing injection paraphernalia, mainly among intravenous drug users.
3.vertical transmission of HIV from the HIV-positive mother to the newborn (before or at birth or later, due to breast-feeding)
All other transmission routes, for the most part case reports, are notably rare.
Among these are transmissions due to transfusion of blood or blood products in
countries where blood donations are not routinely screened for HIV.
Extremely rare are transmissions due to contact with HIV-positive blood through
open wounds or mucosa, or transmission of HIV after a bite (Bartholomew 2008).
Recently three cases were reported where mothers infected their newborns probably
via pre-chewed food (Gaur 2008). These transmission routes however are of a casuistic nature. Large case registries, in particular from the CDC, which have investigated into other transmission routes of HIV, clearly show that daily contacts of everyday life, such as the shared use of toilets or drinking from the same glass, cannot
transmit HIV. Case registries in the health-care setting, which analyze contact via
saliva, urine, or infectious blood with intact skin, did not find a single transmission
of HIV (Henderson 1990).
Potentially favorable factors and risks

Sex
The most important transmission route for HIV remains sexual contact. Prerequisite
for sexual transmission is the direct contact with infectious body secretions / fluids.
The highest viral concentrations are found in blood and seminal fluid. A study investigating heterosexual transmission of HIV in female partners of HIV-positive
hemophiliacs in Bonn found a seroconversion rate of HIV of 10% (Rockstroh
1995). The risk for sexual transmission was significantly higher if the HIV-positive
partner suffered from advanced immunodeficiency or an advanced clinical stage of
Introduction
27
HIV infection. It is important to note that a precise calculation of a transmission

risk after an individual risk exposure in not possible. Various environmental factors
have influence on the actual transmission risk, such as sexual practices, other sexually transmitted diseases, skin lesions, circumcision and mucosal trauma, that are
difficult to take into account. The average transmission risks according to different
sexual practices are shown in Table 1.
The correlation of the transmission risk with the level of HIV viremia has important
epidemiological implications. In environments where body fluids like blood and
seminal fluid are exchanged with many persons within days and weeks, the risk to
meet people who have been recently infected and who are highly infectious, is high.
Likewise, the probability of infecting someone else between the transmission event
to the detection of HIV antibodies is high. Highly infectious is also the late stage of
disease, when HIV infection progresses and high viral loads are again observed as
one gets closer to <200 CD4 T cells or AIDS. Sexually transmitted diseases and
infections disrupt physiological skin and mucosal barriers and enhance the risk for
HIV transmission. This is particularly true for endemic areas with a high prevalence
of other sexually transmitted diseases. Primarily genital herpes lesions have been
identified as a potential co-factor facilitating HIV transmission in endemic areas
(Mahiane 2009).
Table 1. Likelihood for HIV transmission. (Modified according to the European AIDS Clinical
Society (EACS) guidelines for the clinical management and treatment of HIV-infected
adults. HIV Med. 2008 Feb;9(2):65-71.)*
Type of contact / partner
Unsafe receptive anal intercourse with
HIV-positive partner
Unsafe receptive anal intercourse with
partner of unknown HIV serostatus
Unsafe insertive anal intercourse with
partner of unknown HIV serostatus
Unsafe receptive vaginal intercourse
Unsafe insertive vaginal intercourse
Oral sex
Probability of infection per contact

0.82% (95% CI 0.24 2.76)
Range 0.1 7.5%
0.27% (95% CI 0.06 0.49)
0.06% (95% CI 0.02 0.19)
0.05 0.15%
0.03 5.6%
No known probability, although case reports
have been described, in particular after reception of seminal fluid into the mouth (Lifson 1990)
Note: 95% CI = Confidence Interval according to a large US HIV seroconverter Study (Vittinghoff 1999).
Because the level of HIV RNA obviously is critical for the infectiousness of an
HIV-positive person, recently there has been a highly controversial discussion on
the safety of unsafe sex. The Swiss Commission for AIDS (Eidgenssische Kommission fr AIDS-Fragen, EKAF) proposed to classify HIV-infected persons as
persons who most likely do not transmit HIV via sexual contact and may thus have
unprotected sex if they are on ART and have a plasma HIV RNA below the level of
detection for at least 6 months, if they are adherent to therapy, regularly come to
medical examinations, and if they do not have any signs of any other sexually
transmitted diseases (Vernazza 2008). The intention of the EKAF recommendation
28
The Basics
is to manage fears of HIV transmission and to enable a normal sex-life, as far as

possible, in persons with and without HIV. The EKAF recommendation is not
agreed to by all HIV experts. Recently a case report from Frankfurt caused a sensation (Strmer 2008), where HIV transmission occurred, though HIV viral load was
not detectable and the HIV-positive partner was on successful ART (see also chapter on Prevention).
Sharing injection paraphernalia
Sharing injection paraphernalia is the most important HIV transmission route for
persons who are intravenous drug users. Due to the usually quite large amount of
blood that is exchanged the transmission risk is high. The aspiration of blood to
control the correct intravenous position of the needle constitutes the reservoir for
transmission. With the introduction of needle exchange programs, installation of
needle vendors, methadone substitution and multiple other preventive measures and
social programs, HIV transmission rates have significantly decreased in Western
Europe. In Eastern Europe, where intravenous drug use constitutes a criminal offence and no clean needles are provided, one sees an unyielding continual increase
of HIV transmissions. One can only hope that the success of prevention efforts in
Western Europe will lead to more liberal management and implementation of prevention programs in Eastern Europe.
Vertical transmission
Without intervention up to 40% of newborns born to HIV-1 positive mothers are
infected with HIV-1. The most important risk factor is the viral load at the time of
delivery. Since 1995 the mother-to-child transmission rate of HIV-1 infected mothers has been reduced to 1 to 2%. These low transmission rates were reached through
the combination of antiretroviral therapy / prophylaxis for the pregnant woman,
elective caesarian section prior to the start of labor, the antiretroviral postexposition prophylaxis of the newborn and substitution for breast feeding. For details refer to the chapter HIV and Pregnancy as well as to the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) guidelines for the clinical management and treatment of HIVinfected adults (HIV Med. 2008 Feb;9(2):65-71).
Blood
The transmission of HIV via blood and blood products has been largely reduced on
a global scale, though the risk is not completely eliminated. In Germany blood and
blood products are considered safe. Since 1985 all blood donations are tested for
HIV-1 via antibody tests, and since 1989 also against HIV-2. For a few years now
blood donations are additionally tested via PCR to identify donors who are in the
window of seroconversion and where the HIV ELISA is still negative. Persons with
so-called risk behavior, i.e., active injection drug users, sexually active men and
women as well as immigrants from high-prevalence countries are excluded from
blood donations.
Occupationally-acquired HIV infection
The overall risk for HIV infection after a needlestick injury is estimated to be
around 0.3%. The risk for HIV transmission is significantly higher if the injury occurred using a hollow needle e.g., during blood withdrawal than with a sur-
Introduction
29
geons needle. For details on post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) please refer to the
respective chapter in this book. On the contrary the transmission risk to infect a
patient with HIV if the medical personnel is HIV-positive is extremely low. In 1993
19,036 patients of 57 HIV-infected physicians, dentists or medical students were
screened for HIV infection (CDC 1993a). While 92 patients tested HIV-positive,
none of the transmissions was related to the health practitioner.
Non-suitable transmission routes
In general, HIV-transmission due to day-to-day contact between family members is
unlikely. It is important to avoid blood-to-blood contacts. Thus, razor blades or
tooth brushes should not be commonly shared. In case of canula or needle usage,
these should be safely deposited in appropriate sharps-containers and not be placed
back into the plastic cover.
Insects
All studies which have investigated possible transmission of HIV via insects have
come to the same conclusion that this is not possible. This holds true as well for
studies performed in Africa with a high AIDS prevalence and large insect populations (Castro 1988).
The natural course of HIV infection

The natural course of HIV in the absence of antiretroviral therapy is shown in
Figure 1. Shortly after infection a so-called acute retroviral syndrome is observed in
some patients. This syndrome is characterized mainly by lymphadenopathy, fever,
maculopapular rash, myalgia and usually does not last longer than four weeks (see
chapter on Acute HIV Infection).
The symptoms are unspecific and variable so that the diagnosis of HIV infection is
rarely made without additional substantial testing. A period of several years follows
where most patients are clinically asymptomatic.
Thereafter symptoms or diseases may occur, which are classified according to the
CDC classification as category B (Table 2). Among these, oral thrush, oral hairy
leukoplakia and herpes zoster are particularly noteworthy, as they should always
take HIV infection as an underlying diagnosis into account. Diseases of category B
are not AIDS-defining, however their occurrence is defined as symptomatic of HIV
infection and hints to a disturbed cellular immune system.
Still later in the course of HIV infection AIDS-defining illnesses occur at a median
of 810 years after infection. Without highly active antiretroviral therapy these illnesses will eventually lead to death after some varied period of time.
30
The Basics
Natural course of HIVinfection
AIDS
chronic
phase
Viral load [copies/ml]
CD4cell count [/l]
acute
phase
CD4 cells
viral load
Weeks
Years
Figure 1: The natural course of HIV infection
The level of HIV RNA, which reaches extremely high values shortly after primary
infection, usually decreases to less than 1% of the initial value at the time of first
HIV antibodies and remains on a relatively stable level. This level is called the viral
set point. The height of the viral set point determines the speed of disease progression. While most patients with less than 1000 HIV RNA copies/ml are usually not
affected by AIDS even 12 years after primary infection, more than 80% of patients
have developed AIDS only 2 years after infection if the viral load remains at levels
above 100,000 copies/ml (OBrien 1996).
The higher the viral set point is the faster the decrease of CD4 T cells. CD4 T cells
usually drop considerably during acute primary infection. Subsequently CD4 counts
recover after a few months to values within the normal range, though values before
infection are rarely reached. Normal values for CD4 T cell counts vary from laboratory to laboratory, however these are usually in the range of absolute CD4-positive
Tlymphocytes, for adults 4351600/l or relative percentage between 3160% of
total lymphocytes. For children other normal values apply (see chapter on Pediatrics).
During the further course of HIV infection a gradual decrease of CD4 T cells is
observed. The risk for AIDS-defining illnesses increases with time when CD4 T
cells decrease below 200. To ascertain the level of immunodeficiency the relative
proportion of CD4 T cells should additionally be taken into account.
Under certain conditions (e.g., under myelosuppressive interferon therapy) low absolute CD4 T cell counts are observed in the context of leuko- and lymphopenia,
whereas the immune status assessed by the relative CD4 T cell count is still normal.
200 CD4 T cells/l correspond to approximately 15% of CD4 positive lympho-
Introduction
31
cytes. Conversely, the absolute CD4 T cell count may suggest false high values,
e.g., after a splenectomy.
Patients can be categorized, depending on the speed of the CD4 T cell decrease
(Stein 1997) into those with a high risk of fast disease progression (loss of more
than 100 CD4 T cells/l within 6 months), those with a moderate risk of disease
progression (loss of 2050 cells/l per year) and those with a low risk of disease
progression (loss of less than 20 cells/l per year).
Whereas the overall risk for AIDS increases if the CD4 T-cell count drops below
200 cells/l, considerable differences exist for the risk of individual AIDS manifestations (see chapter on AIDS). As an example, opportunistic infections usually occur at far lower CD4 T cell counts than AIDS-associated malignancies
(Schwartlnder 1992). Apart from the level of HIV RNA and CD4 T cell count, the
age of the patient is another important risk factor for progression to AIDS (Figure
2). A 55 year old patient with a CD4 T cell count of 50 cells/l and an HIV RNA of
300,000 copies/ml has an almost twice as high risk to develop AIDS within the next
six months than a 25 year old patient.
In the pre-HAART era the average time between the first manifestations of AIDS
and death was 24 years. Without therapy probably more than 90% of all HIV patients die from AIDS. With todays availability of ART a progression of HIV infection to AIDS can be stopped. After reaching a maximal suppression of HIV RNA
CD4 T cell counts usually recover and patients regain an almost normal life expectancy.
32
The Basics
Table 2. Clinical categories of HIV-infection according to the CDC-Classification

Category A
Category C
Asymptomatic HIV-infection
AIDS-defining diseases
Acute, symptomatic (primary) HIV infection
Candidiasis of the bronchia, trachea, or

lungs.
Persistant generalized lymphadenopathy

(LAS)
Category B
Symptoms or signs of diseases, which do
not fall into Category C, but are associated
with a disturbed cellular immunity. Among
these are:
Bacillary angiomatosis
Infections of the pelvis, in particular
complications of fallopian tube or ovarian abscesses
Herpes zoster in case of more than one
dermatome or recurrence in the same
dermatome.
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura
Constitutional symptoms like fever or
diarrhea lasting > 1 month
Listeriosis
Oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL)
Oropharyngeal candidiasis (oral thrush)
Vulvovaginal candidiasis, either chronic
(> 1 month) or difficult to treat
cervical dysplasia or carcinoma in situ
Peripheral neuropathy
Oesophageal candidiasis
CMV infections (except liver, spleen and
lymph nodes)
CMV retinitis (with loss of vision)
Encephalopathy, HIV-related
Herpes simplex infections: chronic ulcer (>
1 month); or bronchitis, pneumonia, oesophagitis
Histoplasmosis, disseminated or extrapulmonary
Isosporiasis, chronic, intestinal, duration >
1 month
Kaposi sarcoma
Coccidioidomycosis, disseminated or extrapulmonary
Cryptococcosis, extrapulmonal
Cryptosporidiosis, chronic, intestinal, duration > 1 month
Lymphoma, Burkitt
Lymphoma, immunoblastic
Lymphoma, primary CNS lymphoma
Mycobacterium avium complex or M. kansasii, disseminated or extrapulmonary
Mycobacterium, other or not identified
species
Pneumocystis-pneumonia
Pneumonia, bacterial, recurrent (> 2 within
a year)
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
Salmonella Sepsis, recurring
Tuberculosis
Toxoplasmosis, cerebral
Wasting-Syndrome
Cervix carcinoma, invasive
The level of HIV RNA or the viral set point is dependent on a variety of hostspecific factors such as HLA-type and other, as yet unidentified, factors. In addition, virus-related factors, which are associated with HIV disease progression have
to be taken into account.
It is important to visualize that the level of plasma viral load represents an equilibrium between new and dying HIV.
Introduction
33
Figure 2:
Disease progression stage

In order to classify the progression of HIV infection the CDC-classification from
1993 is used which takes the clinical presentation and CD4 T-cell count into account (Table 3). Whereas in Europe the term AIDS is only used in cases of clinically-manifest AIDS, in the US a CD4 T-cell count below 200 cells/l is also considered AIDS. As a general rule for the classification of a patient, the stage is always adapted according to the progression of disease (e.g., someone who is previously asymptomatic, CD4 T-cell count 530/l, they are a Category A; but now, if
they develop oral thrush, their CD4 T-cell count drops down to 320/l, they are
Category B2). Reclassification upward upon improvement is not considered. If we
take the same example as before and the patient has received fluconazole therapy
and ART, and at present is asymptomatic and their CD4 T cells have gone back up
to 550/l the CDC-stage still remains B2.
Table 3: Classification of HIV disease according to the CDC classification from 1993
Symptoms /
CD4 T cells
> 500/l
200 499/l
< 200/l
Asymptomatic or
acute HIV disease
Symptomatic but
not stage A or C
AIDS-defining
illness*
A1
A2
A3
B1
B2
B3
C1
C2
C3
*for AIDS-defining conditions please refer to Table 2.
34
The Basics
Epidemiology
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus probably emerged in the 1920s or 30s when
the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) changed host from the chimpanzee to the
human in Western Africa (Worobey 2008). The oldest HIV-positive human blood
sample was found in Kinshasa (Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and
dates back to 1959 (Zhu 1998). After the first description of AIDS in 1981 by now
almost all countries in the world have been affected by HIV.
The first to be infected are usually persons from so-called high-risk groups (intravenous drug users, professional sex workers, men who have sex with men) and subsequently other population groups are infected via unsafe sex. In industrialized
countries homosexual sex is frequently the most common mode of transmission,
whereas in countries of the former Soviet Union intravenous drug use (sharing injection paraphernalia) is the most common mode of transmission. In Africa most
infections occur due to heterosexual intercourse.
Table 4: AIDS epidemic according to UNAIDS, April 2008 (www.unaids.org)
Sub-SaharanAfrica
Middle East and
North Africa
South and Southeast Asia
East Asia
Oceania
Latin America
Caribbean
Eastern Europe
and Central Asia
Western and
Central Europe
North America
Total
HIV-infected
adults and children
HIV prevalence
among adults in
2007
New infections 2007
Yearly deaths
due to AIDS
2007
22,500,000
5.0%
1,700,000
1,600,000
380,000
0.3%
35,000
25,000
4,000,000
0.3%
340,000
270,000
800,000
0.1%
92,000
32,000
75,000
0.4%
14,000
1,200
1,600,000
0.5%
100,000
58,000
230,000
1.0%
17,000
11,000
1,600,000
0.9%
150,000
55,000
760,000
0.3%
31,000
12,000
1,300,000
0.6%
46,000
21,000
33,200,000
0.8%
2,500,000
2,100,000
The prevalence and subsequent implications on the epidemic are markedly different
from country to country. Whereas HIV/AIDS constitutes a rather marginal health
care problem in industrialized countries, in Sub-Saharan Africa AIDS has become
the most common cause of death. Every 5th death in Africa is due to AIDS. The
overall life expectancy has decreased in some African states by more than 20 years.
More than 10 million children have been orphaned. The economies of hard-hit
states have and are continuing to suffer from dramatic slumps. According to
UNAIDS, in 2007 around 33 million people were infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide, approximately 2.7 million new HIV infections occurred and 2 million people
died of AIDS (Table 4). Most profoundly-affected countries are the regions of Sub-
Introduction
35
Saharan Africa, where more than 22 million people are infected with HIV. The
highest dynamic of spread and incidence rates are currently observed in countries of
the former Soviet Union, in particular Estonia, Latvia, Russia and the Ukraine, as
well as in South- and South-East Asia.
In Germany in 2008 around 63,500 people were infected with HIV (Table 5).
Table 5: Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in Germany (modified according to www.rki.de)
Population
Total numbers (lower and upper estimate)
People with HIV/AIDS in 2008
63,500 (60,00067,000)
Men
51,800 (49,50054,000)
Women
11,700 (10,90012,400)
Children
200
People with AIDS
10,500
According to transmission risk

Men who have sex with men
38,700 (37,10040,300)
Persons infected via heterosexual contacts
8,700 (8,2009,300)
Persons from high prevalence regions / countries
7,300 (6,4008,100)
Intravenous drug users
8,200 (7,8008,500)
Hemophiliacs and received blood transfusions
600
Mother to child transmission
200
Summary
The first serological evidence for HIV infection was found in human sera from Zaire dating to 1959, Uganda dating back to1972 and Malawi to 1974 evidence that
HIV was circulating in Africa at those times. The first cases of AIDS were than
described in the US in 1981. The discovery of HIV as the cause of AIDS was made
in 1983. Since then HIV/AIDS has emerged as a world-wide epidemic which continues to spread with today 30 years later 2.7 million new infections each year.
In particular the high infection rates in Eastern Europe and Asia demonstrate the
immense challenges that need to be met in current and future implementation of
prevention measures. Even though the success of antiretroviral therapy in the treatment of HIV infection appears to enable a normal life expectancy for HIV-infected
patients, knowledge on the natural course of HIV infection remains substantially
important. Not only in order to make the correct decision on when to start ART in
an individual patient, but also to correctly diagnose HIV in patients with first symptoms of HIV infection who have not yet shown any AIDS manifestations, this
knowledge is important. In light of the fact that in Europe about 50% of all HIVinfected persons do not know their HIV status, tremendous challenges remain in the
area of early diagnosis of HIV infection. Joint efforts are being made
(www.HIVeurope2007.eu) in order to diagnose HIV-infection earlier and thus enable physicians and patients to start ART in time, as well as to lower new infection
rates by counseling patients on transmission modes and prevention.
36
The Basics
References
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Barre-Sinoussi F, Chermann JC, Rey F, et al. Isolation of a T-lymphotropic retrovirus from a patient at risk for AIDS. Science 1983, 220: 868-71.
Bartholomew CF, Jones AM. Human bites: a rare risk factor for HIV transmission. AIDS 2006, 20:631-2.
Castro KG, Lieb S, Jaffe HW, et al. Transmission of HIV in Belle Glade, Florida: lessons for other communities in the US. Science 1988, 239: 193-7.
Centers for Disease Control (1982a). epidemiologic notes and reports persistent, generalized lymphadenopathy among homosexual males. MMWR
Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1982, 31: 249.
Centers for Disease Control (1982b). epidemiologic notes and reports update on kaposi's sarcoma and opportunistic infections in previously healthy
persons -- United States. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1982, 31: 294.
Centers for Disease Control (1993a). Investigations of persons treated by HIV-infected health-care workers - United States. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly
Rep 1993, 42: 329-31.
Essex M, Adult T-cell leucemia/lymphoma: role of a human retrovirus. J Natl Cancer Inst 1982; 69: 981-985
Essex M, McLane MF, Lee TH, et al. Antibodies to cell membrane antigens associated with human T-cell leucemia virus in patients with AIDS. Science
1983; 22: 859-862.
Essex ME. Origin of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. In: VT DeVita jun, S Hellman, SA Rosenberg: AIDS: Biology, diagnosis, treatment and
prevention. 4th edition, Lippincott-Raven Publ, 3-14; 1997
Eyster ME, Koch KL, Abt AB et al. Cryptosporidiosis in a hemophiliac with acquired immunodeficiency. Blood 1982; 60 (Suppl 1): 211A (abstract).
Gallo RC, Sarin PS, Gelmann EP et al. Isolation of human T-cell leucemia virus in acquired immunodefiency syndrome. Science 1983; 220: 865-867
Gaur A, Dominguez K, Kalish M, Rivera-Hernandez D, Donohoe M, Mitchell C. Practice of offering a child pre-masticated food: an unrecognized possible risk factor for HIV transmission. Abstract 613b, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Goldsmith JC, Moseley PL, Monick M et al. T-lymphocyte subpopulation abnormalities in apparently healthy patients with hemophilia. Ann Intern Med
1983; 98: 294-296
Gottlieb MS (1981a), Schanker HM, Fan PT, et al. Pneumocystis Pneumonia Los Angeles. MMWR Weekly 1981, June 5, 1981 / 30(21);250-2
Gottlieb MS (1981b), Schroff R, Schanker HM, et al. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and mucosal candidiasis in previously healthy homosexual men:
evidence of a new acquired cellular immunodeficiency. N Engl J Med 1981, 305:1425-31.
Henderson DK, Fahey BJ, Willy M, et al. Risk for occupational transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) associated with clinical
exposures. A prospective evaluation. Ann Intern Med 1990, 113:740-6.
Kornfeld H, Vande-Stouwe RA, Lange M, et al. T-lymphcyte subpopulations in homosexual men. New Engl J Med 1982; 307: 729-731.
Lifson AR, OMalley PM, Hessol NA, et al. HIV seroconversion in two homosexual men after receptive oral intercourse with ejaculation: implications for
counseling concerning safe sexual practices. Am J Public Health 1990; 80: 1509-1511.
Luban NLC, Kelleher JF jr, Reaman GH. Altered distribution of T-lymphocyte subpopulations in children and adolescents with haemophilia. Lancet 1983;
1: 503-505.
Mahiane SG, Legeai C, Taljaard D et al. Transmission probabilities of HIV and herpes simplex virus type 2, effect of male circumcision and interaction: a
longitudinal study in a township of South Africa. AIDS 2009; 23: 377-383.
Marx JL. New disease battles a medical community. Science 1982; 217: 618-621.
Masur H, Michelis MA, Greene JB, et al. An outbreak of community-acquired Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia: initial manifestation of cellular immune
dysfunction. N Engl J Med 1981, 305:1431-8.
Mildvan D, Mathur U, Enlow RW, et al. Opportunistic infections and immune deficiency in homosexual men. Ann Intern Med 1982; 96: 700-704.
OBrien TR, Blattner, WA, Waters D, et al. Serum HIV-1 RNA-levels and time to development of AIDS in the Multicenter Hemophilia Cohort Study. JAMA
1996; 276: 105-110.
Poiesz PJ, Ruscetti FW, Gazdar AF, et al. Detection and isolation of type C retrovirus particles from fresh and culture lymphocytes of a patients with
cutanous T-cell lymphoma. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1980; 77: 7415-7419.
Popovic M, Sarngadharan MG, Read E, et al. Detection, isolation and continuous production of cytopathic retroviruses (HTLV-III) from patients with
AIDS and pre-AIDS. Science 1984; 224: 497-500.
Ragni MV, Lewis JH, Spero JA, et al. Acquired immunodeficiency-like syndrome in two haemophiliacs. Lancet 1983; 1: 213-214.
Rasi VP, Koistinen JL, Lohman CM, et al. Normal T-cell subset ratios in patients with severe haemophilia A treated with cryoprecipitate. Lancet 1984; 1:
461.
Rockstroh JK, Ewig S, Bauer T, et al. Male to female transmission of HIV in a cohort of hemophiliacs-frequency, risk-factors and effect of sexual counseling infection 1995; 23: 29-32
Schwartlnder B, Horsburgh CR Jr, Hamouda O et al. Changes in the spectrum of AIDS-defining conditions and decrease in CD4+ lymphocyte counts at
AIDS manifestation in Germany from 1986 to 1991. AIDS 1992, 6:413-20.
Siegal FP, Lopez C, Hammer GS, et al. Severe acquired immunodeficiency in male homosexuals manifested by chronic perianal ulcerated herpes
simplex lesions. N Engl J Med 1981; 305: 1439-1444.
Stahl RE, Friedman-Kien A, Dubin R, et al. Immunologic abnormalities in homosexual men. Relationship to Kaposis sarcoma. Am J Med 1982; 73: 171178.
Stein DS, Lyles RH, Graham NM et al. Predicting clinical progression or death in subjects with early-stage HIV infection: a comparative analysis of
quantification of HIV RNA, soluble tumor necrosis factor type II receptors, neopterin, and beta2-microglobulin. J Infect Dis 1997, 176:1161-7.
Strmer M, Doerr HW, Berger A, Gute P. Is transmission of HIV-I in non-viraemic serodiscordant couples possible? AntivirTher 2008; 13:729-732.
Vernazza P, Hirschel B, Bernasconi E, Flepp M. HIV-infizierte Menschen ohne andere STD sind unter wirksamer antiretroviraler Therapie sexuell nicht
infektis. Schweizerische rztezeitung 2008; 89:5, 165-169. www.aids.ch/d/hivpositiv/pdf/EKAF_d.pdf
Vittinghoff E, Douglas J, Judson F, et al. Per-contact risk of hiv transmission between male sexual partners. Am J Epidemiol 1999, 150:306-11.
Worobey M, Gemmel M, Teuwen DE, et al. Direct evidence of extensive diversity of HIV-1 in Kinshasa by 1960. Nature 2008, 455:661-4.
37
2. HIV Testing
Christian Noah
Early diagnosis of HIV infection is crucial to enable the access of a patient to antiretroviral therapy. Despite extensive testing possibilities and recommendations HIV
infection continues to be recognized and diagnosed more often than not at a later
stage. At the time of initial diagnosis approximately one third of HIV patients already have an immunodeficiency with a CD4 T cell count below 200/l. In half of
these late-diagnosed infections an AIDS-related illness is simultaneously diagnosed
(RKI 2007). Rapid diagnosis of HIV infection is also important in order to avoid
further transmission. Under the new German maternity guidelines every pregnant
woman must be offered an HIV test. HIV testing also plays an important security
role in blood and organ donation.
The Basics of HIV Diagnostics

The laboratory diagnosis of HIV infection is primarily based on a screening test. A
reactive result of a screening test has to be confirmed by an alternative assay (confirmatory test). Due to its relatively high sensitivity, the 4th generation test
("Combo test") which simultaneously detects both HIV-specific antibodies and p24
antigen should be used (Breast 2000, Weber 2002, Sickinger, 2004, Skidmore
2009). A "seronegative" HIV infection is an absolute rarity and irrelevant in practice (Connick 2005, Kassutto 2005). Any approved screening test detects all known
HIV types (HIV-1 and -2), HIV groups and HIV subtypes.
There are numerous commercial systems available for screening. However, the basic technological principle is the same for all and is based on antigen-antibody binding. The prototype is an ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay). Its central
element is a plastic plate with 96 wells (microtiter plate). The surface of each cavity
is coupled with HIV antigens and HIV antibodies. When a patients serum or
plasma containing HIV antibodies is placed into one cavity, antibodies bind to the
coupled antigen. An enzyme-labelled second antibody is then added, which recognizes and binds to human antibodies. Finally a substrate converted by the enzyme at
the second antibody is added. The result is a colour change which is measured photometrically. The optical density correlates with the HIV antibody concentration in
the sample of the patient - the higher the intensity, the more antibodies are present
in the sample.
Based on this prototype several advances have improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the screening test (Perry 2008). Modern test systems are highly automated to achieve a very high degree of standardization and generate a test result in
significantly less than one hour. In these systems, the solid phase consists of microparticles coupled with the virus antigens and antibodies. Accordingly, the
method is referred to as a "microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA).
The measured value is usually an index without dimensions, calculated from the
ratio of the measured value of the patient sample and the negative control (Sample/Control, S/Co). Values below 1 are considered negative, values above 1 as reactive. It should always be called a "reactive" and not a "positive" result to document
that this result needs to be confirmed by a second test format.
38
The Basics
In case of the screening test a maximum sensitivity has the highest priority (no
infection should be missed), while a high specificity is in the foreground of the confirmatory test. Screening tests approved in Germany require a specificity of 99.5%.
That means that one in 200 HIV-negative samples could have a false-reactive test
result. False-reactive results are caused for example by stimulation of the immune
system (e.g., viral infections, pregnancy, vaccinations, autoimmune diseases). Thus,
in certain patient groups (e.g., pregnant women, dialysis patients) an increased proportion of false reactive screening test results can occur.
To confirm a reactive screening test result a Western blot (immunoblot) analysis is
typically carried out. Viral proteins (antigens) are separated by their molecular
weight by electrophoresis and transferred to a membrane, which is then used as a
test strip. The test strip is incubated with the serum or plasma of the patient. If HIVspecific antibodies are present, they bind to the antigen. Analogous to the ELISA
(see above) the resulting antigen-antibody complex will become visible on the test
strip using an enzyme-labeled second antibody and a corresponding substrate. According to the antibody specificities present in the sample a corresponding band
spectrum occurs on the test strip.
The various HIV proteins are assigned to three functional groups ("p" - protein,
"gp" - glycoprotein. The numbers refer to the molecular weight):
envelope proteins (env):
gp41, gp160, gp120
polymerase proteins (pol):
p31/p34, p39/p40, p51/p52, p66/p68
core proteins (gag):
p17/p18, p24/p25, p55
The formation of antibodies after infection follows a specific kinetic: While p24
and gp120 antibodies are detectable early, the p31 band usually occurs later in the
course of infection (Fiebig 2003). A Western blot is considered positive when at
least two or three bands are visible. With regard to the antibody specifics, the criteria for a positive result are not uniformly defined internationally. According to the
German guidelines, based on the DIN 58 969 Part 41 ("serodiagnosis of infectious
diseases immunoblot), a test result is considered positive when antibodies
against an env protein and also against a gag protein and/or a pol protein are detected. According to WHO criteria a Western blot is positive when antibodies
against at least 2 env proteins are detectable. According to the guidelines of the
American Red Cross a gag, pol and env-band is required. The US FDA demands a
p24, a p34 and a gp41 or gp120/160-band. For example, a Western blot with a
gp120 and p24 band would be interpreted borderline according to the WHO and
positive to the German criteria. A weak band spectrum may indicate an early phase
of an HIV infection and should be clarified by further tests such as PCR (see below).
Compared to a 4th generation screening test the p24 antigen is not included in the
confirmatory test. In the case of "reactive screening test - negative confirmatory
test", acute HIV infection where HIV-specific antibodies are not yet formed although the p24 antigen is present cannot be excluded. Such a result should be
checked after 2-3 weeks. If a patient is concerned regarding an acute infection
(acute retroviral syndrome, recent exchange of bodily fluids with an HIV-infected
person) the implementation of an HIV PCR is useful. The PCR is also recom-
HIV Testing
39
mended in case of a highly positive screening and negative confirmatory test result.
It is recommended to consult the laboratory to discuss the adequate procedure.
Ideally, the laboratory will use a Western blot, which also covers antibodies against
HIV-2. In general, a synthetic HIV-2 peptide is used for this purpose. In case of a
reactive HIV-2 band, this result must be confirmed by an HIV-2-specific Western
blot.
As an alternative to the Western blot for confirmation of a reactive screening test an
immunofluorescence assay (IFA) is available although less common.
To exclude sample confusion each first positive test result should be confirmed by
examination of a second sample. If a patient is suspected to have an HIV infection,
the result of a viral load measurement can be used for confirmation (see chapter on
"HIV monitoring"). A serological test is then dispensable.
In addition to the serological test systems, methods such as the HIV PCR which
detects viral RNA are available. The quantitative detection of HIV RNA (a viral
load determination) is one of the essential components of the monitoring of HIV
infection (Berger 2002, Wittek 2007).
In the context of primary HIV diagnosis, HIV PCR, however, is reserved only for
specific issues such as the suspicion of acute infection or vertical transmission (see
below). For the general exclusion of HIV transmission, HIV PCR is only conditionally suitable and can not replace the serological HIV test. Furthermore, the commercially available test systems have not been validated yet by the manufacturers
for primary diagnosis.
Rapid Tests
Rapid HIV tests functionally correspond to a screening test, i.e., a reactive result
must be confirmed by a Western blot analysis. Rapid tests can be carried out
quickly, easily and without any equipment expense. In addition to plasma and serum, full or capillary blood (from the fingertip or the ear lobe) is suitable as test
material, so that no centrifuge is required. In some test systems urine or oral transsudate (not saliva) may be used. Results are available within 15 to 30 minutes. Most
frequently, rapid tests are based on immuno-chromatographic methods. Other techniques such as particle agglutination, ImmunoDOT and immunofiltration are also
used (Giles 1999, Branson 2003, Greenwald 2006).
The currently available rapid tests only detect HIV antibodies but not p24 antigen,
corresponding to an (outdated) HIV test of the 3rd generation. However, the diagnostics company Inverness Medical has announced the launch of an approved rapid
test of the 4th generation in 2009 that can not only identify but also differentiate
HIV antibodies and p24 antigen.
Rapid tests are particularly suitable for use in emergency situations where the test
result has an immediate consequence. These include emergency operations and
needlestick injuries. Also in pregnant women with unknown HIV status at delivery
a rapid test can be useful. However, the cooperating laboratory should be contacted
to indicate the need for a rapid HIV result. When necessary, the result of a conventional HIV test can be available within one hour upon receipt of the sample. Rapid
tests are also useful in countries with poor medical infrastructure (WHO 1998,
40
The Basics
2004) and in the context of low-threshold testing for individuals who would otherwise not be tested.
Rapid tests should be used only for initial orientation. The results of the testing
should be confirmed at the earliest opportunity in a routine laboratory with a standard HIV test. Studies have shown that some rapid tests exhibit a lower sensitivity
in comparison to conventional HIV tests. In one study in Cape Town, South Africa,
a significant proportion of HIV-infected children had false-negative rapid test results (Claassen 2006).
The diagnostic window

The "diagnostic gap" or "window" indicates the time period between transmission
of a pathogen and the onset of biochemical measurable infection markers such as
antibodies, antigen or nucleic acids (Busch 1997).
HIV antibody production begins at the earliest two weeks after transmission. HIVspecific antibodies can be detected after four weeks in 60-65% of cases, after six
weeks in 80%, after eight weeks in 90% and after twelve weeks in 95% of cases.
4th generation diagnostic tests can shorten the diagnostic gap by simultaneous detection of p24 antigen (Grtler 1998, Ly 2001). The p24 antigen is detectable about
five days before seroconversion (the first occurrence of specific antibodies). The
earliest lab marker is HIV RNA that is detectable approximately seven days before
the p24 antigen (Fiebig 2003).
A negative result in the HIV screening test precludes the existence of HIV antibodies and p24 antigen at the time point of testing. The security of this result, however,
depends particularly on the time interval from the possible transmission event. This
has important consequences:
1. HIV testing immediately after a possible transmission is not meaningful, as no
HIV antibodies are yet formed. An HIV test should therefore be carried out at the
earliest in the 3rd week after exposure. Exception: If it needs to be documented
for legal reasons (e.g., needle stick injury) that at the time of transmission no existing HIV infection was present.
2. An HIV infection can not be ruled out until three months after possible transmission with sufficient certainty. Check-ups should be performed two and six weeks
and three months after exposure. A further test (after six months) is appropriate
only in exceptional cases, for example, if there is suspicion of acute retroviral
syndrome.
3. A negative test result is dependable only in the case of no re-exposure within the
past three months (from the time of the original exposure).
HIV Diagnostics in Newborns

In newborns of HIV-infected mothers maternal antibodies may remain detectable
until the age of 18 months (Moodley 1997, European collaborative study 1991).
They are transplacentally transferred from the 32nd week of gestation although they
do not have any protective effect, unlike in the case of many other infectious diseases. A general HIV test for the detection or exclusion of vertical transmission of
HIV is therefore not enough as a positive result will be expected in any case.
HIV Testing
41
According to the German-Austrian recommendations for HIV therapy in pregnancy

and in HIV-exposed infants (2008) at least two negative PCR results are required to
exclude HIV transmission. The first HIV PCR should be performed after the first
month of life (sensitivity 96%, specificity 99%), then again because of the nearly
100% sensitivity and specificity after the third month of life. A vertical transmission can be ruled out, however, only if there was no renewed risk of transmission in
the meantime through breastfeeding.
Even with negative PCR results, the disappearance of maternal antibodies should be
documented at least once. In the positive case the result must be confirmed by examination of a second sample.
HIV Diagnostics after Occupational Exposure

After a needle stick injury or other occupational exposure a hepatitis B and C and
HIV infection of the index patient should be excluded (of course, consent of the
index patient is required). With regard to the potential necessary rapid start of postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) a needle stick injury should be considered as an emergency in each case. The earlier the PEP is initiated, the better are the chances of
success (Puro 2004, Panlilio 2005). PEP should preferably be started within 24
hours of HIV exposure. If a rapid result of an HIV screening test is not available for
logistical reasons, an HIV rapid test should be considered. To save time, PEP can
be initiated immediately as well and terminated at any time in the case of a negative
test result.
If the index patient has no symptoms consistent with acute retroviral syndrome the
negative result of the screening test excludes HIV infection with a high level of
security. An HIV PCR test should be considered only if there is evidence of acute
HIV infection of the index patient.
Conversely, if the index patient is infected with HIV or if the HIV status is unknown, HIV screening should be performed in the exposed person. The first HIV
test should take place immediately after the needle stick injury to document that no
HIV infection was present at the moment of the accident for legal reasons. Checkups should be carried out after 6 weeks, after 3 and 6 months. If the index patient is
infected with HIV, further testing after 12 months is recommended (Ridzon 1997,
Ciesielski 1997)
What is relevant in practice?

The legal situation: Because of possible medical, social and legal consequences,
an informed consent of the patient is required before performing an HIV test. Testing against the wishes of the patient represents an invasion of privacy, potentially
corresponding with legal consequences for the doctor. A written consent is not required, but the consent should be documented. In children or infants, the patient's
parents or legal guardians must agree to the HIV test. The special status of the HIV
test is currently being debated. There is a demand for "de-stigmatization" and a "remedicalization" of the HIV test (Manavi 2005, Beckwith 2005). The background is
that the accompanying requirements of the informed consent are often discouraging, thus it is often easier to omit doing the HIV test. Current CDC recommendations allow for the so-called "opt-out" in many situations: the patient is informed
42
The Basics
about the HIV test, but it will be performed without further detailed guidance, provided the patient does not explicitly reject testing (CDC 2006).
Advice: There should not be any HIV testing without counselling and education.
The patient should be informed about the testing algorithm and the possibilities and
limitations of HIV testing. Particularly, the limitations of the (frequently demanded)
HIV PCR in primary diagnostics should be addressed: while a sensitive method for
detection, it is only conditionally suitable for the rapid exclusion of HIV infection
or transmission. Due to the distress caused to the patient, the high cost of the PCR
as a counter argument against the method is a rare deterrent for the patient. During
the consult, all the possibilities of the test result and in particular the "diagnostic
window" should be noted. A desired HIV test could also be an occasion to discuss
the risk of transmission in general (also for other sexually transmitted diseases) and
appropriate prevention methods with the patient.
Reporting: A negative test result can possibly be reported by telephone if the
patient has been previously advised of its value. The diagnosis of HIV, however,
has to be given in a personal counselling interview by a physician (or expert virologist) only. The response of a patient cannot be assessed adequately when reporting
is done by telephone. Sometimes patients can develop suicidal thoughts. Similarly,
the negative result of a confirmatory test following a reactive screening test should
be personally discussed with regard to the possibility of an acute infection. Patients
should be directed to an HIV-focused practice. In addition, the patient should be
advised of regional counselling and care centers. The result of a reactive HIV
screening test should never be reported before the result of the confirmatory test is
available.
Internet sources related to HIV testing

Department of Essential Health Technologies: http://www.who.int/eht/en/
HIV/AIDS Diagnostics: http://www.who.int/hiv/amds/diagnostics/en/index.html
Diagnostics and Laboratory Technology:
http://www.who.int/diagnostics_laboratory/en/index.html
The European Commission, Enterprise & Industry, Medical Devices:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/medical_devices/index.htm
mit Informationen ber die In Vitro Diagnostic Directive (IVDD)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA:
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/testing.htm, http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/rapid_testing
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Biologics Evaluation and
Research (CBER): Licensed / Approved HIV, HTLV and Hepatitis Tests:
http://www.fda.gov/cber/products/testkits.htm
HIV Testing
43
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Weber B, Grtler L, Thorstensson R, et al. Multicenter evaluation of a new automated fourth-generation human immunodeficieny virus screening assay with a sensitive
antigen detection module and high specificity. J Clin Microbiol 2002; 1938-1946.
WHO / UNAIDS. The importance of simple/rapid assays in HIV testing. Weekly Epidemiological Record 1998;73:321326.
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WHO. Rapid HIV tests: Guidelines for use in HIV testing and counselling services in resource-constrained settings. Geneva 2004.
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WHO. Global programme on AIDS. Recommendations for the selection and use of HIV antibody tests. Wkly Epidemiol Rec 1992; 67: 145152.
Wittek M, Strmer M, Doerr HW, Berger A. Molecular assays for monitoring HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy. Exp Rev Mol Diagn 2007,7: 23746.
44
3. Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection

Andrea Rubbert, Georg Behrens and Mario Ostrowski
Since the initial description of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus type I (HIV-1)
in 1983 (Barr-Sinoussi 1983, Gallo 1983) and HIV-2 in 1986 (Clavel 1986), these
two viruses have been identified as the primary cause of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). As HIV-1 is the major cause of AIDS in the world today,
our discussion will be primarily limited to HIV-1 infection. Worldwide, the number
of HIV-1 infected persons exceeds 33 millions (according to UNAIDS), the majority of whom live in the developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and South
America.
Despite all the therapeutic advantages achieved over the last decade, including the
evolution of HAART, once an individual has become infected, eradication of the
virus is not possible. In addition, new problems relating to the short- and long-term
toxicity of drug treatments and the occurrence of resistance mutations in both circulating and transmitted viruses are emerging. In most countries in South East Asia
and Africa, the incidence and prevalence of HIV-1 infection continues to increase
and surpass that of Europe and North America.
However, due to the high costs of drug regimens and the lack of healthcare infrastructure in these developing countries, the widespread use of ART is currently still
partial at best. The further course of the HIV-1 pandemic, therefore, mainly depends on how and to what degree developing countries with a high HIV-1 prevalence are able to take advantage of the medical progress achieved in Europe and
North America, and whether an effective prophylactic vaccine will become available in the near future.
An understanding of the immunopathogenesis of HIV-1 infection is a major prerequisite for rationally improving therapeutic strategies, developing immunotherapeutics and prophylactic vaccines. As in other virus infections, the individual course of
HIV-1 infection depends on both host and viral factors.
The course of infection with HIV-1 in HIV-infected humans may vary dramatically,
even if the primary infection comes from the same source (Liu 1997). In individuals
with a long-term non-progressive HIV-1 infection (i.e., lack of decline in CD4 T
cell counts, or chronic infection for at least 7 years without the development of
AIDS), a defective virion has been identified (Kirchhoff 1995). Thus, infection with
a defective virus, or one that has a poor capacity to replicate, may prolong the clinical course of HIV-1 infection. However, in most individuals, HIV-1 infection is
characterized by a replication-competent virus with a high daily turnover of virions.
Host factors may also determine whether or not an HIV-1-infected individual rapidly develops clinically overt immunodeficiency, or whether this individual belongs
to the group of long-term non-progressors that represent about 5% of all infected
patients. The identification and characterization of host factors contributing to the
course of HIV infection, including immunological defense mechanisms and genetic
factors, will be crucial for our understanding of the immunopathogenesis of HIV
infection and for the development of immunotherapeutic and prophylactic strategies.
Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection
45
1. The structure of HIV-1

HIV-1 is a retrovirus and belongs to the family of lentiviruses. Infections with lentiviruses typically show a chronic course of disease, a long period of clinical latency, persistent viral replication and involvement of the central nervous system.
Visna in sheep, simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in monkeys, or feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) in cats are typical examples of lentivirus infections.
Using electron microscopy, HIV-1 and HIV-2 resemble each other strikingly. However, they differ with regard to the molecular weight of their proteins, as well as
having differences in their accessory genes. HIV-2 is genetically more closely related to SIV found in sootey mangabeys (SIVsm) rather than HIV-1 and it is likely
that it was introduced into the human population via monkeys. Both HIV-1 and
HIV-2 replicate in CD4 T cells and are regarded as pathogenic in infected persons,
although the immune deficiency may be less severe in HIV-2-infected individuals.
1.1. The morphologic structure of HIV-1

HIV-1 viral particles have a diameter of 100 nm and are surrounded by a lipoprotein membrane. Each viral particle contains 72 glycoprotein complexes, which are
integrated into this lipid membrane, and are each composed of trimers of an external glycoprotein gp120 and a transmembrane spanning protein gp41. The bonding
between gp120 and gp41 is only loose and therefore gp120 may be shed spontaneously within the local environment. Glycoprotein gp120 can be detected in the serum as well as within the lymphatic tissue of HIV-infected patients. During the
process of budding, the virus may also incorporate different host proteins from the
membrane of the host cell into its lipoprotein layer, such as HLA class I and II proteins, or adhesion proteins such as ICAM-1 that may facilitate adhesion to other
target cells. The matrix protein p17 is anchored to the inside of the viral lipoprotein
membrane. The p24 core antigen contains two copies of HIV-1 RNA. The HIV-1
RNA is part of a protein-nucleic acid complex, which is composed of the nucleoprotein p7 and the reverse transcriptase p66 (RT). The viral particle contains all the
enzymatic equipment that is necessary for replication: a reverse transcriptase (RT),
an integrase p32 and a protease p11 (Gelderbloom 1993) (Fig. 1).
1.2. The organization of the viral genome

Most replication competent retroviruses depend on three genes: gag, pol and env:
gag means group-antigen, pol represents polymerase and env is for envelope
(Wong-Staal 1991) (Fig. 2). The classical structural scheme of a retroviral genome
is: 5LTR-gag-pol-env-LTR 3. The LTR (long terminal repeat) regions represent
the two end parts of the viral genome, that are connected to the cellular DNA of the
host cell after integration and do not encode for viral proteins. The gag and env
genes code for the nucleocapsid and the glycoproteins of the viral membrane; the
pol gene codes for the reverse transcriptase and other enzymes. In addition, HIV-1
contains six genes (vif, vpu, vpr, tat, rev and nef) in its 9kB RNA that contribute to
its genetic complexity. Nef, vif, vpr and vpu were classified as accessory genes in
the past, as they are not absolutely required for replication in vitro. However, the
regulation and function of these accessory genes and their proteins have been studied and characterized in more detail over the past few years. The accessory genes
nef, tat and rev are all produced early in the viral replication cycle.
46 The Basics
Tat and rev are regulatory proteins that accumulate within the nucleus and bind to
defined regions of the viral RNA: TAR (transactivation-response elements) found in
the LTR; and RRE (rev response elements) found in the env gene, respectively. The
tat protein is a potent transcriptional activator of the LTR promoter region and is essential for viral replication in almost all in vitro culture systems. Cyclin T1 is a necessary cellular cofactor for tat (Wei 1998). Tat and rev stimulate the transcription of
proviral HIV-1 DNA into RNA, promote RNA elongation, enhance the transportation
of HIV RNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and are essential for translation. Rev
is also a nuclear export factor that is important for switching from the early expression
of regulatory proteins to the structural proteins synthesized later on.
Figure 1: Structure of an HIV virion particle. For detailed explanations see text.
Figure 2: HIV and its genes. For detailed explanations see text.
47
Nef has been shown to have a number of functions. It may induce downregulation
of CD4 and HLA class I molecules (Collins 1998) from the surface of HIV-1infected cells, which may represent an important escape mechanism for the virus to
evade an attack mediated by cytotoxic CD8 T cells and to avoid recognition by
CD4 T cells. Nef may also interfere with T cell activation by binding to various
proteins that are involved in intracellular signal transduction pathways (Overview
in: Peter 1998). In SIV-infected rhesus macaques, an intact nef gene was essential
for a high rate of virus production and the progression of disease. HIV-1, with deletions in nef, was identified in a cohort of Australian long-term non-progressors
(Kirchhoff 1995). However, more recent reports indicate that some of these patients
are now developing signs of disease progression including a decline of CD4 T cells.
Thus, although deletions of the nef gene may slow viral replication, they cannot
always prevent the eventual development of AIDS.
Vpr seems to be essential for viral replication in non-dividing cells such as macrophages. Vpr may stimulate the HIV LTR in addition to a variety of cellular and viral
promoters. More recently, vpr has been shown to be important for the transport of
the viral pre-integration complex to the nucleus (Overview in: Miller 1997) and
may arrest cells in the G2 phase of the cell cycle.
Vpu is important for the virus budding process, because mutations in vpu are associated with persistence of viral particles at the host cell surface. Membrane molecules such as tetherin (CD317) can bind vpu-deficient HIV-1 and prevent viral release. Thus, vpu can be considered as a viral escape mechanism in order to antagonise this effect (Neil 2009). Vpu is also involved when CD4-gp160 complexes are
degraded within the endoplasmic reticulum and therefore allows recycling of gp160
for the formation of new virions (Cullen 1998).
Some recent publications have highlighted a new and important role for vif in supporting viral replication (Mariani 2003). Vif-deficient HIV-1 isolates do not replicate in CD4 T cells, some T cell lines (non-permissive cells) or in macrophages.
Vif-deficient isolates are able to enter a target cell and initiate reverse transcription,
but synthesis of proviral DNA remains incomplete. In vitro fusion of permissive
and non-permissive cells leads to a non-permissive phenotype, suggesting that the
replication of HIV depends on the presence or absence of a cellular inhibitor. This
endogenous inhibitory factor was identified as APOBEC3G (Sheehey 2002).
APOBEC3G (apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like
3G) belongs to a family of intracellular enzymes that specifically deaminate cytosine to uracil in mRNA or DNA resulting in an accumulation of G-to-A mutations
that lead to degradation of viral DNA. By forming a complex with APOBEC3G, vif
blocks the inhibitory activity of APOBEC3G (Fig. 3a).
Of interest, the antiviral activity of APOBEC3G is highly conserved among various
species, whereas the blockade of APOBEC3G by vif is highly specific for HIV.
HIV-1 vif does not complex to murine or rhesus APOBEC3G. In the absence of vif,
APOBEC3G is incorporated into newly formed viral particles and in subsequently
infected target cells synthesis of proviral DNA is blocked (Fig 3b). In contrast, in
the presence of vif, APOBEC3G is complexed, degraded and not incorporated in
newly formed virions. APOBEC3G is expressed in lymphocytes and macrophages
representing the primary target cells of HIV infection. In DC, the activation status
of the cells influences the amount of APOBEC3G. Upon DC maturation there is an
increase of APOBEC3G expression (Pion 2006).
48 The Basics
Figure 3: HIV wild-type infection: vif interacts with APOBEC3G, binds to APOBEC3G and prevents its incorporation in newly formed viruses (Fig 3a). Vif-deleted HIV isolates fail to inhibit
intracellular APOBEC3G, which is then incorporated into new viruses and interferes with reverse transcription in the target cell.
There are still a lot of open questions regarding the regulation of intracellular
APOBEC3G. For example, whether there is a critical amount of intracellular
APOBEC3G that restricts HIV infection in the presence of vif, or whether genetic
polymorphisms of APOBEC3G exist that may potentially affect the course of disease, is not clear. In addition, the enzymatic function of intracellular APOBEC3G
in lymphocytes may depend on the cellular activation status (Chiu 2005). Meanwhile, the epitopes by which vif and APOBEC3G interact with each other have
been characterized and the pathway of intracellular degradation of the APOBEC3G-
49
vif complex explored. Of note, specific inhibitors that block the interaction of vif
and APOBEC3G or that interfere with the intracellular degradation of APOBEC3G
could represent promising future treatments. In principle, blockade of cellular structures will likely be associated with a minimal risk that the development of resistance might compromise the efficacy of an antiviral agent. Therefore, targeting vif
and APOBEC3G probably represents an interesting therapeutic track.
In summary, these data explain not only why vif is essential for HIV replication but
also show why HIV replication is species-specific. Another cellular factor (see below) has also been discovered which explains species specificity of HIV replication.
The crucial role for APOBEC3G or other cytidine deaminases might not be restricted to HIV-1. An accumulation of G-to-A mutations was also demonstrated in
various HBV isolates. In vitro, the accumulation of HBV DNA is dramatically reduced in the presence of APOBEC3G but co-transfection with vif can revert this
inhibition.
2. The HIV replication cycle

2.1. HIV entry
CD4 as a primary receptor for HIV
CD4 is a 58 kDa monomeric glycoprotein that can be detected on the cell surface of
about 60% of T lymphocytes, on T cell precursors within the bone marrow and
thymus, and on monocytes and macrophages, eosinophils, dendritic cells and microglial cells of the central nervous system. The extracellular domain of the CD4 on
T cells is composed of 370 amino acids; the hydrophobic transmembrane domain
and the cytoplasmic part of CD4 on T cells consist of 25 and 38 amino acids, respectively. Within the extracellular part of CD4, four regions D1-D4 have been
characterized that represent immunoglobulin-like domains. Residues within the V2
region of CD4 (amino acids 40-55) are important for the bonding of gp120 to CD4
and this region overlaps the part of the CD4 where its natural ligands, HLA class II
molecules, bind.
The identification of the gp120 binding site on the CD4 receptor of CD4 T cells
stimulated attempts to use soluble CD4 (sCD4) to neutralize the circulating virus in
patients, the aim being the inhibition of viral spread. However, it became evident
that even though laboratory viral isolates were easily neutralized by sCD4, neutralization of primary patient-derived isolates was not achieved.
In contrast, sCD4 was able to induce conformational changes within the viral envelope that promoted the infection of target cells.
CD4 attaches to the T cell receptor complex (TCR) on CD4 T cells and binds to
HLA class II molecules on antigen-presenting cells. The binding of gp120 to CD4
is not only a crucial step for viral entry, but also interferes with intracellular signal
transduction pathways and promotes apoptosis in CD4 T cells (Banda 1992). In the
past couple of years, the idea of blocking CD4 as the primary cellular receptor of
HIV has regained an interest. PRO542 represents a genetically engineered tetravalent CD4-IgG2 fusion protein that not only inhibits viral replication in vitro, but
50 The Basics
also shows an impressive antiviral efficacy in patients with high viral load that were
in the initial clinical trials (see the chapter on ART).
CD4, as a primary and necessary receptor for HIV-1, HIV-2 and SIV, was already
characterized in 1984 (Dalgleish 1984). However, experiments using non-human
cell lines transfected with human CD4, showed that expression of human CD4 on
the cell surface of a non-human cell line was not sufficient to allow entry of HIV.
Therefore the existence of additional human co-receptors necessary for viral entry
was postulated. On the other hand, some laboratory HIV-1 isolates, as well as some
HIV-2 and SIV isolates are able to infect human cells independently from CD4.
Interestingly, monoclonal antibodies against CD4-induced conformational (CD4i)
epitopes to bind to the gp120 of CD4-independent viruses. This observation suggests that the gp120 of CD4-independent viruses already exposes the regions that
are necessary for co-receptor recognition and binding and therefore binding to CD4
is not a prerequisite of entry for these viruses. CD4-independent viruses are easy to
neutralize using the serum of HIV-infected patients, suggesting that the immune
response selects against CD4-independent viruses (Edwards 2001).
Chemokine receptors as co-receptors for HIV entry
A milestone for the characterization of the early events leading to HIV-1 entry was
an observation by Cocchi and co-workers in 1995. CD8 T cells from HIV-infected
patients are able to suppress viral replication in co-cultures with HIV-infected
autologous or allogenic CD4 T cells, and this is independent from their cytotoxic
activity (Levy 1996). Cocchi identified the chemokines MIP-1, MIP-1 and
Rantes in supernatants from CD8 T cells derived from HIV-infected patients, and
was able to show that these chemokines were able to suppress replication in a dosedependent manner of some, but not all, viral isolates tested (Cocchi 1995). MIP-1,
MIP-1 and Rantes are ligands for the chemokine receptor CCR5, and a few
months later several groups were able to show that CCR5 is a necessary co-receptor
for monocytotropic (M-tropic) HIV-1 isolates (Deng 1996, Doranz 1996, Dragic
1998). A few weeks earlier, the chemokine receptor CXCR4 (fusin) was described
as being the co-receptor used by T cell-tropic (T-tropic) HIV isolates (Feng 1996).
Monocytotropic (M-tropic) HIV-1 isolates are classically those viruses that are
most easily propagated in macrophage cultures, are unable to infect T cell lines
(i.e., immortalized T cells), but are able to easily infect primary T cells from peripheral blood samples. Conversely, T cell-tropic HIV-1 isolates have classically
been identified as being those that are easily propagated in T cell lines, and grow
poorly in macrophages, but are also able to easily infect primary T cells from peripheral blood samples. It should be noted that both M-tropic and T-tropic HIV-1
variants can easily infect primary human non-immortalized T cells in vitro.
Chemokines (Chemotactic cytokines) and their receptors have been previously
characterized with regard to their role in promoting the migration (chemotaxis) of
leukocytes and their pro-inflammatory activity. They are proteins of 68-120 amino
acids which depend on the structure of their common cysteine motif, and may be
subdivided into C-X-C (-chemokines), C-C (-chemokines) and C-chemokines.
Chemokines typically show a high degree of structural homology to each other and
may share the receptors they bind to. Chemokine receptors belong to the group of
receptors with seven transmembranic regions (7-transmembrane receptors) and are
intracellularly linked to G-proteins.
51
SDF-1 (stromal cell-derived factor 1) was identified as the natural ligand of CXCR4
and is able to inhibit the entry of T-tropic HIV-1 isolates into activated CD4 T cells.
Rantes (regulated upon activation T cell expressed and secreted), MIP1 (macrophage inhibitory protein) and MIP-1 represent the natural ligands of
CCR5 and are able to inhibit the entry of M-tropic HIV-1 isolates into T cells. A
schematic model is depicted in Fig. 4. T-tropic HIV-1 isolates mainly infect activated peripheral blood CD4 T cells and cell lines and use CXCR4 for entry into the
CD4-positive target cell. M-tropic isolates are able to infect CD4 T cells, monocytes and macrophages, and depend on the use of CCR5 and CD4 for viral entry.
The interaction of gp120 and the cellular receptors is now understood in more detail. Gp120 primarily binds to certain epitopes of CD4. Binding to CD4 induces
conformational changes in the gp120 that promote a more efficient interaction of
the V3 loop of gp120 with its respective co-receptor. Membrane fusion is dependent on gp120 co-receptor binding. Gp41, as the transmembrane part of the envelope
glycoprotein gp160, is crucial for the fusion of the viral and host cell membrane.
Similar to influenza hemagglutinin, it was postulated that consequent to the binding
of gp120 to CD4, a conformational change is induced in gp41 that allows gp41 to
insert its hydrophobic NH2 terminal into the target cell membrane. Gp41 has been
compared to a mouse trap and a crystallographic analysis of the ectodomanic structure of gp41 seems to confirm that (Chan 1997). The identification of crucial amino
acid sequences for this process was used to synthesize peptides that bind to gp41
within the domains, are critical for the induction of conformational changes, and
that may inhibit membrane fusion.
T-20 is the first of several peptides that bind to gp41 and has been tested in clinical
trials for suppressing viral replication (see chapter on ART). T-20 is available as a
therapeutic option for patients with advanced HIV. One disadvantage of T-20 is that
it must be taken subcutaneously twice a day.
Using transfected cell lines, besides CCR5 and CXCR4, other chemokine receptors,
such as CCR3, CCR2, CCR8, CCR9, STRL33 (Bonzo), Gpr 15 (Bob), Gpr 1,
APJ and ChemR23, were identified and shown to be used for entry by certain HIV
isolates (Deng 1997, Liao 1997). HIV-1 may alos bind to certain integrins such as
47 and perturb cell function and migration (Arthos 2008). APJ may represent a
relevant co-receptor within the central nervous system. Despite this broad spectrum
of potentially available co-receptors, CCR5 and CXCR4 seem to represent the most
relevant co-receptors for HIV-1 in vivo.
52 The Basics
Figure 4: Inhibition of viral entry of CCR5-utilizing (monocytotropic) and CXCR4-utilizing (T cell

tropic) HIV isolates by the natural ligands of the chemokine co-receptors CCR5 and CXCR4.
The importance of CCR5 as the predominant co-receptor for M-tropic HIV isolates
is underscored by another observation. The majority of individuals with a genetic
defect of CCR5 are resistant to infection with HIV-1 (Liu 1996). In vitro experiments show that lymphocytes derived from these individuals are resistant to HIV-1
infection using M-tropic isolates but not to infection with T-tropic isolates. Lymphocytes from these individuals do not express CCR5 on their cell surface and genetically have a 32-basepair deletion of the CCR5 gene. Worldwide, a few patients
have been identified that have acquired HIV-1 infection despite a homozygous deletion of the CCR5. As expected, all of them were infected with CXCR4-using
HIV-1 isolates. In epidemiological studies, the allelic frequency of the CCR5 gene
deletion is 10-20% among Caucasians, particularly amongst those of Northern
European descent. The frequency of a homozygous individual is about 1% in Caucasians (Dean 1996). Studies conducted on African or Asian populations, however,
do not find this 32-basepair deletion, suggesting that this mutation arose after the
separation of these populations in evolutionary history.
Individuals that are heterozygous for the 32-bp deletion of the CCR5 show a decreased expression of CCR5 on the cell surface and are more frequently encountered within cohorts of long-term non-progressors compared to patients who have a
rapid progression of disease (Dean 1996). In addition, HIV-infected individuals
who are heterozygous for the 32-bp deletion, have a slower progression to AIDS, a
better treatment response to ART and lymphoma incidence is decreased. These data
demonstrate that the density of CCR5 on the cell surface is not only a limiting factor for replication of HIV in vitro but in vivo as well.
In addition to the 32-bp deletion, other genetic polymorphisms with regard to
chemokine receptors (CCR2) or their promoters (CCR5) have been described.
Based on the occurrence of these polymorphisms within defined patient cohorts,
they are associated with a more rapid or a more favorable course of disease, depending on the particular polymorphism (Anzala 1998, Winkler 1998). More recent
53
studies shed light on the impact CCL3L1-CCR5 genotypes have not only on disease
progression but also on response to antiretroviral therapy (Ahuja 2008). The
mechanism appears to be independent of viral entry mechanisms but rather related
to the quality of the cell-medited immune response (Dolan 2007).
In patients who have a rapid progression of disease (rapid drop in CD4 T cell
count), virus isolates that use CXCR4 as a predominant co-receptor tend to be frequently isolated from their cells in comparison to patients with a stable CD4 T cell
count. The expression of co-receptors on CD4 lymphocytes depends on their activation level.
CXCR4 is mainly expressed on naive T cells, whereas CCR5 is present on activated
and effector/memory T cells. During the early course of HIV-1 infection, predominantly M-tropic HIV-1 isolates are detected. Interestingly, M-tropic HIV-1 isolates
are preferentially transmitted regardless of whether or not the source predominantly
harbors T-tropic isolates. At present, it remains unclear whether this in vivo preference of M-tropic HIV-1 isolates is determined by selected transportation of Mtropic isolates by sub-mucosally located dendritic cells or whether the local cytokine/chemokine milieu favors the replication of M-tropic viruses. Intriguing studies
suggest that M-tropic HIV-1 viruses are able to hide more easily from the immune
system by replicating in macrophages, in comparison to T-tropic viruses, thus giving them a survival advantage in the infected individual.
The blockade of CCR5, therefore, seems to represent a promising target for therapeutic intervention (Fig. 5). In vitro, monoclonal antibodies to CCR5 (2D7 and others) are able to block the entry of CCR5-using HIV isolates into CD4 T cells and
macrophages. Small molecule inhibitors of CCR5 have been designed and preliminary clinical trials (see chapter on ART) demonstrate a significant reduction of
plasma viremia in HIV-infected patients (Ftkenheuer 2005). In vitro studies as
well as experiments using SCID mice do suggest that blockade of CCR5-using isolates may alter their tropism towards increased usage of CXCR4 (De Clercq 2001).
Small molecule inhibitors such as T-22, ALX40-4C or AMD3100 are able to inhibit
CXCR4 and are also subject to preclinical and clinical trials (see chapter on ART).
Other CCR5 inhibitors have been used as mucosal microbicides in monkey models
and could represent a future preventive approach (Veazey 2005).
Strategies are currently being developed to modulate expression of chemokine receptors. Intrakines are chemokines that stay within the cytoplasm and are able to
capture and bind to their corresponding receptor on its way to the cell surface (Chen
1997). Short interfering RNA (siRNA) represents a new molecular tool that is able
to selectively inactivate target genes. Double-stranded RNA is split by the enzyme
dicer-1 into short pieces (21-23-mers). These oligomers may complementarily bind
to longer RNA sequences that are subsequently degraded. This strategy is currently
employed in plants and used for its antiviral activity. The use of siRNA against
CCR5 can prevent the expression of CCR5 in vitro and targeting of gag can effectively block viral replication (Song 2005).
54 The Basics
Figure 5: Strategies to block infection by CCR5-tropic HIV. Blockage of CCR5 on the cell surface by non-agonistic ligands (A) or monoclonal antibodies (B). Alternatively, CCR5 cell surface
expression can be reduced by siRNA or intrakine. For further details see text.
Although the therapeutic use of chemokine receptor blockers seems promising, a lot
of questions still remain unanswered. In knockout mice it was demonstrated that the
absence of CXCR4 or SDF-1 is associated with severe defects in hematopoiesis and
in cerebellar development (Zou 1997). Currently, it remains unclear whether the
blockade of CXCR4 in postnatal or adult individuals may affect other organ systems.
2.2. Post-fusion events

Following membrane fusion the viral core uncoats into the cytoplasm of the target
cell. These early events have recently been studied in more detail. HIV can enter
into rhesus lymphocytes but replication is stopped before or during early reverse
transcription. This intracellular blockade is mediated by a cellular factor, TRIM5,
a component of cytoplasmic bodies whose primary function is not yet understood.
TRIM5 from various species exhibits differential inhibition on various retroviruses. For example, TRIM5 from rhesus macaques, TRIM5 rh, more profoundly
inhibits HIV replication than human TRIM5, whereas SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus) which naturally infects Old World monkeys, is less susceptible to either form of TRIM5, thus explaining in part the species specificity of HIV for
human cells (Stremlau 2004). TRIM5 from human cells or non-human primates is
able to inhibit replication of other lentiviruses and represents a novel cellular resistance factor whose definitive biological significance has yet to be fully characterized. It is unclear how exactly TRIM5 blocks reverse transcription and it has been
hypothesized that TRIM5 interferes with the incoming virus capsid protein, targeting it for ubiquitination and proteolytic degradation.
HIV-1 entry into quiescent T cells is comparable to HIV-1 entry into activated T
cells, but synthesis of HIV-1 DNA remains incomplete in quiescent cells (Zack
1990). The conversion of viral RNA into proviral DNA, mediated by the viral enzyme reverse transcriptase (RT), occurs in the cytoplasm of the target cell and is a
crucial step within the viral replication cycle (Fig. 6). Blockade of the RT by the
55
nucleoside inhibitor zidovudine was the first attempt to inhibit viral replication in
HIV-1 infected patients. Today, numerous nucleoside, nucleotide and nonnucleoside RT inhibitors are available for clinical use and have broadened the
therapeutic arsenal substantially since the mid-eighties.
Figure 6: Life cycle of HIV.
Reverse transcription occurs in multiple steps. After binding of the tRNA primers,
synthesis of proviral DNA occurs as a minus-strand polymerization starting at the
PBS (primer binding site) and extending to the 5 repeat region as a short R/U5
DNA. The next step includes degradation of RNA above the PBS by the viral enzyme RNAase H and a template switch of the R/U5 DNA with hybridization of the
R sequence at the 3 RNA end. Now the full length polymerization of proviral DNA
with degradation of the tRNA is completed. Reverse transcription results in doublestranded HIV DNA with LTR regions (long terminal repeats) at each end.
HIV-1 enters into quiescent T cells and reverse transcription may result in the accumulation of proviral, non-integrating HIV DNA. However, cellular activation is
necessary for integration of the proviral HIV DNA into the host cell genome after
transportation of the pre-integration complex into the nucleus. Cellular activation
may occur in vitro after stimulation with antigens or mitogens. In vivo, activation of
the immune system is observed after antigen contact or vaccination or during an
opportunistic infection. In addition, evidence is emerging that HIV-1 gp120 itself
may activate the infecting cell to enhance integration. Besides monocytes, macrophages and microglial cells, latently infected quiescent CD4 T cells that contain
non-integrated proviral HIV DNA represent important long-lived cellular reservoirs
of HIV (Chun 1997), and cellular microRNAs contribute to HIV-1 latency in resting primary CD4 T lymphocytes (Huang 2007). Since natural HIV-1 infection is
characterized by continuing cycles of viral replication in activated CD4 T cells,
viral latency in these resting CD4 T cells likely represents an accidental phenomenon and is not likely to be important in the pathogenesis of HIV. This small reservoir of latent provirus in quiescent CD4 T cells gains importance, however, in individuals who are treated with ART, since the antivirals are unable to affect nonreplicating proviruses - the virus will persist in those cells and be replication-
56 The Basics
competent to start new rounds of infection if the drugs are stopped. It is the existence of this latent reservoir that has prevented ART from entirely eradicating the
virus from infected individuals (Chun 2005).
Until recently it was not clear why HIV replicates poorly in quiescent CD4 T cells.
The cellular protein Murr1 that plays a role in copper metabolism is able to inhibit
HIV replication in unstimulated CD4 T cells. Murr1 was detected in primary resting
CD4 T cells and interferes with activation of the transcription factor NFB by inhibiting the degradation of IB. IB prevents NFB from migrating to the nucleus,
especially after cytokine stimulation (e.g., TNF). Because the HIV LTR region has
multiple sites for NFB, preventing NFB migration to the nucleus should inhibit
HIV replication. Inhibition of Murr-1 by siRNA is associated with HIV replication in
quiescent CD4 T cells (Ganesh 2003). Persistence of HIV in quiescent CD4 T cells
and other cellular reservoirs seems one of the main reasons why eradication of HIV is
not feasible. If it is ever possible to achieve, a more detailed knowledge of how and
when cellular reservoirs of HIV are established and how they may be targeted is of
crucial importance for the development of strategies aiming at HIV eradication.
Cellular transcription factors such as NF-kB may also bind to the LTR regions. After stimulation with mitogens or cytokines NF-kB is translocated into the nucleus
where it binds to the HIV LTR region, thereby initiating transcription of HIV genes.
Transcription initially results in the early synthesis of regulatory HIV-1 proteins
such as tat or rev. Tat binds to theTAR site (transactivation response element) at the
beginning of the HIV-1 RNA in the nucleus and stimulates transcription and the
formation of longer RNA transcripts. Rev activates the expression of structural and
enzymatic genes and inhibits the production of regulatory proteins, therefore promoting the formation of mature viral particles. The proteins coded for by pol and
gag form the nucleus of the maturing HIV particle, while the gene products coded
for by env form the gp120 spikes of the viral envelope. The gp120 spikes are synthesized as large gp160 precursor molecules and are cleaved by the HIV-1 protease
into gp120 and gp41. The gag proteins are also derived from a large 53 kD precursor molecule, from which the HIV protease cleaves the p24, p17, p9 and p7 gag
proteins. Cleavage of the precursor molecules by the HIV-1 protease is necessary
for the generation of infectious viral particles, and therefore the viral protease
represents another interesting target for therapeutic blockade. The formation of new
viral particles is a stepwise process: a new virus core is formed by HIV-1 RNA, gag
proteins and various pol enzymes and moves towards the cell surface. The large
precursor molecules are cleaved by the HIV-1 protease, which results in the infectious viral particles budding through the host cell membrane. During the budding
process, the virus lipid membranes may incorporate various host cell proteins and
become enriched with certain phospholipids and cholesterol. In contrast to T cells,
where budding occurs at the cell surface and virions are released into the extracellular space, the budding process in monocytes and macrophages results in the accumulation of virions within cellular vacuoles.
The replication of retroviruses is prone to error and is characterized by a high spontaneous mutation rate. On average, reverse transcription results in 1-10 errors per genome and per round of replication. Mutations can lead to the formation of replicationincompetent viral species. Mutations that cause drug resistance may also accumulate,
which, provided that there is selective pressure due to specific antiretroviral drugs and
incomplete suppression of viral replication, may become dominant.
57
In addition, viral replication is dynamic and turns over quickly at an average rate of
109 new virus particles produced and subsequently cleared per day. Thus, within
any individual, because of the extensive viral replication and mutation rates, there
exists an accumulation of many closely-related virus variants within the population
of viruses, referred to as a viral quasispecies. Selection pressure happens not only
due to certain drugs, but also due to components of the immune system such as neutralizing antibodies or cytotoxic T cells (CTL).
3. HIV and the immune system

3.1. The role of antigen-presenting cells
Dendritic cells as prototypes of antigen-presenting cells
Dendritic cells, macrophages and B cells represent the main antigen-presenting
cells of the immune system. Dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent inducers of
specific immune responses and are considered essential for the initiation of primary
antigen-specific immune reactions. DC precursors migrate from the bone marrow
towards the primary lymphatic organs and into the submucosal tissue of the gut, the
genitourinary system and the respiratory tract. They are able to pick up and process
soluble antigens and migrate to the secondary lymphatic organs, where they activate
antigen-specific T cells. Because DC have a crucial role in adaptive immunity, there
is an increasing interest in using dendritic cells to induce or expand HIV-specific T
cells. DC from HIV-infected patients have been purified, incubated with inactivated
non-infectious HIV particles and subsequently used for vaccination (Lu 2004).
DC represent a heterogeneous family of cells with different functional capacities
and expression of phenotypic markers depending on the local microenvironment
and the stage of maturation. Immature DC have the capacity to pick up and process
foreign antigens, but do not have great T cell stimulatory capacities. Mature DC
show a predominant immunostimulatory ability. DC in tissues and Langerhans
cells, which are specialized DC in the skin and mucosal areas, represent a more
immature phenotype and may take up antigen. Once these DC have taken up the
antigen, they migrate to the lymphoid tissues where they develop a mature phenotype. Viruses may induce plasmacytoid DC to produce substantial amounts of IFN
alpha with antiviral activity by stimulating toll-like receptors (TLR) thereby linking
the innate to the adaptive immune system and potentially contributing to the pathogenesis of HIV disease (Mandl 2008).
The stimulation of CD8 T lymphocytes and the formation of antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTL) depend on the presentation of a peptide together with MHC
class I antigens. DC may become infected with viruses, for instance influenza. Viral
proteins are then produced within the cytoplasm of the cell, similar to cellular proteins, then degraded to viral peptides and translocated from the cytosol into the endoplasmic reticulum, where they are bound to MHC class I antigens. These peptideMHC class I complexes migrate to the DC surface. Alternatively, DC take up antigens for infected cells for presentation via MHC class I (Maranon 2004). Interestingly, the efficacy of this presentation of viral antigens is comparable whether or
not DC themselves are productively infected.
58 The Basics
The number of specific antigen-MHC class I complexes is usually limited and must
eventually be recognized by rare T cell clones to a ratio of 1:100,000 or less. The T
cell receptor (TCR) may display only a low binding affinity (1 mM or less). The
high density of co-stimulatory molecules on the DC surface, however, enhances the
TCR-MHC: peptide interaction allows efficient signaling to occur through the T
cell and results in proliferation (clonal expansion) of the T cell. Virus-infected cells
or tumor cells often do not express co-stimulatory molecules, and thus may not be
able to induce a clonal expansion of effector cells. This underscores the importance
of having a highly specialized system of antigen-presenting cells, i.e., DC, to prime
T cells to expand and proliferate rapidly.
The interaction of dendritic cells and B/T cells
B and T lymphocytes may be regarded as the principle effector cells of antigenspecific immune responses. However, their function is under the control of dendritic cells. DC are able to pick up antigens in the periphery. These antigens are
processed and expressed on the cell surface together with co-stimulatory molecules
that initiate T cell activation. B cells may recognize antigen after binding to the B
cell receptor. Recognition of antigen by T cells requires previous processing and
presentation of antigenic peptides by DC. T cells express different T cell receptors
(TCR) that may bind to the peptide: MHC class I on the surface of dendritic cells to
allow activation of CD8 T cells, or to the peptide: MHC class II molecules, to activate CD4 T cells. The ability of DC to activate T cells also depends on the secretion
of stimulatory cytokines such as IL-12, which is a key cytokine for the generation
and activation of TH1 and natural killer (NK) cells.
Only a few DC and small amounts of antigen are sufficient to induce a potent antigen-specific T cell response, thus demonstrating the immunostimulatory potency of
DC. The expression of adhesion molecules and lectins, such as DC-SIGN, support
the aggregation of DC and T cells and promote the engagement of the T cell receptor (TCR). DC-SIGN is a type C lectin that has also been shown to bind to lentiviruses such as SIV and HIV-1 and -2 by interaction of gp120 with carbohydrates
(Geijtenbeek 2000). Mycobacteria and Dengue virus may also bind to DC-SIGN. In
vivo, immunohistochemical studies show expression of DC-SIGN on submucosal
and intradermal DC, suggesting an implication of DC-SIGN in vertical and mucosal
transmission of HIV. The expression of DC-SIGN was shown to enhance the
transmission of HIV to T cells and allows utilization of co-receptors if their expression is limited. Thus DC-SIGN may be a mechanism whereby HIV-1 is taken up by
DC in the mucosal tissues. It is then transported by the DC to the lymphoid tissues
where HIV-1 can then infect all the residing CD4 T cells (Lore 2005).
3.2. Lymphatic tissue as the site of viral replication

Viral replication within the lymphatic tissue is extensive in the early stages of the
disease (Embretson 2003, Pantaleo 1993).
During the initial phase of HIV-1 infection, there is a burst of virus into the plasma,
followed by a relative decline in viremia. During this time, a strong HIV-1 specific
cytotoxic T cell response is generated, which coincides with the early suppression
of plasma viremia in most patients. Virions are trapped by the follicular dendritic
cell (FDC) network within the lymphoid tissue. Macrophages and activated and
quiescent CD4 T cells are the main targets of infection. Permanent viral reservoirs,
59
mainly in macrophages and latently infected CD4 T cells are established in the
early phase of infection and probably represent the major obstacle so far to successful eradication of HIV. During the whole course of infection with HIV-1, the lymphoid tissue represents the principle site of HIV-1 replication. The frequency of
cells containing proviral DNA is 5-10 times higher in lymphoid tissue than in circulating peripheral mononuclear cells in the blood, and the difference in viral replication in lymphoid tissue exceeds that in the peripheral blood by about 10-100 times.
After entry of HIV-1 into a quiescent CD4 T cell and after completion of reverse
transcription, the viral genome is represented by proviral unintegrated HIV DNA.
In vitro experiments have shown that HIV-1 preferentially integrates into active
genes (hot spots) (Schroder 2002). The activation of CD4 T cells is necessary for
the integration of the HIV DNA into the host cell genome and is therefore a prerequisite for the synthesis of new virions. In this regard, the micromilieu of the lymphoid tissue represents the optimal environment for viral replication. The close cellcell contact between CD4 T cells and antigen-presenting cells, the presence of infectious virions on the surface of the FDC, and an abundant production of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6 or TNF, promotes the induction of viral replication in infected cells and augments viral replication in cells already producing the virus. It should be noted that both IL-1 and TNF induce NF-, which
binds to the HIV-1 LTR to promote proviral transcription. The importance of an
antigen-induced activation of CD4 T cells is underlined by several in vivo and in
vitro studies that demonstrate an increase in HIV-1 replication in association with
tetanus or influenza vaccination or an infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis
(OBrian 1995). Even though the clinical benefit of vaccination against common
pathogens (e.g., influenza and tetanus) in HIV-1-infected patients outweighs the
potential risk of a temporary increase in viral load, these studies indicate that in
every situation where the immune system is activated, enhanced viral replication
can also occur.
Patients on ART demonstrate a dramatic decrease in the number of productively
infected CD4 T cells within the lymphoid tissue (Tenner-Racz 1998). However, in
all patients so far, there persists a pool of latently infected quiescent T cells despite
successful suppression of plasma viremia. It is these latently infected cells that may
give rise to further rounds of viral replication if the antiviral drugs are stopped.
During the natural course of HIV-1 disease, the number of CD4 T cells slowly decreases while plasma viremia rises in most patients. If sequential analysis of the
lymphoid tissue is performed, progression of the disease is reflected by destruction
of the lymphoid tissue architecture and a decreased viral trapping. Various immunohistological studies indicate that the paracortex of the lymph nodes represents the
primary site where HIV replication is initiated (Embretson 1993, Pantaleo 1993).
Infection of the surrounding CD4 T cells, as well as the initiation of T cell activation by DC, contributes to the spreading of HIV-1 within the lymphoid environment. Similar to SIV infection in rhesus macaques, HIV infection at all stages of
disease is associated with preferential replication and CD4 T cell destruction in the
gut lamina propria and submucosa rather than in lymph nodes (Veazey 1998,
Brenchley 2004). This is likely because the gut is predominantly populated by
CCR5-expressing effector memory CD4 T cells, which are ideal targets for HIV
replication compared to the mixed populations of CD4 T cells found in the lymph
nodes. In addition, HIV-1 nef appears to have lost a function which can be found in
SIV, where it leads to a down-regulation of CD3 and the T cell receptor, reducing
60 The Basics
chronic cell activation which would otherwise render them susceptible for apotosis
(Schindler 2006). Several studies have demonstrated that, during acute infection,
depletion of CD4+CCR5+ memory cells within the mucosa-associated lymphatic
tissue is a hallmark of both HIV and SIV infection. In the early phase of SIV infection, up to 60% of all CD4 T cells within the intestinal lamina propria were shown
to express viral RNA. Most of these cells are destroyed by direct and indirect
mechanisms within a few days. Further disease progression seems to depend largely
on the capacity of the host to reconstitute the pool of memory cells within the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue. In view of this data, some researchers argue that
initiation of ART during acute HIV infection is crucial in order to limit long-term
damage to the immune system.
Recent studies have also examined the effect of HIV infection on the thymus and its
role in CD4 T cell depletion and homeostasis. Recent work has suggested that
thymic output of CD4 T cells is decreased during HIV infection, particularly with
older patients, and that this defect is due to abnormalities of intra-thymic proliferation of T cells, whose mechanism is still undefined, as thymocytes do not express
CCR5 and should not necessarily be targets of HIV (Douek 2001).
3.3. The HLA system and the immune response to HIV

CD8 T cells recognize specific antigens (peptides) in context with HLA class I
molecules on antigen-presenting cells, whereas CD4 T cells require the presentation
of antigenic peptides in context with HLA class II molecules. The generation of an
HIV-specific immune response is therefore dependent on the individual HLA pattern.
Antigen-presenting cells may bind HIV peptides in different ways on the HLA class
I molecules. Therefore, CD8 T cells can be activated in an optimal or suboptimal
way or may not be activated at all. Using large cohorts of HIV-1 infected patients,
in whom the natural course of disease (fast versus slow progression) is known,
HLA patterns were identified that were associated with a slow versus fast disease
progression. These studies suggest that the HLA type may be responsible for a benign course of disease in about 40% of patients with a long-term non-progressive
course of disease. Homozygosity for HLA Bw4 is regarded as being protective.
Patients who display heterozygosity at the HLA class I loci characteristically show
a slower progression of immunodeficiency than patients with homozygosity at these
loci (Carrington 1999). An initial study by Kaslow in 1996 demonstrated that HLA
B14, B27, B51, B57 and C8 are associated with a slow disease progression, while
the presence of HLA A23, B37 and B49 were associated with a rapid development
of immunodeficiency (Kaslow 1996). All patients with HLA B35 had developed
symptoms of AIDS after 8 years of infection. More recent studies suggest that discordant couples with a mismatch regarding the HLA class I have a protective
effect towards heterosexual transmission (Lockett 2001).
In vitro studies in HLA B57-positive patients demonstrate that these patients display HLA B57-restricted CTL directed against HIV-1 peptides. However, it is possible that the identification of protective HLA alleles or HLA-restricted peptides in
HIV-1-infected patients with a benign course of disease does not necessarily indicate that the same alleles or peptides are crucial for the design of a protective vaccine. CD8 T cells from HIV-1-exposed but uninfected African women recognize
different epitopes than CD8 T cells from HIV-1-infected African women (Kaul
61
2001). This suggests that the epitopes that the immune system is directed against
during a natural infection might be different from those that are protective against
infection. In addition, the individual HLA pattern may affect the adaptive immune
response and the evolution of viral escape mutations (Friedrich 2004, Leslie 2004).
CTL from patients with HLA B57 and B58 may force the virus to develop certain
mutations in gag that enable the virus to escape the CTL response, but these mutations result in a reduced replicative competence and thus lower viral load (Goepfert
2008). If such a virus is transmitted to another individual with a different HLA
background, the virus may back-mutate to the original genotype and regain its full
replicative competence because of the absence of CTL-mediated immune pressure.
HLA class II antigens are crucial for the development of an HIV-1-specific CD4 T
cell response. Rosenberg (1997) was the first to show that HIV-1-infected patients
with a long-term non-progressive course of disease had HIV-1-specific CD4 T cells
that could proliferate against HIV-1 antigens. The identification of protective or
unfavorable HLA class II alleles is less well elaborated than the knowledge about
protective HLA class I alleles. Cohorts of vertically infected children and HIVinfected adults demonstrate a protective effect of HLA DR13 (Keet 1999).
KIR receptors (Killer cell immunoglobulin like receptors) represent ligands that
bind to HLA class I antigens and by functioning as either activating or inhibiting
receptors they regulate the activation status of NK cells. Polymorphisms of KIR
genes were shown to correlate with slow or rapid progression of HIV disease, especially when the analysis includes known HLA class I polymorphisms (Fauci 2005).
During HIV infection NK cells may not only be decreased but may also show a
diminished cytolytic activity. Preliminary results suggest that low numbers of NK
cells are associated with a more rapid disease progression .
In summary, various genetic polymorphisms have been identified that have an impact on the course of HIV disease. However, there is currently no rationale to recommend routine testing of individual patients or to base therapeutic decisions on
genetic testing.
3.4. The HIV-specific cellular immune response

Cytotoxic T cells (CTL) are able to recognize and eliminate virus-infected cells. A
number of studies clearly demonstrate that CTL are crucial for the control of HIV
replication and have a substantial impact on disease progression once infection is
established. However, there is little evidence to assume that CTL play a major role
in primary protection.
In comparison to HIV-1-infected patients with a rapid decline in CD4 T cell numbers, patients with a long-term non-progressive course of disease (LTNP = longterm non-progressors) have high quantities of HIV-1-specific CTL precursors with
a broad specificity towards various HIV-1 proteins. The different capacities of certain HLA alleles to present viral particles more or less efficiently and to induce a
generally potent immune response may explain why certain HLA alleles are associated with a more rapid or a slower progressive course of disease (see above).
Individuals have been described, who developed CTL escape mutants after years of
stable disease and the presence of a strong CTL response. The evolution of CTL
escape mutants was associated with a rapid decline in CD4 T cells in these patients,
indicating the protective role of CTL (Goulder 1997).
62 The Basics
HIV-specific CTL responses have been detected in individuals exposed to, but not
infected by HIV-1. Nef-specific CTL have been identified in HIV-1-negative heterosexual partners of HIV-infected patients and env-specific CTL have been found
in seronegative healthcare workers after exposure to HIV-1 by needle stick injuries
(Pinto 1995). Unfortunately, patients with a broad and strong CTL response do not
seem to be protected from superinfection by a different but closely related HIV isolate (Altfeld 2002).
The presence of a CTL response is not correlated just with the suppression of
plasma viremia during the initial phase of HIV infection. Patients who underwent
structured therapy interruptions, especially when ART was initiated early following
infection, demonstrated the appearance of HIV-specific CTL during the pauses.
However, it is still unclear in most patients who exhibit a potent temporary CTL
response why this CTL response diminishes later on (Pantaleo 2004). The appearance of viral escape mutants might explain why previously recognized epitopes are
no longer immunodominant.
The nef protein may downregulate HLA class I antigens and therefore counteract
the recognition of infected cells by CTL. In addition, the majority of infected individuals show detectable CTL responses. It is unclear why they are unable to control
the virus. Interestingly, CTL from HIV-infected patients shows a lack of perforin
and an immature phenotype in comparison to anti-CMV-directed effector cells (Harari 2002) even though the ability to secrete chemokines and cytokines is not impaired (Appay 2000). Another recent study provided evidence that the killing capacity of HIV-specific CTL was associated with the ability to simultaneously produce interferon- and TNF (Lichtenfeld 2004). Surface molecules such as PD-1 on
CTL, which are transiently upregulated upon cell activation, may persist due to prolonged antigen presence. Persistent PD-1 expression, however, can result in CTL
dysfunction and this effect can be restored by blockade of PD-1 and PD-1L interaction on DC by administration of anti-PD-1 antibodies. This restores CTL functions
such as cytokine production and killing capacity (Trautmann 2006, Velu 2009).
CD8 T cells may also become infected with HIV (Bevan 2004) although this has
not been demonstrated for HIV-specific CD8 T cells. It is unclear whether CD8 T
cells temporarily express CD4 and which chemokine co-receptors mediate infection
of these CD8 T cells.
Proliferation and activation of CTL is dependent on antigen-specific T cell help.
Initiation of ART during primary HIV infection was associated with persistence of
an HIV-specific CD4 T cell response that was not detected in patients analyzed
during the chronic stage of disease (Rosenberg 1997). HIV-specific CD4 T cells are
mainly directed against gag and nef-derived epitopes (Kaufmann 2004). HIV preferentially infects pre-activated CD4 T cells and as HIV-specific CD4 T cells are
among the first cells to be activated during HIV infection, their preferential infection has been demonstrated (Douek 2002). Therefore, it is currently unclear whether
the loss of HIV-specific CTL activity during the course of disease reflects an instrinsic defect of CTL or develops secondary to a loss of specific CD4 T cell help.
Various therapeutic vaccine strategies have been developed during the last few
years and mostly tested in SIV-infected rhesus macaques aiming at inducing an
SIV-specific CTL response that may alter the natural course of disease. Recently, a
promising approach was published on a vaccine trial using autologous dendritic
cells in SIV-infected rhesus macaques that were pulsed with inactivated SIV (Lu
63
2003). In contrast to the unvaccinated control group, monkeys that were vaccinated
showed a dramatic decrease in viral load, and the development of anti-SIV-directed
humoral and cellular immune responses. Meanwhile, a pilot trial has been initiated
in a cohort of 18 HIV-infected antiretroviral-naive patients with stable viral load.
The patients were vaccinated with autologous monocyte-derived dendritic cells that
were pulsed with inactivated autologous virus. During the following 112 days, a
median decrease of 80% of the viral load was observed and maintained for more
than one year in 8 patients. In parallel, gag-specific CD8 T cells and HIV-specific
CD4 T cells producing IFN and/or interleukin-2 were detected (Lu 2004). Therapeutic vaccination using autologous dendritic cells appears to be a potential immunotherapeutic, but more controlled clinical studies are definitely needed.
In addition to the cytotoxic activities directed against HIV-infected cells, CD8 T
cells from HIV-1 infected patients exhibit a remarkable, soluble HIV-1 inhibitory
activity that inhibits HIV-1 replication in autologous and allogeneic cell cultures
(Walker 1986). Despite multiple efforts, the identity of this inhibitory activity
(CAF) has not been clarified, although chemokines such as MIP-1, MIP-1 or
Rantes (Cocchi 1995), IL-16 (Baier 1995), the chemokine MDC (Pal 1997) and
defensins may account for at least some of the inhibition.
3.5. The TH1/TH2 immune response

Depending on the secretion pattern of cytokines, CD4 T cells may be differentiated
into TH1 and TH2 cells. TH1 CD4 T cells primarily produce interleukin-2 (IL-2) and
IFN, which represent the cytokines that support the effector functions of the immune system (CTL, NK-cells, macrophages). TH2 cells predominantly produce IL4, IL-10, IL-5 and IL-6, which represent the cytokines that favor the development
of a humoral immune response. Since TH1 cytokines are critical for the generation
of CTLs, an HIV-1-specific TH1 response is regarded as being a protective immune
response. Studies on HIV-exposed but non-infected individuals have shown that
following in vitro stimulation with HIV-1 env antigens (gp120/gp160) and peptides,
T cells from these individuals secrete IL-2 in contrast to non-exposed controls
(Clerici 1991). Similar studies were undertaken in healthcare workers after needlestick injuries and in newborns from HIV-infected mothers. Although these observations may indicate that a TH1-type immune response is potentially protective, it
should be considered that similar immune responses might have been generated
after contact with non-infectious viral particles and therefore do not necessarily
imply a means of protection against a replication-competent virus.
3.6. HIV-1 specific humoral immune responses

The association between an HIV-1-specific humoral immune response and the
course of disease is less well characterized.
In an SIV model injection of an antibody cocktail consisting of various neutralizing
antibodies is able to prevent SIV infection after a mucosal virus challenge (Ferrantelli 2004) indicating that primary protection is mainly dependent on a broad humoral immune response. This data suggests that HIV-specific antibodies are necessary for a preventive vaccine strategy. In contrast, B cell depletion by a monoclonal
antibody directed against B cells in monkeys with already established SIV infection
does not affect the course of plasma viremia (Schmitz 2003).
64 The Basics
A slow progression of immunodeficiency was observed in patients with high titers
of anti-p24 antibodies (Hogervorst 1995), persistence of neutralizing antibodies
against primary and autologous viruses (Montefiori 1996) and lack of antibodies
against certain gp120 epitopes (Wong 1993).
Long-term non-progressors with HIV tend to have a broad neutralizing activity towards a range of primary isolates and show persistence of neutralizing antibodies
against autologous virus. At present, it is unclear whether the presence of neutralizing antibodies in LTNP represents part of the protection or whether it merely reflects the integrity of a relatively intact immune system. Individuals that have a substantial risk for HIV-1 infection, but are considered exposed yet non-infected by
definition represent individuals with a lack of a detectable antibody response to
HIV-1. This definition implies that a systemic humoral immune response may not
represent a crucial protective mechanism. It has been shown that these individuals
may demonstrate a local (mucosal) IgA response against HIV-1 proteins that are not
detected by the usual antibody testing methods (Saha 2001). Thus, local IgA, rather
than systemic IgG, may be associated with protection against HIV-1 infection.
There is also some evidence that some anti-HIV-1 antibodies can enhance infection
of CD4 T cells.
A number of older as well as recent studies have shown that neutralizing antibodies
do exist in HIV-1-infected individuals, although there is a time lag in their appearance. That is, individuals will develop neutralizing antibodies to their own viruses
over time, although by the time these antibodies develop the new viruses circulating
in the individuals plasma will become resistant to neutralization, even though the
older ones are now sensitive to the current antibodies in the patients serum. Thus,
the antibody response appears to be constantly going after a moving target, allowing viruses to escape continuously. Further understanding the mechanisms of humoral escape will likely lead to potential new therapies.
A few years ago, selected patients with advanced HIV infection were treated with
plasma from HIV-infected patients at an earlier stage of the disease. No significant
effect on the course of disease was notable (Jacobson 1998). The therapeutic application of neutralizing antibodies with defined specificity looked more promising,
since a few acute and chronically infected patients were able to control their viral
load at least temporarily after stopping antiretroviral therapy (Trkola 2005). Functionally, Fc receptors but not complement binding are important in antibody protection against HIV (Hessel 2007) and some neutralising antibodies recognise the
CD4-binding site of gp120 (Li 2007).
3.7. A vaccine against HIV?

Improved knowledge and understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms in
the course of HIV-1 infection have not only contributed to the development of antiretroviral treatment strategies but have given rise to new therapeutic approaches
such as cytokine therapies, e.g., (bad approach) therapeutic vaccination. However,
the most important challenge that demands a better understanding of the immunopathogenesis of HIV-1 infection remains the development of a protective vaccine, which is urgently needed to put a halt to the epidemic.
The documentation of exposed but uninfected individuals and findings in LTNP suggests that, besides a genetic predisposition, HIV-specific protective immune mechanisms could potentially confer protective and possibly even preventive immunity.
65
Results from animal studies suggest that immune protection might be generated when
the immune system is stimulated appropriately. The induction of an HIV-specific
CD8 response in non-human primates is able to ameliorate the course of disease. On
the other hand, in vivo depletion of CD8 T cells in non-human primates by monoclonal antibodies leads to an increase in viral load. Immunogens that induce neutralizing antibodies in non-human primates will prevent infection with the homologous
viral strain. Transfer of neutralizing antibodies to uninfected primates or human SCID
mice is able to prevent infection with the homologous HIV strain.
The spectrum of vaccine strategies against HIV includes HIV-derived peptides or
proteins, the use of viral or bacterial vectors, naked DNA, pseudovirions or the use
of live attenuated HIV strains. The discussion about whether a vaccine should primarily aim at inducing a humoral- or a cellular-based protective immune response
has resulted in the belief that both humoral and cellular mechanisms contribute to
protection.
Many neutralizing antibodies either do not or only poorly show inhibition of primary viral isolates. A major problem lies in the high variability of the gp120 glycoprotein itself. Furthermore, gp120 epitopes may be highly glycosylated and certain
structural domains are hidden, at least temporarily, so that immunodominant epitopes may not be recognized (Chen 2005, Derdeyn 2005). In addition, there is no
evidence that a cytotoxic T cell response can prevent an uninfected individual from
exogenous HIV infection. A report from Altfeld (2002) is interesting in this regard.
It concerns an HIV-infected patient who was started on ART during primary infection. The patient developed a robust anti-HIV CD8 T cell response that was closely
monitored and documented by in vitro experiments. In spite of the strong CTL response superinfection with a second HIV strain occurred despite cross-reactive CTL
epitopes.
The discussion about how to best monitor the induction of protective immune responses remains controversial. Is a CTL response as measured by its cytolytic activity or by cytokine production the in vitro correlate of protection? How are in vitro
tests linked to in vivo protection? Despite all efforts undertaken so far, the way to an
effective and universally applicable preventive vaccine still seems far off.
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68
4. Preventive HIV-1 Vaccine

Thomas Harrer
Although important progress has been achieved in the field of antiretroviral therapy
and prevention of HIV-1 infection, the HIV-1 pandemic will be controlled only by
an effective HIV-1 vaccine. However, despite of intensive research for more than
two decades, it was not yet possible to develop an effective protective HIV-1 vaccine. The following chapter will give a short overview of the current status of HIV1 vaccine development.
Induction of neutralizing antibodies

In analogy to successful vaccination strategies in other infections such as in Hepatitis Binfection, initial vaccine research focussed on the development of vaccines
with the capability to induce neutralizing antibodies. A variety of studies examined
the safety and efficacy of vaccines such as gp120, gp160, parts of gp160 and peptides of gp160 that should induce antibodies against the outer surface envelope proteins of HIV-1. These immunogens stimulated the production of type specific antibodies that could neutralize laboratory HIV-1 strains in vitro, however, they failed
to induce broadly neutralizing antibodies that could neutralize HIV-1 variants derived from patients (Mascola 1996).
Two gp120 based vaccines have been tested in two large phase-III trials (AIDS Vax
Trial) in healthy volunteers: a B-Clade gp120 from HIV-1 MN and a gp120 from
the CRF01-AE HIV-1 isolate were used in the VAX003-Study in Thailand (Pitisuttithum 2006) and B-Clade gp120-proteins from HIV-1-MN und HIV-1-GNE8 were
tested in the VAX004-Study (USA, Netherlands; Flynn 2005). Despite induction of
antibodies against gp120, the incidence of new infections could not be diminished
in both trials. These studies and others demonstrate that it is difficult to neutralize
the biological activity of the envelope molecule gp160 by antibodies. Prior to binding of gp120 to the CD4 receptor, the conserved and functionally important epitopes are hidden in grooves of the gp120 molecules that are additionally masked by
glykan shields and variable sequence loops (Kwong 2002). Therefore, it is difficult
for antibodies to block the binding of gp120 to the CD4 molecule.
The binding of the gp120 trimer to CD4 induces a conformational change of the
V3-loop that exposes a conserved high-affinity coreceptor-binding site on the
gp120 molecule. The subsequent binding to the coreceptors CCR5 or CXCR4 triggers structural modifications of the viral transmembrane molecule gp41 starting the
fusion of the virus with the host cell membrane. Antibodies against the V3-loop can
neutralize, however, these activated binding sites on the V3-loop are recognizable
by antibodies only for a short period of time. Therefore, high antibody concentrations are required for an efficient neutralization. Another problem for antibody mediated neutralization is the shielding of the V3-loop-coreceptor interaction site by
the gp120 trimer, thus inhibiting the binding of antibodies to the V3-loop (Labrijn
2003).
HIV-1 infected patients generate neutralizing antibodies, however, in the majority
of patients they are directed against variable sequence parts of gp120. Due to the
high sequence variability in gp 120 HIV-1 can evade antibodies by rapid generation
Preventive HIV-1 Vaccine
69
of escape mutations. Thus, the majority of patients generate antibodies recognizing

their own HIV-1 strain, but they neutralize only poorly HIV-1 variants from other
patients. There are only a few patients that are able to produce broadly crossreacting neutralizing antibodies. These exceptional antibodies recognize conserved
binding sites for CD4 and coreceptors in gp120 and an important fusion domain in
gp41. Vaccination with a recombinant gp120 molecule is not able to induce such
antibodies as the V3-loop epitopes in the native gp120 molecule are not accessible
to antibodies. To improve the induction of antibodies targeting the important V3loop, attempts are in progress to develop fusion molecules consisting of gp120 and
CD4 that simulate the conformational changes in gp120 after binding to the CD4molecule (Kwong 1998).
Induction of HIV-1-specific T cells

In the face of the hurdles of inducing neutralizing antibody responses, the focus of
vaccine development turned to vaccines that could elicit HIV-1-specific T cell responses. Cytotoxic T cells (CTL) play an important role for the control of HIV-1 in
humans (Koup 1994, Harrer 1996b, Pantaleo 1997) and also for the control of SIV
in the SIV models. Experimental depletion of CD8 T cells in SIV infected monkeys
abrogated immune control of SIV infection and was associated with a strong increase of viral replication (Schmitz 1999). In contrast to neutralizing antibodies
CTL cannot exert a sterilizing immunity as they recognize only cells that are already infected. However, the observation of HIV-1-specific CTL in HIV-1 exposed
but uninfected subjects raised the hope that a T cell based HIV-1 vaccine could prevent an ongoing HIV-1 infection by containment and eradication of small foci of
viral infection (Herr 1998, Rowland-Jones 1998). Even, if a T cell based vaccinecouldnt prevent the infection of the host, there is the chance that it could influence
the course of infection by reducing the extent of viremia after infection as seen in
the SIV monkey models (Letvin 2006). The viral load after four months of infection, the viral setpoint, is one of the most important prognostic parameters for the
the course of HIV-1 infection. A vaccine would already provide a clinical benefit, if
it could reduce the viral setpoint by half a log (Johnston 2007). In addition, such a
vaccine would exert positive effects on the spread of the epidemic as a lower viremia would diminish the infectivity of the patients. The clinical evaluation of vaccines that do not prevent infection, but influence the course of disease is difficult to
achieve as large patient numbers must be followed for extended periods of time.
HIV-1 can evade CTL recognition by development of CTL escape mutations in T
cell epitopes or in proteasomes cleavage sites (Maurer 2008). At least in conserved
proteins such as gag or protease CTL mediated immune selection is a major driving
force for the development of polymorphisms (Mueller 2007). Own observations in
long-term non-progressing patients showed that the quality of the CTL response
with recognition of conserved CTL epitopes is very important (Harrer 1996a, Wagner 1999). It is essential for an effective vaccine to contain enough highly conserved CTL epitopes for the individual HLA alleles.
CTL can be induced only by those vaccines that are able to load viral peptides on
HLA class I molecules of dendritic cells that present these peptides to CTL. Live
attenuated viruses are effective against several infectious pathogens such as measles
and they were protective against SIV in rhesus monkeys, but they are unlikely to be
used in humans due to safety concerns. DNA-vaccines alone are not very immuno-
70 The Basics
genic in humans, but in DNA prime/vector boost strategies DNA priming could
increase the immunogenicity of subsequent vaccinations with viral vectors.
Lipopeptides allow the induction of CTL, but they can present only a limited repertoire of epitopes.
Recombinant viral Vectors

Recombinant viral vectors can achieve the induction of CTL without the safety
risks of attenuated live viruses. Several vectors have been tested in clinical studies.
Adenovirus 5 (Ad5) vectors, ALVAC canary pox viruses, MVA (modified Vaccinia
Virus Ankara), NYVAC (Gomez 2007a+b), adenovirus-associated virus and fowlpox-vectors.
A great disappointment was the termination of two placebo controlled phase-II-trials,
the HVTN 502 study (STEP trial, Buchbinder 2008), and the HVTN 503 study
(Phambili Study, www.stepstudies.com). In both studies the trivalent Mercks
MRKAd5 vaccine (V520) was tested, a mixture of Ad5 vectors expressing HIV-1
gag, pol and nef. 3 000 volunteers from North America, South America, the Caribbean, and Australia participated in the STEP trial since December 2004. The vaccine
was immunogenic and could induce HIV-1-specific CD8 T cells in 73% and HIV-1specific CD4 T cells in 41% of the vaccinees (McElrath 2008). Nevertheless, the
study was terminated ahead of schedule in September 2007 because of lack of efficacy. The vaccine could neither prevent HIV-1 infection nor lower viral setpoints in
infected vaccines. In total, 83 volunteers became infected during the trial. As only one
female was infected, the post hoc analyses were restricted to the 82 male newly infected subjects. There was a non-significant trend towards a greater number of infections in the vaccine recipients (40 new infections in 914 subjects) in comparison to the
placebo recipients (33 new infections in 922 subjects). Interestingly, subjects with
high pre-existing neutralizing antibody titers (titer of >200) at enrollment showed a
higher infection rate in the vaccine arm (21 infections) than in the placebo arm (9
infections). In contrast there were no significant differences in subjects with absent or
low neutralizing antibody titers of <200 (28 infections in the vaccine arm, 24 infections in the placebo arm). Because of the potential risk of the MRKAd5 vaccine in
subjects with a strong immune response against adenovirus 5 also the Phambili trial in
South Africa was terminated.
The STEP trial raises important questions that can be answered only by further examinations of infected subjects and transmitted viruses. The STEP trial is not a
proof that the development of a HIV-1 vaccine is impossible, but it only demonstrates that the used vector failed to induce protection. The fact that the increased
infection risk was only seen in subjects with high antibody titers against the vector
argues against a general risk of immunizing against HIV-1, but it demonstrates the
important issue of pre-existing vector immunity. The optimal priming of the immune response by a vaccine seems to be a key element determining the success or
failure of a vaccine. Therefore, more basic research is needed for a better understanding of the mechanisms of immunological control of HIV-1.
In contrast to the STEP trial, recently announced yet unpublished data
(www.iavireport.org) from the RV144 study involving more than 16,000 volunteers
in Thailand showed a modest protective effect with a significant reduction of new
HIV-1 infections by about 31% using Sanofi Pasteurs canarypox vector-based
ALVAC-HIV (vCP1521) expressing HIV-1 subtype B gag and protease and sub-
Preventive HIV-1 Vaccine
71
type E envelope in combination with AIDSVAX B/E gp120 proteins (MN

rgp120/HIV-1 plus A244 rgp120/HIV-1). Among the 8198 subjects receiving placebo 74 new HIV-1 infections were observed during three years follow up in comparison to 51 infections among the other half of volunteers that had received four
immunizations with the ALVAC-HIV and two immunizations with AIDSVAX B/E
gp120 glykoproteins within a six months period. The vaccine had no effect on viral
setpoints in the subjects infected despite vaccination. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that the protective effect might be due not to CD8 T-cells but due to
antibody responses elicited by the env-expressing ALVAC and the AIDSVAX B/E
gp120 molecules.
A promising approach for the development of more effective HIV-1 vaccines is the
therapeutic immunization in HIV-1-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy with
subsequent treatment interruption (Harrer 2005). The analysis of a vaccines ability
to control HIV-1 replication during a treatment interruption could be a good instrument to identify vaccines that could also be effective in prevention.
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Self SG, Corey L, Shiver JW, Casimiro DR, the Step Study Protocol Team. HIV-1 vaccine-induced immunity in the test-of-concept Step Study: a casecohort analysis.
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Mueller SM, Schaetz B, Eismann K, et al. Dual selection pressure by drugs and HLA class I-restricted immune responses on HIV-1 protease. J Virol 2007; 3:3.
Pantaleo G, Demarest JF, Schacker T, et al. The qualitative nature of the primary immune response to HIV infection is a prognosticator of disease progression
independent of the initial level of plasma viremia. PNAS 1997; 94:254-258.
Pitisuttithum P, Gilbert P, Gurwith M, et al. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy trial of a bivalent recombinant glycoprotein 120 HIV-1 vaccine among
injection drug users in Bangkok, Thailand. J Infect Dis 2006; 194:1661-71.
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constraints on immune escape associated with targeting a sequence essential for viral replication. J Immunol 1999; 162:3727-34.
72
5. Acute HIV-1 Infection

Hendrik Streeck and Marcus Altfeld
Introduction
In 40-90% of cases, acute HIV-1 infection presents as a transient symptomatic illness, associated with high levels of HIV-1 replication and an expansive virusspecific immune response. With 14,000 new cases per day worldwide, it is an important diagnosis for doctors to keep in mind in cases of fever of unknown origin,
maculopapular rash and lymphadenopathy.
The diagnosis of acute infection is missed in the majority of cases, as other viral
illnesses (i.e., flu) are often assumed to be the cause of the symptoms, and there are
no HIV-1-specific antibodies detectable at this early stage of infection. The diagnosis therefore requires a high degree of awareness and clinical knowledge based on
clinical symptoms and history of exposure, in addition to specific laboratory tests
(detection of HIV-1 RNA or p24 antigen and negative HIV-1 antibodies) confirming the diagnosis.
An accurate diagnosis of HIV-1 infection during the early stage of infection is particularly important as about 50% of new sexual transmissions happen while a person is in this primary phase of infection (Brenner 2007). While indeed phylogenetic
analyses demonstrate a clustering of infections during primary HIV-1 infection, the
catalytic effect of acute HIV-1 infection for the HIV pandemic may be prevented by
early diagnosis and possibly antiretroviral therapy intervention. Ongoing debate on
whether early antiretroviral therapy might preserve specific immune functions may
represent an important intervention strategy for improving long-term outcomes (see
below).
Immunological and virological events during

acute HIV-1 infection
Transmission of HIV-1 generally results from viral exposure at mucosal surfaces
followed by viral replication in submucosal and locoregional lymphoid tissues, and
subsequently through overt systemic infection. The virus exponentially replicates in
the absence of any detectable adaptive immune response, reaching levels of more
than 100 million copies HIV-1 RNA/ml. It is during this initial cycle of viral replication that important pathogenic processes are thought to occur. These include the
seeding of virus to a range of tissue reservoirs and the destruction of CD4+ T lymphocytes, in particular within the lymphoid tissues of the gut. Early on in infection,
the very high levels of HIV-1 viremia are normally short-lived, indicating that the
host is able to generate an immune response that can control viral replication. Over
the following weeks, viremia declines by several orders of magnitude before reaching a viral setpoint. This setpoint following resolution of the acute infection is a
strong predictor of long-term disease progression rates (Mellors 1995+2007). It is
therefore of critical importance to characterize and understand the immune responses induced in the initial stages of HIV-1 infection as these first responses appear responsible for the initial control of viral replication.
Acute HIV-1 Infection
73
In contrast to hepatitis B and C infection, acute-phase HIV replication is associated

with the activation of a dramatic cytokine cascade, with plasma levels of some of
the most rapidly induced innate cytokines peaking 7 days after the first detection of
plasma viremia and many other cytokines being upregulated as viral titers increase
to their peak. Although some of the cytokines/chemokines produced in acute HIV
infection may contribute to the control of viral replication, the exaggerated cytokine
response likely also contributes to the early immunopathology of the infection and
associated long-term consequences (Stacey 2009). Also, a specific activation and
expansion of natural killer cells has been noted during the acute phase of infection
(Alter 2007) as well as significant changes in the B cell compartment.
Several factors can influence viral replication during acute infection and the establishment of a viral setpoint. These include the fitness of the infecting virus, host
genetic factors and host immune responses. While it has been shown that the transmitted/founder virus population has intact principal gene open reading frames and
encodes replication-competent viruses (Salazar-Gonzalez 2009), the envelope gene
of elite controllers has been demonstrated to mediate less efficient entry than the
envelope protein of chronic progressors (Troyer 2009). Interestingly, acute infection envs exhibit an intermediate phenotypic pattern not distinctly different from
chronic progressor envs. These results imply that lower env fitness may be established early and may directly contribute to viral suppression in elite controllers individuals.
However, antibodies against HIV-1 with neutralizing capacities are rarely detectable during primary HIV-1 infection and are therefore less likely to be major contributors to the initial control of viral replication. Several studies have demonstrated
a crucial role of HIV-1-specific cellular immune responses for the initial control of
viral replication. A massive, oligoclonal expansion of CD8 T cell responses has
been described during acute HIV-1 infection (Pantaleo 1994), and the appearance of
HIV-1-specific CD8 T cells has been temporally associated with the initial decline
of viremia (Koup 1994, Borrow 1994). These CD8 T cells have the ability to eliminate HIV-1-infected cells directly by MHC class I-restricted cytolysis or indirectly
by producing cytokines, chemokines or other soluble factors, thus curtailing the
generation of new viral progeny (Yang 1997). The biological relevance of HIV-1specific cytotoxic T cells (CTL) in acute HIV-1 infection was highlighted in recent
in vivo studies demonstrating a dramatic rise of SIV viremia and an accelerated
clinical disease progression in macaques after the artificial depletion of CD8 T cells
(Schmitz 1999, Jin 1999). Additional evidence for the antiviral pressure of HIV-1specific CTLs during primary HIV-1 infection was provided by the rapid selection
of viral species with CTL epitope mutations that were detected within a few weeks
after HIV-1 infection (Price 1997). A recent study assessing the impact of early
HIV-1-specific CD8 T cell responses on the early viral set point in a cohort of over
420 subjects was able to demonstrate that the ability to mount a strong early CD8 T
cell response during primary HIV-1 infection is significantly associated with a
lower viral setpoint (Streeck 2009). Furthermore, the assessment of the CD8 T cell
responses against autologous patient-virus derived peptides in three subjects suggest that even more, yet undetectable, responses are present during the acute phase
of the infection contributing up to 15% each to the initial control of viral replication
(Goonetilleke 2009).
Many of the early immunodominant CD8 T cell responses have been shown to be
restricted by HLA class I alleles, which have been previously associated with
74 The Basics
slower disease progression such as HLA-B57 or B27. Moreover, these HLArestricted responses preferentially target epitopes within a short highly conserved
region of p24/Gag (Streeck 2007). This region encodes the HIV-1 capsid, which has
been shown to be crucial for the stability of HIV-1 (Schneidewind 2007). The preservation of the early CD8 T cell responses has been associated with slower disease
progression (Streeck 2009), which might be linked by the presence of HIV-1specific CD4 T helper responses during the CTL priming process. During acute
HIV-1 infection, the number of CD4 T cells decline, occasionally to levels that allow the development of opportunistic infections (Gupta 1993, Vento 1993). Even
though the CD4 T cell count rebounds with the resolution of primary infection, it
rarely returns to baseline levels in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. In addition
to the decline in CD4 T cell counts, qualitative impairments of CD4 T cell function
are perhaps the most characteristic abnormalities detected in HIV-1 infection. The
impairment of HIV-1-specific CD4 T cell function occurs very early in acute infection (Rosenberg 1997, Lichterfeld 2004), potentially due to the preferential infection of virus-specific CD4 T cells by HIV (Douek 2002). This is followed by a
functional impairment of CD4 T cell responses to other recall antigens, as well as a
reduced responsiveness to novel antigens (Lange 2003). The impairment of HIV-1specific CD4 T helper cell function in acute HIV-1 infection subsequently results in
a functional impairment of HIV-1-specific CD8 T cells (Lichterfeld 2004).
The contribution of the CD4 T helper response against HIV-1 is not well understood. Recent reports have highlighted a viral escape of HIV-1 from CD4 T cell
targeted epitopes during primary HIV-1 infection (Rychert 2009, Jones
2009).However, as the antiviral action of CD4 T cells is most likely indirect
through other effector cells, their exact contribution is difficult to measure. First
studies in the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV-) mouse model have indicated that a strong and long-lived CD8 T cell memory response is dependent on
the presence of a CD4 T cell response (Janssen 2003, Williams 2006). However, it
is unknown which signals of the CD4 T cells are required for the generation and
maintenance of effective HIV-1-specific CD8 T cell responses. Lack of CD4 T
helper cells and chronic antigenic stimulation have been described to be the major
cause of the functional deficits CD8 T cells undergo soon after the early phase of
infection. This hierarchical loss of CD8 T cell function including the loss of interleukin-2 (IL-2) secretion, the loss of cytolytic activity to complete exhaustion and
anergy has been linked to the expression of inhibitory molecules on the cell surface
of HIV-1-specific CD8 T cells such as PD-1, CTLA-4 or LAG-3 (Day 2006,
Trautmann, 2006, Kaufmann 2007, Blackburn 2009). The identification of such
receptors might help in the generation of potential immune therapeutics to boost
HIV-1-specific CD8 T cell function.
In addition to host immune responses, host genetic factors play an important role in
both susceptibility and resistance to HIV-1 infection and speed of disease progression following infection. The most important of these is a deletion in the major coreceptor for entry of HIV-1 into CD4 T cells, a chemokine receptor called CCR5
(Samson 1996). Homozygotes for this 32 base pair deletion (CCR5delta32) do not
express the receptor at the cell surface and can only be infected with HIV strains
that are able to use other co-receptors such as CXCR4. Thus, although
CCR5delta32 homozygotic individuals show a significant degree of resistance to
HIV-1 infection (Samson 1996), a number of cases of infection with CXCR4-using
HIV-1 strains have been described (OBrien 1997, Biti 1997). Heterozygotes for
75
this deletion exhibit significantly lower viral setpoints and slower progression to
AIDS. In addition to mutations in the chemokine receptor genes, a number of HLA
class I alleles, including HLA-B27 and -B57, have been described to be associated
with both lower viral setpoints and slower disease progression (OBrien 2001,
Kaslow 1996). Studies demonstrate that individuals expressing HLA-B57 present
significantly less frequently with symptomatic acute HIV-1 infection and exhibit a
better control of viral replication following acute infection (Altfeld 2003). A number of further polymorphisms have been identified that have a potential impact on
HIV-1 disease progression. Here especially, the axis between detrimental immune
activation and beneficial immune responses is largely unknown and part of ongoing
research. For example, it has been demonstrated that polymorphisms in the IL-10
promotor region directly inhibit HIV replication, but may also promote viral persistence through the inactivation of effector immune function (Naicker 2009). These
data demonstrate that host genetic factors can influence the clinical manifestations
of acute HIV-1 infection and can have an important impact on the subsequent viral
setpoint and the speed of disease progression.
Signs and symptoms

After an incubation period ranging from a few days to a few weeks after exposure
to HIV, most infected individuals present with an acute flu-like illness. Acute HIV1 infection is a very heterogeneous syndrome and individuals presenting with more
severe symptoms during acute infection and a longer duration of the acute infection
syndrome tend to progress more rapidly to AIDS (Vanhems 1998, Pedersen 1989,
Keet 1993). The clinical symptoms of acute HIV-1 infection were first described in
1985 as an illness resembling infectious mononucleosis (Cooper 1985). The most
common symptoms (see Table 1) are fever, maculopapular rash, oral ulcers, lymphadenopathy, arthralgia, pharyngitis, malaise, weight loss, aseptic meningitis and
myalgia (Kahn 1998). The highest sensitivity for a clinical diagnosis of acute HIV1 infection had fever (80%) and malaise (68%), whereas weight loss (86%) and oral
ulcers (85%) had the highest specificity (Hecht 2002). In this study, the symptoms
of fever and rash (especially in combination), followed by oral ulcers and pharyngitis had the highest positive predictive value for diagnosis of acute HIV-1 infection.
In another study, fever, rash, myalgia, arthralgia and night sweats were the best
predictors for acute HIV-1 infection (Daar 2001).
The symptomatic phase of acute HIV-1 infection lasts between 7 and 10 days, and
rarely more than 14 days. The nonspecific nature of the symptoms poses a great
challenge to the clinician and underlines the importance of a detailed history of exposure.
76 The Basics
Table 1: Main symptoms of acute HIV-1 infection (from Hecht 2002)
Symptom
Fever
Rash
Oral ulcers
Arthralgia
Pharyngitis
Loss of appetite
Weight loss > 2.5 kg
Malaise
Myalgia
Fever and rash
Frequency
80%
51%
37%
54%
44%
54%
32%
68%
49%
46%
Odds ratio (95% CI)

5.2 (2.3-11.7)
4.8 (2.4-9.8)
3.1 (1.5-6.6)
2.6 (1.3-5.1)
2.6 (1.3-5.1)
2.5 (1.2-4.8)
2.8 (1.3-6.0)
2.2 (1.1-4.5)
2.1 (1.1-4.2)
8.3 (3.6-19.3)
Diagnosis
Currently, four different HIV tests are commercially available, but they have limited sensitivity in detecting acute HIV-1 infection. In order to be able to correctly
interpret a positive or negative result in the presence (or absence) of acute HIV infection symptoms, it is important to understand differences in the sensitivities of the
available tests:
The 1st and 2nd generation EIA tests are able to detect HIV-1 infection with both
high specificity and sensitivity, but only after HIV-1 seroconversion, as decent levels of anti-p24 IgG antibodies need to be present to give a positive result. 3rd generation EIA tests can now detect IgM antibodies and therefore are able to detect a recent infection with HIV earlier than the 1st or 2nd generation HIV tests (Hecht
2002). The newly developed 4th generation EIA test now combines the detection of
p24 antigen and p24 antibodies and therefore is able to detect HIV infection prior to
seroconversion (Ly 2007). However, although this test is able to detect HIV-1 infection much earlier than all previously developed tests, a second diagnostic false
negative window can occur when equal levels of p24 antigen and anti-p24 antibody
are present.. The most substantiated diagnosis of acute HIV-1 infection is based on
the detection of HIV-1 replication in the absence of HIV-1 antibodies (preseroconversion). The most sensitive test is therefore based on detection of plasma
HIV-1 RNA.
All assays for HIV-1 RNA that have been compared (branched chain DNA, PCR
and GenProbe) have a sensitivity of 100%, but occasionally (in 2-5% of cases) lead
to false positive results (Hecht 2002). False positive results from these tests are usually below 2,000 copies HIV-1 RNA per ml, and therefore are far below the high
titers of viral load normally seen during acute HIV-1 infection (in our own studies
subjects average 13 x 106 copies HIV-1 RNA/ml with a range of 0.25-95.5 x 106
copies HIV-1 RNA/ml). Repetition of the assay for HIV-1 RNA from the same
sample with the same test led to a negative result in all false positive cases. Measurement of HIV-1 RNA from duplicate samples therefore results in a sensitivity of
100% with 100% specificity. In contrast, detection of p24 antigen has a sensitivity
of only 79% with a specificity of 99.5-99.96%. The diagnosis of acute HIV-1 infection must be subsequently confirmed with a positive HIV-1 antibody test (seroconversion) within the following weeks.
During acute HIV-1 infection, there is frequently a marked decrease of the CD4 cell
count, which later increases again, but usually does not normalize to initial levels.
77
In contrast, the CD8 cell count rises initially, which may result in a CD4/CD8 ratio
of < 1. Infectious mononucleosis is the most important diagnosis to be aware of.
Hepatitis, influenza, toxoplasmosis, syphilis and side effects of medications should
also be considered.
Figure 1: Algorithm for the diagnosis of acute HIV-1 infection

In summary, the most important step in the diagnosis of acute HIV-1 infection is to
keep it in mind during diagnosis. The clinical hypothesis of acute HIV-1 infection
requires performance of an HIV-1 antibody test and possibly repeated testing of
HIV-1 viral load, as shown in the algorithm in Figure 1 (adapted from Hecht 2002).
78 The Basics
Treatment
The goal of antiretroviral therapy during acute HIV-1 infection is to shorten the
symptomatic viral illness, reduce the number of infected cells, preserve HIV-1specific immune responses and possibly lower the viral setpoint in the long term.
Several studies in recent years have shown that treatment of acute HIV-1 infection
allows long-term viral suppression, leads to preservation and even increase of HIV1-specific T helper cell responses and allows for the conservation of a very homogeneous virus population.
Pilot studies in patients who are treated during acute HIV-1 infection and subsequently on treatment interruptions show that the HIV-1-specific immune response
can be boosted in these patients (Rosenberg 2000, Vogel 2006). Most patients are
subsequently able to discontinue therapy and experienced at least temporal control
of viral replication, with viral setpoints below 5,000 copies/ml for more than 3
years in some patients. However, in the majority of individuals in one study (Kaufmann 2004), as well as in other studies assessing viral control following treated
primary infection (Markowitz 1999), viral load rebounded during longer follow-up,
requiring the eventual initiation of therapy.
The long-term clinical benefit of early initiation of therapy has not yet been demonstrated. It is also not known how long the period between acute infection and initiation of therapy can be without losing immunological, virological and clinical benefit. In view of all these unanswered questions, patients with acute HIV-1 infection
should be treated in controlled clinical trials (DHHS 2008). If this is not possible,
the option of standard first-line treatment should be discussed and offered. It is important during counseling to clearly indicate the lack of definitive data on the clinical benefit of early initiation of antiretroviral therapy and to address the risks of
antiretroviral therapy and treatment interruptions, including drug toxicity, development of resistance, acute retroviral syndrome during viral rebound and HIV-1
transmission and superinfection during treatment interruptions.
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Part 2
Antiretroviral Therapy
82
6. ART 2009
1. Perspective
Christian Hoffmann
The development of antiretroviral therapy has been one of the most dramatic evolutions in the history of medicine. Few other areas have been subject to such fast progress and sometimes short-lived trends. Those who have experienced the rapid developments of the last few years have been through many ups and downs.
The early years, from 1987-1990, brought great hope and the first modest advances
using monotherapy (Volberding 1990, Fischl 1990). But, when the results of the
Concorde Study had arrived (Hamilton 1992, Concorde 1994), both patients and
clinicians had plunged into a depression that was to last for several years. AZT (zidovudine) was first tested on humans in 1985, and was introduced as a treatment in
March 1987 with great expectations. Initially it did not seem to be very effective, at
least when used as monotherapy. The same was true for the nucleoside analogs ddC
(zalcitabine), ddI (didanosine) and d4T (stavudine) which were introduced between
1991 and 1994. The lack of substantial treatment options led to a debate that lasted
for several years about which nucleoside analog should be used, when, and at what
dose. One typical question was, Should the alarm clock be set to go off during the
night for a sixth dose of AZT?
Many patients, infected during the early and mid-80s, began to die. Hospices were
established as well as more support groups and ambulatory nursing services. One became accustomed to AIDS and its resulting death toll. There was, however, definite
progress in the field of opportunistic infections (OI) cotrimoxazole, pentamidine,
gancyclovir, foscarnet and fluconazole saved many patients lives, at least in the
short-term. Some clinicians started to dream of a kind of mega-prophylaxis. But the
general picture was still tainted by an overall lack of hope. Many remember the somber, almost depressed mood of the IXth World AIDS Conference in Berlin, in June
1993. Between 1989 and 1994, morbidity and mortality rates hardly changed.
Then, in September 1995, the preliminary results of the European-Australian
DELTA Study (Delta 1995) and the American ACTG 175 Study (Hammer 1996)
attracted attention. It became apparent that combination therapy with two nucleoside analogs was more effective than monotherapy. Indeed, the differences made on
the clinical endpoints (AIDS, death) were highly significant. Both studies demonstrated that it was potentially of great importance to immediately start treatment
with two nucleoside analogs, as opposed to using the drugs sequentially.
This was by no means the final breakthrough. By this time, the first studies with
protease inhibitors (PIs), a completely new class of drugs, had been under way for
several months. PIs had been designed in the lab using the knowledge of the molecular structure of HIV and protease their clinical value was initially uncertain.
Preliminary data, amongst many rumors, were already in circulation. Great impatience pervaded patients and clinicians. By the fall of 1995, a fierce competition had
started up between three companies: Abbott, Roche and MSD. The licensing studies
for the three PIs, ritonavir, saquinavir and indinavir, were pursued with a great
amount of effort. The monitors of these studies lived for weeks at the participating
1. Perspective
83
clinical sites. Deep into the night, case report files had to be perfected and thousands of queries had to be answered. All these efforts led to a fast track approval for
all three PIs between December 1995 and March 1996 first saquinavir, followed
by ritonavir and indinavir to be used for the treatment of HIV.
Many clinicians (including this author) were not really aware at the time of what
was happening during these months. AIDS remained ever present. Although the
incidence of AIDS had dropped by half between 1992 and 1996, many were still
dying. Doubts remained. Hopes had already been raised too many times in the previous years by alleged miracle cures. Early in January 1996, during the 5th AIDS
convention in Munich, other topics were more important: palliative medicine, pain
management and even euthanasia. Here and there a few speeches on new approaches, nothing much. Faint and latent optimism was the highest of emotions
anyone dared show. Noone wanted to proclaim a breakthrough.
In February 1996, during the 3rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Washington, many caught their breath as Bill Cameron reported
the first data from the ABT-247 Study during the late breaker session. The auditorium was absolutely silent. Riveted, listeners heard that the mere addition of ritonavir oral solution decreased the frequency of death and AIDS from 38% to 22%
(Cameron 1998). These results were sensational in comparison to everything else
that had been previously published.
The World AIDS Conference in Vancouver a few months later in June 1996, where
the great potential of PIs became fully apparent, developed into a big party. Even
regular news channels reported in great depth on the new AIDS cocktails. The
strangely unscientific expression highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)
began to spread irreversibly.
By this time, David Ho, Time magazines Man of the Year in 1996, had shed light
on the hitherto completely misunderstood kinetics of HIV with his breakthrough research (Ho 1995, Perelson 1996). A year earlier, Ho had already initiated the slogan
hit hard and early, and almost all clinicians were now taking him at his word. With
the new knowledge of the incredibly high turnover of the virus and the relentless daily
destruction of CD4 T cells, there was no longer any consideration of a latent phase
and no life without antiretroviral therapy. In many centers almost every patient was
treated with HAART. Within only three years, from 1994-1997, the proportion of
untreated patients in Europe decreased from 37% to barely 9%, whilst the proportion
of HAART patients rose from 2% to 64% (Kirk 1998).
Things were looking good. By June 1996, the first non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor nevirapine was licensed and hence a third drug class introduced. Nelfinavir, another PI, also arrived. One now had a great selection of medications at hand.
Most patients seemed to tolerate the drugs well. 30 pills a day? No problem, if it
helps. And how it helped! The number of AIDS cases was drastically reduced. Within
only four years, between 1994 and 1998, the incidence of AIDS in Europe was reduced from 30.7 to 2.5 per 100 patient years i.e., to less than one tenth of what it
was. Some of the most feared opportunistic infections now only rarely occurred
(Mocroft 2000). HIV-specialized ophthalmologists began looking for new areas of
work. The large OI trials, planned only a few months before, faltered due to a lack of
patients. Hospices, which had been receiving substantial donations, shut down or
changed their focus. The first patients began to leave the hospices and went back to
work; ambulatory nursing services shut down. Other patients occupied AIDS wards.
84 ART
In early 1997, some patients began to complain of an increasingly fat stomach, but
was this not a good sign after years of wasting and supplementary nutrition? Not
only did the PIs contain lactose and gelatin but also the lower viremia was thought
to use up far less energy. It was assumed that, because patients were less depressed
and generally healthier, they would eat more. At most, it was slightly disturbing that
the patients retained thin faces. However, more and more patients also began to
complain about the high pill burden.
In June 1997, the FDA published the first warning about the development of diabetes mellitus associated with the use of PIs. In February 1998, CROI in Chicago finally brought home the realization among clinicians that protease inhibitors were
perhaps not as selective as had long been believed. One poster after the next, indeed
whole walls of pictures showed fat abdomens, buffalo humps, thin legs and faces. A
new term was introduced at the beginning of 1998 which would influence antiretroviral therapy for years to come: lipodystrophy. And so the old medical saying was
shown to hold true even for ART: all effective drugs have side effects. The actual
cause of lipodystrophy remained completely unclear. Then, in early 1999, a new
hypothesis emerged from the Netherlands, mitochondrial toxicity (Brinkmann
1999). It has become an ubiquitous term in HIV medicine today.
The dream of eradication (and cure), widely hoped for in the beginning, had to be
abandoned eventually. Mathematical models were evidently not real life. In 1997, it
was estimated that viral suppression with a maximum duration of three years was
necessary; after this period, it was predicted that all infected cells would have died.
Eradication was the magic word. At every conference since then, the duration of
three years has been adjusted upwards. Nowadays, estimates have evolved to
around 60 to 70 years (Silicano 2003). These numbers show just one thing: HIV
will not be cured for some time to come. More recent studies have come to the sobering conclusion that HIV remains detectable in latent infected cells, even after
long-term suppression. Regardless, we need to talk about being able to cure the
disease, however utopian and visionary that might seem. Not believing in finding a
cure will never get us there.
In fact, todays reality iseemed impossible ten years ago: HIV infection is a chronic
disease which, although incurable, is controllable lifelong with therapy, even in
patients with resistant virus. New agents including entry inhibitors like CCR5 antagonists as well as integrase inhibitors have opened up new possibilities of treatment. It has become increasingly possible to lower viral loads below detection in
most patients. The pioneer drugs maraviroc and raltegravir have shown to be welltolerated, even to the degree of causing distrust. Even though long-term studies are
not available at this stage and we do not want to be taken aback by yet another disagreeable surprise, the following seems to hold true, the new drug classes will bring
about fundamental changes to current ART. The dogma of always using two nucleoside analogs as the backbone of every therapy may start to change, PIs may
lessen in value. Many of the currently widespread drugs will disappear over the
next few years. The end of HIVID, Agenerase or Fortovase is just the beginning. Even veteran agents like AZT, d4T, ddI, nelfinavir or indinavir will lose
ground although they served us in HIV management in the nineties.
A therapy that will last for decades will pose tremendous challenges for patients,
physicians and for the pharmaceutical industry. Better pills need to be developed.
Not many people will be in the position to take the currently available pills several
1. Perspective
85
times daily at fixed times for the next twenty or thirty years. But this will probably
not be necessary. There will be new and improved treatment regimens. Once-daily
regimens are already available. In 2007, Atripla, an all-in-one antiretroviral pill,
was brought to the market.
At the same time, the simple question of when to start with ART is still unanswered. Instead of David Hos recommendation from the nineties hit hard and
early, today we hear hit HIV hard, but only when necessary (Harrington 2000).
This sounds sensible. However, when is it actually necessary? At a count of 350
CD4 T cells? What role do the following play: viral load, CD4 T cell changes, CD4
percentages, age, gender, host elements and viral tropism? What about acutely infected patients? These strategically important questions will hopefully find some
answers through the big studies like START that are being conducted now. Until
then, this issue requires great sensitivity.
HIV clinicians are well advised to keep an open mind for new approaches. Those
who do not make an effort to broaden their knowledge several times a year at conferences will not be able to provide adequate treatment for their patients in a field
that is still growing and learning and changes direction every two to three years.
Those who adhere strictly to evidence-based medicine and only treat according to
guidelines quickly become outdated. HIV medicine is ever-changing. Treatment
guidelines remain just guidelines. They are often out of date by the time of publication. There are no laws set in stone. However, those who confuse therapeutic freedom with random choices, and assume that data and results coming from basic research can be ignored are also missing the point. Individualized treatment is not
random treatment. It cannot be stressed enough that clinicians are also responsible
for the problem of poor adherence. Even if many experienced clinicians have come
to disregard this, every patient has the right to know why they are taking the therapy
they are on or, indeed, why certain therapies are not an option. The more they understand about their therapies, the better the long-term results.
HIV remains a dangerous and cunning opponent. Patients and clinicians must tackle
it together.
References
Brinkman K, Smeitink JA, Romijn JA, Reiss P. Mitochondrial toxicity induced by nucleoside-analogue reverse-transcriptase inhibitors is a key factor in the pathogenesis
of antiretroviral-therapy-related lipodystrophy. Lancet 1999, 354:1112-5.
Brodt HR, Kamps BS, Gute P, et al. Changing incidence of AIDS-defining illnesses in the era of antiretroviral combination therapy. AIDS 1997, 11:1731-8.
Cameron DW, Heath-Chiozzi M, Danner S, et al. Randomised placebo-controlled trial of ritonavir in advanced HIV-1 disease. Lancet 1998, 351:543-9.
Concorde: MRC/ANRS randomised double-blind controlled trial of immediate and deferred zidovudine in symptom-free HIV infection. Lancet 1994, 343:871-81.
Delta: a randomised double-blind controlled trial comparing combinations of zidovudine plus didanosine or zalcitabine with zidovudine alone in HIV-infected individuals.
Lancet 1996, 348: 283-91.
Fischl MA, Parker CB, Pettinelli C, et al. A randomized controlled trial of a reduced daily dose of zidovudine in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
N Engl J Med 1990; 323:1009-14.
Hammer SM, Katzenstein DA, Hughes MD et al. A trial comparing nucleoside monotherapy with combination therapy in HIV-infected adults with CD4 cell counts from
200 to 500 per cubic millimeter. N Engl J Med 1996, 335:1081-90.
Harrington M, Carpenter CC. Hit HIV-1 hard, but only when necessary. Lancet 2000, 355:2147-52.
Ho DD. Time to hit HIV, early and hard. N Engl J Med 1995, 333:450-1.
Ho DD, Neumann AU, Perelson AS, Chen W, Leonard JM, Markowitz M. Rapid turnover of plasma virions and CD4 lymphocytes in HIV-1 infection. Nature 1995,
373:123-6.
Kirk O, Mocroft A, Katzenstein TL, et al. Changes in use of antiretroviral therapy in regions of Europe over time. AIDS 1998, 12: 2031-9.
Mocroft A, Katlama C, Johnson AM, et al. AIDS across Europe, 1994-98: the EuroSIDA study. Lancet 2000, 356:291-6.
Perelson AS, Neumann AU, Markowitz M, Leonard JM, Ho DD. HIV-1 dynamics in vivo: virion clearance rate, infected cell life-span, and viral generation time. Science
1996, 271:1582-6.
Siliciano JD, Kajdas J, Finzi D, et al. Long-term follow-up studies confirm the stability of the latent reservoir for HIV-1 in resting CD4+ T cells. Nature Med 2003;9:727728.
Volberding PA, Lagakos SW, Koch MA, et al. Zidovudine in asymptomatic HIV infection. A controlled trial in persons with fewer than 500 CD4-positive cells per cubic
millimeter. N Engl J Med 1990, 322:941-9.
86 ART
2. Overview of Antiretroviral Agents

Christian Hoffmann
As of now (September 2009) there are 5 different classes of antiretroviral drugs that
act at different stages of the HIV life cycle. Just about 30 drug products have been
licensed for the treatment of HIV infection, including formulations of both individual and fixed-dose combinations (Table 2.1).
The following chapter provides an overview of antiretroviral agents and their specific features and problems. Common combinations are described in the chapter on
What to Start With.
Table 2.1: Antiretroviral drugs, overview
Trade name
Abbrev. Drug
Manufacturer
Nucleoside and Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs)
Emtriva
FTC
Emtricitabine
Gilead
Epivir
3TC
Lamivudine
GSK
Retrovir
AZT
Zidovudine
GSK
Videx
DDI
Didanosine
BMS
Viread
TDF
Tenofovir
Gilead
Zerit
D4T
Stavudine
BMS
Ziagen
ABC
Abacavir
GSK
Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs)
Intelence
ETV
Etravirine
Tibotec/Janssen-Cilag
Rescriptor
DLV
Delavirdine
Pfizer
Sustiva , Stocrin
EFV
Efavirenz
BMS/MSD
NVP
Nevirapine
Boehringer Ingelheim
Viramune
Protease Inhibitors (PIs)
Aptivus
Crixivan
Invirase
Kaletra
Norvir
Prezista
Reyataz
Telzir , Lexiva
Viracept
TPV
IDV
SQV
LPV
RTV
DRV
ATV
FPV
NFV
Tipranavir*
Indinavir*
Saquinavir*
Lopinavir/ritonavir
Ritonavir
Darunavir*
Atazanavir*
Fosamprenavir*
Nelfinavir
Boehringer
MSD
Roche
Abbott
Abbott
Tibotec/Janssen-Cilag
BMS
GSK
Roche/Pfizer
Entry Inhibitors
Celsentri , Selzentry
Fuzeon
MVC
T-20
Maraviroc
Enfuvirtide
Pfizer
Roche
RAL
Raltegravir
MSD
ATP
CBV
KVX
TZV
TVD
TDF+FTC+EFV
AZT+3TC
3TC+ABC
AZT+3TC+ABC
TDF+FTC
Gilead+BMS+MSD
GSK
GSK
GSK
Gilead
Integrase Inhibitors
Isentress
Combination drugs
Atripla
Combivir
Kivexa , Epzicom
Trizivir
Truvada
87
Nucleoside Analogs (NRTIs)

Mechanism of action
Nucleoside analogs (nukes) are also referred to as nucleoside reverse transcriptase
inhibitors (NRTIs). Their target is the HIV enzyme reverse transcriptase. Acting as
alternative substrates, they compete with physiological nucleosides, differing from
them only by a minor modification in the ribose molecule. The incorporation of nucleoside analogs induces the abortion of DNA synthesis because phosphodiester
bridges can no longer be built to stabilize the double strand.
Nucleoside analogs are prodrugs. They are converted to the active metabolite only
after endocytosis, whereby they are phosphorylated to triphosphate derivatives.
Only this triphosphate is effective.
Nucleoside analogs were the first antiretroviral agents to be put on the market. AZT
(zidovudine, Retrovir) was approved for the treatment of HIV infection in 1987.
Once-daily dosing is sufficient for many nukes. Overall tolerability is fairly good.
However, frequent complaints during the first weeks are fatigue, headache and gastrointestinal problems, which range from mild abdominal discomfort to nausea,
vomiting and diarrhea. The gastrointestinal complaints are easily treated symptomatically (see capter on Management of Side Effects).
Nucleoside analogs can cause a wide variety of long-term side effects, including
myelotoxicity, lactate acidosis, polyneuropathy and pancreatitis. Many disorders of
metabolism, especially lipoatrophy, are also attributed to nucleoside analogs (Galli
2002). Long-term side effects that are probably related to mitochondrial toxicity
were first described in 1999 (Brinkmann 1999). Mitochondrial function requires
nucleosides. The metabolism of these important organelles is disrupted by the incorporation of false nucleosides leading to mitochondrial degeneration. More recent
clinical and scientific data indicates that there are probably considerable differences
between individual drugs with regard to mitochondrial toxicity. Agents like d4T or
ddI are more toxic than abacavir or 3TC and are therefore hardly ever used in HIV
treatment today, ddC having disappeared entirely. For further details see chapter on
Mitochondrial Toxicity of Nucleoside Analogs.
Nucleoside analogs are eliminated mainly by renal excretion and do not interact with
drugs that are metabolized by hepatic enzymes. There is therefore little potential for
interaction. However, ribavirin, used for treatment of hepatitis C, can reduce intracellular phosphorylation of AZT or d4T (Piscitelli 2001). In patients with renal failure,
dosages of nucleoside analogs have to be adjusted as opposed to protease inhibitors or
NNRTIs. AZT and d4T are thymidine analogs, while FTC and 3TC are cytidine analogs. Combinations containing AZT plus d4T or FTC plus 3TC are therefore pointless
since these drugs compete for the same attachment pocket. DdI is an inosine analog
converted to dideoxyadenosine; abacavir is a guanosine analog. There is a high degree
of cross-resistance between NRTIs (see chapter on Resistance).
Individual agents: Special features and problems
Abacavir (ABC, Ziagen) is a guanosine analog. Monotherapy studies showed this
drug to be able to lower viral load by approximately 1.4 logs within 4 weeks, but
that resistance develops rapidly (Harrigan 2000). Abacavir is phosphorylated intracellularly to carbovir triphosphate, which has a long half-life (Harris 2002). In
October 2004, following larger studies, abacavir was licensed for once-daily ther-
88 ART
apy (Clumeck 2004, Moyle 2005, Sosa 2005). It is also a component of Trizivir
and Kivexa, also known as Epzicom. In combination with AZT+3TC (Trizivir,
see section on Triple Nukes), abacavir was less effective than efavirenz (Gulick
2004) or indinavir (Staszewski 2001). However, efficacy was comparable to nelfinavir (Matheron 2003). In combination with 3TC, abacavir is about as effective as
AZT (DeJesus 2004) or d4T (Podzamczer 2006).
A failing ART regimen can be successfully intensified with abacavir if it is added
early enough, and if the viral load is not too high (Katlama 2000, Rozenbaum
2001). Abacavir is also used to simplify ART. Several studies have demonstrated
that patients on a successful PI- or NNRTI-containing regimen can switch safely to
abacavir plus two other NRTIs (Clumeck 2001, Katlama 2003, Martinez 2003,
Bonjoch 2005). However, there is an increased risk of virological failure, particularly in extensively pretreated patients (Opravil 2002, Martinez 2003). Caution must
be taken when combining abacavir with TDF+3TC as resistance mutations develop
rapidly (see section on Triple Nukes).
With respect to mitochondrial toxicity, abacavir seems to compare favorably to
other NRTIs. In comparison with d4T, the risk of lipoatrophy is lower (Podzamczer
2006). Moreover, switching from d4T to abacavir led to improvements in subjects
with existing lipodystrophy (Carr 2002, John 2003, Moyle 2003, McComsey 2005).
Improvement was associated with an increase in mitochondrial DNA, as shown by
in vitro studies (Hoy 2004, Martin 2004, McComsey 2004, McComsey2005).
One drawback to the use of abacavir is the risk of a hypersensitivity reaction
(HSR). HSR occurs in 7-11% of patients. On re-exposure after stopping ABC due
to HSR, it can be fatal. Cases of severe HSR have been reported after only a single
abacavir tablet (De la Rosa 2004) or after treatment interruption despite prior tolerability (El-Sahly 2004). Of note, a genetic predisposition exists. Pharmacogenetic
testing for the HLA B*5701 allele can be used to prevent HSR (Mallal 2002,
Hetherington 2002). The predictive value of this test was proven in a large study in
approximately 2000 patients (Mallal 2008). However, clinical HRS cases without
the HLA B*5701 allele have been observed on rare occasions.
More recently, cohort studies reported on an association between recent use of abacavir and an increased risk of myocardial infarction (Sabin 2008, SMART 2008, Lang
2009, Lundgren 2009). Although the cause of this phenomenon is still under debate
e.g., inflammatory effects are being discussed experts suggest that for now, it seems
prudent to withhold abacavir from patients with high underlying cardiovascular disease risk if suitable alternative regimens are available (Reiss 2009).
AZT (zidovudine, Retrovir) - was the first antiretroviral agent to make it to the
market, in 1987. Even very early studies that tested AZT monotherapy were able to
show a significant survival benefit at least in significantly immunocompromised
patients (Fischl 1987). In contrast, two other early, very large studies, ACTG 016
and ACTG 019, were not able to demonstrate significant survival benefit in asymptomatic patients, although the risk for progression was significantly reduced in both
(Fischl 1990b, Volberding 1990). Even at that time, it started to become apparent
that the success of AZT monotherapy was likely to be limited. The Concorde Study
brought AZT into disrepute by showing that there was no long-term benefit of AZT
treatment. The higher doses that were given in these first few years (1500 mg/day)
led to considerable myelotoxicity (Fischl 1990a). Myelotoxicity should also not be
89
underestimated for the standard current dosages of 500-600 mg/day and monitoring
of blood count is obligatory. Long-term treatment almost always increases MCV
(mean corpuscular volume of erythrocytes), which is to some extent suitable as a
means of controlling adherence.
AZT is very effective in combination with other ARV drugs. In the nineties, the
combination of AZT with 3TC was one of the most frequently used backbones in
HIV therapy. AZT has been tested in numerous clinical studies and offers more
extensive and long-term experience than any other agent.
AZT finally came under pressure when, in the Gilead 934 study, it performed significantly worse than tenofovir. In this large-scale randomized study, ART-nave
patients were treated with efavirenz and with either AZT+3TC or TDF+FTC. Severe anaemia was more frequent on AZT, leading to withdrawal in 5.5% of the
cases (Gallant 2006). After 144 weeks, fewer patients on AZT had a viral load of
less then 400 copies/ml than on TDF (58% vs 71%). This difference was due in
large part to the fact that more patients on AZT withdrew due to adverse events
(11% vs 5%). Apart from myelotoxicity, side effects leading to discontinuation
were mainly gastrointestinal complaints such as nausea, usually occuring within the
first few weeks of treatment. Moreover, a significant reduction in fat tissue of the
extremities while on AZT was observed in this study (Arribas 2009).
Consequently, in many guidelines AZT is now no longer listed as a preferred firstline drug in treatment nave patients. Another important disadvantage is that AZT
needs to be taken twice daily as opposed to most HIV compounds, thereby disqualifying it as being part of once-daily combinations. However, AZT currently remains
a component of many ART regimens and transmission prophylaxes as it proves to
be valuable especially with regard to resistance. For example, a hypersensitivity to
AZT is seen in viral isolates with mutations K65R or M184V. Lack of neurotoxicity
and a good CNS penetration are additional advantages.
ddC (zalcitabine, HIVID) was the third NRTI to reach the market in 1992. Limited efficacy, unfavorable pharmacokinetics and side effects led to its withdrawal
from the market in June 2006.
ddI (didanosine, Videx) was, in 1991, the second nucleoside analog to be licensed.
Early studies showed improvement in survival rates of treatment-naive patients with
AZT+ddI compared to AZT monotherapy. This effect was less marked in AZTpretreated patients (Saravolatz 1996). In ACTG 175, monotherapy with ddI was more
potent than AZT, including with regard to disease progression (Hammer 1996). However, this was not seen in other studies (Dolin 1995, Floridia 1997). Following failure
of AZT, ddI is probably more effective than d4T (Havlir 2000).
Antiretroviral efficacy of ddI is comparable to AZT as part of triple combination
therapy (Berenguer 2009, Crespo 2009). The introduction of acid resistant tablets in
2000 replaced the chewable tablets used for many years and improved tolerability
significantly. However, ddI is currently only used in specific resistance situations
(Molina 2005) mainly due to toxicity. Gastrointestinal complaints and polyneuropathy are the main side effects. Pancreatitis is more specific, occurring in up to 10%,
and can be fatal in individual cases. This toxicity is probably dose-dependent
(Jablonowski 1995). The cause for this is unclear, but could possibly be related to
disorders of purine metabolism (Moyle 2004). Special caution should be given to
90 ART
combinations with ribavirin, d4T, hydroxyurea or tenofovir (Havlir 2001, Martinez
2004). Mitochondrial toxicity is greater than with other NRTIs (see chapter on Mitochondrial Toxicity). An increased risk of myocardial infarction, as with abacavir,
is also possible (Sabin 2008). Dosage needs to be adjusted according to the patients
weight. If the body weight is less than 60 kg, the dose should be reduced from
400 mg to 250 mg. Of note, ddI has to always be taken on an empty stomach.
d4T (stavudine, Zerit) was the second thymidine analog to be introduced after
AZT. Although tolerated better (less gastrointestinal complaints) and just as effective as AZT (Spruance 1997, Squires 2000), d4T is hardly ever used nowadays in
western industrialised countries. This is mainly due to its long-term toxicities in
comparison to other NRTIs, shown in various large randomized studies. In the
Gilead 903 study, d4T showed comparable efficacy to tenofovir, but had a much
more pronounced mitochondrial toxicity (Gallant 2004). In fact, one large study
was prematurely terminated because d4T was not only more toxic but also significantly less potent than FTC (Saag 2004).
Use of d4T is associated with lactic acidosis, hyperlactacidemia and Guillain-Barrlike syndromes (John 2001, Miller 2000, Mokrzycki 2000, Shah 2003). In a German cohort, the risk of lipoatrophy on d4T doubled in one year (Mauss 2002); in a
Swiss cohort it tripled in two years (Bernasconi 2002). Other data points in the
same direction (Mallal 2000, Chene 2002, Mallon 2002, Podcamzer 2006). Numerous studies have now been published in which substitution of d4T with other
NRTIs, particularly abacavir or tenofovir, had positive effects on lipoatrophy and
other metabolic disorders (Carr 2003, John 2003, Moyle 2003, Martin 2004,
McComsey 2004, Suleiman 2004). d4T should be replaced whenever possible, ideally with abacavir or tenofovir (Moyle 2006). There is, however, no assurance for a
quick or easy resolution of lipoatrophy, and, above all, great patience is required.
There are few reasons to prescribe d4T in 2009.
3TC (lamivudine, Epivir) was licensed in Europe in August 1996 as the fifth
NRTI. It is a well-tolerated cytidine analog and part of various combination preparations such as Combivir, Kivexa (or Epzicom) and Trizivir. Its main disadvantage is rapid development of resistance, and a single point mutation (M184V) is
sufficient for compromising its effectiveness. Resistance is likely to develop after
only a few weeks (Eron 1995). The full effect of 3TC only emerges in combination
with other nucleoside analogs. Indeed, large studies such as NUCB 3002 or
CAESAR showed a significant clinical benefit when 3TC was added to nucleoside
therapy (Staszewski 1997). The M184V point mutation has advantages. Not only
does it improve the susceptibility of certain AZT-resistant viruses in some patients
but it also impairs viral fitness (Miller 2002). This was demonstrated in a study on
monotherapy in treatment-experienced patients with the M184V mutation: maintaining 3TC monotherapy was associated with a lower increase in viral load and
slower CD4 decline compared to completely stopping ART (see chapter on Salvage). Keeping 3TC as part of a combination despite proven resistance is therefore
sensible in order to conserve the M184V mutation and thus reduce the replicative
capacity of HIV, especially when not all the other agents in the regimen are active.
In the Atlantic Study, 3TC in combination with d4T+ddI proved significantly
weaker virologically than indinavir or nevirapine (Van Leeuwen 2003). The combination with abacavir and tenofovir is also inappropriate (see section on Triple
91
Nukes). The antiviral efficacy of 3TC equals that of its main competitor FTC
(Rousseau 2003, Benson 2004). Once-daily dosing is possible although half-life of
3TC is less than that of FTC (DeJesus 2004). A pleasant effect of 3TC is also its
good efficacy against hepatitis B viruses which is useful in coinfected patients.
FTC (emtricitabine, Emtriva) is a cytidine analog. It is biochemically very similar to 3TC, but has a longer half-life. Once-daily dosing is possible, and the drug
also has efficacy against HBV. Tolerability is good, while the potential for interactions is minimal (Frampton 2005). FTC seems to have a low affinity for the mitochondrial polymerase so the risk of mitochondrial toxicity is likely to be relatively
low. FTC was as effective as 3TC both as monotherapy as well as in combination
with AZT (Rousseau 2003, Benson 2004). However, as with 3TC, efficacy is limited by the M184V point mutation. The drug was licensed in 2003. Its randomized,
double blind registrational trials showed that FTC was clearly more effective and
tolerable than d4T. The combination of TDF+FTC was superior to AZT+3TC in the
large GS-934 study especially due to tolerability (Gallant 2006, Arribas 2008). Tolerability was probably in most part due to the second agent (AZT or d4T) and not
either FTC or 3TC. Post-approval, the ALIZE study confirmed the good long-term
tolerability and efficacy of a once-daily combination of FTC+ddI plus efavirenz
(Molina 2005). FTC is currently an important component in combination therapy
particularly as a fixed partner of tenofovir (Truvada) and with tenofovir and
efavirenz (Atripla). In contrast, FTC does not play an important relevant role as an
individual agent. Due to the fact that no clinical differences have yet been established between 3TC and FTC, the choice between the two is usually determined by
its co-medication (ABC, TDF, AZT).
TDF (tenofovir, Viread) acts as a false building block similar to nucleoside analogs, targeting the enzyme reverse transcriptase. However, in addition to the pentose and nucleic base, it is monophosphorylated and therefore referred to as a nucleotide analog. A more accurate description of the agent is tenofovir DF (disoproxil fumarate), which refers to the phosphonate form from which the phosphonate
component is only removed by a serum esterase, and which is activated intracellularly in two phosphorylation steps (Robbins 1998).
Tenofovir is available as a single agent, but is most often administered in fixed-dose
combinations within Truvada and Atripla. In the GS-902 and -907 studies, in
which tenofovir was added to an existing antiretroviral therapy, the viral load fell
by approximately 0.6 logs after 48 weeks (Schooley 2002, Squires 2003). Tenofovir
is very well tolerated. Side effects in these studies were comparable to the placebo
arms. The 903 Study was a double-blind study in which ART-naive patients were
given either tenofovir or d4T (both arms received 3TC and efavirenz). Results
showed at least equivalent potency with a significantly reduced incidence of polyneuropathy and lipid changes compared to d4T (Gallant 2004). It has been shown
that phosphorylated tenofovir has a low affinity for mitochondrial polymerase (Suo
1998). As a result of this convincing clinical data and its licensing in 2001, the drug
is now very widely used in antiretroviral therapies. In the 934 study, TDF+FTC
were significantly better than AZT+3TC (Gallant 2006, Arribas 2008), particularly
due to the improved tolerability. Furthermore, tenofovir can help improve lipoatrophy and dyslipidemia (Moyle 2006, Llibre 2006, Valdez 2008). Another advantage
is its great efficacy against the hepatitis B virus which resulted in the licensing of
92 ART
this drug for monoinfected HBV patients. Further areas of use are in the vertical
prevention and preexposure prophylaxes (refer to appropriate chapters).
The extensive use of tenofovir has revealed a few problems. The combination with
ddI should be avoided for various reasons (see section on Inappropriate Drug Combinations). An unfavorable interaction with atazanavir exists which needs to be
boosted with ritonavir (Taburet 2004). Efficacy may also be limited in some triple
nuke regimens (see section on Triple Nukes).
However, the main problem today associated with the use of tenofovir is its potential risk of nephrotoxicity (see chapter on HIV and kidneys). Nephrotoxicity is reflected by a mostly mild disturbance of renal function (Gallant 2005, Mauss 2005,
Thompson 2006, Heffelfinger 2006). Fortunately, severe dysfunctions are very rare
(Gallant 2008). In a Swiss cohort trial, 46 out of 2592 patients (1.6%) had to discontinue tenofovir due to renal toxicity, on average within 442 days (Fux 2007).
Renal failure can also be observed in the setting of Fanconi syndrome, a defect of
the proximal tubular transport (Karras 2003, Schaaf 2003, Peyriere 2004). Patients
with renal disease should either not be treated with tenofovir, or at least receive a
lower dose (see chapter on Drugs). Elderly patients and patients with low body
weight are particularly at risk (Crane 2006). However, it is so far impossible to predict who is at risk of developing renal dysfunctions. According to current data, it is
important to remain alert and to regularly check renal function of patients on tenofovir, especially of those on long-term therapy.
The choice of nuke backbones
Until now, all classical ART regimens have always contained two nucleoside or
nucleotide analogs (nuke backbone). This is mainly due to historical reasons. Nucleoside analogs were the first HIV drugs, and when PIs appeared years later,
treatment with two nukes was standard. As knowledge has grown about the mitochondrial toxicity of some NRTIs, this concept is now being questioned by an increasing number of experts (see section on Nuke-Sparing). However, data on combinations without NRTIs are still limited, so that there are currently no recommendations for such strategies. The most frequently used backbones are TDF+FTC and
ABC+3TC. Both are available in fixed-dose combinations which can be taken once
daily. AZT+3TC which was the long-standing standard backbone in the nineties is
now considered an alternative.
93
Table 2.2: NRTI combinations
3TC
3TC
ABC
ddI
d4T
FTC
TDF
AZT
+++
+
+
++
++
ABC
ddI
d4T
FTC
TDF
AZT
+++
++
0
+
0
-
0
0
0
++
0
0
+++
++
+
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
+
0
0
0
0
-
+++
0
+++ preferred backbones, ++ recommended as alternative, + other alternative, 0 insufficient

data, - should be avoided
TDF+3TC/FTC
There is convincing data for the combination of TDF plus FTC (or 3TC). In the
Gilead 903 Study, the combination TDF+3TC was not only as virologically effective as d4T+3TC, but was also much better tolerated (Gallant 2004). Since the introduction of FTC and the combination tablets of Truvada and Atripla, tenofovir
is much more frequently administered together with FTC than with 3TC. In the
Gilead 934 Study (Gallant 2006), enroling 509 ART-naive patients, TDF+FTC was
tested against AZT+3TC in an open-label design (all patients also received
efavirenz). At 48 weeks, a larger proportion of patients in the TDF+FTC arm
reached less than 50 copies/ml (80% versus 70%). This was even true for patients
with a higher baseline viral load. The significant differences were primarily related
to the poorer tolerability of Combivir, which often resulted in the discontinuation
of therapy (9% versus 4%). Virological failure and resistance mutations were approximately equal in both arms and were infrequent. After 144 weeks, lipoatrophy
was less frequent in the TDF+FTC arm (Arribas 2008). Providing no undesirable
surprises arise with regard to nephrotoxicity in the long-term, TDF+FTC should
remain the most frequently used backbone.
ABC+3TC
Another frequently used backbone is ABC+3TC, which is also available in a fixeddose combination known either as Kivexa or Epzicom. The double-blind randomized CNA30024 Study showed the non-inferiority of ABC+3TC in comparison to
Combivir (DeJesus 2004). ABC+3TC even led to a significantly higher rise in CD4
T cells, although there was also a higher rate of allergies at 9% versus 3% (DeJesus
2004). The ZODIAC study also demonstrated good potency for ABC+3TC with
efavirenz (Moyle 2004). In the ABCDE Study, ABC+3TC had the same efficacy as
d4T+3TC, but had less toxicity (Podzamczer 2006).
Over the last few years, ABC+3TC has been compared to TDF+FTC in several
clinical trials such as BICOMBO (Martinez 2007), HEAT (Smith 2008), ACTG
5202 (Sax 2008) or STEAL (Cooper 2009). Current data of these trials conducted in
different patient populations (pre-treated and ART-nave) and with different third
compounds in different geographical areas of the world suggest that potential differences between these two backbones are only minor. Until now, the only study
showing a difference with respect to efficacy was ACTG 5202. This ongoing, ran-
94 ART
domized, four-armed trial compares efavirenz with atazanavir/r with the two backbones TDF+FTC or ABC+3TC. In highly viremic patients with a viral load above
100,000 copies/ml at baseline, an interim analysis revealed a higher risk of virological failure with ABC+3TC both with efavirenz and atazanavir/r (Sax 2008).
This observation remains under debate as other studies have not confirmed these
differences, among them post-hoc analyses of trials initiated by GSK, the manufacturer of ABC+3TC, but also other randomized trials such as HEAT or ARIES
(Pappa 2008, Squires 2008, Fine 2009). There may also be differences with regard
to tolerability. In HEAT, renal dysfunction was slightly more frequent on
TDF+FTC (Fine 2009). In the STEAL study, cardiovascular events were more frequent in the ABC+3TC arm (Cooper 2009). It should be noted, that in most trials
such as BICOMBO or ACTG 5202, HLA B*5701 testing was not performed which
might have reduced the risk for abacavir discontinuation due to HSR. The STEAL
study and some cohort studies (see above) suggest that, according to some experts
for now, it seems prudent to withhold abacavir from patients with high underlying
cardiovascular disease risk if suitable alternative regimens are available (Reiss
2009). A similar philosophy may be taken with persons who start treatment with a
high viral load, to look for options to ABC until A5202 can be confirmed.
AZT+3TC
For many years, in many international guidelines, AZT+3TC was regarded as the
standard backbone for first-line therapy. There is more experience with this combination than with any other. The resistance profile is favorable: the M184V mutation
that frequently develops during 3TC treatment increases sensitivity to AZT.
AZT+3TC are usually given as Combivir. Although the licensing study for Combivir showed no differences in toxicity (Eron 2000), in our experience the 300 mg
AZT dose in Combivir is too high for some patients (e.g., pregnant women) and
can lead to anemia. In such cases, it is worth trying AZT+3TC as individual formulations, so that the dose of AZT can be reduced to 250 mg.
AZT+3TC have comparable efficacy to d4T+3TC (Foudraine 1998, Eron 2000,
Squires 2000) or AZT+FTC (Benson 2004). The ACTG 384 Study showed superiority of AZT+3TC over d4T+ddI (Robbins 2003, Shafer 2003). Early results suggested a lower rate of lipoatrophy (Molina 1999). However, the development of
lipoatrophy during AZT+3TC occurred only slightly later than with d4T+ddI (Robbins 2003, Shafer 2003). AZT+3TC was shown to be less effective and less welltolerated than TDF+FTC in the GS-934 study (Gallant 2006, Pozniak 2006). Compared to ABC+3TC, immune reconstitution may be less impressive (DeJesus 2004).
Facing these potential disadvantages and the fact that once daily dosing is not possible, many guidelines no longer recommend AZT+3TC as a preferred backbone in
treatment nave patients.
ddI+3TC (FTC)
In many treatment guidelines, this combination is listed as an alternative for ART
nave patients. Of note, data is limited. According to some early duo-therapy trials,
this combination is less effective than other backbones (Kuritzkes 1999). Newer
studies suggest a comparable efficacy (and better tolerability) versus AZT+3TC
(Berenguer 2008). However, facing the long-term toxicity of ddI we would only
recommend ddI+3TC when important reasons argue against the use of TDF+FTC
or ABC+3TC.
95
Poor and not-recommended backbones

It should be noted that the majority of the clinical trials cited above were conducted
in treatment nave patients. In pretreated patients, other backbones may become
necessary or meaningful due to resistance or lack of tolerability. But the following
backbones should be avoided whenever possible.
Many newer guidelines explicitly recommend avoiding the previously very popular
combination of d4T+ddI. Mitochondrial toxicity is high with both individual agents,
and it performs poorer than AZT+3TC (Robbins 2003). At treatment failure,
thymidine analog mutations (TAMs) are usually present, which limits future NRTI
options. ddI+d4T is no longer justified for first-line therapy.
Because ddI has to be taken on an empty stomach, and, especially due to the greater
risk of gastrointestinal side effects AZT+ddI is not recommended either (AZT is
better-tolerated when taken with a meal).
d4T+3TC is a combination recommended only in limited situations for first-line
therapy. Although it is very well tolerated initially, as previously noted d4T leads to
problems with long-term toxicity. Studies such as ABCDE or GS-903 have shown
that d4T+3TC causes notably more lipoatrophy than ABC+3TC or TDF+3TC (Gallant 2004, Podzamczer 2006). This combination should be used today only when
neither AZT, abacavir nor tenofovir can be used due to comorbidity.
There is no data or any argument for the use of d4T+FTC or d4T+TDF.
The combination TDF+ddI is relatively toxic and, over the years, many studies have
shown lower virological and immunological efficacy (see section on Inappropriate
Initial Therapies).
TDF+ABC are likely to be problematic due to rapid development of resistance.
AZT+d4T and FTC+3TC are antagonistic (competitive, as noted above) and should
never be employed.
Alternating backbones, with regular changes from one backbone to another, can
currently not be recommended, although initial studies indicate that this strategy is
at least not harmful (Molina 1999, Martinez-Picado 2003).
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98 ART
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99
Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs)

Mechanism of action and efficacy
NNRTIs were first described in 1990. As with the nucleoside analogs, the target
enzyme is reverse transcriptase. However, NNRTIs bind directly and noncompetitively to the enzyme at a position in near to but distinct fromthe substrate
binding site for nucleosides. The resulting complex blocks the catalyst activated
binding site of the reverse transcriptase. This, in turn, can bind fewer nucleosides,
slowing polymerization down significantly. In contrast to NRTIs, NNRTIs do not
require activation within the cell.
Three NNRTIs nevirapine, delavirdine and efavirenz were introduced between
1996 and 1998. Although studies such as ACTG 241 or INCAS had already clearly
demonstrated the superiority of triple therapy compared to double nukes (DAquila
1996, Raboud 1999, Conway 2000), the acceptance and use of the NNRTIs was
rather hesitant, and did not receive the media attention given to the PIs.
This was due to the early observation that functional monotherapy with NNRTIs,
i.e., the mere addition of an NNRTI to a failing NRTI regimen, showed practically
no effect. There were also initial difficulties in dealing with the development of
problematic resistance: the risk of resistance is not only very high, but it can develop very rapidly. Once it occurs, it almost always indicates resistance to the entire
class. Waiting too long when there is insufficient suppression of viral load is almost
certain to lead to complete resistance to this class of drugs. One point mutation at
position 103 (K103N) of the hydrophobic binding site is enough to eliminate the
entire drug class. Resistance has now been described even in mothers who simply
took a single dose of nevirapine as transmission prophylaxis (Eshleman 2002).
In large studies, the frequency of NNRTI mutations following a single perinatal
nevirapine mono-prophylaxis was between 14% and a worrying 65% (Cunningham
2002, Jourdain 2004, Johnson 2005). This is possibly promoted by the long half-life
of NNRTIs (Muro 2005). Thus, NNRTIs should always be stopped some days prior
to the other drugs if a break in therapy is planned (see chapter on Treatment Interruption). The rapid development of resistance is also reflected in the increasing
number of primary transmitted resistances: in 2001/2002 almost 10% of all acute
infections in Europe had NNRTI resistance (Wensing 2005). If there is resistance to
one NNRTI, there is no need to start or continue treatment with an NNRTI the
immunological or virological status will not improve (Picketty 2004) because the
ability of HIV to replicate is not reduced as much by NNRTI mutations as by some
PI or NRTI mutations.
Despite the problems with resistance, both randomized and large cohort studies
have demonstrated that NNRTIs are extremely effective when combined with nucleoside analogs. The immunological and virological potency of NNRTIs in treatment-naive patients is at least equivalent, if not superior, to that of PIs (Staszewski
1999, Torre 2001, Podzamczer 2002, Robbins 2003). Studies such as ACTG 5192
or FIRST seem to support this superiority (MacArthur 2006, Riddler 2008). However, the efficacy of NNRTIs in treatment-experienced patients is probably weaker
in comparison to PIs (Yazdanpanah 2004).
The simple dosing and the overall good tolerability have enabled nevirapine and
efavirenz to become important components of ART regimens, which are often even
ranked above those containing PIs. Over the last few years, many randomized stud-
100 ART
ies have demonstrated that it is possible to switch from a PI to a NNRTI if good
virological suppression has already been achieved. The efficacy was sometimes
even better on NNRTIs than on the continued PI regimen (see chapter When to
Switch).
Like efavirenz, nevirapine is metabolized by the cytochrome p450 system (Miller
1997). Nevirapine is an inducer, whereas efavirenz is an inducer and an inhibitor of
p450. In the combination of efavirenz plus either saquinavir or lopinavir the effects
are so strong that dose adjustment is necessary.
So far, no study has provided definitive evidence that one NNRTI is more potent
than another. Whereas delavirdine no longer has any significant role, due to various
reasons (see below), nevirapine and efavirenz have an equal standing in most countries. Cohort studies from the last few years suggest a slight superiority of efavirenz
(Phillips 2001, Cozzi-Lepri 2002, van den Berg 2008). However, these studies have
only limited value as they included very heterogeneous patient groups. Overall,
differences are likely to be small, particularly in treatment-naive patients. A randomized pilot study from Spain (SENC Study) at least showed no significant differences between nevirapine and efavirenz in one group of patients (Nunez 2002).
In the 2NN Study (The Double Non-Nucleoside Study), both agents were compared
for the first time in a large-scale randomized study (Van Leth 2004). A total of 1216
patients received a nuke backbone of d4T+3TC with either nevirapine 1 x 400 mg,
nevirapine 2 x 200 mg, efavirenz 1 x 600 mg or efavirenz 1 x 800 mg plus nevirapine 1 x 400 mg. The only significant virological difference was an advantage of the
efavirenz arm over the double NNRTI arm, mainly due to higher toxicity in the
latter. In the nevirapine arm with 1 x 400 mg, severe hepatic side effects occurred
more frequently than in the efavirenz arm; on the other hand, lipids were more favorably influenced in the nevirapine group. Sub-analyses of 2NN have shown that
the hepatic toxicity associated with once-daily doses of nevirapine was observed in
a single center in Thailand (Storfer 2005). In a more recent randomized trial no increased risk for hepatotoxicity was observed in patients on once-daily nevirapine
(Podzamczer 2008). In a subanalysis of the FIRST trial there were no differences
with regard to efficacy between nevirapine and efavirenz (van den Berg 2008).
2NN, FIRST, as well as switch studies, such as the Spanish Nefa trial (Martinez
2003), demonstrate that the choice of NNRTI should be based mainly on the different side effect profiles (see below). Patient-specific factors should also be taken into
account (Sheran 2005).
In 2008, etravirine, a second-generation NNRTI, was approved in the US and in
Europe. Since then, there is now a new option for patients with NNRTI resistance
mutations, the famous K103N.
Nevirapine (NVP, Viramune) was the first licensed NNRTI in 1997. The combination of nevirapine with AZT+ddI is probably the oldest HAART combination of
all (DAquila 1996, Henry 1998, Ravoud 1999). Nevirapine has been tested against
protease inhibitors in randomized studies. In the Atlantic Study, nevirapine performed comparablly to indinavir (van Leeuwen 2003). In the Combine Study, there
was a trend towards higher virological efficacy in comparison to nelfinavir
101
(Podzamczer 2002). More recently, preliminary results of the ARTEN study

showed non-inferiority of nevirapine compared to boosted atazanavir. In this first
large study to directly compare the efficacy and safety of an NNRTI and a ritonavirboosted PI when combined with a modern backbone such as TDF+FTC, 67% and
65% achieved the study's primary endpoint of viral load of < 50 copies/ml (Soriano
2009).
Over the long-term nevirapine is usually well-tolerated. Studies such as Atlantic,
2NN or ARTEN discovered comparably favorable lipid changes (Van der Valk
2001, Van Leth 2004, Soriano 2009). In a small randomized trial lipid profiles improved when efavirenz was replaced by nevirapine (Parienti 2007). Whether these
positive effects will have clinical relevance over time and really help to prevent
cardiovascular events remains to be seen.
Nevirapine causes elevation of liver enzymes in up to 20%, which may occasionally
be severe. Lead-in dosing is always required. During the first eight weeks on nevirapine, biweekly monitoring of transaminases is recommended. A rash develops in
15-20% and leads to discontinuation in up to 7% of patients (Miller 1997). Prophylactic administration of antihistamines or steroids does not prevent the rash
(GESIDA 2004, Launay 2004). In the case of an isolated rash or isolated elevation
of transaminases (up to five times the upper limit of normal), treatment can usually
be continued but use caution when both occur simultaneously. It is recommended to
stop treatment if a rash occurs together with even a slight elevation of transaminases (> 2-fold ULN). It is important to note that hepatic toxicity may occur even
after several months (Sulkowski 2002).
Patients with chronic hepatitis are at a higher risk, as are women with a low body
weight (Sulkowski 2000, Sanne 2005, Kappelhoff 2005). An increased risk has also
been reported for patients with good immune status. Women with CD4 T cell
counts above 250/l have a 12-fold elevated risk (11% versus 0.9%). In men there
is an increased risk above 400 cells/l (6.3% versus 1.2%). Although other studies
failed to reveal an association between toxicity and immune status (Manfredi 2006,
Wolf 2006, Knobel 2008), it is recommended not to use nevirapine in treatment
nave patients above these ranges. In contrast, the risk is not elevated in ARTexperienced patients with higher CD4 T cells at the time of initiation of nevirapine
(Mocroft 2007, De Lazzari 2008, Wit 2008). There is some evidence for an association between nevirapine-associated hypersensitivity and specific alleles at the HLADRB1 (Martin 2005) and polymorphisms in the p-glycoprotein drug transporter
MDR1 gene (Haas 2006, Ritchie 2006). However, there is currently no test available which is able to predict hypersensitivity.
Permanent and significant Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) elevations are
very common, which may subject patients to false suspicions of excess alcohol consumption.
The pharmacokinetics of nevirapine appears to allow once-daily dosing (Van
Heeswijk 2000). Various studies such as 2NN, ARTEN or Atlantic have successfully used 400 mg once daily (van Leeuwen 2003, Van Leth 2004, Soriano 2009).
However, once-daily dosage has not yet been approved. Currently an extended release formulation of nevirapine (nevirapine XR) is under investigation. Launch is
planned for 2011.
102 ART
Efavirenz (EFV, Sustiva, Stocrin) was the third NNRTI to be approved, and the
first for which it could be shown that NNRTIs were at least as effective and maybe
better than PIs in untreated or only slightly treatment-experienced patients. In particular, the 006 Study showed a superiority of efavirenz over indinavir (Staszewski
1999). Since then, efavirenz has been compared to other drugs in many large randomized studies. Efavirenz usually does well in ACTG 5095, efavirenz in combination with AZT+3TC was better than abacavir (Gulick 2004); in ACTG 384 it was
better than nelfinavir (Robbins 2003, Shafter 2003); and in AI424-034 it was at
least as effective as atazanavir (Squires 2004). In ACTG 5142, efavirenz appeared
to be superior to lopinavir/r although resistance mutations were more frequently
observed in the efavirenz arm (Riddler 2008).
In many guidelines, efavirenz is among the preferred drugs for treatment nave patients. However, there are some problems with its use. Mild CNS side effects are
typical for efavirenz, which is recommended to be taken in the evening before
sleeping. Patients should be warned about these side effects, which usually include
dizziness and numbness, but when taken before bed may also manifest as vivid
dreams or even nightmares. In addition, patients should be warned about potentially
hazardous tasks such as driving or operating machinery. The side effects probably
correlate with high plasma levels (Marzolini 2001). Black African patients in particular seem to have a genetic predisposition (Haas 2004, Wyen 2008). Efavirenz
disrupts sleep architecture (Gallego 2004). In one study, after four weeks of treatment with efavirenz, 66% of patients complained of dizziness, 48% of abnormal
dreams, 37% of somnolence and 35% of insomnia (Fumaz 2002). Although these
symptoms seem to resolve during the course of treatment, they may persist in about
one fifth of patients (Lochet 2003). In such cases, efavirenz should be replaced if
possible.
Liver problems occur less frequently than with nevirapine. Lead-in dosing is not
necessary with EFV. Once-daily dosing is the recommended dose due to its long
half-life. Efavirenz is a part of the fixed-dose combination Atripla.
However, lipids are not as favorably affected as with nevirapine. Gynecomastia is
also seen on efavirenz, which is not only a psychological burden, but can also be
painful (Rahim 2004). In such cases, efavirenz should be replaced with nevirapine
if possible. Efavirenz is teratogenic and contraindicated in pregnancy. It should be
avoided in women of child-bearing age.
Table 2.3. Frequency of the most important side effects of nevirapine and efavirenz
(The numbers are based on various studies referenced above)
Nevirapine
Efavirenz
CNS side effects
Rare
58-66%
Severe CNS side effects
Very rare
5-7%
Hepatotoxicity
17%
8%
Dyslipidemia
No
Frequent
Gynecomastia
No
Occasional
Rash
15%
5%
103
Etravirine (ETV, Intelence) is a diarylpyrimidine (DAPY) analog developed by

Tibotec (Janssen-Cilag). This first second-generation NNRTI was approved in 2008
for antiretroviral treatment-experienced adult patients.
Etravirine works well against wild-type viruses, as well as resistant mutants, among
them the classical NNRTI mutations such as K103N (Andries 2004). The genetic
resistance barrier is higher than that of other NNRTIs. This appears to be because,
by changing its confirmation, etravirine can bind very flexibly to the HIV-1 reverse
transcriptase (Vingerhoets 2005). Mutations of the enzyme binding site therefore
hardly affect the binding and therefore the potency of this NNRTI (Das 2004).
In Phase I/II studies, etravirine lowered viral load by an average of 2.0 logs in
treatment-nave patients after only one week (Gruzdev 2003) and by 0.9 logs in the
presence of NNRTI mutations (Gazzard 2003). In C233, a large Phase II trial on
199 patients with NNRTI- and PI-mutations, who had previously been intensively
treated, the viral load was approximately one log less than with placebo after
48 weeks (TMC125 Writing Group 2007).
In another Phase II study, etravirine was compared with an investigator-selected PI
in NNRTI-resistant, PI-nave patients. In an unplanned interim analysis, patients
receiving etravirine demonstrated suboptimal virological responses relative to the
control PI. Therefore, trial enrolment was stopped prematurely. Therefore the use of
etravirine plus NRTIs alone may not be optimal in PI-nave patients with first-line
virological failure on an NNRTI-based regimen. Baseline two-class resistance,
rather than pharmacokinetics or other factors, was the most likely reason for suboptimal responses (Ruxrungtham 2008).
There are two large studies (DUET-1 and -2) leading to the approval of etravirine.
In these double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase III trials, patients on failing antiretroviral therapy with resistance to currently available NNRTIs and at least three primary PI mutations were randomly assigned to receive either etravirine or placebo,
each given twice daily with darunavir/r, investigator-selected NRTIs, and optional
T-20 (Lazzarin 2007, Madruga 2007). At 24 weeks more patients on etravirine
achieved a viral load of less than 50 copies/ml (56% versus 39% in DUET-1, 62%
versus 44% in DUET-2). A pooled analyis revealed a clinical benefit with regard to
OIs and mortality (Hirschel 2007). However, the overall effect of etravirine decreased with an increasing number of NNRTI resistance mutations (Vingerhoets
2007).
Etravirine has so far been well-tolerated. In the DUET trials, tolerability was comparable to placebo. Only the typical NNRTI rash was observed more frequently (17
versus 9%). FDA recently issued a warning on a limited number of cases of Stevens
Johnson Syndrome.
There does not appear to be any relevant interaction with methadone or other antiretroviral agents, with one exception: the level of etravirine sinks significantly when
combined with tipranavir (Kakuda 2006). Etravirine, at a dose of 800 mg (2 x
200 mg tablets BID), should be taken with a meal as this increases the absorption.
Taken together, etravirine is an important and well-tolerated option for patients with
NNRTI resistance. However, its efficacy is not unlimited. As other antiretroviral
compounds, etravirine needs other active drugs. Current data suggest that etravirine
should always be combined with a boosted PI, preferably darunavir.
104 ART
Delavirdine (DLV, Rescriptor) was, in April 1997, the second NNRTI to be licensed by the FDA. Due to the pill burden and the required three times daily dosing, delavirdine is currently rarely prescribed. Delavirdine is not licensed in Europe
where, in 1999, an application for licensure was rejected due to insufficient efficacy
data. Nevertheless, delavirdine may be as effective as the other NNRTIs (Conway
2000). Rash (30%) probably occurs more frequently than with other NNRTIs. Delavirdine increases plasma levels of various PIs, including saquinavir (Harris 2002).
However, use of this as a strategy for boosting, has not been widely accepted. Even
in the US where it was approved, use (and so, helpful real life data) is limited.
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106 ART
Protease Inhibitors (PIs)

Mechanism of action and efficacy
The HIV protease cuts the viral gag-pol polyprotein into functional subunits. If the
protease is inhibited and proteolytic splicing prevented, non-infectious virus particles will result. With the knowledge of the molecular structure of the protease encoded by the virus, the first protease inhibitors were designed in the early nineties;
these agents were modified in such a way that they fit exactly into the active site of
the HIV protease (Youle 2007).
Since 1995, protease inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of HIV infection.
At least three large studies with clinical endpoints demonstrated the efficacy of
indinavir, ritonavir and saquinavir (Hammer 1997, Cameron 1998, Stellbrink 2000).
Although PIs have been criticized at times due to their sometimes high pill burden
and side effects (see below), they remain an essential component of antiretroviral
therapies. With growing knowledge of the mitochondrial toxicity of nucleoside analogs and through the introduction of easy-to-take PIs, this class of drugs is currently
experiencing a renaissance today, even PI-only regimens are being investigated.
As with the NNRTIs, initially there was competition among pharmaceutical companies to establish which PI had superior efficacy. Current data suggest that the
differences are not so significant as to completely compromise individual members
of this class. Two exceptions that have since been taken off the market are: the hard
gel capsule saquinavir (Fortovase), ritonavir on its own as a PI, and amprenavir
(Agenerase). Boosted PI combinations are presumably more effective than unboosted regimens (see below).
Apart from gastrointestinal side effects and high pill burden, all PIs used in longterm therapy show tolerability problems to a greater or lesser extent, all are associated with lipodystrophy and dyslipidemia (Nolan 2003). Other problems include
drug interactions, which can sometimes be substantial on ritonavir-boosted regimens. Cardiac arrhythmias (Anson 2005) and sexual dysfunction have also been
attributed to PIs (Schrooten 2001), although the data does not remain unchallenged
(Lallemand 2002).
All PIs are inhibitors of the CYP3A4 system and interact with many other drugs
(see chapter on Drug Interactions). Ritonavir is the strongest inhibitor, saquinavir
probably the weakest. There is a high degree of cross-resistance between protease
inhibitors, which was described even before PIs were put on the market (Condra
1995). With darunavir and tipranavir there are now two second-generation PIs on
the market which are effective even in the presence of several resistance mutations.
Why boost PIs?
Ritonavir is a very potent inhibitor of the isoenzyme 3A4, a subunit of the cytochrome P450 hepatic enzyme system. Inhibition of these gastrointestinal and hepatic enzymes allows the most important pharmacokinetic parameters of almost all
PIs to be significantly increased, or boosted (Kempf 1997): maximum concentration (Cmax), trough levels (Ctrough) and half-life. The interaction between ritonavir and the other PIs simplifies daily regimens by reducing the frequency and
number of pills to be taken every day, in many cases independent of food intake.
Some PIs can now be used in once-daily regimens.
107
Boosting with ritonavir is usually indicated by addition of an /r after the drug

name. Resistance is only rarely observed on boosted PIs, at least in therapynave
patients, as the genetic barrier is high. This has been shown not only for lopinavir/r
(Hammer 2006), but also for fosamprenavir/r (Eron 2006), atazanavir/r (Mallan
2008), saquinavir/r (Ananworanich 2006) and darunavir/r (Ortiz 2008). According
to some experts, patients with an elevated viral load should therefore receive
boosted PIs at the start of therapy. Nelfinavir is the only PI for which boosting with
ritonavir is not recommended as plasma levels do not rise significantly (Kurowski
2002).
Boosting can be effective against resistant viral strains as a result of the elevated
drug plasma levels (Condra 2000). However, a recent published randomized study
evaluating TDM-guided dose escalation showed no benefit with this strategy (Demeter 2009). Ritonavir boosting is also associated with risks. There is a high degree
of variability in plasma levels among individuals. As well as the trough levels, the
peak levels are also elevated, which may lead to more side effects. If in doubt (reduced efficacy, more side effects), plasma levels should be measured in all cases of
boosting, especially in patients with severe hepatic diseases, because the extent of
interaction cannot be predetermined for individual cases. Dose adjustment is often
necessary.
Table 2.4: Current doses of protease inhibitors with ritonavir boosting.
Dose (mg)
Pills*/day
Comments
Atazanavir/r
1 x 300/100
1x2
No limitation
Darunavir/r
2 x 600/100
2x2
No limitation
Darunavir/r
1 x 800/100
1x3
Only approved in PI-nave patients
Fosamprenavir/r
2 x 700/100
2x2
Should be used instead of amprenavir
Fosamprenavir/r
1 x 1400/200
1x4
Approval only in US (PI-nave patients)
Indinavir/r
2 x 800/100
2x3
Higher rate of nephrolithiasis (?)
Lopinavir/r
2 x 400/100
2x2
The only fixed booster combination
Lopinavir/r
1 x 800/200
1x4
Approval only in US, not (yet) in Europe
Saquinavir/r
2 x 1000/100
2x3
No limitation
Tipranavir/r
2 x 500/200
2x4
Only approved in treatment-experienced pts
*Number of pills including the ritonavir dose

Amprenavir (APV, Agenerase) was the fifth PI to enter the European market in
June 2000. It was replaced by fosamprenavir in 2004 (Telzir or Lexiva, see below) and withdrawn from the market.
Atazanavir (ATV, Reyataz) - was the first once-daily PI, licensed in 2004. In
treatment-nave patients, atazanavir was compared with many other agents. In a
Phase II study, potency was comparable to nelfinavir while tolerability was better
108 ART
(Sann 2003). A Phase III study showed comparable virological efficacy to efavirenz
(Squires 2004). The CASTLE study which compared atazanavir/r once-daily with
lopinavir/r twice-daily in 883 treatment-nave patients, also demonstrated similar
antiviral efficacy and tolerability (Molina 2008). Atazanavir should be boosted with
ritonavir, whenever possible, especially in pretreated patients. Atazanavir is slightly
less effective than lopinavir in treatment-experienced patients when it is not boosted
(Cohen 2005). This does not seem to be the case with atazanavir/r, at least when PI
resistance is limited (Johnson 2006). However, in treatment nave-patients there is
at least one trial (Malal 2008) showing no significant differences between unboosted (400 mg OD) and boosted atazanavir (300/100 mg OD).
In contrast to other PIs, atazanavir does not have a negative effect on lipid levels
(Robinson 2000, Sanne 2003, Cohen 2005, Johnson 2006, Molina 2008), which is
its main advantage other than its once-daily dosing. Data from other studies are now
available showing that lipids improve when nelfinavir or other PIs are replaced by
atazanavir (Wood 2004, Gatell 2007, Soriano 2008). It also does not induce insulin
resistance (Noor 2004). Whether this will be reflected clinically (with less lipodystrophy) as suggested in some studies (Haerter 2004, Jemsek 2006) has still to be
confirmed. Contrasting with earlier reports, more recent data suggest that boosting
atazanavir with ritonavir seems to have some negative effects on lipid levels (Soriano 2008). Surprisingly, one 96-week, open-label, randomized study recently
showed significantly lower incidence of lipoatrophy in patients treated with atazanavir/r compared to unboosted atazanavir (McComsey 2008).
One problem with atazanavir is that more than half the patients experience elevated
bilirubin levels, which can reach grade 3-4 in approximately one third of all cases
(Squires 2004, Niel 2008, Soriano 2008). Some patients even develop jaundice. The
mechanism for this resembles that of Gilberts Syndrome; there is reduced conjugation in the liver. A genetic predisposition has been identified (Rotger 2005). Although the hyperbilirubinemia is understood to be harmless and only few cases of
serious hepatic disorders have been published to date (Eholie 2004), liver function
should be monitored when on atazanavir. Treatment should be discontinued in cases
of significantly elevated bilirubin (> 5-6 times the upper limit of normal).
Unfavorable interactions occur particularly in combination with proton pump inhibitors (see chapter on Drug Interactions). Boosting is generally recommended,
particularly for combinations that include NNRTIs or tenofovir, which significantly
lower atazanavir levels (Le Tiec 2005).
The primary resistance mutation for this drug is I50L, which does not impair sensitivity to other PIs (Colonno 2003). On the other hand, there are a number of crossresistance mutations, and susceptibility to many virus isolates with moderate PI
resistance is reduced (Schnell 2003).
Darunavir (DRV, Prezista) is a nonpeptidic PI, originally developed by the Belgian company Tibotec (now bought by Janssen-Cilag). Due to its impressive potency in the presence of PI-resistant virus (Koh 2003), darunavir is currently one of
the most interesting drugs in HIV therapy.
Two large worldwide Phase II studies brought darunavir to the forefront of attention. In POWER-I (US) and -2 (Europe) nearly 600 patients with extensive pretreatment (three classes and an average of 11 drugs) were included (Clotet 2007).
109
Several ritonavir-boosted darunavir doses were tested against a boosted comparison

PI. Despite considerable resistance at baseline, in 46% of the patients in the 600 mg
BID group plus 100 mg BID ritonavir, the viral load fell to less than 50 copies/ml
after 48 weeks a significantly improved result in comparison to the control PI
(10%), and a success that had so far not been seen in this patient group with such
limited options. Encouraging results were also reported from the DUET trials in
which darunavir was combined with the new NNRTI etravirine (see above).
In patients with moderate pretreatment (nave to lopinavir), darunavir/r was at least
non-inferior to lopinavir/r treatment in terms of the virological endpoint (Madruga
2007). Of note, efficacy was not compromised by the occurrence of PI resistance
mutations (De Meyer 2008).
In 2008, darunavir was licensed also for treatment-nave patients when the
ARTEMIS trial demonstrated comparable efficacy of once daily darunavir/r compared to lopinavir/r in this patient population (Ortiz 2008). Once-daily darunavir/r
also showed potential in treatment-experienced patients with no darunavir resistance mutations (De Meyer 2008).
Darunavir is usually well tolerated. Gastrointestinal side effects are moderate and
less severe than with other PIs (Clotet 2007, Madruga 2007). Dyslipidemia and
raised liver enzymes do not appear to be significant. Rash, which may occur in up
to 5-15% of patients, is usually mild. Unfavorable interactions occur with lopinavir,
sildenafil and oestrogenes (see chapter on Drug Interactions).
The potency of darunavir is, of course, not eternal. In total, 11 mutations associated
with darunavir resistance were identified in the POWER studies. These mutations
are usually located at the codons 32, 47, 50 and 87 (De Meyer 2006). With accumulation of at least three mutations, susceptibility to darunavir is reduced (Pozniak
2008). Darunavir and fosamprenavir in vitro susceptibility patterns are very similar.
However, predicted incidence of clinically meaningful cross-resistance is low, due
to differences in clinical cut-offs, which are higher for darunavir (Parkin 2008).
Thus, pretreatment with amprenavir or fosamprenavir does not appear to compromise efficacy of darunavir. In view of the high resistance barrier, there are several
trials currently testing darunavir as monotherapy.
Fosamprenavir (FPV, Telzir or Lexiva) as a calcium phosphate ester, has better solubility and absorption than its original version, now off the market, amprenavir. Fosamprenavir was licensed for treatment-nave and -experienced patients
in 2004. The recommended doses are either 1400 mg BID, 700 mg plus 100 mg
ritonavir BID or 1400 mg plus 200 mg ritonavir once daily. Once-daily dosing is
not recommended for treatment-experienced patients, and, like the unboosted dose,
is not licensed in Europe. However, a recent trial suggested that for once-daily dosing, 100 mg ritonavir is sufficient (Hicks 2009).
Several large studies have compared fosamprenavir with other PIs. In treatmentnave patients, unboosted fosamprenavir was slightly more effective virologically
and had better tolerability than nelfinavir (Rodriguez-French 2004). However, a
relatively heterogeneous study population and high dropout rates in both arms limited this study. In the SOLO study, boosted once-daily fosamprenavir was about as
effective as nelfinavir (Gathe 2004). In the relatively small ALERT study, comparable efficacy was also shown for atazanavir/r (Smith 2006). No resistance was
110 ART
found on boosted fosamprenavir even after 48 weeks (MacManus 2004). In the
KLEAN study (Eron 2006), fosamprenavir/r twice daily in treatment-naive patients
provides similar antiviral efficacy, safety, tolerability, and emergence of resistance
as lopinavir/r, each in combination with ABC+3TC. In treatment-experienced patients, fosamprenavir was not quite as effective as lopinavir/r although the difference was not significant (Elston 2004).
As a potent inducer of amprenavir metabolism, efavirenz can significantly (probably with clinical relevance) lower plasma levels, as can nevirapine. This does not
occur when fosamprenavir is boosted with ritonavir. However, fosamprenavir currently does not play an important role in HIV medicine. There is no convincing
argument for its use. One advantage of the drug is that there are no restrictions with
respect to food intake.
Indinavir (IDV, Crixivan) is one of the first PIs, which was initially very successful in large studies (Gulick 1997, Hammer 1997). Later, indinavir had mixed
success, at least when unboosted: in the Atlantic Study, it was about as effective as
nevirapine (Van Leeuwen 2003) but in the 006 Study it was clearly weaker than
efavirenz (Staszewski 1999). There are numerous problems associated with indinavir. Firstly, it causes nephrolithiasis in 5-25% of patients (Meraviglia 2002) and
thus requires good hydration (at least 1.5 liters daily). Unboosted indinavir must be
taken three times daily on an empty stomach (Haas 2000), and for this reason,
boosting with ritonavir is recommendable, although this may increase the rate of
side effects (Voigt 2002). In the MaxCmin1 Trial, the dropout rate on indinavir was
notably higher than among patients receiving saquinavir (Dragstedt 2003). Specific
side effects associated with indinavir include mucocutaneous side effects reminiscent of retinoid therapy: alopecia, dry skin and lips, and ingrown nails. Many patients may also develop asymptomatic hyperbilirubinemia. Although it seems that
the dose and toxicity can be reduced in most patients by boosting and monitoring
plasma levels (Wasmuth 2007), indinavir is no longer among the regular choices for
therapy.
Lopinavir/r (LPV, Kaletra) was licensed in April 2001 and was the first (and so
far only) PI with a fixed boosting dose of ritonavir. This increases concentrations of
lopinavir by more than 100 fold (Sham 1998). In 2006, the old Kaletra capsules
were replaced by tablets, produced by melt extrusion technology (Meltrex), allowing pill reduction to 2 tablets BID and also eliminating the need for refrigeration
(Gathe 2008). Once-daily lopinavir/r is also possible and has been licensed in the
US since 2005 but not in Europe. Whereas some studies have demonstrated similar
efficacy and tolerability (Molina 2007, Gathe 2009), others have suggested a
slightly reduced potency of once-daily dosing (Mildvan 2007, Ortiz 2008).
In treatment-nave patients, lopinavir/r was significantly superior to an unboosted
regimen with nelfinavir (Walmsley 2002). It has been regarded to be the preferred
PI for years. However, more recently, large randomized trials such as KLEAN,
GEMINI, ARTEMIS and CASTLE have shown that there are no significant differences compared to boosted PIs such as fosamprenavir/r (Eron 2006), saquinavir/r
(Walmsley 2009), darunavir/r (Ortiz 2008) or atazanavir/r (Molina 2008). In ACTG
5142, lopinavir/r was inferior to efavirenz (Riddler 2008), possibly due to lower
tolerability.
111
In treatment-experienced patients, lopinavir/r showed slightly better results than

boosted saquinavir (the old Fortovase formulation) in an open-label randomized
(MaxCmin2) trial on a heterogeneous population of treatment-experienced patients.
This was particularly true for tolerability, but also with respect to treatment failure
(Dragstedt 2005). On the other hand, in two large studies in PI-experienced patients, virological efficacy of lopinavir/r was not significantly higher than that of
boosted atazanavir (Johnson 2006) or fosamprenavir (Elston 2004) although patient numbers in these studies were rather small.
Development of resistance with lopinavir/r first-line therapy is rare, but is theoretically possible (Kagan 2003, Conradie 2004, Friend 2004). Lopinavir/r has a high
genetic barrier to resistance, and it is likely that at least 6-8 cumulative PI resistance
mutations are necessary for treatment failure (Kempf 2002).
A significant problem, in addition to the gastrointestinal side effects (diarrhea, nausea) and lipodystrophy, is the often considerable dyslipidemia, which is probably
more marked than with most other PIs (Walmsley 2002, Calza 2003, Eron 2006,
Johnson 2006, Molina 2008, Walmsley 2009). A number of interactions should also
be considered. The dose must be increased in combination with efavirenz and nevirapine, probably also with concurrent administration of fosamprenavir.
Lopinavir remains an important option in HIV medicine. Its main advantage compared to other PIs is that no additional ritonavir pills and no refrigeration is required.
Nelfinavir (NFV, Viracept) was the fourth PI approved and was for a long time
one of the most popular PIs. The dose of five capsules BID is just as effective as
three capsules TID. Boosting with ritonavir does not improve plasma levels (Kurowski 2002). The most important side effect of nelfinavir is diarrhea, which may
be considerable. The drug is otherwise very well tolerated.
In comparison to NNRTIs or other PIs, nelfinavir is probably slightly less potent. In
the Combine Study, nelfinavir was weaker (not significantly) than nevirapine
(Podzamczer 2002). In ACTG 384 and 364, nelfinavir showed lower efficacy than
efavirenz in both treatment-nave and nuke-experienced patients (Albrecht 2001,
Robbins 2003). Finally, in the double blind, randomized M98-863 study, the efficacy of nelfinavir was significantly lower than that of lopinavir/r (Walmsley 2002).
A new formulation (625 mg), that enables a reduction to two capsules BID is produced by Pfizer and is available in the US. In Europe, where Roche has the marketing rights, the new formulation will not be available. Thus, due to side effects, possibly lower efficacy, and pill burden, nelfinavir does not play much of a role in antiretroviral therapy in 2009.
Ritonavir (RTV, Norvir) was the first PI for which efficacy was proven on the
basis of clinical endpoints (Cameron 1998). However, ritonavir is now obsolete as a
single PI, since tolerability is poor (Katzenstein 2000). As gastrointestinal complaints and perioral paresthesias can be very disturbing, ritonavir is now only given
to boost other PIs. The baby dose used for this purpose (100 mg BID) is bettertolerated.
Ritonavir inhibits its own metabolism via the cytochrome P450 pathway. The potent enzyme induction results in a high potential for interactions. Many drugs are
112 ART
contraindicated for concomitant administration with ritonavir. Metabolic disorders
probably occur more frequently than with other PIs. Caution should be exercised in
the presence of impaired liver function. It is important to inform patients that ritonavir capsules must be stored at cool temperatures, which can often be a problem
when traveling.
Saquinavir (SQV, formerly Invirase, Fortovase, now Invirase 500) was, in
December 1995, the first PI to be licensed for HIV therapy and is still today one of
the few agents with efficacy based on clinical end points (Stellbrink 2000). Boosting with ritonavir raises the plasma level sufficiently, as does a simultaneous food
intake, so that saquinavir should be taken with meals. Saquinavir is well-tolerated
there are hardly any serious side effects. The earlier hard gel (Invirase) and soft gel
(Fortovase) capsules were replaced in 2005 by Invirase 500 tablets, which significantly reduced the number of pills to four a day (Bittner 2005). It is probable
that a lot of data from the time of the Fortovase capsules cannot be easily transferable to the tablets.
Newer data from the randomized GEMINI trial compared ritonavir-boosted Invirase 500 tablets to lopinavir/r in 330 ART-nave patients who all received
TDF+FTC. There were no significant differences between arms with respect to efficacy at 48 weeks (Walmsley 2009). Some adverse effects such as lipid elevations,
particular triglycerides, were less pronounced with saquinavir, as was diarrhea.
However, discontinuation rates due to adverse events were comparable between
arms.
Taken together, saquinavir is an option for patients who need a boosted PI-regimen.
However, it is difficult to find an advantage over other PIs.
Tipranavir (TPV, Aptivus) is the first non-peptidic PI licensed in Europe in July
2005 for treatment-experienced patients. As oral bioavailability is only moderate,
double the standard ritonavir boosting (McCallister 2004) is necessary, whereby 2 x
200 mg (BID) has to be used. The plasma levels can also be increased by a high fat
meal.
Tipranavir shows good efficacy against PI-resistant viruses (Larder 2000). It even
has a considerable effect in the presence of resistance mutations such as L33I/V/F,
V82A/F/L/T and I84V. However, the efficacy is not endless with a combination
of the above mutations, the sensitivity to tipranavir declines significantly (Baxter
2006).
RESIST-1 (USA) and RESIST-2 (Europe) were large randomized Phase III studies
on 1,483 intensively pretreated patients with a minimum viral load of
1,000 copies/ml and at least one primary PI mutation (but not more than
2 mutations on codons 30, 82, 84, and 90). All patients received either tipranavir/r
or a comparison PI/r, each combined with an therapy optimized according to resistance testing. After 48 weeks, virological and immunological response to tipranavir
was better than with the comparison PI (Hicks 2006).
A significant problem of tipranavir, apart from dyslipidemia (grade 3-4 increase in
triglycerides: 22% versus 13% for the comparison PI), is an increase in transaminases. This is sometimes substantial (grade 3-4: 7% versus 1% in RESIST) and requires careful monitoring of all patients on tipranavir, especially those coinfected
113
with hepatitis B or C. In treatment-nave patients, tipranavir/r was less effective

than lopinavir/r, mainly due to more adverse events leading to discontinuation
(Cooper 2006). In addition, some unfavorable interactions also occur. Plasma levels
of lopinavir, saquinavir, atazanavir and amprenavir fall significantly, so that double
PI therapy with tipranavir is currently not under consideration. As the levels of
AZT, abacavir and etravirine also drop, these combinations are not recommendable
either. Use with delavirdine is contraindicated and ddI has to be taken with a twohour time delay.
Taken together, tipranavir remains an important option in extensively treated patients harbouring PI-resistant viruses. Unfortunately, a study which directly compared tipranavir/r to darunavir/r was recently halted due to slow accrual. Cross-trial
comparisons between these drugs should be discouraged as patient populations in
the RESIST (tipranavir/r) studies differed considerably from those of the POWER
(darunavir/r) trials.
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116 ART
Entry inhibitors
Mode of action
There are three crucial steps for entry of HIV into the CD4 T cell:
1.Binding or attachment of HIV to the CD4 receptor (target of attachment inhibitors),
2.Binding to coreceptors (target of coreceptor antagonists),
3.Fusion of virus and cell (target of fusion inhibitors).
Figure 1: The three steps of HIV entry into the host cell. (courtesy of: Moore JP, Doms RW.
The entry of entry inhibitors: a fusion of science and medicine. PNAS 2003, 100:10598-602).
Every step of HIV entry can theoretically be inhibited. All three drug classes,
namely attachment inhibitors, coreceptor antagonists and fusion inhibitors are currently summarized as entry inhibitors. One important difference to other drug
classes such as NRTIs, NNRTIs, PIs or integrase inhibitors is that entry inhibitors
do not inhibit HIV intracellularly. They interfere early in the replication cycle of
HIV. It is speculated that this will lead to a better tolerability of this drug class.
In May 2003, T-20 was licensed as the first entry inhibitor in Europe and the US.
Maraviroc was the first CCR5 coreceptor antagonist and the first oral entry inhibitor
on the market in 2007. Numerous other drugs are in the pipeline, but most will not
be available within the next two years. T-20 and maraviroc will be discussed in this
section, for other entry inhibitors refer to Chapter 3.
Co-receptor antagonists
Preface
In addition to CD4 receptors, HIV also requires so-called co-receptors to enter the
target cell. The two most important ones, CXCR4 and CCR5, were discovered in
the mid- 1990s (Alkhatib 1996, Deng 1996, Doranz 1996). These receptors, of
which there are probably more than 200 in total, are named after the natural
chemokines that usually bind to them. Their nomenclature is derived from the
117
amino acid sequence. For CCR5 receptors these are the CC-chemokine MIP and
RANTES, for CXCR4 receptors it is the CXC-chemokine SDF-1.
HIV variants use either the CCR- or the CXCR4 receptors for entry into the target
cell. According to receptor tropism, HIV variants are termed R5-tropic if they use
CCR5 as a co-receptor, whereas viruses with a preference for CXCR4 are termed
X4-tropic viruses. R5 viruses predominantly infect macrophages (formerly, Mtropic). X4 viruses mainly infect T cells (formerly, T-tropic). Dual-tropic viruses
are able to use both receptors. There also exist mixed populations of R5 and X4
viruses.
In most patients, R5 viruses are found in the early stages of infection. X4 viruses,
which are probably able to infect a wider spectrum of cell types, usually occur in
the later stages. The change in tropism is frequently associated with disease progression (Connor 1997, Scarlatti 1997). It is still not completely clear why this happens after several years of infection, although the tropism shift only needs a few
small mutations. However, it is possible that X4 viruses are significantly more virulent, but because of their low glycosylation more immunogenic. X4 viruses are neutralized better by the immune system and it is therefore likely that they only become
apparent in the presence of a significant immune deficiency.
In treatment nave patients, R5 strains are found in 80-90%, compared to only 5055% in patients with antiretroviral exposure (Hoffmann 2007). The most important
predictor of R5 tropism seems to be a higher CD4 T cell count in both naive and
antiretrovirally pretreated patients. A low HIV plasma viremia seems to be associated with R5 tropism only in untreated patients (Moyle 2005, Brumme 2005). By
contrast, X4 viruses are almost exclusively found in advanced stages of the disease.
When the CD4 T cell count is > 500/l, they are only found in 6%; at < 25 CD4 T
cells/l, in more than 50% of patients (Brumme 2005). In addition, X4 viruses almost always occur in X4/R5-mixed populations and an exclusive X4 virus population is very rare.
In some individuals expression of CCR5 coreceptors on the cell surface is reduced.
These individuals are usually healthy. The reduced expression of the receptor is
usually due to a defective CCR5 allele that contains an internal 32-base pair deletion (delta 32 deletion). This deletion appears to protect homozygous individuals
from sexual transmission of HIV-1. Heterozygous individuals are quite common
(approximately 20%) in some populations. These individuals have a slower decrease in their CD4 T cell count and a longer AIDS-free survival than individuals
with the wild type gene (Dean 1996, Liu 1996, Samson 1996). Thus, targeting the
interaction between HIV-1 and the CCR-5 receptor appears to be an attractive
therapeutic goal to prevent or slow disease progression.
Recently a case a patient with acute myeloid leukemia and HIV-1 infection was
published. This patient underwent stem cell transplantation from a donor who was
homozygous for the CCR5-delta 32 deletion. The patient remained without viral
rebound 20 months after transplantation and discontinuation of ART. This outcome
demonstrates the critical role CCR5 plays in maintaining HIV-1 infection (Htter
2009).
CCR5 antagonists should probably be given earlier on in the course of the disease.
In the salvage situation, patients often harbour X4 viruses. The role of CCR5 an-
118 ART
tagonists might lie rather in the substitution of other antiretroviral agents in case of
toxicity.
Testing for coreceptor usage (Tropism testing)
Since CCR5 blockers are effective only when a predominant R5 virus is present in
the patient and coreceptor switch is not systematic, a baseline determination of the
coreceptor usage of the virus is mandatory. Tropism testing prior to treatment
avoids unnecessary costs and additional risks for the patient.
No infection
No binding
Highly affine Binding
g
gp120
p
of gp120
possible
g
gp120
p
R5A
CCR5
CCR5
Infection
Figure 2: Mode of action of the allosteric CCR5 antagonists maraviroc (and vicriviroc). By binding to a hydrophobic cavity formed between transmembrane helices in CCR5 near the membrane surface, the receptor molecule undergoes conformational changes. This inhibits the
binding of viral gp120 to the receptor. R5A = CCR5 antagonist
Several commercial assays have been developed to determine HIV tropism phenotypically, such as Trofile (Monogram Biosciences), Phenoscript (VIRalliance) or
XtrackC/PhenX-R (inPheno). These assays amplify the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gene sequence from patient plasma samples to produce either replicationcompetent or replication-defective recombinant viruses. There are now several improved assays on the market. For example, the originally licensed Trofile assay
has been replaced by Trofile-ES. This assay can detect smaller numbers of X4
virus, resistant to CCR5 inhibitors, when they constitute a minor subpopulation of
virus within a swarm of CCR5-using virus. Several studies have illustrated the potential benefit of the use of the newer, more sensitive tests (Saag 2008, Su 2008).
However, phenotypic assays are expensive and complex. A minimum of 500-1,000
copies/ml in the plasma is needed. Moreover, it takes weeks to receive the results.
Consequently, there is a need for the development of test methods which are easy
and less time-consuming. Recently, the technically more simple and economic
119
genotype tropism testing has been validated (Sierra 2007). Presently the focus of
research is on the V3 loop of the envelope protein gp120, as this is the region where
HIV binds to the coreceptor (Jensen 2003, Briz 2006). However, tropism does not
only seem to be defined by the V3 loop sequence - virus isolates with identical V3
loops can differ in tropism (Huang 2006, Low 2007). Nevertheless, according to
present knowledge, genotypic tropism testing seems to be able to substitute the
more complex and expensive phenotypic assay. Today there are free interpretation
systems, accessible via the internet, which predict the use of the coreceptor by analyzing the V3 region sequence:
WebPSSM - http://ubik.microbiol.washington.edu/computing/pssm/
WetCat - http://genomiac2.ucsd.edu:8080/wetcat/v3.html
geno2pheno - http://www.genafor.org
These interpretation systems form the basis for bioinformatic methods, trained with
phenotypically and genotypically characterized samples. With genotypic testing,
CCR5 antagonists will also become suitable for the many patients who have sideeffects on other agents as long as the viral load is well suppressed as mentioned
above, phenotypic testing requires a viral load of at least 1,000 copies/ml. Whereas
genotypic tests probably require less viruses. At present, great efforts are being
made in determining tropism from proviral DNA in patients with a low (even undetectable) viral load.
Tropism shift and other consequences
During treatment failure of antiretroviral regimens containing CCR5 antagonists,
many patients often show a selection base shift to X4 viruses. This shift is mainly
due to selections from preexisting pools (Westba 2006). In a pilot study in which
patients with X4/R5-mixed population received maraviroc, CD4 T cells were higher
in comparison to placebo (Mayer 2006). An X4 shift induced HIV progression under CCR5 antagonists therefore seems very unlikely at present.
What other consequences could a CCR5 blockade have? Although individuals with
a 32-gene defect for the CCR5 receptor are usually healthy, there are worries
about negative effects of blocking these receptors by medication, i.e., this
chemokine receptor must exist for some reason.
Individuals with the 32 deletion have been examined in numerous studies to see if
they suffer more frequently from ill health compared to patients without this gene
defect. An increased appearance of West-Nile virus infections (Glass 2006) or
FSME (Kindberg 2008) has been greatly discussed, whereas the 32 deletion seems
to be protective for rheumatism (Prahalad 2006). Presently the data is so heterogeneous and often contradictory, that it is difficult to speak of a distinct association of
the gene defect with certain illnesses. However, it is advisable to be watchful, as
experience with CCR5 antagonists has so far been limited.
Moreover, in theory, docking onto the receptor could cause an auto-immune reaction. However, this has not occurred in testing with monkeys (Peters 2005). An
analysis of the complete Phase I and II-studies with maraviroc has shown no negative effects on immune function (Ayoub 2007). The initially disquieting reports of
malignancies in a study with vicriviroc (Gulick 2007), has not been confirmed in
any following studies.
120 ART
Individual agents
Maraviroc (MVC, Celsentri or Selzentry) from Pfizer was the first drug of this
class to be licenced for the treatment of HIV-infection in September 2007. Maraviroc allosterically binds to CCR5. This means that it does not bind directly to the
receptor but induces conformational changes within CCR5 that result in the inhibition of its binding to viral gp120. During maraviroc monotherapy, viral load declines by 1.6 log after 10-15 days (Ftkenheuer 2005).
Two large Phase III studies led to approval of the drug, namely MOTIVATE-1 (US,
Canada) and MOTIVATE-2 (Europe, Australia, US). A total of 1,049 treatmentexperienced patients with R5-only virus were enrolled in these trials (Gulick 2008,
Ftkenheuer 2008). Patients had been treated with or had resistance to three antiretroviral-drug classes and had a baseline viral load of more than 5,000 copies/ml.
Patients were randomly assigned to one of three antiretroviral regimens consisting
of maraviroc once daily, maraviroc BID or placebo, each of which included OBT.
At 48 weeks in both studies more patients in the maraviroc arms were below 50
copies/ml (46% and 43% versus 17% with placebo). A treatment benefit of maraviroc over placebo was shown in all subgroups, including patients with a low CD4
cell count at baseline, those with a high viral load at screening, and those who had
not received active agents in OBT. Tolerability of maraviroc was excellent and did
not differ from that of placebo.
Maraviroc has also been tested in treatment nave patients. In the MERIT study, a
total of 721 patients randomly received AZT+3TC and either efavirenz or maraviroc BID (the arm with maraviroc QD was prematurely closed in 2006 due to less
efficacy). After 48 weeks, 65.3% of patients in the maraviroc arm achieved a viral
load below 50 copies/ml, compared with 69.3% in the efavirenz arm. Virological
failure was more frequent on maraviroc (11.9% versus 4.2%). Although the CD4 T
cell increases were significantly more pronounced on maraviroc, the study failed to
show non-inferiority of maraviroc compared to efavirenz. Of note, there were significant differences seen between study populations in the northern versus southern
hemisphere in this world-wide trial. Response rates proved almost equal in northern
hemisphere countries, but worse south of the equator. In addition, a retrospective
analysis revealed that at least 4% of the patients in the maraviroc arm had experienced a tropism shift from R5 to dual-tropic virus between screening and baseline.
In these patients with dual-tropic virus, response rates were very poor. More recently, a retrospective analysis of stored samples of MERIT patients using the enhanced Trofile assay reclassified approximately 15% of patients as having non-R5
HIV and identified approximately 52% of patients who had dual/mixed virus at
baseline or on study. Excluding these patients improved the efficacy of maraviroc
relative to efavirenz compared with results using the original assay (Saag 2008).
However, to date indication of maraviroc is limited to treatment-experienced patients in most countries. It is possible that this will change.
As in the MOTIVATE studies, maravirocs tolerability was excellent in the MERIT
study. The discontinuation rates due to adverse events were significantly lower than
with efavirenz (4.2% versus 13.6%) and lipid profiles were better (DeJesus 2008).
There seems to be no liver toxicity as seen with aplaviroc, another CCR5 antagonist
whose development was halted in 2005 (Steel 2005).
121
What about the efficacy of maraviroc in the presence of non-R5 viruses? In a double-blind randomized Phase II study on 113 patients the effect was, as expected,
moderate. There was no antiviral effect compared to placebo. However, CD4 T
cells improved significantly in those on maraviroc despite the lack of virological
efficacy (Mayer 2006). With regard to resistance, only limited data exist to date.
Mutations in the gene regions coding for the V3 loop of the envelope protein gp120
may lead to complete resistance to maraviroc. This may occur by de novo acquisition of mutations allowing the virus to use the CXCR4 receptor or via true resistance. The latter may occur in viral isolates that remain R5-tropic. A shift to X4
tropism is not necessary as resistance may happen via an increased affinity of the
viral envelope for unbound CCR5 molecules or through an ability of the viral envelope to use compound-occupied receptors for entry (Westby 2007, Lewis 2008). It
seems that the resistance barrier for true maraviroc resistance in R5 viruses is high
(Jubb 2009).
There are some important interactions between maraviroc and other antiretroviral
agents. These interactions require dose modification of maraviroc which is usually
300 mg BID (Abel 2005). When maraviroc is combined with a CYP3A inhibitor
such as boosted PIs (except tipranavir/r), delavirine, itraconazole or clarithromycin,
the maraviroc dose should be reduced to 150 mg BID. In the presence of CYP3A
inducers (without a strong CYP3A inhibitor) such as efavirenz, rifampin or carbamazepine, the dose should be doubled to 600 mg BID. For other agents (not yet
approved) see Chapter 3.
References
Abel S, Russell D, Ridgway C, Muirhead G. Overview of the drug-drug interaction data for maraviroc. Abstract 76, 7th IWCPHT 2005, Quebec.
Alkhatib G, Combadiere C, Broder CC, et al. CC CKR5: a RANTES, MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta receptor as a fusion cofactor for macrophage-tropic HIV-1. Science
1996;272:1955-8.
th
Ayoub A, van der Ryst E, Turner K, McHale M. A review of the markers of immune function during the maraviroc phase 1 and 2a studies. Abstract 509, 14 CROI
2007, Los Angeles.
Briz V, Poveda E, Soriano V. HIV entry inhibitors: mechanisms of action and resistance pathways. J Antimicrob Chemother 2006, 57:619-627.
Brumme ZL, Goodrich J, Mayer HB, et al. Molecular and clinical epidemiology of CXCR4-using HIV-1 in a large population of antiretroviral-naive individuals. J Infect Dis
2005, 192:466-74.
Connor RI, Sheridan KE, Ceradini D, Choe S, Landau NR. Change in coreceptor use coreceptor use correlates with disease progression in HIV-1--infected individuals.
J Exp Med 1997, 185:621-8.
De Jesus E, Walmsley S, Cohen C, et al. Fasted lipid changes after administration of maraviroc or efavirenz in combination with zidovudine and lamivudine for 48
weeks to treatment-nave HIV-infected patients. Abstract 929, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Dean M, Carrington M, Winkler C, et al. Genetic restriction of HIV-1 infection and progression to AIDS by a deletion allele of the CKR5 structural gene. Science
1996;273:1856-62.
Deng H, Liu R, Ellmeier W, et al. Identification of a major co-receptor for primary isolates of HIV-1. Nature 1996;381:661-6.
Doranz BJ, Rucker J, Yi Y, et al. A dual-tropic primary HIV-1 isolate that uses fusin and the beta-chemokine receptors CKR-5, CKR-3, and CKR-2b as fusion cofactors.
Cell 1996;85:1149-58.
Ftkenheuer G, Nelson M, Lazzarin A. Subgroup analysis of maraviroc in previously treated R5 HIV-1 infection. N Engl J Med 2008, 359:1442-1455.
Fatkenheuer G, Pozniak AL, Johnson MA, et al. Efficacy of short-term monotherapy with maraviroc, a new CCR5 antagonist, in patients infected with HIV-1. Nat Med
2005, 11:1170-2.
Glass WG, McDermott DH, Lim JK, et al. CCR5 deficiency increases risk of symptomatic West Nile virus infection. J Exp Med 2006; 203:35-40.
Gulick RM, Lalezari J, Goodrich J, et al. Maraviroc for previously untreated patients with R5 HIV-1 infection. N Engl J Med 2008, 359:1429-1441.
Gulick RM, Su Z, Flexner C, et al. Phase 2 study of the safety and efficacy of vicriviroc, a CCR5 inhibitor, in HIV-1-Infected, treatment-experienced patients: ACTG
5211. JID 2007;196:304-12.
Hardy D, Reynes J, Konourina I, et al. Efficacy and safety of maraviroc plus optimized background therapy in treatment-experienced patients infected with CCR5-tropic
HIV-1: 48-week combined analysis of the MOTIVATE Studies. Abstract 792, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Heera J, Saag M, Ive P, et al. Virological correlates associated with treatment failure at week 48 in the phase 3 study of maraviroc in treatment-naive patients. Abstract
40LB, 15th CROI 2008, Boston
Huang W, Toma J, Fransen S, et al. Modulation of HIV-1 co-receptor tropism and susceptibility to co-receptor inhibitors by regions outside of the V3 Loop: Effect of
gp41 amino acid substitutions. Abstract H-245, 46th ICAAC 2006, San Francisco.
Htter G, Nowak D, Mossner M, et al. Long-term control of HIV by CCR5 Delta32/Delta32 stem-cell transplantation. N Engl J Med 2009, 360:692-8.
Jensen MA, van't Wout AB. Predicting HIV-1 coreceptor usage with sequence analysis. AIDS Rev 2003, 5:104-112.
Jubb B, Lewis M, Simpson P et al. CCR5-tropic resistance to maraviroc is uncommon even among patients on functional maraviroc monotherapy or with ongoing lowlevel replication. Abstract 639, 16th CROI 2009 Montral.
Kindberg E, Mickiene A, Ax C, et al. A deletion in the chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) gene is associated with tickborne encephalitis. JID 2008;197:266-9.
Lewis M, Mori J, Simpson P, et al. Changes in V3 loop sequence associated with failure of maraviroc treatment in patients enrolled in the MOTIVATE 1 and 2 Trials.
Abstract 871, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
122 ART
Liu R, Paxton WA, Choe S, et al. Homozygous defect in HIV-1 coreceptor accounts for resistance of some multiply-exposed individuals to HIV-1 infection. Cell
1996;86:367-77.
Low AJ, Dong W, Chan D, et al. Current V3 genotyping algorithms are inadequate for predicting X4 co-receptor usage in clinical isolates. AIDS 2007; 21.
Mayer H, van der Ryst E, Saag M, et al. Safety and efficacy of maraviroc, a novel CCR5 antagonist, when used in combination with optimized background therapy for
the treatment of antiretroviral-experienced subjects infected with dual/mixed-tropic HIV-1: 24-week results of a phase 2b exploratory trial. Abstract ThLB0215, XVI IAC
2006, Toronto.
Moyle GJ, Wildfire A, Mandalia S, et al. Epidemiology and predictive factors for chemokine receptor use in HIV-1 infection. J Infect Dis 2005, 191:866-72.
Peters C, Kawabata T, Syntin P, et al. Assessment of immunotoxic potential of maraviroc in cynomolgus monkeys. Abstract 1100, 45th ICAAC 2005, Washington.
Prahalad S. Negative association between the chemokine receptor CCR5-Delta32 polymorphism and rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis. Genes Immun 2006;7:2648.
Rabkin CS, Yang Q, Goedert JJ, et al. Chemokine and chemokine receptor gene variants and risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in human immunodeficiency virus-1infected individuals. Blood 1999, 93:1838-42.
Saag M, Heera J, Goodrich J, et al. Reanalysis of the MERIT study with the enhanced Trofile assay (MERIT-ES). Abstract H-1232a, 48th ICAAC/IDSA 2008,
Washington, DC.
Saag M, Ive P, Heera J, et al. A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, comparative trial of a novel CCR5 antagonist, maraviroc versus efavirenz, both in combination
with Combivir (zidovudine [ZDV]/lamivudine [3TC]), for the treatment of antiretroviral naive patients infected with R5 HIV 1: Week 48 results of the MERIT study.
Abstract WESS104, 4th IAS 2007, Sydney.
Samson M, Libert F, Doranz BJ, et al. Resistance to HIV-1 infection in caucasian individuals bearing mutant alleles of the CCR-5 chemokine receptor gene. Nature
1996;382:722-5.
Scarlatti G, Tresoldi E, Bjorndal A, et al. In vivo evolution of HIV-1 co-receptor usage and sensitivity to chemokine-mediated suppression. Nat Med 1997, 3:1259-65.
Sierra S, Kaiser R, Thielen A, Lengauer T. Genotypic coreceptor analysis. Eur J Med Res 2007, 12:453-62. Review.
Steel HM. Special presentation on aplaviroc-related hepatotoxicity. 10th EACS 2005, Dublin.
Su Z, Reeves JD, Krambrink A, et al. Response to vicriviroc (VCV) in HIV-infected treatment-experienced subjects using an enhanced Trofile HIV co-receptor tropism
assay: reanalysis of ACTG 5211 results. Abstract H-895, 48th Annual ICAAC/IDSA 2008, Washington.
Tsamis F, Gavrilov S, Kajumo F, et al. Analysis of the mechanism by which the small-molecule CCR5 antagonists SCH-351125 and SCH-350581 inhibit human
immunodeficiency virus type 1 entry. J Virol 2003;77:5201-8.
Westby M, Lewis M, Whitcomb J, et al. Emergence of CXCR4-using human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) variants in a minority of HIV-1-infected patients
following treatment with the CCR5 antagonist maraviroc is from a pretreatment CXCR4-using virus reservoir. J Virol 2006, 80:4909-20.
Westby M, Smith-Burchnell C, Mori J, et al. Reduced maximal inhibition in phenotypic susceptibility assays indicates that viral strains resistant to the CCR5 antagonist
maraviroc utilize inhibitor-bound receptor for entry. J Virol 2007;81:2359-71.
maraviroc utilize inhibitor-bound receptor for entry. J Virol 2006 Dec 20.
123
Fusion inhibitors
Fusion inhibitors prevent the final step of entry of HIV into the target cell. This
fusion of virus and cell is complex and not completely understood. Simplified, it
seems that binding to the CD4 and to the coreceptor induces conformational
changes in the gp41, the transmembrane subunit of the viral envelope protein. In the
course of these rearrangements, the N-terminal fusion peptide of gp41 translocates
and inserts into the target cell membrane. A proposed extended conformation of the
gp41 ectodomain, with its fusion peptide thus inserted and the transmembrane anchor still in the viral membrane, has been called the prehairpin intermediate. This
is the target of various fusion inhibitors, including T-20 (Roots 2001).
Individual agents
T-20 (Enfurvitide, Fuzeon) is the prototype of the fusion inhibitors. T-20 was
licensed in Europe and the US in May 2003 for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in
antiretroviral-experienced adults and children over 6 years of age. It is a relatively
large peptide comprised of 36 amino acids, and therefore needs to be administered
by subcutaneous injection (Oldfield 2005). It binds to an intermediate structure of
the HIV gp41 protein, which appears during fusion of HIV with the target cell.
Initially, HIV patients were given T-20 monotherapy intravenously. Antiviral activity was dose-dependent, and at the higher dose of 100 mg BID, the viral load was
reduced by almost 2 logs (Kilby 1998, Kilby2002). In early studies of the subcutaneous application, an effect on viral load was still evident in one third of patients
after 48 weeks, but it became apparent that T-20 was of more benefit to those who
received additional new drugs for their ART regimen.
Two Phase III studies led to the licensing of T-20. TORO 1 (T-20 versus Optimized
Regimen Only) enrolled 491 extensively pretreated patients in North America and
Brazil, most with multiresistant viruses. In TORO 2, 504 patients in Europe and
Australia were enrolled. Patients in both studies, on an optimized ART regimen,
either received 90 mg T-20 BID subcutaneously or none at all (Lalezari 2003, Lazzarin 2003). In TORO-1, the reduction in viral load was 0.94 logs better with T-20.
In TORO-2 this difference was 0.78 logs (Nelson 2005). A strong impact on viral
load was also seen in combination with other new drugs such as tipranavir, darunavir, maraviroc or raltegravir. In all large studies evaluating these new agents
(RESIST, POWER, MOTIVATE, BENCHMRK), the additional use of T-20 was of
significant benefit.
At present new strategies are being tested, in which T-20 is given as induction,
i.e., only in the first weeks of a new salvage therapy. in order to lower the viral load
more rapidly. Small pilot studies such as INTENSE or INDEED suggested that this
could make sense (Clotet 2007, Reynes 2007).
The success of T-20 therapy should be monitored early on, particularly in view of
the cost. Patients without a decrease in viral load of at least one log after 8-12
weeks will not benefit and can be spared the required twice-daily injections. It is
also not recommended to inject double the dose of T-20 once a day: although
180 mg QD has the same bioequivalence (as measured by AUC) to the standard
90 mg BID, at least one study has shown a trend towards a lesser decrease in viral
124 ART
load with the QD dose that was clearly associated with lower trough levels
(Thompson 2006).
One occurrence in the TORO studies was the increased frequency of lymphadenopathy and bacterial pneumonia in those on T-20 (6.7/100 versus 0.6/100 patient
years) (Trottier 2005). Septicemia also occurred more often on T-20, but the difference was not significant. The reason for the increased rate of infections has remained unclear, but binding of T-20 to granulocytes has been suspected. Substantial
side effects remain constant (98% in the TORO studies), and with the duration of
therapy, severe local skin reactions occur at the injection site. These can be particularly painful, and result every so often is interruption of therapy: 4.4% of cases in
the TORO studies. In our experience of everyday clinical treatment, therapy is interrupted more frequently due to these skin problems (see section on Side Effects).
Unfortunately the development of a bioinjection system in which T-20 is pressed
into the skin was halted (Harris 2006).
Resistance mutations develop relatively rapidly on T-20, but seem to reduce viral
fitness (Lu 2002, Menzo 2004). Receptor tropism of the virus seems to be not significantly affected. There are some changes to a short sequence on the gp41 gene,
causing reduced susceptibility to T-20, which is due to simple point mutations
(Mink 2005). In contrast, viruses resistant to NRTIs, NNRTIs and PIs are susceptible to T-20 (Greenberg 2003). As it is is a relatively large peptide, it induces antibody production. This does not seem to impair efficacy (Walmsley 2003). More
disturbing is the fact that in a large TDM study there was a very large interpatient
variability and extremely low plasma levels were often found (Stocker 2006).
In summary, patients with a well-controlled viral load or who still have options with
classical ART do not require T-20. For salvage therapy the drug seems to be very
valuable in individual cases. However, with regard to new antiretroviral drug
classes, T-20 has only an minor role to play in the future. Many patients have already successfully replaced T-20 by oral antiretrovirals such as raltegravir. Pilot
studies provide evidence thas this strategy is virologically safe (Harris 2008, Talbot
2008, Tower 2008, DeCastro 2009). The price also remains an important aspect of
T-20, as ART costs twice as much with the addition of T-20 as the company maintains that it is one of the most complicated drugs it has ever manufactured. For other
agents not yet approved, see Chapter 3.
References on fusion inhibitors and T-20
Clotet B, Capetti A, Soto-Ramirez LE, et al. An intensification treatment strategy of adding enfuvirtide (enf) to an oral HAART regimen: the INTENSE study 24 week
induction phase analysis. Abstract P7.3/28, 11th EACS 2007, Madrid.
De Castro N, Braun J, Charreau I, et al. Switch from enfuvirtide to raltegravir in highly treatment experienced HIV-1 infected patients: a randomized open-label noninferiority trial, Easier-ARNS138. Abstract 572, 16th CROI 2009 Montral.
Greenberg ML, Melby T, Sista P, et al. Baseline and on-treatment susceptibility to enfuvirtide seen in TORO 1 and 2 to 24 weeks. Abstract 141, 10th CROI 2003,
Boston. http://www.retroconference.org/2003/Abstract/Abstract.aspx?AbstractID=1687
Harris M, Joy R, Larsen G, et al. Enfuvirtide plasma levels and injection site reactions using a needle-free gas-powered injection system (Biojector). AIDS 2006, 20:71923.
Harris M, Larsen G, Montaner JS. Outcomes of multidrug-resistant patients switched from enfuvirtide to raltegravir within a virologically suppressive regimen. AIDS
2008, 22:1224-1226.
Kilby JM, Hopkins S, Venetta TM, et al. Potent suppression of HIV-1 replication in humans by T-20, a peptide inhibitor of gp41-mediated virus entry. Nat Med 1998,
4:1302-1307.
Kilby JM, Lalezari JP, Eron JJ, et al. The safety, plasma pharmacokinetics, and antiviral activity of subcutaneous enfuvirtide (T-20), a peptide inhibitor of gp41-mediated
virus fusion, in HIV-infected adults. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2002, 18:685-93.
Lalezari JP, Henry K, O'Hearn M, et al. Enfuvirtide, an HIV-1 fusion inhibitor, for drug-resistant HIV infection in North and South America. N Engl J Med 2003, 348:217585.
Lazzarin A, Clotet B, Cooper D, et al. Efficacy of enfuvirtide in patients infected with drug-resistant HIV-1 in Europe and Australia. N Engl J Med 2003, 348:2186-95.
Lehrman G, Hogue IB, Palmer S, et al. Depletion of latent HIV-1 infection in vivo: a proof-of-concept study. Lancet 2005; 366: 549-55.
Lu J, Sista P, Cammack N, Kuritzkes D, et al. Fitness of HIV-1 clinical isolates resistant to T-20 (enfuvirtide). Antiviral therapy 2002, 7:S56.
Melby T, Sista P, DeMasi R, et al. Characterization of envelope glycoprotein gp41 genotype and phenotypic susceptibility to enfuvirtide at baseline and on treatment in
the phase III clinical trials TORO-1 and TORO-2. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2006; 22: 375-85.
125
Menzo S, Castagna A, Monachetti A, et al. Resistance and replicative capacity of HIV-1 strains selected in vivo by long-term enfuvirtide treatment. New Microbiol 2004,
27:51-61.
Mink M, Mosier SM, Janumpalli S, et al. Impact of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp41 amino acid substitutions selected during enfuvirtide treatment on gp41
binding and antiviral potency of enfuvirtide in vitro. J Virol 2005, 79:12447-54.
Molto J, Ruiz L, Valle M, et al. Increased antiretroviral potency by the addition of enfuvirtide to a four-drug regimen in antiretroviral-naive, HIV-infected patients. Antivir
Ther 2006; 11: 47-51.
Nelson M, Arasteh K, Clotet B, et al. Durable efficacy of enfuvirtide over 48 weeks in heavily treatment-experienced HIV-1-infected patients in the T-20 versus optimized
background regimen only 1 and 2 clinical trials. J AIDS 2005, 40:404-12.
Oldfield V, Keating GM, Plosker G. Enfuvirtide: A Review of its Use in the Management of HIV Infection. Drugs 2005, 65:1139-60.
Raffi F, Katlama C, Saag M, et al. Week-12 response to therapy as a predictor of week 24, 48, and 96 outcome in patients receiving the HIV fusion inhibitor enfuvirtide
in the T-20 versus Optimized Regimen Only (TORO) trials. Clin Infect Dis 2006, 42:870-7.
Reynes K, Pellegrin I, Peytavin G, et al. Induction treatment with enfuvirtide combined with antiretrovirals optimized background in treatment failure patients: 16 weeks
data from INDEED Study. Abstract P7.4/02, 11th EACS 2007, Madrid.
Root MJ, Kay MS, Kim PS. Protein design of an HIV-1 entry inhibitor. Science 2001;291:884-8.
Stocker H, Kloft C, Plock N, et al. Pharmacokinetics of enfuvirtide in patients treated in typical routine clinical settings. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2006, 50:667-73.
Talbot A, Marcotte S, Lalonde RG, et al. Retrospective analysis of a switch from enfuvirtide to raltegravir in patients with undetectable viral load: efficacy and safety at
12 weeks in a Montreal cohort. Abstract TUPE0112, 17th IAC 2008, Mexico.
Thompson M, DeJesus E, Richmond G, et al. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and safety of once-daily versus twice-daily dosing with enfuvirtide in HIV-infected
subjects. AIDS 2006, 20:397-404.
Towner W, Klein D, Follansbee S, Yu K, Kerrigan HL, Horberg M. Pilot study of switching enfuvirtide to raltegravir in HIV-1 positive patients well controlled on an
enfuvirtide based regimen. Abstract TUPE0115, 17th IAC 2008, Mexico.
Trottier B, Walmsley S, Reynes J, et al. Safety of enfuvirtide in combination with an optimized background of antiretrovirals in treatment-experienced HIV-1-infected
adults over 48 weeks. JAIDS 2005, 40:413-21.
Walmsley S, Henry K, Katlama C, et al. Lack of influence of gp41 antibodies that cross-react with enfuvirtide on the efficacy and safety of enfuvirtide in TORO 1 and
TORO 2 Phase III trials. Abstract 558, 10th CROI 2003, Boston.
Integrase inhibitors
Mode of action
Integrase, along with reverse transcriptase and protease, is one of the three key enzymes in the HIV replication cycle. This enzyme is involved in the integration of
the viral DNA into the host genome and is essential for the replication of HIV (Nair
2002). It is of note that there is no integrase in human cells so that selective inhibition of this enzyme (without inducing side effects) seems possible. Integrase inhibitors are occasionally falsely classified as entry inhibitors. However, unlike the latter, they do not prevent entry of the virus into the cell.
There are at least four important steps leading to the integration of viral DNA (for
more details, please refer to Pommier 2005 and Lataillade 2006). All these steps
may be theoretically inhibited by integrase inhibitors. Briefly, these steps are:
1. Binding of the integrase enzyme to viral DNA within the cytoplasm. This results
in a stable viral DNA-integrase binding complex (preintegration complex, PIC).
This step can be inhibited by binding inhibitors such as pyrano-dipyrimides.
2. 3Processing. The integrase removes a dinucleotide at each end of the viral DNA
producing new 3-hydroxyl ends within the PIC. This step can be inhibited by
3processing inhibitors such as diketo acids.
3. Strand transfer. After the transport of the PIC from the cytoplasm through a
nuclear pore into the cells nucleus, integrase binds to the host chromosomal DNA.
By doing this, integrase mediates irreversible binding of viral and cellular DNA.
This step can be inhibited by strand transfer inhibitors such raltegravir or elvitegravir.
4. Gap repair. The combination of viral and cellular DNA is a gapped intermediate
product. The gap repair is done by host cell DNA repair enzymes. Integrase seems
not to be necessary in this last step, which can be inhibited by gap repair inhibitors
such as methylxanthines.
126 ART
For almost a decade, the development of integrase inhibitors was slow. This was
largely because of a lack of good lead compounds and reliable in vitro screening
assays that incorporated each of the integration steps (Lataillade 2006). After discovering the principle of the strand transfer (Hazuda 2000) much progress has been
made during the last years. Since 2005, numerous clinical studies have successfully
evaluated integrase inhibitors (mainly strand transfer inhibitors). In December
2007, raltegravir was licenced as the first integrase inhibitor for the treatment of
HIV-infected patients.
As with other antiretroviral drug classes, some questions remain unanswered. Although very well tolerated during the first two years of therapy, little is known
about long-term toxicity. Resistance may be also an important issue in the future. It
seems that the resistance barrier is relatively low and there is already evidence for
cross-resistance between raltegravir and other integrase inhibitors such as elvitegravir (see below). Clearly, there is no need for me-too-integrase inhibitors (Serrao 2009). Moreover, there is at least one randomized trial (SWITCHMRK) showing that virological efficacy may be less potent that those of boosted PIs in pretreated patients (Eron 2009). Resistance to integrase inhibitors does not compromise the replication capacity of HIV. This means that an integrase inhibitor should
be stopped when resistance develops in order to avoid accumulation of further resistance mutations as well as unnecessary costs.
Individual agents
Raltegravir (RAL, Isentress, formerly MK 0518) is a naphthyridine carboxamide derivative that inhibits the strand transfer step of integrase (see above). Raltegravir has a wide range of efficacy for R5- and X4 tropic viruses, as well as inhibiting the replication of HIV-2. During a 10-day monotherapy, viral load declined
by 1.7-2.2 log (Markowitz 2006). Data from the 005 trial, a placebo-controlled
Phase II study were even more impressive (Grinsztejn 2007). 179 patients with a
very long pre-treatment history (median 10 years, in which approximately 30% of
the patients had no more treatment options left open to them) received 200-600 mg
raltegravir BID or placebo. After 48 weeks, 64% of the patients on raltegravir had
attained a viral load of less than 50 copies/ml, compared to only 9% in the placebo
group. This was a truly exceptional result for such a pre-treated patient group, in
which at least one third received virtually monotherapy with raltegravir (Grinsztejn
2007).
These data were confirmed by two large Phase III studies which led to approval of
raltegravir. In BENCHMRK-1 and -2, a total of 699 intensively pretreated patients
with triple-class resistance were randomized to raltegravir 400 mg BID or placebo,
each combined with an optimized background therapy (Cooper 2008, Steigbigl
2008). Suppression of HIV-1 RNA to below 50 copies/ml was achieved at week 16
in 62% of the raltegravir recipients, as compared with 35% of placebo recipients,
and at week 48 in 62% as compared with 33%. These effects were sustained to at
least week 96 (Steigbigl 2009). Tolerability of raltegravir was excellent in the
BENCHMRK trials. Up to now, there are no known specific side effects. There was
a recent report by FDA regarding a limited number of cases of depression and sui-
127
cidal thoughts. There is no elevated cancer risk which was feared according to an
early report.
Raltegravir has been also tested in treatment nave patients. The encouring data
from an early Phase II study (Markowitz 2007) were confirmed by a large Phase III
study. In STARTMRK, 563 treatment-nave, HIV-infected patients received either
400 mg raltegravir BID or 600 mg efavirenz QD, each in combination with
TDF+FTC. At week 48, rates of patients achieving undetectable plasma viremia (<
50 copies/ml) were 86% and 82%, respectively. Patients taking raltegravir had a
greater increase in CD4 T cell counts (189 versus 163, not significant) and less adverse events leading to discontinuation.
The fact that time to virologic response was significantly more rapid in patients
taking raltegravir compared to those taking efavirenz led to some speculations
about a higher potency (Murray 2007, Lennox 2008). Moreover, small pilot studies
suggested that raltegravir may produce a significant decline in proviral DNA, which
is not seen with other antiretroviral drugs despite achievement of similar suppression of plasma viremia and CD4 T cell gains (Arponen 2008). However, newer
studies have failed to demonstrate a virological effect during raltegravir intensification (Jones 2009, Luna 2009). Some experts believe that the faster response during
raltegravir-based regimens is not a matter of the potency but due to its unique effect
of blocking HIV genome integration (Siliciano 2009).
What is known about resistance? There are at least two common resistance pathways, either via the mutations Q148K/R/H or N155H. Both mutations are localized
within the catalytic core of the integrase (Grinsztejn 2007, Malet 2008). There is
evidence for a clinically relevant cross-resistance among raltegravir and elvitegravir
(DeJesus 2007). Resistance may occur quickly on a failing regimen. In the 005
study, virological failure occurred in 38/133 (29%) patients. In 34/38 patients, either the N155H or the Q148K/R/H mutation had occured after only 24 weeks. Thus,
the resistance barrier of raltegravir seems not very high. Moreover, switching to
raltegravir in virologically suppressed patients on a boosted PI is not without risk:
in the randomized SWITCHMRK studies (Eron 2009) with more than 700 patients
on a lopinavir/r-based ART, switching to raltegravir showed a better lipid profile
but did not demonstrate non-inferiority with respect to HIV RNA < 50 copies/ml at
week 24 as compared to remaining on lopinavir/r. Again, these results provide evidence for a possibly lower resistance barrier of integrase inhibitors compared to
boosted PIs. However, smaller pilot studies demonstrated that switching from T-20
to raltegravir is probably safe (Harris 2008, Talbot 2008, Towner 2008, DeCrespo
2009).
Only limited data exist with regard to interactions. However, raltegravir is not an
inducer or an inhibitor of the cytochrome 450 enzyme systeme. Clinically relevant
interactions are not expected (Iwamoto 2007, Iwamoto 2008, Anderson 2008, Wenning 2008). During co-medication of rifampicin, levels of raltegravir may be reduced. In contrast, raltegravir plasma concentration increases with omeprazole coadministration in healthy subjects; this is likely secondary to an increase in
bioavailability attributable to increased gastric pH (Iwamoto 2009).
Recommended dosage of raltegravir is 400 mg BID. In patients with renal impairment, no adjustment of dosage is required. There are no data for pediatric and pregnant patients.
128 ART
Taken together, there is no doubt that raltegravir has become an important option
for patients harbouring resistant viruses. However, like all other drugs, raltegravir
should be combined with other active drugs. Given its excellent tolerability, it is
expected that raltegravir may become an important new treatment option for a
broader spectrum of patients, including those who have not been previously treated.
For other agents not yet approved, please see Chapter 3.
References
Anderson MS, Kakuda TN, Hanley W, et al. Minimal pharmacokinetic interaction between the human immunodeficiency virus nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase
inhibitor etravirine and the integrase inhibitor raltegravir in healthy subjects. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2008, 52:4228-32.
Arponen S, Benito J, Lozano S, et al. More pronounced effect of integrase inhibitor raltegravir on proviral dna reduction that other antiretroviral drugs in patients
achieving undetectable viremia. Abstract 796, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Cooper DA, Steigbigel RT, Gatell JM, et al. Subgroup and resistance analyses of raltegravir for resistant HIV-1 infection. N Engl J Med 2008, 359:355-65.
De Castro N, Braun J, Charreau I, et al. Switch from enfuvirtide to raltegravir in highly treatment experienced HIV-1 infected patients: a randomized open-label noninferiority trial, Easier-ARNS138. Abstract 572, 16th CROI 2009 Montral.
DeJesus E, Cohen C, Elion R, et al. First report of raltegravir (RAL, MK-0158) use after virologic rebound on elvitegravir (EVT, GS 9137). Abstract TUPEB032, 4th IAS
2007, Sydney.
Eron J, Andrade J, Zajdenverg R et al. Switching from stable lopinavir/ritonavir-based to raltegravir-based combination ART resulted in a superior lipid profile at week
12 but did not demonstrate non-inferior virologic efficacy at week 24. Abstract 70aLB, 16th CROI 2009 Montral.
Luna MM, Llibre J, Larrousse M, et al. Immune activation markers during raltegravir intensification of a HAART regimen in subjects with persistent HIV-1 viral
suppression. Abstract 574, 16th CROI 2009 Montral.
Grinsztejn B, Nguyen BY, Katlama C, et al. Safety and efficacy of the HIV-1 integrase inhibitor raltegravir (MK-0518) in treatment-experienced patients with multidrugresistant virus: a phase II randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2007, 369:1261-9.
Harris M, Larsen G, Montaner J, et al. Outcomes of patients switched from enfuvirtide to raltegravir within a virologically suppressive regimen. Abstract 789, 15th CROI
2008.
Harris M, Larsen G, Montaner JS. Outcomes of multidrug-resistant patients switched from enfuvirtide to raltegravir within a virologically suppressive regimen. AIDS
2008, 22:1224-1226.
Hazuda DJ, Felock P, Witmer M, et al. Inhibitors of strand transfer that prevent integration and inhibit HIV-1 replication in cells. Science 2000, 287:646-50.
Iwamoto M, Kassahun K, Troyer MD, et al. Lack of a Pharmacokinetic Effect of Raltegravir on Midazolam: In Vitro/In Vivo Correlation. J Clin Pharmacol. 2007 Dec 12.
Iwamoto M, Wenning LA, Nguyen BY, et al. Effects of omeprazole on plasma levels of raltegravir. Clin Infect Dis 2009, 48: 489-492.
Iwamoto M, Wenning LA, Petry AS, et al. Minimal effects of ritonavir and efavirenz on the pharmacokinetics of raltegravir. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2008,
52:4338-43.
Jones J, MacMahon D, Wiegand A, et al. No decrease in residual viremia during raltegravir intensification in patients on standard ART. Abstract 423b, 16th CROI 2009
Montral.
Lataillade M, Kozal MJ. The hunt for HIV-1 integrase inhibitors. AIDS Patient Care STDS 2006, 20:489-501.
Lennox J, DeJesus E, Lazzarin A, et al. Safety and efficacy of raltegravir-based versus efavirenz-based combination therapy in treatment-naive HIV-1 infected patients:
STARTMRK Protocol 021. Abstract H-896a, 48th ICAAC/IDSA 2008 Washington, DC.
Malet I, Delelis O, Valantin MA, et al. Mutations Associated with Failure of Raltegravir Treatment affect integrase sensitivity to the inhibitor in vitro. Antimicrob Agents
Chemother 2008.
Markowitz M, Morales-Ramirez JO, Nguyen BY, et al. Antiretroviral activity, pharmacokinetics, and tolerability of MK-0518, a novel inhibitor of HIV-1 integrase, dosed as
monotherapy for 10 days in treatment-naive HIV-1-infected individuals. J AIDS 2006, 43:509-515.
Markowitz M, Nguyen BY, Gotuzzo E, et al. Rapid and durable antiretroviral effect of the HIV-1 Integrase inhibitor raltegravir as part of combination therapy in
treatment-naive patients with HIV-1 infection: results of a 48-week controlled study. J AIDS 2007, 46:125-33.
Murray JM, Emery S, Kelleher AD, et al. Antiretroviral therapy with the integrase inhibitor raltegravir alters decay kinetics of HIV, significantly reducing the second
phase. AIDS 2007, 21:2315-21.
Nair V. HIV integrase as a target for antiviral chemotherapy. Rev Med Virol 2002, 12:179-93.
Pommier Y, Johnson AA, Marchand C. Integrase inhibitors to treat HIV/AIDS. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2005, 4:236-48.
Serrao E, Odde S, Ramkumar K, Neamati N. Raltegravir, elvitegravir, and metoogravir: the birth of "me-too" HIV-1 integrase inhibitors. Retrovirology 2009 Mar 5;6:25.
Siliciano R. New approaches for understanding and evaluating the efficacy of ARVs. Abstract 16, 16th CROI 2009 Montral.
Steigbigel R, Cooper D, Eron J, et al. 96-week results from BENCHMRK1 and 2, phase III studies of raltegravir in patients failing ART with triple-class-resistant HIV.
Abstract 571b, 16th CROI 2009 Montral.
Steigbigel RT, Cooper DA, Kumar PN, et al. Raltegravir with optimized background therapy for resistant HIV-1 infection. N Engl J Med 2008, 359:339-354.
Talbot A, Marcotte S, Lalonde RG, et al. Retrospective analysis of a switch from enfuvirtide to raltegravir in patients with undetectable viral load: efficacy and safety at
12 weeks in a Montreal cohort. Abstract TUPE0112, 17th IAC 2008, Mexico.
Towner W, Klein D, Follansbee S, Yu K, Kerrigan HL, Horberg M. Pilot study of switching enfuvirtide to raltegravir in HIV-1 positive patients well controlled on an
enfuvirtide based regimen. Abstract TUPE0115, 17th IAC 2008, Mexico.
Wenning LA, Friedman EJ, Kost JT, et al. Lack of a significant drug interaction between raltegravir and tenofovir. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2008, 52:3253-8.
Wirden A, Simon M, Schneider L, et al. Raltegravir interruption has no effect on HIV-1 RNA plasmatic level in patients harboring viruses with resistance-associated
mutations to this drug. Abstract 622, 16th CROI 2009 Montral.
3. ART 2009/2010: The Horizon and Beyond
129

Christian Hoffmann
During the past few years, four important new drugs have been licenced, including
the PI darunavir, the NNRTI etravirine, the integrase inhibitor raltegravir and the
CCR5 antagonist maraviroc. Almost all HIV-infected patients can now be treated
with a virologically successful regimen, among them even those with multiple resistance mutations. There is no longer an untreatable patient. However, despite the
considerable progress made recently, there is an urgent need for new drugs. This is
not just true for patients with multiresistant viruses awaiting new treatment options.
Significant problems related to long-term toxicity and adherence are anticipated for
all therapies that will presumably need to span decades, as eradication of HIV is
currently not possible. As a result, new drugs are needed that are easier to take, with
high genetic barriers to the development of resistance and above all less toxic. To
eventually reach the goal of eradication, new drugs need to be more potent than
those available today. The following overview of agents that could make it to the
clinic based on current data (March 2009) does not claim to be complete.
New Pharmacoenhancers (PKEs)

Many antiretroviral agents, among them almost all PIs, but also some new drugs
such as vicriviroc or elvitegravir, have to be boosted in order to enhance their
pharmacokinetics. For more than a decade, ritonavir has been the only reliable and
tested option for boostering. In the last months, some new pharmacoenhancers have
been introduced that could challenge ritonavirs booster monopoly. The advantages
of these new agents that inhibit the CYP3A system is that they have no antiviral
effect and thus cannot cause PI resistance. Obviously, there are no reports yet about
long-term side-effects and the effects of such an total inhibition of enzyme systems.
SPI-452 is a PKE developed by the company Sequoia that does not have any antiHIV effect (Gulnik 2009). After SPI-452 had significantly increased the levels of
PIs in animal testing, different doses plus PIs were given to 58 healthy volunteers.
Tolerance was good. The levels of darunavir (37-fold) and atazanavir (13-fold) significantly increased as well. The booster effect lasted for a long time. Sequioa will
continue research with SPI-452 as an individual agent and in fixed combinations.
Use with other drugs such as HCV PIs will also be investigated.
GS-9350 is a PKE developed by Gilead, which has drawn great attention recently
with new data (Mathias 2009). A study with healthy individuals showed a similar
boosting effect to ritonavir of midazolam . With such promising data, a QUAD pill
has been developed containing the Gilead compounds tenofovir, FTC, the integrase
inhibitor elvitegravir and PKE GS-9350. This QUAD pill was tested on 44 healthy
individuals against a combination of tenofovir, FTC and ritonavir-boosted elvitegravir. With GS-9350 the booster effect was comparable to that of ritonavir. Due to
the high tolerance seen, the company is now planning phase II studies in which the
QUAD pill is to be tested against Atripla (TDF+FTC+EFV). If this proves successful, it will mean a great step forward for elvitegravir.
130 ART
PF-03716539 is a PKE from Pfizer. Presently, its effects on maraviroc and darunavir are being tested. Results are not yet available.
New formulations
Currently available drugs are under further development, the most important goals
being the reduction of pill burden, easier dosing and fewer side effects. Several
such preparations that have recently entered the market include Invirase 500, Truvada, Kivexa and Atripla. New improvements are being developed.
Nelfinavir 625 mg this newer formulation was approved in the US in April 2003.
It reduces the nelfinavir dose to 2 tablets BID. One study has shown that this formulation is better tolerated, particularly with respect to gastrointestinal side effects
despite the fact that plasma levels are around 30% higher (Johnson 2003). In
Europe, where nelfinavir is produced and sold by Roche instead of Pfizer, the
625 mg tablet is not available due to production problems.
Zerit PRC (PRC = prolonged release capsule or XR = extended release) is a
capsulated once-daily formulation of d4T (Baril 2002). d4T XR was approved in
Europe in October 2002. However, it is still (in 2009) not available. There are currently other attempts underway to improve d4T through minor modifications to its
molecular structure. OBP-601 (4-Ed4T) is a novel nucleoside analog with potent
anti-HIV-1 activity and limited cellular toxicity, which has a unique in vitro resistance profile (Weber 2008).
Viramune ER (Extended Release) is currently being studied for once-daily dosing. A randomized, double blind trial such as VERVxE will evaluate the antiviral
efficacy of 400 mg QD Viramune ER in comparison to 200 mg BID Viramune immediate release in combination with Truvada in approximately 1,000 antiretroviral
therapy nave HIV-1 infected patients.
Norvir tablets could help to make cooling of ritonavir unnecessary. Bioavailability is comparable to that of the ritonavir soft gelatine capsules (Ng 2008). However,
as long as a patent exists for the soft capsules, the company will have no big haste
to get the tablets to market.
Generics are not so difficult to produce as shown by experiences from Africa, India
or Thailand. In many cases, bioequivalence has been demonstrated (Laurent 2004,
Marier 2007). In developing countries many fixed drug combinations (FDC) are
often used. The most frequently used FDC is d4T+3TC+nevirapine which exists as
Triomune (Cipla), GPO-vir (GPO), Triviro LNS (Ranbaxy) or Nevilast (Genixpharma). FDCs also exist for AZT+3TC+nevirapine such as Duovir N (Cipla) or
Zidovex-LN (Ranbaxy). In industrial countries these preparations play no role.
References
Baril JG, Pollard RB, Raffi FM, et al. Stavudine extended/prolonged release (XR/PRC) vs. stavudine immediate release in combination with lamivudine and efavirenz:
48 week efficacy and safety. Abstract LbPeB9014, 14th Int AIDS Conf 2002, Barcelona.
Cai Y, Klein C, Roggatz U, et al. Bioequivalence of pilot tablet formulations of ritonavir to the marketed soft gel capsule at a dose of 100 mg. Abstract 52LB, 14th CROI
2007, Los Angeles.
Gulnik S, Eissenstat M, Afonina E, et al. Preclinical and early clinical evaluation of SPI-452, a new pharmacokinetic enhancer. Abstract 41, 16th CROI 2009, Montral.
131
Johnson M, Nieto-Cisneros L, Horban A, et al. Viracept (Nelfinavir) 625 mg film-coated tablets: investigation of safety and gastrointestinal tolerability of this new
formulation in comparison with 250 mg film-coated tablets (Viracept) in HIV patients. Abstract 548, 2nd IAS 2003, Paris.
Klein CE, Chiu YL, Causemaker SK, et al. Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) 100/25 mg tablet developed for pediatric use: bioequivalence to the LPV/r 200/50 mg tablet at a
dose of 400/100 mg and predicted dosing regimens in children Abstract P4.1/01, 11th EACS 2007, Madrid.
Laurent C, Kouanfack C, Koulla-Shiro S, et al. Effectiveness and safety of a generic fixed-dose combination of nevirapine, stavudine, and lamivudine in HIV-1-infected
adults in Cameroon: open-label multicentre trial. Lancet 2004, 364:29-34.
Marier JF, Dimarco M, Guilbaud R, et al. Pharmacokinetics of lamivudine, zidovudine, and nevirapine administered as a fixed-dose combination formulation versus
coadministration of the individual products. J Clin Pharmacol 2007;47:1381-9.
Mathias A, Lee M, Callebaut C, et al. GS-9350: A pharmaco-enhancer without Anti-HIV Activity. Abstract 40, 16th CROI 2009, Montral.
Mathias A, Plummer A, Skillington J, et al. Bioequivalence of the coformulation of efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir DF. Abstract TUE0098, XVI IAC 2006, Toronto.
Ng J, Klein CE, Causemaker SJ, et al. A comparison of the single dose bioavailability of a ritonavir tablet formulation relative to the ritonavir soft gelatin capsule in
healthy adult subjects. Abstract TUPE0076, XVII IAC 2008, Mexico City.
Weber J, Weberova J, Vazquez A, et al. Drug susceptibility profile of OBP-601, a novel NRTI, using a comprehensive panel of NRTI- or NNRTI-resistant viruses.
Abstract 726b, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
New nucleoside analogs

Since the development of dexelvucitabine (reverset) came to a halt, hopes are now
limited that there will be new nucleoside analogs on the market in the near future. It
seems to be difficult to develop NRTIs with potency against NRTI-resistant viruses
that show, at the same time, less mitochondrial toxicity.
Amdoxovir (DAPD) is a novel dioxolane guanosine NRTI which is converted in
vivo to the highly efficient DXG. DAPD has good efficacy against viruses resistant
to AZT/3TC and against hepatitis B virus (Corbett 2001). When patients showed
changes of the ocular lenses during early clinical trials (Thompson 2003) development was halted in 2004 and Gilead drew back the licensing agreement with two
US universities. However, there is still hope for DAPD. Supported by RFS Pharma
from Georgia (US), development is ongoing. In this program, DAPD is combined
with AZT to use the distinct resistance profiles of both compounds. In the first double-blind, randomized study on 24 patients, the viral load declined by an impressive
1.97 logs after 10 days on 500 mg DAPD + 200 mg AZT BID. There are obviously
synergistic effects (Murphy 2008). The question will be how to avoid the toxicity of
DAPD. Phase II studies are ongoing.
Apricitabine (ATC, AVX-754, formerly SPD-754) is a heterocyclic cytidine analog that was sold by Shire Biochem to Avexa at the beginning of 2005. ATC
chemically resembles 3TC but has in vitro activity against a broad spectrum of
TAMs. Up to 5 nucleoside mutations do not significantly impair its activity (Bethell
2005, Gu 2006). However, susceptibility to ATC is reduced when the K65R is present (Frankel 2007). A first placebo-controlled study in 63 HIV-infected patients
treated with ATC monotherapy showed decreases in viral load of between 1.2-1.4
logs depending on the dose good potency for an NRTI (Cahn 2006). In 50 patients
harbouring the M184V mutation there was a reduction of 0.7-0.9 log after three
weeks on ATC (Cahn 2008). ATC-specific resistance mutations were not observed
after 48 weeks (Cahn 2008) and could not be selected during in vitro experiments
(Oliveira 2009). Tolerability of ATC seems to be good (Holdich 2006). What about
long-term toxicity? In monkeys, there were minor skin problems, usually hyperpigmentation, after 52 weeks of exposure. ATC was thus significantly less toxic
than BCH-10652, which caused severe degenerative dermatopathy in all exposed
monkeys (Locas 2004). 3TC and FTC significantly and competitively lower intracellular levels of ATC. Combination with other cytidine analogs could therefore
pose a problem. Results of larger phase III trials are expected in 2009.
132 ART
Dioxolanthymidine (DOT) is a new thymidine analog one of the few new agents
in this subgroup. Dioxolane appeared to be relatively good in preclinical trials
(Chung 2005, Liang 2006), however, clinical studies have to show the potential of
DOT. Phase I studies are underway.
Elvucitabine (ACH-126,443) is a cytidine analog developed by Achillion Pharmaceuticals. It is an enantiomer of dexelvucitabine, with the chemical name beta-LD4FC, and is also effective against HBV. In vitro studies show potency even in the
presence of numerous resistance mutations, and viruses with completely unique
resistances, such as M184I or the so far unknown mutant D237E, are selected for
(Fabrycki 2003). It is also of interest as it seems to have an extremely long half-life
of up to 150 hours - this may allow once-weekly dosing (Colucci 2005).
A small, double-blind study showed a reduction in viral load of between 0.7 and
0.8 log after 28 days in HIV+ patients with the M184V mutation. However, this
study had to be prematurely terminated, as 6/56 patients developed leucopenia or
rash on a dose of 100 mg elvucitabine (Dunkle 2003). It seems that mitochondiral
toxicity is lower than that of dexelvucitabine. On the other hand, this lower toxicity
may also lower the efficiency of incorporation by drug-resistant forms of HIV-1 RT
(Murakami 2004). Less toxicity at the expense of less efficacy? In a phase II study
in 77 patients, elvucitabine was inferior to 3TC. The rates of patients (all received
tenofovir and efavirenz) achieving a viral load of less than 50 copies/ml at week 48
were 65% on elvucitabine versus 78% on 3TC (DeJesus 2008). Some drug interactions are possible. There is an increase in elvucitabine bioavailability which may be
due to ritonavir inhibiting an efflux gut transporter with activity present in various
levels between subjects (Colucci 2009).
Fosalvudine is an NRTI by the company Heidelberg Pharma, which is a prodrug of
the fluorothymidine alovudine. The active part is only released after enzymatic
cleavage in the tissue. It is hoped that toxicity commonly seen with flurothymidines
can thus be reduced. In a Phase II trial with 43 ART-nave HIV+ patients, fosalvudine was well-tolerated and after 2 weeks of monotherapy with 5-40 mg the viral
load decreased by up to 1 log (Cahn 2007). Trials with pretreated patients are being
conducted in Russia as well as in Argentina.
Fozivudine is another NRTI developed by Heidelberg Pharma according to the
enhanced pro-drug-principle. In Phase I/II trials (Bogner 1997, Girard 2000)
fozivudine was well tolerated, but only moderately effective after 4 weeks, a decrease in the viral load at the highest doses of approximately 0.7 logs was reached
(Girard 2000). According to the companys website, they are looking for partners to
be able to conduct further trials. It has been silent for a while no one seems to be
very interested in a new AZT.
GS-9148 and the prodrug GS-9131 are new nucleotide analogs by Gilead, which
are further developments of tenovofir. They are designed to be less nephrotoxic, as
animal models and laboratory tests have demonstrated (Cihlar 2008+2009, Ray
2008). Clinical testing has yet to be start.
Phosphazide (Nicavir) is a nucleoside analog that was developed (and is already
marketed) in Russia, which is very similar to AZT (Skoblov 2003). After 12 weeks
133
of phosphazide monotherapy (400 mg), viral load in a small group of patients

dropped by a median 0.7 logs. Since phosphazide is a prodrug of AZT, it requires
an additional activation step. The D67N mutation seems to reduce efficacy
(Machado 1999). A small study has shown potency in combination with ddI and
nevirapine (Kravtchenko 2000), another with ddI and saquinavir (Sitdykova 2003).
It is still hard to see the advantage over AZT although better tolerability was presumed, this has not been shown.
Racivir is a cytidine analog produced by Pharmasset. It is a mixture of FTC and its
enantiomer. Possibly, both enantiomers have different resistance profiles so that,
theoretically, the development of resistance is impeded (Hurwitz 2005). It has
shown good antiviral activity in combination with d4T and efavirenz after two
weeks (Herzmann 2005). In a double blind randomized study in 42 patients harbouring the M184V mutation, viral load declined by 0.4 logs after 28 days (Cahn
2007). There has been no news since then. Whether racivir will make it to the clinic
and what the main advantage is over FTC remains to be seen.
Stampidine is a nucleoside analog developed by the American Parker Hughes Institute. It resembles d4T and is apparently 100 times more potent than AZT in vitro
(Uckun 2002). It also has activity against HIV mutants with up to 5 TAMs (Uckun
2006). It has been discussed also as a potential microbicide (DCruz 2004).
Out of sight, out of mind: the following NRTIs are not being pursued:
Adefovir dipivoxil (bis-POM PMEA) from Gilead, low activity against HIV,
nephrotoxicity, has an approval for hepatitis B
Dexelvucitabine (DFC or Reverset) from Incyte, stopped in 2006 due to several
cases of pancreatitis
dOTC from Biochem Pharma, stopped due to toxicity in monkeys
FddA (Lodenosine) from US Bioscience, stopped in 1999 due to severe
liver/kidney damage
GS 7340 from Gilead, stopped in 2004 due to disappointing clinical data
KP-1461 from Koronis, stopped in June 2008 due to no efficacy
Lobucavir from BMS, stopped due to carcinogenicity
MIV-210 from Medivir/Tibotec, is currently being developed for HBV
MIV-310 (alovudine, FLT) from Boehringer Ingelheim, stopped in March 2005
due to a disappointing Phase II study
SPD-756 (BCH-13520) and SPD-761
134 ART
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other NRTIs. Antivir Chem Chemother 2005, 16:295-302.
Bogner JR, Roecken M, Herrmann DB, Boerner D, Kaufmann B, Gurtler L, Plewig G, Goebel FD. Phase I/II trial with fozivudine tidoxil (BM 21.1290): a 7 day
randomized, placebo-controlled dose-escalating trial. Antivir Ther 1997, 2:257-64.
Cahn P, Altclas J, Martins M, et al. 24-Week data from study AVX-201: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, dose-ranging phase IIb study of apricitabine in
treatment-experienced patients with M184V and NRTI resistance. Abstract 793, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Cahn P, Altclas J, Martins M, et al. 48-week data from Study AVX-201 a randomised phase IIb study of apricitabine in treatment-experienced patients with M184V
and NRTI resistance. Abstract O414, 9th Int Cong Drug Ther HIV Inf, Glasgow 2008.
Cahn P, Cassetti I, Wood R, et al. Efficacy and tolerability of 10-day monotherapy with apricitabine in antiretroviral-naive, HIV-infected patients. AIDS 2006, 20:1261-8.
Cahn P, Schrmann D, Reuss F, et al. A phase-II study of 14 days monotherapy with the nucleoside-analogue Fosalvudine Tidoxil in treatment-nave HIV-1 infected
adults. WEPEB114LB, 4th IAS 2007, Sydney.
th
Cahn P, Sosa N, Wiznia A, et al. Racivir demonstrates safety and efficacy in patients harbouring HIV with the M184V mutation and > 3 TAM. Abstract 488, 14 CROI
2007, Los Angeles.
Chung KC, Yadav V, Rapp K, Chong Y, Schinazi R. Dioxolane thymine nucleoside is active against a variety of NRTI-resistant mutants. Abstract 554, 12th CROI 2005,
Boston.
Cihlar T, Laflamme G, Fisher R, et al. Novel nucleotide human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase inhibitor GS-9148 with a low nephrotoxic potential:
characterization of renal transport and accumulation. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2009, 53:150-6.
Cihlar T, Ray AS, Boojamra CG, et al. Design and profiling of GS-9148, a novel nucleotide analog active against nucleoside-resistant variants of human
immunodeficiency virus type 1, and its orally bioavailable phosphonoamidate prodrug, GS-9131. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2008;52:655-65.
Colucci P, Pottage J, Robison H, et al. The different clinical pharmacology of elvucitabine (beta-L-Fd4C) enables the drug to be given in a safe and effective manner
with innovative drug dosing. Abstract LB-27, 45th ICAAC 2005, Washington.
Colucci P, Pottage JC, Robison H, et al. Multiple-dose pharmacokinetic behavior of elvucitabine, a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, administered over 21 days
with lopinavir-ritonavir in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected subjects. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2009, 53:662-9.
Corbett AH, Rublein JC. DAPD. Curr Opin Investig Drugs 2001, 2:348-53.
D'Cruz OJ, Uckun FM. Stampidine is a potential nonspermicidal broad-spectrum anti-HIV microbicide. Fertil Steril 2004, 1:831-41.
DeJesus E, Saple D, Morales-Ramirez J, et al. Elvucitabine phase II 48 week interim results show safety and efficacy profiles similar to lamivudine in treatment naive
HIV-1 infected patients with a unique pharmacokinetic profile. Abstract H-892, 48th ICAAC 2008, 2008.
Dunkle LM, Gathe JC, Pedevillano DE, et al. Elvucitabine: potent antiviral activity demonstrated in multidrug-resistant HIV infection. Antiviral Therapy 2003, 8:S5.
Fabrycki J, Zhoa Y, Wearne J, et al. In vitro induction of HIV variants with reduced susceptibility to elvucitabine (ACH-126,443,beta-L-Fd4C). Antiviral Therapy 2003,
8:S8.
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Frankel F, Xu H, Coates J, Wainberg M. In vitro investigation of the resistance profile of apricitabine. Abstract 581, 14 CROI 2007, LA.
Girard PM, Pegram PS, Diquet B, et al. Phase II placebo-controlled trial of fozivudine tidoxil for HIV infection: pharmacokinetics, tolerability, and efficacy. J AIDS 2000,
23:227-35.
Gu Z, Allard B, de Muys JM, et al. In vitro antiretroviral activity and in vitro toxicity profile of SPD754, a new deoxycytidine nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor for
treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2006, 50:625-31.
Harris KS, Brabant W, Styrchak S, Gall A, Daifuku R. KP-1212/1461, a nucleoside designed for the treatment of HIV by viral mutagenesis. Antiviral Res 2005, 67:1-9.
Herzmann C, Arasteh K, Murphy RL, et al. Safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of (+/-)-beta-2',3'-dideoxy-5-fluoro-3'-thiacytidine with efavirenz and stavudine in
antiretroviral-naive HIV-infected patients. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2005, 49:2828-33.
Holdich T, Shiveley L, Sawyer J. Pharmacokinetics of single oral doses of apricitabine, a novel deoxycytidine analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitor, in healthy
volunteers. Clin Drug Investig 2006, 26:279-86.
Hurwitz SJ, Otto MJ, Schinazi RF. Comparative pharmacokinetics of Racivir, (+/-)-beta-2',3'-dideoxy-5-fluoro-3'-thiacytidine in rats, rabbits, dogs, monkeys and HIVinfected humans. Antivir Chem Chemother 2005, 16:117-27.
Kravtchenko AV, Salamov GG, Serebrovskaya LV, et al. The first experience of HAART with phosphazid + didanosine + nevirapine in HIV-infected patients in Russia.
Abstract 3, 5th Int Conf Drug Therapy 2000, Glasgow, Scotland.
Liang Y, Narayanasamy J, Schinazi RF, Chu CK. Phosphoramidate and phosphate prodrugs of (-)-beta-d-(2R,4R)-dioxolane-thymine: Synthesis, anti-HIV activity and
stability studies. Bioorg Med Chem 2006, 14:2178-89.
Locas C, Ching S, Damment S. Safety profile of SPD754 in cynomolgus monkeys treated for 52 weeks, Abstract 527, 11th CROI 2004, San Francisco.
http://www.retroconference.org/2004/cd/Abstract/527.htm
Machado J, Tsoukas C, Salomon H, et al. Antiviral activity and resistance profile of phosphazid - a novel prodrug of AZT. Abstract 594, 6th CROI 1999, Chicago.
http://www.retroconference.org/99/abstracts/594.htm
Murakami E, Ray AS, Schinazi RF, Anderson KS. Investigating the effects of stereochemistry on incorporation and removal of 5-fluorocytidine analogs by mitochondrial
DNA polymerase gamma: comparison of D- and L-D4FC-TP. Antiviral Res 2004, 62:57-64.
Murphy R, Zala C, Ochoa C, et al. Pharmacokinetics and potent anti-HIV-1 activity of amdoxovir plus zidovudine in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study.
Oliveira M, Moisi D, Spira B, Cox S, Brenner BG, Wainberg MA. Apricitabine does not select additional drug resistance mutations in tissue culture in human
immunodeficiency virus type 1 variants containing K65R, M184V, or M184V plus thymidine analogue mutations. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2009, 53:1683-5.
Ray AS, Vela JE, Boojamra CG, et al. Intracellular metabolism of the nucleotide prodrug GS-9131, a potent anti-human immunodeficiency virus agent. Antimicrob
Agents Chemother 2008, 52:648-54.
Sitdykova YR, Serebrovskaya LV, Kravchenko AV. Immune reconstitution on treatment of HIV-infected patients with phosphazid, didanosine and saquinavir/ritonavir
once daily in russia. Abstract 2.7/1. 9th EACS 2003, Warsaw, Poland.
Skoblov Y, Karpenko I, Shirokova E, et al. Intracellular metabolism and pharmacokinetics of 5-hydrogenphosphonate of 3-azido-2,3-dideoxythymidine, a prodrug of
3-azido-2,3-dideoxythymidine. Antiviral Res 2004;63:107-13.
Thompson M, Richmond G, Kessler M, et al. Preliminary results of dosing of amdoxovir in treatment-experienced patients. Abstract 554, 10th CROI 2003, Boston.
http://www.retroconference.org/2003/Abstract/Abstract.aspx?AbstractID=1608
Uckun FM, Pendergrass S, Venkatachalam TK, Qazi S, Richman D. Stampidine is a potent inhibitor of zidovudine- and nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase
inhibitor-resistant primary clinical HIV type 1 isolates with thymidine analog mutations. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2002, 46:3613-3616.
Uckun FM, Venkatachalam TK, Qazi S. Potency of stampidine against multi-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor resistant human immunodeficiency viruses.
Arzneimittelforschung 2006, 56:193-203.
135
New NNRTIs
In 2008, etravirine was the first second-generation NNRTI to be licenced. Encouraged by this success, many pharmaceutical companies currently have NNRTIs in
their pipelines.
Rilpivirine (RPV, formerly TMC 278) first appeared in February 2005. Like etravirine, it is also a DAPY-NNRTI (Janssen 2005). Rilpivirine is effective against
most NNRTI-resistant viruses. In three placebo-controlled dose-finding studies (up
to 150 mg over 14 days) the agent was well tolerated (de Bethune 2005). An early
Phase IIa study on therapy-naive patients receiving monotherapy for 7 days produced an average decrease in the viral load of 1.2 logs. In addition, there was no
dose-dependent effect between 25 and 150 mg (Goebel 2005). A considerable advantage of rilpivirine is its very long half-life (40 hours). In combination with lopinavir, its blood levels are significantly increased, necessitating dose adjustment
(Hoetelmans 2005).
In a randomized phase IIb study 368 therapy nave patients received 2 NRTIs and
additionally different doses (25, 75, 150 mg) or efavirenz (Pozniak 2007). Only the
rilpivirin doses were blinded; the NRTIs were chosen by the treating clinician. The
antiviral effect of rilpivirine was comparable to efavirenz after 48 weeks, however
with significantly less CNS side effects and less increase of lipids. Even after 96
weeks the effects were good (Santoscoy 2008). The 25 mg doses are being tested
against efavirenz with ART-nave patients in two large-scale phase III trials (ECHO
and THRIVE). A parenteral nanosuspension is being investigated, in which ripilvirin levels are acheived by monthly injections, corresponding to a daily dose of 25
mg (Verloes 2008). This may offer a possibility for antiretroviral therapy with
monthly administration.
GW5634 is a benzophenone NNRTI and the prodrug of GW8248 (Freeman 2003,
Romines 2003). In a study with 46 HIV infected patients with NNRTI mutations,
the viral load decreased by 1.21.6 logs after 7 days (Becker 2005). Recently GSK
seems to have lost interest further development is questionable.
IDX-899 is a new NNRTI developed by Idenix Pharma. The resistance profile in
vitro has no cross-resistance with efavirenz (Richman 2008). In vivo the viral load
decreased by 1.8 logs after 8 days (Zala 2008). As no dose-effect relationship had
been observed, lower doses (100 mg) are being investigated. Idenix is cooperating
with GSK, so that infrastructure for further development seems to be provided for.
RDEA806 is a NNRTI by Ardea Bioscience. The resistance barrier is considerably
high and the potential for interaction low (Hamatake 2007). Monotherapy trials
with HIV infected patients showed a reduction of over 1.8 logs after 7 days with
excellent tolerability (Moyle 2008). The data seem promising enough to start a bigger large-scale phase IIb trial, in which RDEA806 will be tested in different doses
against efavirenz with ART-nave patients (plus tenofovir and FTC). Another interesting aspect of the agent is the reducing effect of uric acid, which is why studies
are also being run to validate RDEA806 as a possible remedy against gout.
136 ART
UK 453,061 is a new NNRTI from Pfizer with good effects against classical
NNRTI resistance (Mori 2008). Healthy volunteers tolerated the agent well over a
period of 28 days (Landon 2008). Among HIV infected patients receiving doses of
10750 mg, a viral load reduction of up to 2.0 logs was observed after 7 days of
monotherapy (Ftkenheuer 2007). UK 453,061 is also being tested against efavirenz
in therapy nave patients, and against etravirine in pretreated patients.
Out of sight, out of mind, the following NNRTIs are no longer being developed:
Atevirdine from Upjohn who prioritized development of delavirdine
BIRL355BS from Boehringer Ingelheim, in 2007 due to toxicity/metabolites
Calanolide A from Sarawak, due to low efficacy
Capravirine (AG1549) from Pfizer, due to limited activity
DPC 083 (BMS-561390) stopped in 2003 due to unsatisfactory PK/safety data
DPC 961 due to suicidal thoughts in healthy volunteers; DPC 963
Emivirine (EMV, MKC-442, coactinone) from Triangle, due to limited activity
GW420867X from GSK, due to being a classical me-too drug
GW8248 from GSK, due to poor bioavailability
HBY-097 from Hoechst-Bayer, due to unfavorable side effects
Loviride from Janssen, due to limited activity in the CAESAR Study
MIV-150 from Medivir/Chiron, due to poor bioavailability, is being developed
further as a microbicide
PNU142721 from Pharmacia & Upjohn, due to being too similar to efavirenz
(i.e., a me-too)
TMC120 (dapivirine) from Tibotec, due to poor oral bioavailability
References
Becker S, Lalezari J, Walworth C, et al. Antiviral activity and safety of GW695634, a novel next generation NNRTI, in NNRTI-resistant HIV-1 infected patients. Abstract
WePe6.2C03, 3rd IAS 2005, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Ftkenheuer G, Staszewski S, Plettenberg A, et al. Short-term monotherapy with UK-453,061, a novel NNRTI, reduces viral load in HIV infected patients. Abstract
WESS202, 4th IAS 2007, Sydney.
Freeman G, Romines K, Chanet J, et al. Novel benzophenone non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors with unique drug resistance profiles. Abstract 538, 2nd
IAS 2003, Paris. Antiviral Therapy 8: S328.
Goebel F, Yakovlev A, Pozniak A, et al. TMC278: Potent anti-HIV activity in ART-naive patients. Abstract 160, 12th CROI 2005, Boston.
Hamatake R, Zhang Z, Xu W, et al. RDEA806, a potent NNRTI with a high genetic barrier to resistance. Abstract 1662, 47th ICAAC 2007, Chicago.
Hoetelmans R, van Heeswijk R, Kestens D, et al. Pharmacokinetic interaction between TMC278, an investigational non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor
(NNRTI), and lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) in healthy volunteers. Abstract PE4.3/1, 10th EACS 2005, Dublin.
Janssen PA, Lewi PJ, Arnold E, et al. In search of a novel anti-HIV drug: multidisciplinary coordination in the discovery of 4-[[4-[[4-[(1E)-2-cyanoethenyl]-2,6dimethylphenyl]amino]-2- pyrimidinyl]amino]benzonitrile (R278474, rilpivirine). J Med Chem 2005, 48:1901-9.
Langdon G, Davis J, Layton G, et al. Pharmacokinetic interaction of the next generation NNRTI UK-453,061 with other antiretrovirals and assessment of safety and
tolerability in healthy male subjects. Abstract 763, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Mori J, Corbau R, Lewis D, et al. Characterization of a NNRTI, UK-453,061 in vitro. Abstract 728, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Moyle G, Boffito M, Manhard K, et al. Antiviral activity of RDEA806, a novel HIV non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor in treatment naive HIV patients. Abstract
THAB0403, XVII IAC 2008, Mexico City.
Pozniak A, Morales-Ramirez J, Mohapi L, et al. 48-week primary analysis of trial TMC278-C204: TMC 278 demonstrates potent and sustained efficacy in ART naive
th
patients. Abstract LB144 LB, 14 CROI 2007. Los Angeles.
Richman D, Jakubik J, Chapron C, et al. Genotypic resistance and phenotypic cross-resistance profile in vitro for a novel NNRTI: IDX899. Abstract 729, 15th CROI
2008, Boston.
Romines K, St Clair M, Hazen R, et al. Antiviral characterization of GW8248, a novel benzophenone non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. Abstract 535, 2nd
IAS 2003, Paris.
Santoscoy M, Cahn P, Gonsalez C, et al. TMC278 (rilpivirine), an investigational next-generation NNRTI, demonstrates long-term efficacy and tolerability in ARV-naive
patients: 96-week results of study C204. Abstract TUAB0103, 17th IAC 2008, Mexico City.
Verloes R, van't Klooster G, Baert L, et al. TMC278 long acting - a parenteral nanosuspension formulation that provides sustained clinically relevant plasma
concentrations in HIV-negative volunteers. Abstract TUPE0042, 17th IAC 2008, Mexico City.
Zala C, Murphy R, Zhou XJ, et al. IDX899, a novel HIV-1 NNRTI with high barrier to resistance, provides suppression of HIV viral load in treatment-naive HIV-1-infected
subjects. Abstract THAB0402, XVII IAC 2008, Mexico City.
137
New protease inhibitors (PIs)

Even among PIs, many agents have been lost along the way. Following the licensing of darunavir, not much can be expected from this group in the near- to midterm. This may also be due to the immense demands on new PIs in view of the increasingly large competition within this group.
DG17 (brecanavir) is a prodrug of DG35. It has been tested in numerous studies.
A more recent study that showed a marked effect on PK data by ritonavir-boosting
seems to have re-activated its development (Cherry 2008).
PL-100 (MK8122) is a PI from the Canadian company Ambrilia Biopharma cooperating with Merck. The prodrug PPL-100 is metabolized to the active agent PL100 which is believed to act against a broad range of PI-resistant viruses (Dandache
2007). PK data on healthy individuals look good. Moreover, the long half-life of
30-37 hours is of note. However, in July 2008, clinical development was halted for
unknown reasons.
SM-309515 is a new PI from Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals and has apparently entered Phase I studies. Earlier versions failed due to the short half-life, and attempts
are now being made to improve this (Mimoto 2003). The drug remained effective
against mutations such as S37N, I47V, R57K, and I84V. Ritonavir boosting is now
being tested in humans.
SPI-256 from Sequioa Pharmaceuticals is effective in vitro against PI resistant isolates (Gulnik 2006). Healthy individuals have tolerated it well.
Out of sight, out of mind development of the following PIs has been stopped:
AG-001859 from Pfizer
Brecanavir from GSK, stopped in 2006 due to poor PK data (see above)
DPC 684/681due to cardiotoxicity, apparently with a narrow therapeutic range
GS 9005 - previously GS 4338, from Gilead
JE-2147 - AG1776, KNI-764 from Pfizer, no news since 1999
KNI-272 - Kynostatin- due to poor PK data
Mozenavir - DMP-450 - from Gilead, stopped in 2002 due to being a me-too
drug, not offering anything new or better
RO033-4649 from Roche, due to being probably too similar to saquinavir
SC-52151 and SC-55389A due to poor bioavailability
TMC-126 Tibotec concentrated on TMC-114 (darunavir)
References
Cherry CL, Hoy JF, Rowe JS, Krum H, Mills J, Lewin SR. Phase 1 single dose studies to optimize the pharmacokinetics of DG17, a novel HIV-protease inhibitor prodrug, using sodium bicarbonate and ritonavir. Curr HIV Res 2008, 6:272-5.
Dandache S, Sevigny G, Yelle J, et al. In vitro antiviral activity and cross-resistance profile of PL-100, a novel protease inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus type
1. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2007;51:4036-43.
Gulnik S, Afonina E, Eissenstat M, Parkin N, Japour A, Erickson J. SPI-256, a highly potent HIV protease inhibitor with broad activity against MDR strains. Abstract 501,
th
13 CROI 2006, Denver.
138 ART
Hammond J, Jackson L, Graham J, et al. Antiviral activity and resistance profile of AG-001859, a novel HIV-1 protease inhibitor with potent activity against protease
inhibitor-resistant strains of HIV. Antiviral Therapy 2004; 9:S17.
Mimoto T, Nojima S, Terashima K. Structure-activity relationships of novel HIV-1 protease inhibitors containing the 3-amino-2-chlorobenzoyl-allophenylnorstatine
structure. Bioorg Med Chem 2008, 16:1299-308.
Wu JJ, Stranix B, Milot G, et al. PL-100, a next generation protease inhibitor against drug-resistant HIV: in vitro and in vivo metabolism. Abstract H-253, 46th ICAAC
2006, San Francisco.
New entry inhibitors

There are three crucial steps for entry of HIV into the CD4 T cell:
1. binding of HIV via the gp120 envelope protein to the CD4 receptor (attachment
target of attachment inhibitors),
2. binding to coreceptors (target of coreceptor antagonists) via conformational
changes, and finally
3.fusion of virus and cell (target of fusion inhibitors).
Although biochemically very heterogeneous, attachment inhibitors, coreceptor antagonists and fusion inhibitors are at present grouped together as entry inhibitors.
With T-20 and maraviroc two entry inhibitors have already been licenced (see
Chapter 2). Even if the antiviral effects of the drugs are not overwhelming, the concept is intriguing and entry inhibitors could open up new possibilities for the treatment of HIV infection in the coming years. On the other hand, a lot of the data does
not go beyond basic science at this stage, and many of the drugs discussed below
may eventually disappear. Most significantly, coreceptor antagonists have had to
bear several bitter setbacks.
New attachment inhibitors
Attachment of the viral glycoprotein gp120 to the CD4 receptor is the first step during the entry of HIV into the target cell. In theory, this step can be inhibited at least
by two different mechanisms, namely blocking either gp120 or CD4. Both modes of
action are currently under investigaton. Consequently, attachment inhibitors are
very heterogeneous, so it is not possible to speak of a single drug class.
Since the beginning of the nineties, there have been a number of investigations into
soluble CD4 molecules that prevent the attachment of HIV to the CD4 cell (Daar
1990, Schooley 1990). But, after disappointing results (probably due to the very
short half life of soluble CD4), this approach was abandoned for several years. With
the growing knowledge of the mechanism of HIV entry into the cell, as well as following the success of T-20 as the first entry inhibitor, the development of attachment inhibitors has been reinvigorated. However, most drugs are not yet far advanced, often have problematic PK data and are therefore still in the proof-ofconcept stage.
Ibalizumab (formerly TNX-355 or Hu5A8) is a monoclonal antibody that binds
to the CD4 receptor preventing entry of HIV. The mechanism of action has not
been clearly explained. In contrast to other attachment inhibitors, TNX-355 does
not seem to prevent binding of gp120 to CD4, but rather through conformational
changes and thereby the binding of gp120 to CCR5 and CXCR4. Some experts
therefore describe it as a coreceptor antagonist. It can is administered intravenously.
Following the initial early data (Jacobsen 2004, Kuritzke 2004), data from a placebo-controlled Phase II trial were very encouraging (Norris 2006). In this study,
139
extensively pretreated patients received TNX-355 as an infusion every two weeks

for a year in two different doses (10 mg/kg or 15 mg/kg) or placebo in addition to
an optimized ART regime. This study showed a long-lasting decrease in the viral
load of approximately one log after 48 weeks in both TNX arms.
According to these data TNX-355 appears to be one of the more promising agents in
HIV medicine. There seems to be an inverse correlation between the sensitivity for
TNX-355 and soluble CD4. TNX-355 resistant viruses are probably hypersensitive to
soluble CD4, which does not work on its own, as shown above (Duensing 2006). However, one issue will be whether binding to CD4 will affect the functionality of the CD4
T cells. There have been no negative affects reported so far, and it seems that the binding site for TNX-355 to CD4 receptors is differently localized than the binding site of
natural CD4 ligands, the HLA-class-II-molecules. The CD4 T cells may be able to employ its normal functions, even if TNX-355 occupies the HIV-binding site.
TNX-355 was originally developed by the company Tanox Biosystems (Houston,
Texas) that was taken over by the American biotechnological company Genentech in
2007. In mid- 2007 Genentech sold the license for TNX-355 to TaiMed Biologics, a
Taiwanese biotech - they are presently planning phase IIb trials in Europe and the USA.
The continuing research with this agent can be ascribed to the dedication of David Ho,
Taiwanese himself and Director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center.
BMS-488,043 was an early attachment inhibitor from BMS. As a small molecule it
binds very specifically and reversibly to HIV gp120 and thereby prevents attachment of HIV to the CD4 cell (Ho 2006). Thus, it does not bind to CD4 like ibalizumab. In early 2004, the first results in HIV-infected patients were published (Hanna
2004). Patients received either 800 mg or 1800 mg twice daily or placebo. Viral
load after 7 days of monotherapy dropped in both dose groups by a median of 0.72
or 0.96 logs. In 15/24 patients viral load was reduced by more than one log. The
agent was well tolerated in this study. However, pill burden is still high and the
formulation requires further improvement. Moreover, resistance occurs quickly as
the binding site of gp120 is one of the most variable gene regions of all. It seems
possible that this attachment inhibitor could act as a microbicide (Kadow 2006).
Development of BMS-488,043 was stopped in 2006. The reason remains unknown.
According to the company, comparable agents are in the pipeline.
References
Daar ES, Li XL, Moudgil T, Ho DD. High concentrations of recombinant soluble CD4 are required to neutralize primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 isolates.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1990, 87:6574-6578.
Duensing T, Fung M, Lewis S, Weinheimer S. In vitro characterization of HIV isolated from patients treated with the entry inhibitor TNX-355. Abstract 158 LB, 13th
CROI 2006, Denver.
Hanna G, Lalezari L, Hellinger J, et al. Antiviral activity, safety, and tolerability of a novel, oral small-molecule HIV-1 attachment inhibitor, BMS-488043, in HIV-1-infected
subjects a novel, oral small-molecule HIV-1 attachment inhibitor, BMS-488043, in HIV-1-infected subjects. Abstract 141, 11th CROI, 2004, San Francisco.
Ho HT, Fan L, Nowicka-Sans B, et al. Envelope conformational changes induced by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 attachment inhibitors prevent CD4 binding
and downstream entry events. J Virol 2006;80:4017-25.
Jacobson JM, Kuritzkes DR, Godofsky E, et al. Phase 1b study of the anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody TNX-355 in HIV-infected subjects: safety and antiretroviral activity
of multiple doses. Abstract 536, 11th CROI 2004, San Francisco.
Kadow J, Wang HG, Lin PF. Small-molecule HIV-1 gp120 inhibitors to prevent HIV-1 entry: an emerging opportunity for drug development. Curr Opin Investig Drugs
2006, 7:721-6.
Kuritzkes DR, Jacobson J, Powderly WG, et al. Antiretroviral activity of the anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody TNX-355 in patients infected with HIV type 1. J Infect Dis
2004, 189:286-91.
Norris D, Morales J, Godofsky E, et al. TNX-355, in combination with optimized background regimen, achieves statistically significant viral load reduction and CD4 cell
count increase when compared with OBR alone in phase 2 study at 48 weeks. Abstr. ThLB0218, XVI IAC 2006, Toronto.
Schooley RT, Merigan TC, Gaut P, et al. Recombinant soluble CD4 therapy in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related
complex. Ann Intern Med. 1990, 112:247-253.
140 ART
New co-receptor antagonists

In addition to CD4 receptors, HIV also requires so-called co-receptors to enter the
target cell. The two most important ones, CXCR4 and CCR5, were discovered in
the middle of the 1990s (see Chapter 2). Both receptors can be blocked or antagonized. In 2007, maraviroc was licenced as the first CCR5 antagonist. These small
molecules are given orally and bind allosterically to the receptor. Beside these allosteric inhibitors there are monoclonal antibodies binding directly to the receptor.
New CCR5 antagonists (small molecules)
Vicriviroc (SCH-D, or 417690) is a CCR5 antagonist from Schering-Plough. Vicriviroc is already in Phase III studies. In the Phase I studies, the highest dose of
50 mg daily induced an average drop in the viral load of 1.62 logs (Schrmann
2004). Data from a Phase II study on therapy-nave patients has recently shed doubt
on the long-term effects of vicriviroc (Landovitz 2008). In this trial, vicriviroc in
various doses was compared to efavirenz (all 91 patients also received AZT and
3TC). After an average observation period of 31 weeks, an independent data monitoring board decided to prematurely end the trial. Therapy failure (> 50 copies/ml)
was observed at this stage in 8% on efavirenz, in 57% on 25 mg vicriviroc, in 45%
on 50 mg vicriviroc, and in 22% on 75 mg vicriviroc. The observation that the rate
of therapy failure at the higher doses was relatively low provided hope that the
problem with vicriviroc was purely one of dosage. Indeed, when vicriviroc is
boostered by ritonavir, efficacy is better. This was shown by ACTG 5211, a study
on treatment-experienced patients (Gulick 2007). After 24 weeks, a viral load reduction of more than 1 log, in comparison to placebo, was observed with 5, 10 and
15 mg vicriviroc, each boosted with 100 mg ritonavir. In VICTOR-E1, 116 intensely pretreated patients received treatment with 20 and 30 mg vicriviroc or placebo respectively, the optimized background therapy also contained a ritonavirboosted PI. After 48 weeks the viral load was at 53% and 56% under 50 copies/ml,
compared to 14% with placebo (Zingman 2008).
Much like maraviroc, the tolerance of vicriviroc is excellent and comparable to placebo. Concerns about vicriviroc facilitating development of malignant lymphomas
(there were 4 cases among 118 patients in ACTG 5211) have not been seen anywhere else nor has a possible liver toxicity or an unfavorable influence on HCV
coinfection occured (Ftkenheuer 2008, Tsibris 2009).
Like with maraviroc, resistance probably develops through changes in the V3 loop
of the envelope protein a tropism shift to X4 viruses is not necessary. It is still
being discussed if this resistance causes cross-resistance (Westby 2006, Tsibris
2008, Ogert 2008). Human data is not yet available.
It is still unknown how to continue with vicriviroc since Schering-Plough was taken
over by Merck in early 2009. MSD also manufactures the integrase inhibitor raltegravir and could either stop or push further development of vicriviroc in the latter
case, maybe taking a new approach and investigation the combination of raltegravir
with vicriviroc.
INCB9471 is an orally available CCR5 antagonist by the company Incyte. In the
summer of 2005, a first small study with 21 HIV-infected patients was reported on,
141
who had received the drug or placebo over 14 days (Cohen 2007). Due to the long
half-life of 60 hours, a viral load reduction of 1.82 logs was reached after 16 days.
Viral suppression continued until day 20, 6 days after the therapy had ended. Incyte
stopped working on the agent in March 2008 to be able to focus on other products
they are looking for a buyer, and further development may be questionable.
PF-232798 is an orally available CCR5 antagonist by Pfizer and probably a maraviroc backup. It has a long half-life and can probably be administered once daily. In
vitro it reacts well to maraviroc resistance. In healthy volunteers, it was well tolerated (Dorr 2008).
SCH-532706 is a new CCR5 antagonist from the company Schering. At first sight,
there seems to be no advantage of this agent compared to vicriviroc. A total of 12
patients receiving 60 mg SCH532706 (with 100 mg ritonavir) showed a reduction
of viral load of up to 1.62 logs after 15 days (Pett 2009). A once-daily administration seems possible.
TAK-652 is a CCR5 antagonist by the Japanese company Takeda which shows
good oral bioavailability. Laboratory data demonstrated that several mutations in
the V3 region (and in env gene) must exist for complete resistance towards TAK652. Tropism doesnt seem to change when resistance happens (Baba 2007). Presently Phase II studies are being conducted.
Other innovative CCR5 blockers
HGS004 - CCR5mAb004 - developed by Human Genome Sciences is a monoclonal antibody showing an obviously high resistance barrier in vitro (Giguel 2006).
The half-life is approximately 5-8 days, and 80% of the receptors are occupied over
a period of up to 4 weeks after a single dose. In an initial trial, 54 ART-nave patients received a single infusion between 0.4 and 40 mg/kg HGS004 or placebo
(Lalezari 2008). More than half the patients in the higher dose arms showed a reduction of at least one log after 14 days. Possibly the company has now turned their
attention to HGS101 which is even more effective in vitro.
PRO 140 is a monoclonal antibody by the company Progenics, directed against
human CCR5 receptors (Trkola 2001). It is not a chemokine derivative like maraviroc or vicriviroc and there even seems to be a synergistic effect (Murga 2006). PRO
140 must be administered parenterally. The normal function of CCR5 receptors
should not be interfered with, at least not in the required dosages for inhibition of
HIV replication (Gardner 2003). Healthy patients showed excellent tolerability to
intravenous single administration of the drug and dose-dependent concentrations
were measured (Olson 2005). What was particularly surprising was the extended
effect - CCR5 receptors were occupied for up to 60 days and more (Olson 2006). In
a trial with 39 HIV+ patients treated with intravenous single doses of between 0.5
and 5.0 mg/kg, viral load decreased with the highest doses by 1.83 logs with a nadir
at day 10 (Jacobson 2008). Recent reports of comparable effects with weekly subcutaneous administration caused quite a sensation (Thompson 2009). If the so far
excellent tolerability of PRO 140 is confirmed, there may be a possibility for the
first therapy on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
142 ART
ESN-196 is a pilot agent developed by Euroscreen, which doesnt block the coreceptor, but is agonistic, like the chemokine RANTES, causing internalization of the
receptor (Ferain 2008). This CCR5 agonist reduces the receptor density on the cell
surface. Therefore, it is as effective as maraviroc in vitro. As a agent with an extended effect, it could become an alternative, even with CCR5A resistant viruses, if
it proves to be safe in clinical trials.
Aprepitant (Emend) is approved as a Neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist and as an
antiemetic in patients receiving highly emetogenous chemotherapy. It apparently
has an effect on R5-tropic viruses caused by a downregulation of the CCR5 receptors. Lab data showed dose-dependent effects on HIV replication (Wang 2007, Manak 2008). It is alleged that studies with HIV patients are being run.
CXCR4 antagonists
In the early stages of infection, the R5 virus is found within most patients; X4 virus
appears in later stages. X4 viruses are found in approximately 50% of cases in intensely pre-treated patients (Hoffmann 2007). This is why theoretically the blocking
of CXCR4 receptors seems so attractive, as those patients with limited options
would benefit most from it. The combination with CCR5 antagonists seems to be an
interesting option. However, the development of CXCR4 antagonists is less advanced than that of the CCR5 antagonists (Khan 2007). This is mainly because
theoretically, less clinical consequences are feared with the CCR5 blockade individuals with a CCR5 genetic defect are healthy. In contrast, an inherent and mostly
harmless defect with CXCR4 in humans has not been recorded. CXCR4 blockade
had severe consequences in animal testing, for example in angiogenetic haematopoiesis or brain development (Tachibana 1998, Nagasawa 1998, Zou 1998). Years
of basic research will certainly be necessary until large clinical studies can be attempted. An interesting side-effect of previous clinical research of CXCR4 antagonists is that some agents are able to mobilize stem cells. This is why one of the pilot
drugs, AMD 3100, presently under the name plexifor, is being further developed as
a growth factor for leukocytes as well as a G-CSF alternative (Uy 2008). Such an
effect, however, is obviously undesired for permanent HIV therapy.
AMD 11070 is a CXCR4 antagonist developed by AnorMED. Healthy volunteers
showed excellent tolerability with AMD 070, but often developed leukocytosis
(Stone 2004). The efficacy in HIV-infected patients with dual-tropic viruses was
validated in two pilot studies (Moyle 2007, Saag 2007). The viral load decreased by
at least one log in 7/15 patients after 10 days of monotherapy. However, in 2007,
development was preliminarily stopped because of a liver toxicity. Binding to the
X4 receptor is localized differently than the precursor agent AMD 3100, so there
may be some scope for the development of new, more potent and less toxic CXCR4
antagonists (Wong 2007) at least a start was made with AMD 11070 and evidence
of efficacy was found.
KRH-3955 and KRH-3140 are two new CXCR4 antagonists that have proven effective in mouse models (Tanaka 2006). Likewise, POL3026 is also still preclinical
and may help inhibit selected X4 shifts while on CCR5 antagonists (Moncunill
2008).
143
References
Baba M, Miyake H, Wang X, Okamoto M, Takashima K. Isolation and characterization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 resistant to the small-molecule CCR5
antagonist TAK-652. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2007;51:707-15.
Cohen C, DeJesus E, Mills A, et al. Potent antiretroviral activity of the once-daily CCR5 antagonist INCB009471 over 14 days of monotherapy. Abstract TUAB106, 4th
IAS 2007, Sydney.
Dorr P, Westby M, McFadyen L, et al. PF-232798, a Second Generation Oral CCR5 Antagonist. Abstract 737, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Fatkenheuer G, Hoffmann C, Slim J, et al. The effect of vicriviroc upon HCV viral load in HIV/HCV-co-infected patients receiving a ritonavir-containing protease inhibitor
regimen. Abstract 1068, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Ferain O, Schols D, Bernard J, et al. ESN-196, a novel, small-molecule CCR5 agonist inhibits R5 HIV infection. Abstract 738, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Gardner J, Cohen M, Rosenfield SI, Nagashima KA, Maddon PJ, Olson WC. Immunotoxicology of PRO 140: a humanized anti-CCR5 monoclonal antibody for HIV-1
therapy. Abstract 876, Abstract 444, 43rd ICAAC 2003, Chicago.
Giguel F, Beebe L, Migone TS, Kuritzkes D. The anti-CCR5 mAb004 inhibits hiv-1 replication synergistically in combination with other antiretroviral agents but does not
select for resistance during in vitro passage. Abstract 505, 13th CROI 2006, Denver.
Gulick RM, Su Z, Flexner C, et al. Phase 2 study of the safety and efficacy of vicriviroc, a CCR5 inhibitor, in HIV-1-Infected, treatment-experienced patients: ACTG
5211. JID 2007;196:304-12.
Hoffmann C. The epidemiology of HIV coreceptor tropism. Eur J Med Res 2007;12:385-90.
Jacobson JM, Saag MS, Thompson MA, et al. Antiviral activity of single-dose PRO 140, a CCR5 monoclonal antibody, in HIV-infected adults. J Infect Dis 2008,
198:1345-52.
Khan A, Greenman J, Archibald SJ. Small molecule CXCR4 chemokine receptor antagonists: developing drug candidates. Curr Med Chem 2007;14:2257-77.
Lalezari J, Yadavalli GK, Para M, et al. Safety, pharmacokinetics, and antiviral activity of HGS004, a novel fully human IgG4 monoclonal antibody against CCR5, in
HIV-1-infected patients. J Infect Dis 2008, 197:721-7.
Landovitz RJ, Angel JB, Hoffmann C, et al. Phase II study of vicriviroc versus efavirenz (both with zidovudine/lamivudine) in treatment-naive subjects with HIV-1
infection. J Infect Dis 2008, 198:1113-22.
Manak M, Moshkoff D, Nguyen L, et al. Anti-HIV activity of aprepitant and synergistic interactions with other ARVs. Abstr. 750, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Moncunill G, Armand-Ugon M, Clotet I, et al. Anti-HIV Activity and Resistance Profile of the CXCR4 Antagonist POL3026. Mol Pharmacol 2008.
Moyle G, DeJesus E, Boffito M, et al. CXCR4 antagonism: proof of activity with AMD 11070. Abstract 511, 14th CROI 2007, Los Angeles.
Murga JD, Franti M, Pevear DC, Maddon PJ, Olson WC. Potent antiviral synergy between monoclonal antibody and small-molecule CCR5 inhibitors of human
immunodeficiency virus type 1. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2006, 50:3289-96.
Nagasawa T, Tachibana K, Kishimoto T. A novel CXC chemokine PBSF/SDF-1 and its receptor CXCR4: their functions in development, hematopoiesis and HIV
infection. Semin Immunol 1998, 10:179-85.
Ogert RA, Wojcik L, Buontempo C, et al. Mapping resistance to the CCR5 co-receptor antagonist vicriviroc using heterologous chimeric HIV-1 envelope genes reveals
key determinants in the C2-V5 domain of gp120. Virology 2008.
Olson W, Doshan H, Zhan C et al. First-in-humans trial of PRO 140, a humanized CCR5 monoclonal antibody for HIV-1 therapy. Abstract WePe6.2C04, 3rd IAS 2005,
Rio de Janeiro.
Olson WC, Doshan H, Zhan C. Prolonged coating of CCR5 lymphocytes by PRO 140, a humanized CCR5 monoclonal antibody for HIV-1 therapy. Abstract 515, 13th
CROI 2006, Denver.
Pett SL, McCarthy MC, Cooper DA, et al. A phase I study to explore the activity and safety of SCH532706, a small molecule chemokine receptor-5 antagonist in HIV
type-1-infected patients. Antivir Ther 2009, 14:111-5.
Schrmann D, Rouzier R, Nourgarede R. SCH D: Antiviral activity of a CCR5 receptor antagonist. Abstract 140LB, 11th CROI 2004, San Francisco.
Saag M, Rosenkranz S, Becker S, et al. Proof of concept of ARV activity of AMD 11070 (an orally administered CXCR4 entry inhibitor): results of the first dosing cohort
A studied in ACTG protocol A5210). Abstract 512, 14th CROI 2007, Los Angeles.
Tachibana K, Hirota S, Iizasa H, et al. The chemokine receptor CXCR4 is essential for vascularization of the gastrointestinal tract. Nature 1998, 393:591-4.
Tanaka Y, Okuma K, Tanaka R, et al. Development of novel orally bioavailable CXCR4 antagonist, KRH-3955 and KRH-3140: binding specificity, pharmacokinetics
and anti-HIV activity in vivo and in vitro. Abstract 49 LB, 13th CROI 2006, Denver.
Thompson M, Lalezari J, Saag M et al. Weekly and biweekly subcutaneous PRO 140 demonstrates potent, sustained antiviral activity. Abstract 571A, 16th CROI 2009
Montral. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00784147?term=TNX-355&rank=1
Trkola A, Ketas TJ, Nagashima KA, et al. Potent, broad-spectrum inhibition of HIV type 1 by the CCR5 monoclonal antibody PRO 140. J Virol 2001, 75:579-88.
Tsibris AM, Paredes R, Chadburn A, et al. Lymphoma diagnosis and plasma Epstein-Barr virus load during vicriviroc therapy: results of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group
A5211. Clin Infect Dis 2009, 48:642-9.
Tsibris AM, Sagar M, Su Z, et al. Emergence in vivo of vicriviroc resistance in HIV-1 subtype C: role of V3 loop and susceptibility to other CCR5 antagonists. Abstract
870, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Uy GL, Rettig MP, Cashen AF. Plerixafor, a CXCR4 antagonist for the mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells. Expert Opin Biol Ther 2008, 8:1797-804.
Wang X, Douglas SD, Lai JP, Tuluc F, Tebas P, Ho WZ. Neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist (aprepitant) inhibits drug-resistant HIV-1 infection of macrophages in vitro. J
Neuroimmune Pharmacol 2007;2:42-8.
maraviroc utilize inhibitor-bound receptor for entry. J Virol 2006 Dec 20, Epub ahead of print.
Wong R, Bodard V, Metz M, et al. Understanding the interactions between CXCR4 and AMD 11070, a first-in-class small-molecule antagonist of the HIV coreceptor.
Abstract 495, 14th CROI 2007, Los Angeles.
Zingman B, Suleiman J, DeJesus E, et al. Vicriviroc, a next generation CCR5 antagonist, exhibits potent, sustained suppression of viral replication in treatmentexperienced adults: VICTOR-E1 48-week results. Abstract 39LB, 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
Zou YR, Kottmann AH, Kuroda M, et al. Function of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 in haematopoiesis and in cerebellar development. Nature 1998, 393:595-599.
New fusion inhibitors

Although the fusion inhibitor (FI) T-20 was the first entry inhibitor, there has been
little development in this field. Subcutaneous injection required for many FIs is
unappealing for patients and clinicians. It still needs to be demonstrated whether
small molecular FIs, a new group of FIs with oral bioavailability, are effective (Jiang 2004, Jiang 2005). Newer data suggest that the addition of a cholesterol group
to an HIV-1 peptide fusion inhibitor dramatically increases its antiviral potency
(Ingallinella 2009). These observations could reactivate the development of FIs.
144 ART
Sifuvirtide is an FI developed in China. In animal testing with monkeys a longer
half-life (39 hours) and a higher affinity towards gp41 rather than towards T-20 was
observed (Dai 2005). Sifuvirtide was well tolerated in healthy patients (He 2008)
and interesting synergetic effects were reported with T-20 (Pan 2009).
SP01A from Samaritan Pharmaceuticals is especially interesting, because its effects
are different from any other entry inhibitor. As a procaine hydrochloride, SP01A
reduces the expression of key enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, removes cholesterol
from the cell membrane and seems to inhibit, not only in vitro, the fusion of virus
and cell. The efficacy of this agent, which has been repeatedly tested with HIV patients for many years, has been shown in three Phase II trials so far. Results were
moderate, showing that only 50% of the patients had a reduction of viral load at the
highest doses of 800 mg. After 10 days of monotherapy, viral load fell by 0.4 and
after 28 days by 0.5 logs. These results were published in July 2007 on the companys website (www.samaritanpharma).
TR-999 and TR-144 are two new generation fusion inhibitors, developed by
Trimeris in cooperation with Roche (Delmedico 2006). According to studies in
monkeys, the potency, duration of action and pharmacokinetics of these peptides
are much improved in comparison to T-20. Although administration is still by injection, it may be possible to limit this to once a week. They have only been involved
in one clinical trial since 2007, with data due in 2008. There has been no update on
their website.
Virip blocks entry of HIV-1 into the cell by interacting with the gp41 fusion peptides. Researchers from Ulm, Germany, discovered the peptide in hemofiltrate, the
liquid that is filtered out of the blood of dialysis patients in hemofiltration in order
to replace it with electrolytic solution. Thus virip is a natural entry-inhibitor
whose antiretroviral activities can significantly be increased by slight modifications
or replacement of some amino acids (Munch 2007). First studies of these highly
interesting virip derivatives on humans began in 2008.
Out of sight, out of mind - terminated entry inhibitors:
AMD 3100 (CXCR4A)from AnorMed, due to cardiotoxicity
Aplaviroc - CCR5A - from GSK, due to hepatotoxicity
BMS 806 (attachment inhibitor), due to poor PK data
FP-21399 (FI) from Lexigen/Merck, due to low potency
PRO 542 (attachment inhibitor) from Progenics, to focus on PRO 140)
SCH-C (CCR5A) from Schering-Plough, due to cardiac arrhythmia
T-1249 and T-649 (FIs) from Roche/Trimeris, due to little prospect of success
TAK-779, TAK-220 (CCR5A) from Takeda, replaced by TAK-652
References
He Y, Xiao Y, Song H, et al. Design and evaluation of sifuvirtide, a novel HIV-1 fusion inhibitor. J Biol Chem 2008, 283:11126-34.
Pan C, Lu H, Qi Z, Jiang S. Synergistic efficacy of combination of enfuvirtide and sifuvirtide, the first- and next-generation HIV-fusion inhibitors. AIDS. 2009 Feb 24.
Dai SJ, Dou GF, Qiang XH, et al. Pharmacokinetics of sifuvirtide, a novel anti-HIV-1 peptide, in monkeys and its inhibitory concentration in vitro. Acta Pharmacol Sin
2005, 26:1274-80.
145
Delmedico M, Bray B, Cammack N, et al. Next generation HIV peptide fusion inhibitor candidates achieve potent, durable suppression of virus replication in vitro and
improved pharmacokinetic properties. Abstract 48, 13th CROI 2006, Denver.
Ingallinella P, Bianchi E, Ladwa NA, et al. Addition of a cholesterol group to an HIV-1 peptide fusion inhibitor dramatically increases its antiviral potency. Proc Natl Acad
Sci U S A 2009 Mar 18.
Jiang S, Lu H, Liu S, Zhao Q, He Y, Debnath AK. N-substituted pyrrole derivatives as novel human immunodeficiency virus type 1 entry inhibitors that interfere with the
gp41 six-helix bundle formation and block virus fusion. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2004, 48:4349-59.
Jiang S, Lu H, Liu S, et al. Small molecule HIV entry inhibitors targeting gp41. Abstract TuOa0201. 3rd IAS 2005, Rio de Janeiro.
Munch J, Standker L, Adermann K, et al. Discovery and optimization of a natural HIV-1 entry inhibitor targeting the gp41 fusion peptide. Cell 2007;129:263-75.
New integrase inhibitors

The integration of viral DNA, enabled by the HIV enzyme integrase into the host
DNA, is a major step for the replication cycle of HIV. In 2007 raltegravir, the first
integrase inhibitor for treatment of HIV infections was licenced (see Chapter 2). On
account of this great success it can be expected that clinical research will focus on
this class for the next few years. One major problem seems to be cross-resistance,
which makes it necessary to find new integrase inhibitors that will interact differently to the enzyme than raltegravir me-too-integrase inhibitors that are merely
marginally different in their efficacy and pharmacokinetics are not needed (Serrao
2009). The only agent with a realistic prospect to come on the market in the next
couple years seems to be elvitegravir. At this stage there will be no further introduction of the many pre-clinical integrase inhibitors.
Elvitegravir (GS-9137, formerly JTK-303) is an integrase inhibitor developed by
Gilead, with a biochemical similarity to chinolone antibiotics (Sato 2006). Like
raltegravir, elvitegravir inhibits the strand transfer. Individual doses were orally
bioavailable, safe and well tolerated (Kawaguchi 2006). In a study with 40 patients
(ART-nave and pre-treated), the viral load decreased by 2 logs after 10 days of
monotherapy (DeJesus 2006). A disadvantage is that elvitegravir must be boosted
with 100 mg ritonavir (Kearney 2006), but on the other hand a single administration
per day seems possible.
A Phase II study in which 28 patients received either three boosted doses (20, 50
and 125 mg) of elvitegravir or of a new ritonavir-boosted PI, was well tolerated
(Zolopa 2007). One 20 mg arm was prematurely stopped due to a high failure rate,
but in the higher dose arms more patients showed a viral load below 50 copies/ml
(approximately 40% versus 30%) after 16 weeks. One must be warned against premature comparisons with data from raltegravir, as this study was differently designed it was compared to an active PI and not a placebo (Zolopa 2007). Like
with raltegravir, tolerance was excellent. The dose for future studies is 125 mg.
In vitro resistance mutations can be selected with elvitegravir, too, and there seems
to be at least two resistance pathways over T661 or E92Q (Shimura 2008). Especially E92Q requires a high resistance (36-fold). Resistances of elvitegravir and
raltegravir overlap to a great extent, thus cross-resistances seems a given (Kodama
2006, Jones 2007). No virological response was observed in a small clinical study
with patients who changed from elvitegravir to raltegravir after showing a detectable viral load (DeJesus 2007).
Major interactions with elvitegravir are not expected, at least not with NRTIs, darunavir, tipranavir, fosamprenavir or etravirine. However, the doses of maraviroc
must be halved (Mathias 2007, Ramanathan 2008).
To avoid dependancy on ritonavir as a booster agent, Gilead is presently investigating combinations of elvitegravir with GS-9350, a new pharmacoenhancer (PKE).
146 ART
Encouraging PK data were obtained from healthy volunteers (Mathias 2009), so
that they are now developing a QUAD pill consisting of a combination of tenofovir,
FTC, GS-9350 and elvitegravir. QUAD will also be tested in treatment-nave patients. Providing the study is successful, this is certain to become an interesting option for future HIV therapy.
Out of sight, out of mind, recently stopped integrase inhibitors:
BMS-707035, probably no advantage to raltegravir
GSK-364735, due to liver toxicity in monkeys, stopped at Phase I in 2007
S-1360 (Shionogi/GSK), stopped in 2005 due to toxicity
L-870810 (Merck), due to liver toxicity seen in dogs
References
DeJesus E, Cohen C, Elion R, et al. First report of raltegravir (RAL, MK-0158) use after virologic rebound on elvitegravir (EVT, GS 9137). Abstract TUPEB032, 4th IAS
2007, Sydney.
DeJesus E, Berger D, Markowitz M, et al. Antiviral activity, pharmacokinetics, and dose response of the HIV-1 integrase inhibitor GS-9137 (JTK-303) in treatment-naive
and treatment-experienced patients. J AIDS 2006, 43:1-5.
Kawaguchi I, Ishikawa T, Ishibashi M, Irie S, Kakee A. Safety and pharmacokinetics of single oral dose of JTK-303/GS 9137, a novel HIV integrase inhibitor, in HIV
healthy volunteers. Abstract 580, 13th CROI 2006, Denver.
Kearney B, Mathias A, Zhong L, et al. Pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of GS-9137 an HIV integrase inhibitor in treatment-naive and experienced patients.
Abstract 73, 7th Int Workshop Clin Pharm HIV Therapy 2006, Lisbon, Portugal.
Kodama E, Shimura K, Sakagami Y, et al. In vitro antiviral activity and resistance profile of a novel HIV integrase inhibitor JTK-303/GS-9137. Abstract H-254, 46th
ICAAC 2006, San Francisco.
Mathias A, Shen G, Enejosa J, et al. Lack of pharmacokinetic interaction between ritonavir-boosted GS-9137 (elvitegravir) and Darunavir/r. Abstract TUPDB03, 4th IAS
2007, Sydney.
Mathias A, Hinkle J, Enejosa J, et al. Lack of pharmacokinetic interaction between ritonavir-boosted GS-9137 (elvitegravir) and Tipranavir/r. Abstract TUPDB06, 4th
IAS 2007, Sydney.
Mathias AA, West S, Hui J, Kearney BP. Dose-response of ritonavir on hepatic CYP3A activity and elvitegravir oral exposure. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2009, 85:64-70.
Ramanathan S, West S, Abel S, et al. Pharmacokinetics of coadministered ritonavir-boosted elvitegravir plus maraviroc. Abstract H-1425, 47th ICAAC 2007, Chicago.
Ramanathan S, Kakuda TN, Mack R, West S, Kearney BP. Pharmacokinetics of elvitegravir and etravirine following coadministration of ritonavir-boosted elvitegravir
and etravirine. Antivir Ther 2008, 13:1011-7.
Ramanathan S, Mathias AA, Shen G, et al. Lack of clinically relevant drug-drug interaction between ritonavir-boosted GS-9137 (elvitegravir) and fosamprenavir/r.
Abstract WEPEB014, 4th IAS 2007, Sydney.
Ramanathan S, Shen G, Hinkle J, Enejosa J, Kearney BP. Pharmacokinetics of coadministered ritonavir-boosted elvitegravir and zidovudine, didanosine, stavudine, or
abacavir. J AIDS 2007;46:160-6.
Sato M, Motomura T, Aramaki H, et al. Novel HIV-1 integrase inhibitors derived from quinolone antibiotics. J Med Chem 2006, 49:1506-8.
Serrao E, Odde S, Ramkumar K, Neamati N. Raltegravir, elvitegravir, and metoogravir: the birth of "me-too" HIV-1 integrase inhibitors. Retrovirology. 2009 Mar 5;6:25.
Shimura K, Kodama E, Sakagami Y, et al. Broad antiretroviral activity and resistance profile of the novel human immunodeficiency virus integrase inhibitor elvitegravir
(JTK-303/GS-9137). J Virol 2008;82:764-74.
Zolopa A, Mullen M, Berger D, et al. The HIV integrase inhibitor GS9137 demonstrates potent ARV activity in treatment-experienced patients. Abstract 143 LB, 14th
CROI 2007, Los Angeles.
Zolopa A, Lampiris H, Blick G, et al. The HIV integrase inhibitor elvitegravir (EVG/r) has potent and durable antiretroviral activity in treatment-experienced patients with
active optimized background therapy (OBT). Abstract H-714, 47th ICAAC 2007, Chicago.
147
Maturation inhibitors
The so-called maturation inhibitors inhibit HIV replication in a very late phase of
the HIV reproduction cycle, i.e., at the budding or maturation of new virions. As is
the case for integrase inhibitors, 2005 can be seen as the introductory year: this was
the first time an agent was shown to have an antiviral effect on HIV-infected patients. Maturation inhibitors are, without a doubt, an interesting class of new drugs.
Hoewever, whether the prototype for this class, such as bevirimat, or other agents
will make it as far as the clinic, is not very clear.
Bevirimat (PA-457, now MPC-4326) - is a derivative of betulinic acid, which is
isolated as triterpene carbonic acid from birch bark. Produced by the biotechnology
firm Panacos, bevirimat inhibits budding or maturation of new virions (Li 2003) by
inhibiting the transition of the capsid precursor (p25) into the mature capsid protein
(p24). This prevents the production of infectious viruses. Its long half-life allows
once daily dosing (Martin 2007, Smith 2007). Tolerability of bevirimat which up to
now has been tested in more than 650 patients has been good, including in the presence of atazanavir (Martin 2008). Data of a Phase IIa placebo-controlled trial were
published in autumn 2005, in which patients received an oral once daily monotherapy of bevirimat for 10 days (Beatty 2005). In the highest dosage group (200 mg) a
reduction in viral load of 1.03 logs was reached; in the 100 mg group it was just
0.48 logs. However, some patients had no significant reduction in the viral load.
Those patients who show no significant reduction in viral load probably have special polymorphisms in the gag gene (van Baelen 2009). Patients harbouring viruses
with no gag polymorphisms (mutations) on the positions Q369, V370 or T371 before therapy, responded better to bevirimat. Only about 50-70% of all individuals
tested seemed to be without gag polymorphisms. There appears to be no difference
between treatment nave and pre-treated patients, nor is there any influence due to
degree of immunodeficiency (Margot 2009, Knapp 2009). These observations have
demonstrated the need for tests on these Gag polymorphisms before starting therapy
with bevirimat and possibly with other maturation inhibitors not unlike the tropism test with CCR5 antagonists. The company doesnt seem to be discouraged by
the fact that only two thirds of HIV infected patients at most will respond to
bevirimat and phase III studies are planned (Lalezari 2008). Both dosing and formulation also need to be nailed down. Panacos sold bevirimat to Myriad Pharmaceuticals in Salt Lake City in 2009, and is now called MPC-4326.
PA1050040 is similar to bevirimat, working in the same way, but seems to be effective against bevirimat-resistant viruses (with L363M). PK data appear to be better,
while the potential for interactions is less. According to Panacos a phase I study has
been initialized (Kilgore 2007).
UK-201844 is a maturation inhibitor developed by Pfizer. It was detected after
screening over a million agents (Blair 2006). The method of efficacy seems to lie in
the interaction with gp160 processing resulting in the production of non-infectious
viruses.
BIT-225 by the Australian company Biotron is a specific HIV replication inhibitor
in macrophages, but not in T cells (Khoury 2007). It works with a different mecha-
148 ART
nism than the Vpu ion channel inhibitor and inhibits the release of viral particles
from macrophages. BIT-225 could play a role in eradication from latent cell reservoirs. According to Biotron, a successful Phase I study ended in September 2007,
showing no relevant toxicity with 40 healthy volunteers receiving doses of 35400mg and providing acceptable PK data.
MPC9055 is a maturation inhibitor by Myriad Pharmaceuticals in Salt Lake City.
The agent demonstrated good tolerance and acceptable pharmacokinetics with 55
healthy volunteers (Beelen 2009). A dose finding study with HIV patients is supposedly being planned.
References
Beatty G, Jacobson J, Lalezari J, et al. Safety and Antiviral Activity of PA-457, the First-In-Class Maturation Inhibitor, in a 10-Day Monotherapy Study in HIV-1 Infected
Patients. Abstract Abstract H-416D, 45th ICAAC 2005, Washington.
Beelen A, Otto J, Fidler M, et al. Phase 1, single ascending oral dose study of the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of a novel HIV-1 maturation inhibitor in HIVth
healthy volunteers. Abstract 570, 16 CROI 2009, Montral.
Blair W, Cao J, Jackson L, et al. Execution of a high throughput HIV-1 replication screen and the identification of a novel small molecule inhibitor that targets HIV-1
envelop maturation. Abstract 50LB, 13th CROI 2006, Denver.
Khoury G, Ewart G, Luscombe C, et al. The antiretroviral efficacy of a novel compound BIT225: inhibition of HIV-1 release from human macrophage reservoirs.
Abstract MOPDX06, 4th IAS 2007, Sydney.
Kilgore N, Reddick M, Zuiderhof M, et al. Characterization of PA1050040, a second generation HIV-1 maturation inhibitor. Abstract MOPDX05, 4th IAS 2007, Sydney.
th
Knapp D, Huang S, Harrigan R. Stable prevalence of bevirimat-related HIV gag polymorphisms both before and after HAART exposure. Abstract 636, 16 CROI 2009,
Montral.
Lalezari J, McCallister S, Gigliotti M, et al. A Phase 2 safety and efficacy study of bevirimat (BVM) in heavily treatment experienced HIV+ patients identifies the target
Phase 3 study profile. Abstract H-891, 48th ICAAC 2008. Washington.
Li F, Goila-Gaur R, Salzwedel K, et al. PA-457: a potent HIV inhibitor that disrupts core condensation by targeting a late step in Gag processing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S
A 2003, 100:13555-60.
th
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2009, Montral.
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volunteers. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2007;51:3063-6.
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Salzwedel K, Martin DE, Sakalian M. Maturation inhibitors: a new therapeutic class targets the virus structure. AIDS Rev 2007;9:162-72.
Smith PF, Ogundele A, Forrest A, et al. Phase I and II study of the safety, virologic effect, and PKs/pharmacodynamics of single-dose 3-o-(3,3dimethylsuccinyl)betulinic acid (bevirimat) against HIV infection. Antim Ag Chemoth 2007;51:3574-81.
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Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2009 Feb 17.
149
Immunotherapy
In recent years, in addition to ART, immunomodulatory treatment strategies have
been investigated. However, these therapies still lack proof of clinical benefit. The
most recent example is interleukin-2. Some approaches are nevertheless addressed
here briefly (in alphabetic order) below.
Corticosteroids have been pushed by some HIV clinicians. However, such treatment does not stand the test of controlled studies. In a placebo-controlled study with
0.5 mg prednisone/kg over 8 weeks, there were no effects on CD4 T cells or viral
load (McComsey 2001). In ACTG 349, 24 patients were treated with 40 mg prednisone daily or not in a double-blind randomized design (Wallis 2003). After
8 weeks, there was a trend towards higher levels of CD4 T cells in the prednisone
arm (> 40%, p = 0.08), but there were no effects on activation markers or apoptosis.
Two patients on prednisone developed necrosis of the femoral head. This study
should advise caution before considering steroids for immunological reasons.
Cyclosporin A (Sandimmune) - Immune activation may lead to increased HIV
replication, and an attractive treatment hypothesis has been to suppress the immune
system in an attempt to slow down viral replication. This is the rationale behind
studies investigating the use of cyclosporin A, a drug which is normally used for
prophylaxis of transplant rejection after allogenic organ transplantation. However,
results of clinical trials have been disappointing. Cyclosporin A had no effect on
CD4 or CD8 count, nor on expression of activation markers (Calabrese 2002, Lederman 2006). This was not only the case in chronically but also in acutely infected
patients (Markowitz 2008, Miro 2009). Cyclosporin A therefore probably has a
limited future in the therapy of HIV infection.
G-CSF and GM-CSF have frequently been used in HIV patients for different reasons. The cytokine G-CSF (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor) is available as
filgastrim, pegfilgastrim and lenogastrim). GM-CSF (granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor) is available as sargramostim or molgramostim.
G-CSF is licensed for treatment of prolonged neutropenia in patients with advanced
HIV infection to reduce the risk of bacterial infections. Treatment with G-CSF can
be particularly useful in patients on chemotherapy or myelosuppressive drugs such
as valganciclovir or AZT. G-CSF significantly reduces bacterial infections in neutropenic HIV patients. In a large randomized study, 258 neutropenic HIV patients
(neutrophils 750-1,000/l) with CD4 T cell levels below 200/l were either treated
for 24 weeks with G-CSF (3 times/week) or not. The rate of severe neutropenia was
2% versus 22% in the control group (Kuritzkes 1998). The incidence of bacterial
infections was reduced by 31%, and the number of inpatient days was reduced by
45%. There was no effect on viral load. In patients with CMV retinitis, G-CSF was
also shown to have significant survival benefit (Davidson 2002).
GM-CSF showed a slight effect on viral load in three double-blind, randomized
studies (Angel 2000, Skowron 1999, Brites 2000). However, in one study in patients with uncontrolled infection there was a slight increase of viremia (Jacobsen
2003). No effect was observed with G-CSF (Aladdin 2000). GM-CSF seems to prevent significant loss of CD4 T cells during longer treatment interruptions (Fagard
150 ART
2003). However, such approaches cannot be recommended outside of clinical studies. The side effects and significant cost of G-CSF and GM-CSF should also be
considered. Whether any clinical benefit exists remains unclear.
Hydroxyurea - HU, Litalir - is an old chemotherapeutic agent with relatively low
toxicity still being used today in hematology (mostly in chronic myelogenous leukemia). It inhibits DNA synthesis via the ribonucleotide reductase, and leads to an
intracellular shortage of deoxynucleotide triphosphates. A synergistic effect on HIV
replication in combination with ddI was demonstrated in 1994 (Lori 1994). A Swiss
study, in which 144 patients were treated with hydroxyurea (HU) or placebo in addition to d4T+ddI, attracted attention in 1998 (Rutschmann 1998). After 12 weeks,
54% (versus 28% in the placebo group) demonstrated a viral load below
200 copies/ml. Was this the discovery of a new cheaper option for HIV treatment?
Hydroxyurea became even more fashionable after publication of the Berlin Patient, a patient who had been treated with hydroxyurea in addition to indinavir and
ddI during acute infection, had stopped all therapy after a few months and subsequently showed no detectable plasma viremia (Lisziewicz 1999). Was this unexpected outcome due to hydroxyurea? Several smaller studies from the US and Argentina seemed to confirm these positive results. Many treating physicians added
the drug to ART, and even children received hydroxyurea. Many started to dream
of a cheap combination of ddI+HU for Africa.
These initial hopes subsided rapidly. In particular, the combination with ddI and
d4T in particular is problematic. Severe polyneuropathy (Moore 2000) and fatal
pancreatitis were reported (Havlir 2001). At least three randomized studies failed to
show any effect except for high rates of toxicity (Blanckenberg 2004, Stebbing
2004, Swindels 2005). Even in patients with acute HIV infection there was no effect. Other Berlin patients could not be reproduced (Zala 2002). Hydroxyurea
should not be used anymore for antiretroviral therapy.
Interferons have an antiretroviral effect which has been known for years (Milvan
1996). The antiviral effect of 3 million I.U. daily s.c. is about 0.5-1 log (Haas
2000). Higher dosing may increase this effect further (Hatzakis 2001). We have
seen patients coinfected with HIV/HCV who achieved an undetectable HIV RNA
during hepatitis C therapy with interferon and ribavirine only. However, an in-depth
investigation of the antiviral activity of interferon was not conducted because of the
subcutaneous delivery route and its not insignificant side effects.
Interleukin-2 (IL-2, aldesleukin, Proleukin) is a cytokine that is produced by activated T cells and which induces proliferation and cytokine production in T cells, B
cells and NK cells. It has been employed in oncology for years and is now usually
administered subcutaneously. The most important effect of IL-2 in HIV medicine is
the increase in CD4 and CD8 T cells, which may be quite impressive in individual
cases. CD45RO memory cells initially increase, followed by naive CD45RA T cells
(Chun 1999, Carcelain 2003). This effect is mainly due to a reduced T cell turnover
(Kovacz 2005, Sereti 2005, Vento 2006).
Until 2009, the question whether the CD4 T cells generated by IL-2 were of the
same quality as normal CD4 T lymphocytes and whether this would lead to a clinical benefit for the patients remained open. At the CROI meeting in February 2009,
151
two large multinational studies, ESPRIT and SILCAAT, gave the answer. There is
no benefit (Levy 2009, Losso 2009). ESPRIT was a randomized study in which
4,131 patients with at least 300 CD4 T cells/l were treated with IL-2 or not in addition to ART. SILCAAT had a similar concept, but enrolled patients with 50299 CD4 T cells/l. The results were very disappointing. Although supplementation
of ART with IL-2 resulted in a statistically significant increase in CD4 T cell count
(ESPRIT: +160, SILCAAT: +59 CD4 T cells/l), both studies failed to find statistically significant differences in the primary study endpoints, which were the development of an opportunistic infection or death. Moreover, serious adverse events
(including fever, malaise, injection site reactions and deep-vein thrombosis) were
more likely to occur among patients receiving IL-2 in the ESPRIT study. Thus, IL-2
as a supplementary therapy in HIV-infected patients is no longer viable, even in
patients without immunological response on ART.
Interleukin-7 seems to be more promising. This cytokine plays a fundamental role
in T cell homeostasis and is implicated in thymopoiesis and in peripheral expansion
and survival of T lymphocytes. The safety and activity of recombinant human IL-7
administration were therefore examined in two small randomized placebocontrolled pilot trials (Levy 2007, Sereti 2007). However, with the bells tolling for
IL-2 it remains to be seen if IL-7 will be developed.
Interleukin-12 stimulates T lymphocytes and NK cells to generate a Th1-type immune response. In a randomized Phase I study with rhIL-12 100 ng/kg 2 x/week,
the drug was well tolerated but had no effect on lymphocyte subpopulations, antigen-specific immune response or viral load (Jacobson 2002). Further development
is therefore uncertain. The same would appear to be true for interleukin-10 (Angel
2000) or interleukin-15 (Ahmad 2005). In the age of highly effective antiretroviral
therapies, such experimental therapies have to meet ever-increasing standards.
Murabutide is a synthetic muramyldipeptide with a variety of effects on the immune system. It can raise unspecific resistance to infection, induce antiinflammatory cytokines and growth factors, and strengthen the anti-viral effects of
cytokines such as IL-2 or interferon. In HIV+ patients, a team in France has used it
mainly as an immune modulator, although only in small studies, and at the most,
with moderate effect (Bahr 2003).
Mycophenol (Cellcept) the theoretical concept is similar to that of hydroxyurea
and cyclosporin A. Mycophenol inhibits inosine monophosphate (IMP) dehydrogenase and is normally used for prophylaxis of acute transplant rejection in patients
with allogenic kidney, heart or liver transplantations, as well as for some autoimmune diseases. Inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation and the subsequent reduction
of target cells should theoretically inhibit replication of HIV. Initial reports seem to
demonstrate an effect on viral load at least in some patients (Margolis 2002, Press
2002). Whether this will be confirmed by randomized trials seems uncertain. Current data suggest that this is unlikely (Sankatsing 2004, Margolis 2006).
Remune - this prototype of therapeutic vaccination has gone from disaster to disaster. Developed by a team headed by Jonas Salk, Remune was a therapeutic vac-
152 ART
cine comprised of an envelope-depleted (gp120) virus which, although indeed immunogenic, does not seem to provide any clinical benefit (i.e., prolongation of life
and delay of disease progression). A large trial was interrupted prematurely in May
1999. More than 2,500 patients had taken part for a mean of 89 weeks in this multinational study, which was designed to evaluate the addition of Remune to ART.
As well as the lack of clinical benefit, not even advantages with respect to CD4 T
cell counts or viral loads could be shown (Kahn 2000). Remune is now obsolete,
even though there have recently been reports from Thailand claiming that some
effect exists.
THC, cannabinoids have no effect. A controlled, prospective, randomized study,
in which patients could either smoke marijuana or receive TCH (dronabinol, Marinol) or placebo in addition to ART, showed no effects on lymphocyte subpopulations, lymphocyte function or viral load after three weeks (Bredt 2002). THC,
which is metabolized via the cytochrome P450 system, had no detrimental effects
on PI plasma levels (Abrams 2003). More recently, a randomized study showed that
smoked cannabis was well-tolerated and effectively relieved chronic neuropathic
pain from HIV-associated sensory neuropathy. The findings were comparable to
oral drugs used for chronic neuropathic pain (Abrams 2007).
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154 ART
4. Goals and Principles of Therapy

Christian Hoffmann
With current antiretroviral therapies eradication of HIV is not possible. The ultimate goal in HIV medicine - a cure - is not a realistic scenario in the immediate
future. Patients and physicians probably have to deal with lifelong treatment. The
goal of ART in 2009 should be to prolong the patients life and maintain the best
possible quality of health and life. In the flood of monthly evaluations including
CD4 T cell count, viral load, routine laboratory, genotypic and phenotypic resitanceand/or tropism testing, and drug plasma levels, it may be useful to reflect upon
the goal. Patients and physicians should not lose sight of the big picture.
Even if a high CD4 T cell count and a low viral load are useful therapeutic goals,
the patients condition is at least as significant as the laboratory results. Patients,
too, can often lose focus. The response to the doctors query: How are you? is
often accompanied by a glance toward the CD4 T count result on the chart: Thats
what Id like you to tell me!. Treatment aimed only at improving laboratory values
with little emphasis on the physical and mental well being of the patient cannot be
successful in the long-term.
Success and Failure of Treatment

Both success and failure of treatment can be evaluated using different criteria
virological, immunological or clinical. Of these, the first indicator is virological
(decrease or increase in viral load). This is followed, often a little later, by immunological markers (rise or fall in CD4 T cell count). Clinical outcome usually only
becomes apparent much later first the lab values deteriorate, then the patient; or
vice-versa, as lab values get better, the patient generally follows. It is also of note
that in asymptomatic patients, the clinical success of ART often is not visible as the
individual patient does not realize what was avoided by starting therapy.
Virological treatment success and failure
Virological treatment success is usually understood as being the reduction of viral
load to below the level of detection (usually, 50 copies/ml). This is based on the
understanding that, the more rapid and greater the decrease in viral load, the longer
the therapeutic effect (Kempf 1998, Powderly 1999). In the INCAS Trial, the relative risk of treatment failure (defined here as an increase to above 5,000 copies/ml)
in patients who had reached a viral load below 20 copies/ml was 20 times lower
than in those who never reached a level under 400 copies/ml (Raboud 1998). If this
still matters in the era of newer antiretroviral therapies is not clear.
On ART, viral load declines in two phases (see chapter on Monitoring). An initial,
very rapid decrease in the first few weeks is followed by a slower phase, in which
plasma viremia declines only slowly. A decay to below the level of detection should
be reached after 3-4 months; in cases of very high baseline viral load it may take
even longer. However, a viral load above the level of detection after six months of
treatment is almost always seen as failure. The same is true if a rebound in viral
load is confirmed, usually 2 weeks later. Consideration then needs to be given to
factors that will improve therapy (drug uptake, resistance, compliance, etc).
155
Virological treatment failure can be recognized quite early therefore, initial monitoring after four weeks is useful not only to the patient for psychological reasons
(less virus, more CD4 cells). But it is also an important indication for the continued success of treatment. If the viral load is not below 5,000 copies after four weeks
of ART, later treatment failure is likely (Maggiolo 2000). If the patients viral load
is not below 500 copies/ml or at least one log below baseline, the rate of having a
viral load of 500 copies/ml at week 24 is only 9% (Demeter 2001). According to a
newer study virologic response can be seen in only 7 days (Haubrich 2007). However, such early controls of plasma viremia are not routineThe cut-off point of
50 copies/ml is somewhat arbitrary. It is based on the currently available assays for
measurement of viral load. Whether 60 copies/ml are indeed worse than
30 copies/ml and indicate a lower success of treatment has yet to be proven. At
these low levels, methodological inaccuracies must also be taken into account. A
single viral load rebound (blip) to low levels (up to 1,000 copies/ml) is often irrelevant (see below). Blips need to be distinguished from low, repetitive, measurable
plasma viremia (50-400 copies/ml), in which the risk of resistance has been shown
to be much higher - in one study it was 43% (Nettlers 2004).
A viral load below the level of detection of 50 copies/ml means just that no
more, no less. Numerous studies indicate that replication and therefore development
of resistance can continue even with an undetectable virus load. 50 viral copies/ml
indicate that 5 liters of blood contain 250,000 virions; in addition, even more actively replicating viruses are present in the lymphatic organs. Thus, theoretically, a
measurable viremia, even at very low levels, may possibly translate to a higher risk
of resistance in the long-term. Perhaps there is indeed a relevant difference between
100 and 10 copies/ml with regard to the risk of developing resistance. But we just
dont know yet.
Risk factors for virological failure are pretreatment with antiretroviral agents (existing resistance mutations) and low adherence (Deeks 2000). Whether the level of the
CD4 T cell counts or of the plasma viremia at the time of treatment initiation do
play a role in treatment nave patients has not been conclusively proven. Many cohort studies failed to demonstrate an association (Cozzi-Lepri 2001, Phillips 2001,
Le Moing 2002) (see chapter on When to Start ART).
It seems that many other risk factors associated with virological failure or response
are not known. A new area in this setting is pharmacogenetic research focusing on
how genes influence an individual response to drugs. Investigators have begun to
identify associations among human genetic variants, predisposition to HIV drug
toxicities, and likelihood of virologic response. These include associations among
abacavir hypersensitivity reactions, HLA type, and enzyme polymorphisms (Haas
2006). Pharmacogenomic testing will ultimately benefit persons living with HIV
through individualized drug prescribing.
More good news is that morbidity and mortality may be lowered significantly even
if the viral load is not decreased below the level of detection (Mezzaroma 1999,
Deeks 2000, Grabar 2000). Patients often remain immunologically stable for relatively long periods of time, even with insufficient viral suppression. A large cohort
study has shown that CD4 T cells do not drop as long as the viral load remains below 10,000 copies/ml or at least 1.5 logs below the individual set point (Lederberger 2004). However, with the introduction of new drug classes much more is possi-
156 ART
ble now than in the 90s. In the era of T-20, darunavir, tipranavir, etravirine,
maraviroc and raltegravir, virological success (achieving a non-detectable viremia)
is possible more often than not.
How long does virological treatment success last?
Little is known about how long treatments remain effective. The belief that treatment
success is limited to only a few years is widespread. It originated during the early
years of ART. Many patients at the time were still inadequately treated or had been
pretreated with mono- or dual-therapy, and had thus developed extensive resistance.
In such patients, the effect of treatment was often limited, as even a single point mutation was often enough to topple a whole regimen. Today, especially in therapy-nave
patients without pre-existing mutations, the risk of treatment failure is much less.
After twelve or thirteen years using combination ART, a surprisingly high number of
patients still have viral loads below the level of detection. This is particularly true for
patients who were adequately treated from the start, as judged by todays standards
(starting with triple therapy and/or rapid switching of several drugs). One of the few
trials with a longer follow-up period studied 336 antiretroviral-naive patients who had
reached a viral load below 50 copies/ml within 24 weeks (Phillips 2001). After
3.3 years, the risk of viral rebound seemed at first glance to be relatively high at
25.3%. More detailed analysis showed that a large proportion of the patients experiencing viral rebound had actually interrupted ART. True virological failure was only
seen in 14 patients, which corresponds to a risk of 5.2% after 3.3 years. Most importantly, the risk of virological failure decreased significantly with time.
This is supported by cohort studies showing that the rates of virological failure due
to resistance have markedly declined during recent years (Lohse 2005, Lampe
2006). Antiretroviral therapies and treating physicians are getting better and better.
As demonstrated by a large cohort study in Europe, in 1995-96, 58% achieved HIV1 RNA of 500 copies/ml or less by 6 months compared with 83% in 2002-03 (May
2006). Today, in most large centers the rate of patients having an undetectable
plasma viremia on ART is above 80%.
These studies clearly show that, providing treatment is not interrupted, viral load
may remain below the level of detection for many years, perhaps even decades.
Blips Do they mean virological failure?
Blips are understood to be transient and, almost always, small increases in viral
load, as long as the viral load before and after the blip was below 50 copies/ml. At
least three measurements of viral load are therefore required to be able to identify a
blip. Blips are a frequent phenomenon of patients on ART and are observed in 2040% (Sungkanuparph 2005). Blips often worry both patients and clinicians. Is this a
signal of treatment failure?
Although a few studies indicate that this is not the case in the medium-term (Havlir
2001, Moore 2002, Sklar 2002, Mira 2003, Sungkanuparph 2005), the causes of
blips have, to a large extent, not been investigated. There has been no consistent
association found with adherence. While some studies did not find an association
(Di Mascio 2003, Miller 2004) a more recent study did so (Podsadecki 2007).
It is possible that blips are the result of immunological mechanisms. The earlier
patients are treated in the course of infection, i.e., the higher the CD4 count at the
157
start of therapy, the more seldom blips seem to occur (Di Mascio 2003, Di Mascio
2004, Sungkanuparph 2005). There does not appear to be any association with particular antiretroviral combinations in a large cohort study (Sungkanuparph 2005),
the frequency of blips on a NNRTI regimen was 34% versus 33% on a PI regimen,
and even the size of the blips were equivalent (median 140 and 144 copies/ml, respectively). In both groups, the risk of virological failure at 2 years was approximately 8%. One important observation of this trial was that the blips did not increase the risk of treatment failure, even under NNRTIs, which was originally
feared because of the rapid development of resistance on NNRTIs. Another team
has since confirmed these results (Martinez 2005).
But, what do blips actually mean? At the beginning of 2005, a study team led by Bob
Siciliano set out to determine this. In a labor-intensive study (Nettles 2005), 10 stalwart patients who had had a viral load of less than 50 copies/ml for at least six
months, had blood samples taken every 2-3 days over a period of 3-4 months. The
obvious result: the more you look, the more you find. During the observation time, at
least one transient increase in the viral load was measurable above 50 copies/ml, in
nine of the ten patients. Each blip was moderate, with a median value of 79 copies/ml,
ranging from 51 to 201 copies/ml. The blips were not associated with either specific
clinical data, low plasma levels, or resistance. This observation led the authors to believe that blips (with low, measurable values) mainly represent biological or statistical
exceptions and are not involved with treatment failure. In an estimated steady state
level of viral load at around 20 copies/ml, the values are distributed randomly. However, 96% of the randomly distributed measurements were less than 200 copies/ml.
There seems to be an association between the level of the blip and virological failure.
This was also shown by another study (Garcia-Gasco 2008).
It should be noted that other factors may also be responsible for intermittent viremia.
Sporadic immune activation during concomitant infections may elevate the level of
chronically infected cells and replenish viral reservoirs, including the latent cell reservoir, providing a mechanism for recurrent viral blips and low levels of viremia while
on ART (Jones 2007). In one large retrospective analysis 26% of blips were caused
by intercurrent infections (Easterbrook 2002). For example, syphilis can cause a significant increase in viral load and reduction of CD4 T cells (Buchacz 2004). Viral
load can also increase temporarily after immunizations (Kolber 2002).
Based on available data, blips should not necessitate an immediate change of ART.
However, caution should be executed for higher blips (> 200-500 copies/ml). It
should be stressed that blips need to be distinguished from low, repetitive, measurable
plasma viremias, in which the risk of resistance has been shown to be much higher
(Gunthard 1998, Nettlers 2004). Blips should raise the opportunity to talk to the patient about the subject of adherence. Compliance cannot be discussed often enough.
Does the patient take his or her drugs regularly, or are doses occasionally missed? Are
the dosing directions (on an empty stomach or with a meal) followed correctly?
All these points should be considered before changing therapy prematurely. Each
new therapy can cause new problems. Therefore, every suspected increase in the
viral load should be controlled within a short interval, before the treatment is
changed.
158 ART
Immunological treatment failure and success
Immunological treatment success is generally defined as an increase in the CD4 T
cell count. A more precise definition for immunological treatment success does not
currently exist. Depending on the study, increases of 50, 100 or 200 CD4 T cells/l
or increases to above 200 or 500 CD4 T cells/l are defined as success. Failure is
usually described as the absence of an increase or as a decrease in the CD4 T cell
count in patients receiving ART.
It is difficult to individually predict the immunological success of therapy for patients on ART, as it varies significantly from one person to another. As with the
decrease in viral load, the increase in CD4 count also seems to have two phases.
After a first, usually rapid increase over the first three to four months further increases are considerably less pronounced. In a prospective study involving some
1,000 patients, the CD4 count increased during the first three months by a median
of 21.2 CD4 T cells/l per month; in the following months the increase was only
5.5 CD4 T cells/l (Le Moing 2002). In EuroSIDA, the greatest mean yearly increase in CD4 count of 100 cells/l was seen in the year after starting ART. Significant, but lower, yearly increases in CD4 count, around 50 cells/l, were seen
even at 5 years after starting ART in patients whose current CD4 count was less
than 500 cells/l (Mocroft 2007).
It is still under debate whether the immune system is restored continuously after a
long period of viral load suppression or whether a plateau is possibly reached after
three to four years, beyond which there is no further improvement (Smith 2004,
Viard 2004, Mocroft 2007). In our experience, both are possible. There are patients
showing immunological improvement even after 6-8 years after initiation and there
are patients in which CD4 T cells remain stable at a low level. The lower the CD4
count at baseline, the less likely it is to normalize completely (Valdez 2002, Kaufmann 2003, Kaufmann 2005, Robbins 2009). The immune system often does not
recover completely. In the Swiss Cohort, only 39% of 2,235 patients who had begun ART in 1996-97 reached a CD4 count above 500/l (Kaufmann 2003). However, it appears that the increase within the first 3-6 months provides certain clues
as to how well the immune system will be restored (Kaufmann 2005). Negative
consequences of a low CD4 cell count at the time of ART initiation are often present for a long time. In one study 25% of patients who delayed therapy until their
CD4 T cell count decreased to < 200 cells/l did not achieve a normal CD4 T cell
count, even after a decade of otherwise effective ART (Kelley 2009).
Immunological treatment success is not necessarily linked to maximal viral suppression; even partial suppression can result in improved CD4 T cell count (Kaufmann
1998, Mezzaroma 1999, Ledergerber 2004). The initial level of viral load is also not
significant; what seems to be decisive is that the viral load remains lower than before
treatment (Deeks 2002, Ledergerber 2004). In view of the numerous factors that occur
independent of ART, which are able to influence the success of therapy as well as the
individual regeneration capacity (see below), it no longer makes sense to depend on
the CD4 T cell count as the deciding criterion for the success of ART. Virological
success is more appropriate for judging the efficacy of specific regimens. Once CD4
T cells have normalized and plasma viremia remains undetectable, it is unlikely that
they will significantly change (Phillips 2002). In such cases, immunological treatment
success does not necessitate continued frequent monitoring.
159
Discordant response
Failure to achieve all of the therapeutic goals clinical, immunological and virological is referred to as a discordant response. Some patients may have virological treatment success without immunological improvement, continuing to have a
very low CD4 T cell count despite undetectable viral load (Piketty 1998, Grabar
2000, Moore 2005, Tan 2007). Conversely, ART may be extremely effective immunologically and induce significant increases in the CD4 count, while viral load
remains detectable. The frequencies of such discordant responses in adults are outlined in Table 4.1.
Tabelle 4.1: Prospective cohort studies, treatment response*
Response to ART
Virological and immunological
Discordant: only immunological
Discordant: only virological
No treatment response
Grabar 2000
n = 2236
48%
19%
17%
16%
Moore 2005
n = 1527
56%
12%
15%
17%
Tan 2007
n = 404
71%
16%
9%
5%
*Immunological response: rise in CD4 T cells > 50/l after 6 months (Grabar 2000) or at least
> 100/l during follow-up (Moore 2005, Tan 2007). Virological response: continually < 50 copies (Tan 2007), < 500 copies/ml (Moore 2005) or < 1,000 copies/ml (Grabar 2000).
The risk factors for a lack of immunological response, despite good viral suppression, include low CD4 counts at baseline, as well as a low viral load at the start of
treatment (Florence 2003, Kaufmann 2005, Moore 2005, Wolbers 2007, Kelley
2009). Age may also play a role. In older patients, immunological response is often
only moderate in comparison to virological response. This may be mainly due to
thymus degeneration (Lederman 2000, Grabar 2004). Various studies have demonstrated that the probability of not achieving a rise in CD4 count increases with patient age and with progressive decrease in thymus size as detected by CT (Goetz
2001, Marimoutou 2001, Piketty 2001, Teixera 2001, Viard 2001, Wolbers 2007).
Patients who are intravenous drug users also have relatively poor increases in CD4
T cells compared to other patients (Dragstedt 2004). In the SWISS cohort, CD4 T
cell increases were more pronounced in female patients (Wolbers 2007).
Other possible causes for a lack of immunological response despite good viral suppression may be immuno- or myelosuppressive concomitant therapies such as
gancyclovir, cotrimoxazole or azathioprine. We have seen patients with less than 50
CD4 T cells/l for more than a decade despite virological suppression. Other causes
may be autoimmune diseases (Crohn, lupus erythematodes) or liver cirrhosis.
However, there is some evidence that certain antiretroviral regimens have unfavorable effects on immune reconstitution. Significant drops in CD4 T cell count were
observed in patients with a suppressed viremia who switched to a simplified regimen of TDF+ddI plus nevirapine (Negredo 2004). The reason for this is still not
understood but seems to be related to negative interactions between ddI and tenofovir. Where possible, this combination should no longer be used, especially in
primary therapy. In two other studies, the CD4 T cell increase with abacavir+3TC
or TDF+FTC was significantly better than with AZT+3TC (all combined with
160 ART
efavirenz), despite comparable virological success. This may be related to the myelotoxicity of AZT (DeJesus 2004, Pozniak 2006).
In the Swiss cohort, patients on an AZT-containing regimen gained 60 CD4 T cells
less than patients without AZT over a period of two years (Huttner 2007). It is not
clear whether a switch to AZT-free regimens in patients showing poor immunologic
success makes sense or whether changing to one of the newer classes like CCR5
antagonists (that seems to achieve a higher increase of CD4 T cells than most other
therapies) is recommendable. At present, studies on this theme, especially for
maraviroc, are being conducted. Until we see the results, one must take into consideration that a change always implies a small risk of therapy failure, development of
resistance and new side effects.
Moreover, new reports show that the thymus function and correspondingly immune
reconstitution can be stimulated by growth hormone (Tesselaar 2008, Napolitano
2008). Such approaches are still experimental and not recommended as routine.
Whether higher CD4 T cell counts have clinical benefits or not remains unknown.
However, the example with interleukin-2 (see section on immune therapy) may call
for caution, as in this case, higher CD4 T cell counts had no positive effect on the
frequency of opportunistic infections.
Practical considerations in dealing with viral load and CD4 count
Viral load (VL) is the most important parameter in treatment monitoring.
If possible use only one type of assay (in the same lab) bear in mind that there
is considerable methodological variability (up to half a log).
Virological success should be monitored one month after initiation or modification of ART.
VL should be below 50 copies/ml after 3-4 months (in those with high initial viral
load, after 6 months at the latest) if it has not responded, look for why.
The greater the decrease in viral load, the more durable the response to ART.
Transient, low-level increases in VL (blips) are usually insignificant but VL
should be monitored at short intervals (e.g., 4-6 weeks after such blips).
The older the patient, the likelier a discordant response (low VL with no significant increase in CD4 count).
In contrast to VL, increase in CD4 T cells, i.e., immunological success, is difficult to influence.
CD4 T cells are probably more predictive of the individual risk for AIDS.
Once CD4 T cell count is good, it requires less frequent monitoring. With higher
CD4 counts, values may vary considerably from one measurement to the next
(which may mislead the patient to either a false sense of euphoria or unnecessary
concern).
161
Clinical treatment success and failure

Clinical treatment success is dependent on virological and immunological therapeutic success. In individual patients, clinical response is not always easy to assess.
After all, there is no way to show what might have occurred if treatment had not
been started. As an asymptomatic patient cannot feel any better, it may be difficult
to find good arguments to continue treatment in the presence of side effects, which,
at least temporarily, may affect the quality of life.
Clinical success is almost always evaluated via clinical endpoints (AIDS-defining
illnesses, death), although the improvement on ART in a patient with considerable
constitutional symptoms should also be seen as clinical success. With regard to risk
of disease progression, the immunological response is at least as important as the
virological response. However, the extent of virological success is of great significance. In the Swiss Cohort, out of those with a constantly undetectable viral load,
the proportion of patients who went on to develop AIDS or die was 6.6% after
30 months. In contrast, this proportion was 9.0% in patients with viral rebound and
even 20.1% if the viral load was never suppressed to undetectable levels (Ledergerber 1999). The importance of complete and sustained virological treatment success
for clinical benefit has also been reported from other cohorts (Thiebaud 2000,
Lohse 2006).
Table 4.2: Risk of progression, as defined by immunological and virological treatment response. (See previous table caption for definitions.) 95% confidence intervals in parentheses
Baseline CD4 T cells (median)
Response to ART
Virological and immunological
Immunological response only
Virological response only
No treatment response
Clinical endpoints: progression/death
Grabar 2000
150
Piketty 2001
73
Moore 2005
180-250
1
1
1
1.6 (1.0-2.5)
6.5 (1.2-35.8)
1.9 (1.1-3.0)
2.0 (1.3-3.1)
9.7 (1.6-58.4)
2.5 (1.5-4.0)
3.4 (2.3-5.0)
51.0 (11.3-229.8)
3.5 (2.3-5.3)
(Grabar 2000, Piketty 2001), death (Moore 2005).
Clinical failure is usually defined as the development of an AIDS-associated condition or death. However, illness is not always indicative of clinical treatment failure.
This is particularly true for the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome
(IRIS), where a pre-existing, subclinical infection becomes apparent during the first
weeks after initiation of antiretroviral therapy (see chapter on AIDS).
Table 4.3: Causes of death in HIV-infected patients in France (Lewden 2008)
AIDS-defining events
Non-AIDS-defining cancers
Liver diseases
Cardiovascular diseases
Suicide
2000 (n=964)
47%
11%
13%
7%
4%
2005 (n=1042)
36%
17%
15%
8%
5%
162 ART
On the other hand, if a patient develops serious side effects or dies, this should
clearly be regarded as treatment failure. Luckily, this is rare. It should be noted that
there might also be other causes. Many severe, life-threatening events that affect
HIV-infected patients on ART today are associated neither with ART nor AIDS
(Reisler 2003). Table 4.3 shows the diseases leading to death in patients in France
in the years 2000 and 2005 (Lewden 2008). According to this analysis, only one
third of HIV-infected patients are dying from AIDS. Other diseases such as hepatic
or cardiovascular diseases are becoming of increasing importance.
What can be achieved today?
Every HIV clinician sees the remarkable strides made possible by ART reflected in
his or her own patients (see example below). In many areas, the incidence of AIDS
has been reduced to less than a tenth (Mocroft 2000). Some illnesses that occur only
with severe immunodeficiency are rarely seen today. CMV retinitis or MAC disease
have become unusual. AIDS cases in Western countries occur mainly in patients
who are not being treated with antiretroviral therapy usually because they are unaware of their infection or do not want to acknowledge it. These so-called late presenters now make up a large proportion of AIDS cases. In patients who are continuously followed in specialized centers, AIDS has become a rare occurrence.
The mortality rate has continued to decline over time (Mocroft 2002). In the EuroSIDA Cohort, the risk of suffering or dying from AIDS in the years 1998-2002 was
half that of 1996-1997 (Mocroft 2003). According to a large study from Denmark,
the estimated median survival is more than 35 years for a young person diagnosed
with HIV infection in the late HAART era (Lohse 2007).
Table 4.4: Patient case (female, 41 yrs) demonstrating advances in treatment due to ART*
Feb 95
Nov 96
Feb 97
June 97
July 97
Mar 98
Mar 99
Mar 00
Apr 05
Jan 08
AZT+ddC
AIDS: Toxoplasmosis, MAC, Candida esophagitis
d4T+3TC+SQV
Stopped HAART due to polyneuropathy
AZT+3TC+IDV
AZT+3TC+IDV/r+NVP
AZT+3TC+LPV/r+NVP
CD4 T cells
Viral load
23 (4%)
12 (1%)
35 (8%)
NA
815,000
500
17 (4%)
147 (22%)
558 (24%)
942 (31%)
744 (30%)
701 (34%)
141,000
< 50
100
< 50
130
< 50
*Excellent immune reconstitution despite initial severe immunodeficiency and several AIDSdefining illnesses. All prophylaxes (MAC, toxoplasmosis, PCP) have now been discontinued.
Data from prospective controlled studies on this dramatic change is still limited as
there have been few randomized trials with clinical endpoints (Hammer 1997,
Cameron 1998, Stellbrink 2000).
The results seen in these studies, due to their design, led to licensing of the PIs. In a
multi-center trial, 1,090 clinically advanced patients received ritonavir liquid formulation or placebo in addition to their ongoing treatment. The probability of AIDS
and death with a follow-up of 29 weeks was 21.9% in the ritonavir arm and nearly
double (37.5%) in the placebo arm (Cameron 1998).
163
Studies of mono- or dual therapy are no longer ethically justifiable and the number of
clinical endpoints that occur is fortunately now extremely low. As a result, the duration of any contemporary study to prove clinical benefit of one combination over another would have to be extended over a long period of time. Unrealistically large
study populations would also now be required given the extremely low probability of
progression only rarely will such investigations be undertaken in the future (Raffi
2001). One of the few trials which could confirm the benefits of ART on clinical endpoints was the SMART trial (see section on Treatment Interruption below).
This is why data from large cohorts such as EuroSIDA, the Swiss Cohort and the
US HOPS Cohort is usually used to demonstrate the benefit of ART (Table 4.5).
The Swiss Cohort showed that the effect of ART increases over time after more
than two years on ART, the risk of disease progression was only 4% of the risk
without ART (Sterne 2005). However, numerous cohort studies (with more than
20,000 patients) have shown that during recent years there has been no further decline in the AIDS and mortality rates. Like in 1997, the risk of AIDS remained relatively stable at 6% in 2003. It seems that, in many patients, ART is simply initiated
too late. Over the last few years, almost half of the patients initiating therapy had a
CD4 T cell count of less than 200 cells/l (May 2006).
The effect on AIDS-defining diseases appears to be different. The most obvious is
the decline in the incidence of viral OIs, although this is not as pronounced for fungal infections (DArminio 2005).
Table 4.5: Decline in morbidity and mortality in large cohorts
Where (n)
Patients (Period)
Mortality
(/100 PY)
Morbidity
(/100 PY)
Palella
1998
Ledergerber
1999
USA (1255)
29.4 8.8
21.9 3.7*
NA
15.1 7.7
Europe (7331)
< 100 CD4 T cells/l

(1/1994-6/1997)
6 months before versus
3 months after HAART
(9/1995-12/1997)
All (1994-1998)
Mocroft
2000
Mocroft
2002
DArminio
2005
NA
30.7 2.5
Europe (8556)
All (1994-2001)
15.6 2.7
NA
Worldwide
(12,574)
The first 3 months after

versus 3 years after
HAART
NA
12.9 1.3
Switzerland
(2410)
* MAC, PCP, CMV. Mortality/Morbidity each per 100 py = patient years
With regard to opportunistic infections and malignancies, the effect of HAART is

equally as apparent on their clinical course as it is on their incidence. Illnesses such
as cryptosporidiosis or PML can be cured, while Kaposis sarcoma can resolve
completely without specific therapy. Prophylaxis of pneumocystis pneumonia,
toxoplasmic encephalitis, CMV, or MAC infection can usually be safely withdrawn
at the adequate CD4 counts. These effects are discussed in more detail in the corresponding chapters.
164 ART
Treatment goal - eradication

In a chapter about the goals of therapy, one must discuss the cure. Only by addressing the topic of a cure, will we finally achieve it. After the success of the last twenty
years enabling many patients to control the infection for decades, many clinicians
share the opinion that a cure has to be the major goal for the future.
The case of a patient from Berlin, published in 2008, shows that a cure is at least
theoretically possible. This patient had suffered from acute myeloid leukemia and
underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The healthy stem cell donator was
homocygote for the 32 mutation after the transplant the viral load of this patient
that had previously been very high remained under the limit of detection without
ART for over two years (Htter 2009). The virus was not detected either in the
blood or in the lymph nodes or in the intestinal mucosa. The media hysteria following this publication made patients believe in a cure and for weeks clinicians were
put in the undesirable position of having to dash these freshly raised hopes. An allogeneic stem cell transplantation is not only complicated and expensive, but also
highly risky (with mortality up to 30%), making this approach not very practical,
although it was interesting for academic purposes. One cannot say for sure that this
patient from Berlin is permanently cured and in no need of any further treatment
with ART but the case does raise hopes for the future.
What is the cure?
An important question is whether eradication is necessary for a cure. Must all the
virus be removed from the body? A cure could also mean that the body is able to
control infection without help of medication like with other viral infections like
herpes in which case low viral levels persist for a lifetime.
Table 4.6: A case of an elite controller
Date
ART
CD4 cells/l
HIV RNA copies/ml
04/03
04/03
01/04
06/04
05/05
01/07
Acute HIV infection (seroconversion)

Start with ART (AZT+3TC+IDV/r)
ART stopped after 8 months
203 (8%)
412 (12%)
838 (52%)
467 (46%)
1288 (51%)
841 (44%)
> 1 million
> 1 million
< 50
< 25
44
< 25
Three years without ART
Comment: Whether ART during acute infection had a positive effect, remains unclear. Such
favorable courses are also possible without any intervention.
Some patients have reached this goal already. These so-called elite controllers, a
few of them found in any large HIV center, have normal CD4 T cells for many
years and even more impressive, a viral load below the limit of detection without
being on therapy (Table 4.6).
Only when investigating with ultrasensitive methods or examining the lymph nodes can
a relatively tiny amount of virus be found. Co-receptor defects can only explain a few of
the cases. But what is it that makes HIV-specific immune response in these patients so
effective, what causes the virus to be so unfit, what are the underlying genetic modifications? These are some questions being pursued by many leading research teams.
165
The problem with latent reservoirs

At this point in time, an eradication of HIV, the removal of all HIV from the body
is unrealistic. The main reason is that latently HIV-infected cells comprise a lifelong reservoir (Saksena 2003). Even after years of sufficient viral suppression, viral
transcription still takes place (Finzi 1999, Furtado 1999, Zhang 1999, Sharkey
2000). This is particularly true for blood cells, but also for lymph nodes and for
sperm (Lafeuillade 2001, Nunnari 2002). Replication also takes place in cells of the
gastrointestinal tract, even if no viruses are detected in the blood.
How long does it take until the last latently infected cells are removed? A half-life of
44.2 months for the latently infected cell reservoir was measured in a study with 62
patients, whose viral load had been successfully suppressed under ART for a period
of seven years (Siliciano 2003). The calculated time to eradication of these reservoirs
was 73.4 years. Even in a highly selected group of patients with not a single measurable blip during a minimum of at least three years of stable ART and with a tendency
for a more rapid decrease of viral load in infected cells the time to eradication was
still 51.2 years. Presently, many studies are investigating whether the reduction rates
can be improved by using new agents, such as integrase inhibitors or entry inhibitors.
This approach is encouraged by another study, in which the plasma viremia of treatment-nave patients receiving raltegravir got to the limit of detection faster than with
efavirenz (Murray 2007). In another study with pre-treated patients, the effect on the
proviral DNA on treatment with raltegravir proved higher than on other agents (Arponen 2008). However, it is doubted if this can be achieved in latently-infected reservoir as well. Intensification trials have not shown success so far (Ghandi 2009, Jones
2009, Luna 2009). By now, some clinicians believe that eradication with conventional
classes cannot be reached (Shen 2008, Siliciano 2009).
Latently infected reservoirs consist of highly heterogeneous cell populations and
their stability is probably independent of residual virus replication. Therefore, a
complete inhibition of the viral replication would not be sufficient to eradicate HIV
(Strain 2004). Different methods (IL-2, hydroxyurea ,OKT) have been used to flush
out the latent reservoir, but all have failed (Kulkosky 2002, Pomerantz 2002). In the
summer of 2005 a pilot study on valproic acid stirred much attention. It is an antiepileptic which is an inhibitor of histodeacetylase, and seems to be able to wash
HIV out of resting T cells (Lehrman 2005). In three of four HIV-positive patients
the number of infected resting CD4 cells fell significantly, and the half-life was
reduced to 2-3 months a result far below those in other studies (Siliciano 2003).
Subsequent studies, however, have cast doubt on to the effect of valproic acid (Steel
2006, Siliciano 2007).
Latent infected cells differ from non-infected cells in a minute detail, which can
hardly be detected by methods available in most clinics and they are also nonspecific. Washing out the reservoir or eliminating all the infected memory cells is
either unsuccessful or too toxic. Removing the HIV genome out of infected cells
with special recombinases has been successful in the laboratory; but there is still a
long way to go before this method can be used in the clinic (Sakar 2007). It remains
to be seen whether new classes and/or immune therapies in addition to the classical
ART will add any new perspective. Considering the complexity of the immune system, which is only gradually beginning to be understood, a solution probably lies in
the distant future.
166 ART
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168 ART
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1605-13.
5. When to Start ART
169

Christian Hoffmann
"Its the most important question in HIV therapy" (A. Fauci)
The indication for antiretroviral therapy is based on clinical assessment, CD4 T cell
count, and viral load. These three important factors determine whether therapy
should be started or if it can still be deferred. At first glance, it appears straightforward, the lower the CD4 count and the higher the viral load, the higher the risk of
AIDS (Mellors 1997, Lyles 2000), and the more urgent the indication for treatment.
Nevertheless, the best time for initiation of therapy remains the subject of controversial debate. The risk of AIDS must be weighed against the risks of long-term
toxicity and viral resistance. In Table 5.2, the current guidelines from the US,
Europe, Britain and Germany on starting therapy are summarized.
Table 5.1: Recommendations from various guidelines on when to initiate therapy
Clinical
CDC B+C
CDC A
CDC A
CD4 T cells/l
Initiation of HAART is...
All values
< 200
200-350
Recommended (DHHS, GA, EACS)

Recommended (DHHS, GA, EACS)
Recommended, but data supporting this are less strong than
for patients with < 200 CD4 T cells (DHSS)
Generally advisable (consensus), at < 10% CD4 T cells
strongly recommended (GA)
Recommended (EACS)
CDC A
> 350
May be considered in some patients, especially in those with
high viral load or rapid decline of CD4 T cells (< 120/year)
(DHHS)
Justifiable in patients < 500 CD4 T cells, above 500 CD4 T
cells to be deferred (GA)
May be offered if viral load is > 100,000 copies/ml, CD4
decline > 50-100/year, or age > 55 or hepatitis C coinfection,
above 500 CD4 T cells to be deferred (EACS)
DHHS: US Department of Health and Human Services. Guidelines for the use of antiretroviral
agents
in
HIV-1-infected
adults
and
adolescents.
November
3,
2008.
http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov/ContentFiles/AdultandAdolescentGL.pdf
GA: Deutsch-sterreichische Leitlinien zur Therapie der HIV-Infektion. September 2008.
http://www.daignet.de
EACS: European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS). Guidelines for the clinical management and
treatment of HIV-infected adults in Europe. October 2008. http://www.eacs.eu
The practice of treatment is ever changing. In Europe the median CD4 T cell count
an initiation of ART was 200 CD4 T cells/l during the first years of this decade
after being 270/l in 1998 (May 2006). But in more recent years, the pendulum is
swinging back. With regard to new drugs which are more potent and better to tolerate, there is a strong trend towards an earlier treatment initiation.
At least all international guidelines agree that all symptomatic patients as well as
patients with less than 200 CD4 T cells/l should be treated. Since 2007 or 2008,
most guidelines have determined a CD4 T cell count of < 350 CD4/l as a threshold
170 ART
for initiation ART. Lack of randomized studies forces all guidelines to partially rely
on cohort studies, meta-analyses and evaluation of larger databases. Such data is
problematic, however, as important aspects such as compliance or prior treatment
regimens are not captured, and very heterogeneous patient populations are included.
Guidelines merely provide points of reference and are not set in stone. Decisions
must be made on a case-by-case basis, even if some health insurance providers tend
to ignore this and use guidelines to their advantage. In some situations, therapy may
be started earlier than recommended in the guidelines; in other cases, therapy might
(or even should) be deferred. And last but not least, the patient should be ready to
start ART. Experience and intuition of the treating physician is mandatory.
How high is the individual progression risk?

The following table lists the (selected) risks of developing AIDS within six months,
as identified in 3,326 patients from the pre-HAART era (Phillips 2004). The range
of individual risk of progression, calculated by using CD4 T cells, viral load and
age only, varies widely from 0 to almost 50%. This may also demonstrate how
helpful these surrogate markers can be.
Table 5.2: Predicted six-month percentage risk of developing AIDS, according to age, viral
load and CD4 T cell count (data from the pre-HAART era)
100 CD4/l
200 CD4/l
350 CD4/l
35 years
Viral load 10,000 copies/ml
5.3
2.0
1.1
10.6
4.1
2.3
55 years
10.7
4.6
1.8
20.5
9.2
3.6
VL = Viral load. (From: Phillips A, CASCADE Collaboration. AIDS 2004, 18:51-8.)
But even after initiation of ART individual risk may vary considerably. Table 5.3.
shows individual risks after initiation of ART for different age groups. These data
were derived from 12 cohorts from Europe and North America, in which more than
20,000 patients started an antiretroviral therapy between 1995 and 2003 (May
2007). It is of note that the data only apply for asymptomatic patients without intravenous drug use (IVDU). In patients with AIDS and with IVDU, progression risks
can be much higher. On the other hand, it seems possible that these data overestimate the individual risk as the risk may be lower with the newer drug combinations
available. Moreover, treatment interruptions were not taken into account (every
patient who started with ART was regarded to be treated continuously). This fact
may also have led to an overestimation of the progression risk. Thus, the values in
Table 5.3 are only rough estimates and should be interpreted with caution. However, they could be helpful in any discussion with the patient. On the other hand,
one should not browbeat or scare patients with statistics.
One important caveat of cohort studies is the fact that the individual treatment success of the patient is not taken into account. This was shown by an analysis of 13
cohort studies from Europe and North America including 9,323 adult treatment-
171
naive patients who started ART with a combination of at least three drugs. At 6
months after starting ART, the current CD4 T cell count and viral load, but not values at baseline, were strongly associated with subsequent disease progression
(Chene 2003).
Table 5.3: Probability (%) of experiencing a new AIDS defining disease or death by the end
of 1 year (5 years) after the patient starts ART. Only valid for patients without previous AIDS
and non-IVDUs.
< 25 CD4
25-49
50-99
100-199
200-350
> 350
CD4
CD4
CD4
CD4
CD4
16-29 years
VL < 100.000
VL > 100.000
30-39 years
VL < 100.000
VL > 100.000
40-49 years
VL < 100.000
VL > 100.000
> 50 years
VL < 100.000
VL > 100.000
10 (19)
12 (23)
8 (17)
10 (21)
7 (16)
9 (19)
5 (11)
6 (13)
2 (7)
3 (8)
2 (6)
2 (7)
12 (22)
14 (26)
10 (19)
12 (23)
8 (18)
10 (22)
5 (12)
6 (15)
3 (8)
3 (10)
2 (6)
2 (8)
13 (25)
16 (29)
11 (22)
13 (26)
10 (20)
12 (24)
6 (14)
7 (17)
3 (9)
4(11)
2 (7)
3 (9)
16 (29)
19 (35)
13 (26)
16 (31)
12 (24)
14 (29)
7 (17)
9 (21)
4 (11)
5 (13)
3 (9)
3 (11)
From: http://www.art-cohort-collaboration.org
To evaluate the individual risk for a treatment-nave patient, one can go to

http://www.art-cohort-collaboration.org (May 2007). Only a few parameters are
needed. It is also possible to calculate the risk after 6 month on ART.
Experiences from practice

Even if the indication for ART seems obvious, it should be clarified whether the
patient is indeed prepared to start treatment (treatment readiness). The problem is
not necessarily the initiation of ART but the longer-term maintenance. The decision
to initiate treatment is often made prematurely. It is usually unwise to prescribe
antiretroviral medication to a patient in the very first consultation. One should first
attain an overall picture of the patient, and try to get to know something about lifestyle and motives why they have come to see a doctor and what they expect.
In some cases, patients put themselves under pressure unnecessarily, or allow others
to pressure them. A single low CD4 count, a prolonged case of flu seeming to indicate a weakened immune system (I never had anything like that before), springtime lethargy, new study results, a promising new drug in the newspaper (Ive
heard a lot about the new entry inhibitors), a partner who has started therapy
none of these are therapeutic indications. It is often particularly difficult to inform
people from other cultures that not every person with an HIV infection needs immediate therapy.
On the other hand the patients wish to start a therapy should be respected. If after a
detailed discussion a well-informed patient wants to begin treatment, even though
the results justify waiting, ART should not be withheld. For many patients, treat-
172 ART
ment can be a psychological support. Not everybody can sleep peacefully at night
knowing that inside them a hundred million new viruses are being produced every
day and a huge number of helper cells are being destroyed.
However, if a vacation is planned, it is better to delay therapy so that treatment response and side effects can be adequately monitored. On the other hand, patients
may sometimes find one reason after another (stress at work, exams, change of job,
etc.) to delay initiation of treatment. Many patients are afraid of AIDS, but often
just as afraid of ART (the pills are the beginning of the end!). They may have
irrational or simply false expectations of ART and its consequences starting therapy does not mean that one will be subjected to daily infusions and no longer able
to work. Therapy should be explained to every patient from the outset. It is also
useful to define individual threshold values for the commencement of therapy with
patients early on, so that therapy is started only when these levels are reached. In
our experience, patients are more motivated by this approach.
Practical Tips for initiation of ART
Below 200 CD4 T cells/l or AIDS-defining event
Start immediately with ART. Do not wait until acute OI therapy is finished
Take time to get acquainted with the patient (why did they wait so long to start
treatment?), undergo diagnostic procedures, give proper counselling and start
treatment with prophylaxes in advance
Above 200 CD4 T cells/l
More time can be spent getting to know each other and planning
Start talking about ART at an early stage, so the patient knows what to expect
Address fears and anxieties before starting therapy
Respect the patients wish for therapy and inquire about the reasons for seeking
therapy now
Define thresholds below which ART can be initiated
Try not start with therapy before a holiday or other big event, but do not let the
patient put off therapy forever
Do not only consider the absolute CD4 T cells, but observe other individual factors carefully (see chart below)
Check to see if the patient is suitable for a clinical trial
As a rule, as much time as is needed should be taken for the decision to start therapy. A well-informed patient complies better with treatment. We recommend that
patients come for several consultations to prepare them for treatment. There are two
exceptions: acute HIV infection (see chapter on Acute Infection) and severe immunodeficiency. However, even in the presence of most AIDS-defining conditions, the
acute disease should often be treated first before initiating ART, as the potential for
complications with PCP, toxoplasmosis or CMV therapies unnecessarily jeopardize
treatment options. In asymptomatic patients with very low CD4 T cells it makes
173
sense to start first with a PCP prophylaxis. During the next days, one can perform
an examination (X-ray, ultrasound, funduscopy, etc) and check the patients readiness. Does the patient comes back? Are they really motivated?
We also tend to start ART earlier in older patients (> 50 years). The regenerative
capacity of the immune system in older patients is significantly reduced (Ledermann 2002, Grabar 2004). More importantly, the risk of developing opportunistic
infections also depends on age (Phillips 2004). Another example from the
CASCADE Study (Table 5.2) exemplifies this: a 25 year-old patient with
100 CD4 T cells/l and a viral load of 100,000 copies/ml has a risk of approximately 10% for developing AIDS within six months for a 55 year-old this level of
risk is reached at 150 CD4 T cells/l and a viral load of 30,000 copies/ml! In Table
5.3 there is a strong association between age and progression.
The EACS guidelines are the first to have considered age in the decision on whether
ART should be initiated. For example, according to EACS, patients older than 55
should be offered treatment at CD4 T cell counts of 350-500/l.
It is also important to consider the percentage value along with the absolute value of
the CD4 T cell count. In particular, when the CD4 count is high and the immune
status appears good, the CD4 percentage is the most important parameter for predicting the risk of developing AIDS. In one study, the risk of progression for patients with more than 350 CD4 T cells/l was increased approximately four fold if
the percentage of CD4 T cells was below 17% (Hulgan 2005).
Finally, it should not be forgotten, that the whole discussion is based on minimum figures as CD4 T cells are actually surrogate markers. As a surrogate, they
are conceived as a substitute for clinical endpoints. They are only a rough expression of the clinical reality. Although they usually do this very well, and even though
the CD4 count is one of the best surrogate markers in medicine, it is not everything.
The patient also has to be considered.
Symptomatic patients
There is currently consensus that every symptomatic patient should receive antiretroviral therapy. This is mainly true for patients in WHO Stage C (with AIDS), but
also for all patients in Stage B. Although this is correct in most cases, it may be
advisable to consider the situation more closely in individual cases. To avoid any
misunderstanding, all opportunistic infections indicative of severe immunodeficiency, such as CMV, MAC, toxoplasmosis or PCP, and also AIDS malignancies
(including the non-AIDS-defining Hodgkins Disease) should prompt rapid initiation of therapy, especially if there is no specific treatment available, as in the case
of PML. In such cases, rapid initiation of maximally suppressive ART is the only
treatment option available.
However, herpes zoster (Stage B) may occur even with a small immune deficit and
does not necessarily indicate immunological deterioration. Thrombocytopenia or
constitutional symptoms may also have other causes. Tuberculosis, an AIDSdefining illness and therefore an urgent indication for therapy, is a facultative
opportunistic infection. It may occur with or without only moderate immunodeficiency. In our experience, one is justified in waiting with ART in a TB patient with
good CD4 T cells (see Table 5.4). The British guidelines (http://www.bhiva.org)
174 ART
specifically mention pulmonary tuberculosis as being a possible exception in which
treatment may be deferred.
On the other hand, typical illnesses that may be relatively harmless in comparison,
such as oral candida or oral hairy leukoplakia, are also unerring indications of an
impaired immune system. They may often precede far more serious illnesses. In
such cases it is advisable to offer the patient therapy even if the CD4 count is relatively stable. The same applies to constitutional or cognitive disturbances. A patient
who develops concentration deficits within a short period of time or who complains
of forgetfulness could if other causes have been ruled out be developing the first
signs of cognitive deficiency associated with HIV. Neuropsychological changes are
seen early in the course of infection and sometimes are observed in otherwise asymptomatic patients (McArthur 2005) initiation of therapy should be seriously
considered in such situations.
Table 5.4: Case study, in which HIV treatment, if it had been given in accordance to the
guidelines, could have led to almost ten years of overtreatment. NA=not available
May 95
Feb 96
Oct 97
Oct 99
Oct 00
Jun 02
Oct 04
Nov 07
Pulmonary tuberculosis (=AIDS)

End of tuberculosis treatment
Patient refuses (urgently recommended) ART
Patient refuses (recommended) ART
Doctor does not want to start ART
ART is rarely discussed
New guidelines saying that initiation is recommded
- will patient and physician comply?
CD4 (%)
Viral load
330 (27)
437 (29)
NA
NA
402 (33)
393 (29)
520 (30)
521 (29)
391 (26)
316 (25)
29,500
13,500
12,500
7,440
15,300
14,500
How fast must a clinician initiate ART in patients already suffering from an acute
AIDS-defining illness? Probably very fast. Up to now, the more common practice
has been to start with the treatment of the AIDS events first and to wait with ART
for a few weeks. In this way, the complications of ART + OI therapy can be
avoided. The first large randomized study on this subject may lead to a rethinking
of that (Zolopa 2008). In ACTG A5164, 283 patients with an acute OI (63% pneumocytis pneumonia, cases of tuberculosis had been excluded) were randomly assigned to either start immediately on ART or to wait until after finishing the OI
therapy. The immediately-treated group started ART at a median of 12 days after
initiation of OI therapy, while the deferred group started after 45 days. Despite this
relatively small difference of not even five weeks, the study showed clear differences at 48 weeks. Significantly less mortality and less new AIDS cases were observed in the immediate ART group. In addition, the CD4 T cells increased more
rapidly and impressively. The risk of having to modify ART was slightly higher,
but not the number of severe incidences, hospital stays or IRIS cases. The authors
came concluded that it is better to start ART immediately in patients with an acute
OI (at least PCP) as long as there are no contraindications.
175
Asymptomatic patients below 200 CD4 T cells/l

Unfortunately many patients present at a very late stage of the infection. According
to data in the Swiss Cohort about a third present with less than 200 CD4 cells/l at
the first visit, 10% have less than 50 CD4 cells/l (Wolbers 2008). As with symptomatic patients, these patients have a clear therapy indication as 200 CD4 cells/l
is the minimum level and one should not wait for values to drop further as the risks
for severe complications significantly increase (Mellors 1997, May 2007). For patients just reaching 200/l with a high viral load, the six-month risk for AIDS is
clearly over 10% (Phillips 2004). It is therefore advisable not to let it reach this
point. The first manifestation of AIDS may not be easy to treat. If a PML or a CMV
retinitis occurs, it may even result in permanent damage to the patients health.The
risk for AIDS remains distinctly higher even after initiating therapy (Table 5.3). An
analysis of ART-nave patients in three European large-scale cohort studies observed 8.3 new AIDS cases per 100 patient years (PY) in patients with less than 200
CD4 T cells/l at baseline, compared with 1.8/100 PY with at least 350 CD4 T
cells/l. The mortality rate at 2.9 versus 0.7/100 PY was also slightly elevated
(Phillips 2001). Many other cohort studies have found a clear association between
CD4 T cells at ART initiation and the AIDS and mortality rates (Cozzi-Lepri 2001,
Kaplan 2003, Palella 2003). The lower the CD4 T cells the higher the risks over the
following period (May 2007). High risks persist for six years (and probably longer)
after initiation of ART with especially low levels, namely under 25 CD4 T cells/l
(ART Cohort Collaboration 2007).
Asymptomatic patients 200-350 CD4 T cells/l

Almost all guidelines recommend an initiation of therapy in this patient group.
Even if randomized studies are not available and the risk of infection is rather low,
in the long run, the risk of developing AIDS cannot be excluded. There is no reason
to think the patient is safe. We have seen patients with 200-350 CD4 T cells/l,
who have developed KS, PML or lymphoma. A look at the calculation presented
above (May 2007), gives a rough idea about the individual risk. After ART initiation, a 45 year-old asymptomatic patient with 200-350 CD4 T cells/l and a viral
load below 100,000 copies/ml has an AIDS mortality risk of 3.1% after one year,
and 8.7% after five years. With over 350 CD4 T cells/l at the time of ART initiation, the risk is reduced to 2.0% and 7.3% for the same patient. If the patient was 50
years-old and the viral load over 100,000 copies/ml, the five year risk would reduce
to 13.1% and 11.0%.
Such a reduction (of just 1 or 2%) may seem insignificant at first. However, in
times of well-tolerated antiretroviral therapies, such a risk of developing AIDS or
even dying from the infection bears relevance. Is it worth exposing patients without
urgent symptoms to the dangers of AIDS for the sake of a little more quality of life?
How much long term toxicity is really saved by one, two or maybe even three years
without therapy over a period of twenty or thirty years? SMART, a large-scale
strategy trial in which 6,000 patients were randomly assigned to continue or to interrupt therapy (the threshold for ART interruption was at least 350, and a resumption of ART at 250 CD4 T cells/l) provided some argument for an earlier start of
ART. The design of the study also allowed the participation of therapy-nave patients and patients who had not been treated for some time. An analysis of this sub-
176 ART
group (478 patients) showed an increased risk for AIDS and/or mortality in the
group of patients who had started ART with more than 250 CD4 T cells (Emery
2007). The risk for other severe complications, not directly related to those of
AIDS, was also elevated.
Asymptomatic patients above 350 CD4 T cells/l

Many guidelines recommend the cut-off level at 350 CD4 T cells/l and advise to
defer therapy when the T cell counts are above this level. However, even above this
level, there seems to be an associated risk with CD4 T cell counts and AIDS or
mortality. In a large-scale British cohort (> 30,000 patient years) with therapy nave
patients the risk was 24.9 per 1,000 PY at 350-499 CD4 T cell/l, compared to 15.4
at 500-649 CD4 cells/l and 9.6 with more than 650 CD4 Z cells/l.
The US HOPS cohort also suggested a survival benefit of patients who initiated
ART above 350 CD4 T cells/l (Palella 2003). This study also evaluated patients
who had started with a mono- or dual-therapy. Possibly a difference would not have
been visible with contemporary therapies. In addition, the mortality risk was low.
According to more recent information from this cohort (Lichtenstein 2006), the risk
was 15.9/1,000 PY at 200-349 CD4 T cells/l (350-500 CD4 T cells/l: 11.5/1,000;
over 500: 7.5/1,000).
In a new study from the US 17,517 asymptomatic patients were evaluated who had
first started ART between 1996 and 2005 (Kitahata 2009). In this very complex and
expensive analysis patients who had started ART at 351-500 CD4 T cells/l (over
500 CD4 T cells/l) showed a significantly higher relative mortality risk of 1.69
(1.94) compared to patients who waited until the CD4 T cells were below 350/l
(500/l).
Other studies have not seen benefits of starting therapy with more than 350 CD4 T
cells/l (Sterling 2003). This also applies to the ART cohort collaboration, in which
20,000 patients from 15 mostly European-based cohorts were evaluated, who
started antiretroviral therapy after 1997. There was no benefit of a start above 450
CD4 T cells/l (Sterne 2009).
Important factors to be considered even with good CD4 T cells
Is a tendency of an absolute CD4 drop visible: how fast is it? Always look at relative values (percentage), observe CD4/CD8-ratio
Because variations exist, a CD4 T cell count should always be controlled before
starting therapy
How high is the viral load, does the overall picture make sense? CD4 T cell count
drops are rare at lower viral loads < 10,000 copies/ml
What levels did the patient previously have? Someone whose CD4 T cells have
always been at 1,000 and suddenly falls to 350 probably has a higher immune defect than someone who goes 450 CD4 T cells down to 350
Is the patient ready for therapy? How well informed are they? How compliant
will they be? If the patient is reluctant and anxious, more time must is needed for
preparation prior to therapy initiation
177
How old is the patient? The immunologic regeneration capacity decreases with
age. The older the patient, the earlier one should start
Are there symptoms which the patient has not noticed or considers not worth
mentioning? Examine physically on a regular basis! OHL, thrush, mycoses etc
A drop of 50-100 CD4 cells/l per year is too much. Do not wait too long with
these patients.
To raise a heretical question, does early therapy initiation only have benefits in the
US, but not in Europe? Or are methodical problems of cohort analysis and statistical
distortion the reason for this discrepancy? This debate will be interesting to follow.
A worldwide randomized study to evaluate optimal therapy initiation with asymptomatic patients with good CD4 T cells is urgently required. After the success of the
SMART study (see chapter on Treatment Interruption) it is feasible. As of 2009,
3,000 patients worldwide with more than 500 CD4 T cells/l are to be enrolled in
the so-called START study. One half will start with ART immediately while the
other half will wait until CD4 T cells are below 350 CD4 cells/l or until symptoms
appear. We anxiously await the data.
What is important is that all asymptomatic patients despite their seemingly good
values are still monitored regularly. One should not only focus on the absolute CD4
T cell count, but also be aware of other factors as shown in the chart above.
Consequences for the response to ART

In addition to the risk of death and disease progression, the controversy over the
optimal time for starting ART also raises questions. Large cohorts repeatedly attempt to prove that the starting timepoint influences virological or immunological
treatment success. But do late presenters really have a poorer response to ART?
Virological response in late presenters
At first glance, many cohort studies have clearly demonstrated that virological response is poorer if the CD4 T cell count at initiation of treatment is low and the
viral load high (Miller 1999, Chaisson 2000, Yamashita 2001, Palella 2003, Wood
2005). In a meta-analysis of 30 prospective studies, baseline CD4 T cell count was
important for viral load decline on treatment (Skowron 2001). It seems straightforward that the higher the viral load and the lower the CD4 count, the less the virological success of ART. Defenders of an early initiation of ART, who often cite
this data, forget three important points:
First, this is not true for those large cohorts in which only treatment-nave patients
were studied (Cozzi-Lepri 2001, Phillips 2001, Le Moing 2002). In many of the
studies citated above patients with NRTI pretreatment were included and this indicates that virological success of ART may be compromised in patients with previous prolonged mono- or dual-therapy. Previous NRTI therapy has been a risk factor
for virological treatment failure in many cohorts (Chaisson 2000, Le Moing 2002).
In the HOPS Cohort, lack of prior therapy was decisive particularly for long-term
treatment success (Holmberg 2003). There are fortunately hardly any patients on
mono- or dual-NRTI therapy nowadays.
178 ART
Secondly, the relative risk of virological failure is often only increased in patients
with substantial immunosuppression (below 50 CD4 T cells/l) or very high viral
load (above 100,000 copies/ml). At levels above 200 CD4 T cells/l or a viral load
of less than 100,000 copies/ml differences are generally not detected. It remains
unclear if this is true on the newer ART regimens.
Thirdly, only a few of these studies consider adherence. Adherence is an important
and even decisive predictor in the few studies in which it has been investigated (Le
Moing 2002, Wood 2004). A patient who starts ART under emergency conditions
at 30 CD4 T cells/l (and who went to the physician only shortly before or even
after clinical manifestation of AIDS) may have a different view on sickness and
health, and may be less adherent than someone who seeks medical advice with a
good CD4 count and begins ART after thorough reflection. It seems clear that the
benefit of ART differs for such patients.
Taken together, in the era of very potent antiretroviral therapy it is at least questionable whether virological response is really poorer with less favorable baseline values if the patient is adherent to ART.
Immunological response in late presenters
Multiple factors influence the increase in CD4 T cells: duration of immunosuppression, age, thymus size or extent of thymus degeneration (see chapter on Goals and
Principles of Therapy). Are values at initiation of therapy included? Astonishingly,
several cohorts found no association (Cozzi-Lepri 2001, Yamashita 2001, Pezzotto
2001). However, these studies all showed that the rise in CD4 T cells is similar,
although levels remained lower if the CD4 count was initially low. In our experience immune reconstitution is rarely complete if values were initially low. The more
damaged the immune system, the less likely a complete recovery in the long run
(Garcia 2004). In the Swiss Cohort, having a low CD4 cell count at baseline was a
clear risk factor for not attaining 500 CD4 T cells/l after four years (Kaufmann
2005).
Another consequence of starting therapy later can be that antigen-specific immune
reconstitution remains impaired, both against HIV and other pathogens. Numerous
studies suggest that qualitative immune reconstitution does not initially occur at the
same pace as quantitative reconstitution (Gochorov 1998, Lange 2002). One can
make the analogy with a patch of desert where weeds will grow before flowers. So,
what are the clinical consequences of these lab data? Why does the risk of AIDS
decrease so impressively and rapidly with a rising CD4 cell count? The weeds do
not appear to be so threatening after all. Why can even severely immunodeficient
patients discontinue their prophylaxis quite safely once their CD4 cell count has
risen to above 200/l? These clinical observations at least in the short term
seem to contradict our knowledge of the currently observed immune reconstitution.
179
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180 ART
6. What to Start With?

Christian Hoffmann
Once the decision has been made to start, the next question is, what to start with?
More than two dozen drugs are now available, and the number of theoretically possible combinations seems to be almost infinite. In most guidelines, more than ten
different combinations are recommended as preferred, while numerous more are
listed as alternatives.
It would be brilliant if every treatment-nave patient participated in a clinical study.
That would be the best way to continue improving the quality of antiretroviral therapy. However, in practice it is not always possible to sign everyone up for a clinical
trial. For information regarding the treatment of naive patients, the following summarizes the available data.
Recommended Initial Regimens

Combinations that we currently recommend for first-line therapy (as of March
2009) are shown in Table 6.1. In the list, there is no order of preference. Moreover,
many other combinations are possible. These other combinations may be acceptable
in individual cases or in investigational studies, but general recommendations for
their use cannot be given. Problematic drugs or combinations that are not advisable
for use are listed at the end of this chapter.
Table 6.1: ART combinations suitable for initial therapy (not in order of preference)
NRTIs
NNRTI/PI
TDF + FTC
*ABC + 3TC
Atazanavir/r
plus either
Darunavir/r
Fosamprenavir/r
Lopinavir/r
Alternatives
AZT + 3TC
****TDF + 3TC
*
**
***
****
Saquinavir/r
**Efavirenz
***Nevirapine
Only when HLA typing is possible, caution when risk for cardiovascular events is high.
Caution in women of childbearing age (teratogenity).
Beware of hepatotoxicity when CD4 T cells are high (women > 250, men > 400/l).
Convincing data only on combination with efavirenz.
Practical Approach to the First Regimen Important Rules

All current initial regimens consist of two nucleoside analogs combined with either
a boosted PI or an NNRTI. No single combination has clearly been shown to be
overall superior to any other. There is no gold standard. When choosing primary
therapy, many factors are involved besides the antiviral potency and tolerability.
Individual situations such as compliance, concurrent illnesses and concomitant
medications and the needs of the patient should be included in the decision. One
should be aware that primary therapy is of great significance and needs to be well
181
prepared for. It is at this time that the chance of viral suppression followed by longterm maintenance of suppression is greatest.
Practical tips for first-line therapy:
The first regimen offers the best chance of suppression followed by maintenance. The viral load should decrease to below detection levels within 3-6
months.
Do not rush the patient must be ready for ART. If in doubt, wait and continue to monitor levels.
If possible, do not prescribe medication in the first consultation with a new
patient who brings along his results. Do you know the patient well enough? Is
he really motivated? Will he come back?
For every patient only prescribe the ART they are able to take. Dont insist
on theoretically superior combinations.
The pros and cons (side effects) of different combinations should be discussed make enough time for this.
The initial regimen should be taken no more then twice daily. Once-daily
treatment should be considered if it is important for the patient.
The toxicity profiles should not overlap when possible never use several
allergenic drugs simultaneously.
Ask about other medication (and drug use) are relevant interactions to be
expected?
Concomitant illnesses should also be checked what about the liver (hepatitis), kidneys?
All drugs are started on the same day no lead-in mono- or dual therapy.
Be sure to check whether the patient would be eligible for a clinical study.
All patients, especially if treatment-nave, should be encouraged to participate in clinical trials, which may mean an even higher understanding of the
importance of treatment and good adherence. Take your time.
What Should Be Clarified First

Dosing issues & adherence
Can the patient really take drugs several times a day? Does he know that treatment
will be probably life-long? Is this realistic with regard to his individual, professional and/or social situation? If in doubt, a simpler regimen is preferable to one
that is presumed to be more effective. For example, it is often not realistic to expect
intravenous drug users to take tablets twice a day according to a strict protocol.
However, users also need treatment. There have been successful attempts at oncedaily regimens for drug users (Staszewski 2000), which are also suitable for DOT
(Directly Observed Therapy) or DAART (Directly Administered ART) together
with the substitution program. With DAART, response to therapy is improved (Al-
182 ART
tice 2007, Maru 2009). However, virological benefit wanes following transition to
self-administered therapy (Smith-Rohrberg 2009).
In patients with obvious adherence problems it should be considered that NNRTIbased regimens which are easy-to-take have a low resistance barrier. Studies such
as FIRST have demonstrated that especially in patients with low adherence, the risk
for resistance is increased in NNRTI regimens compared to PI regimens (Gardner
2008). Thus, in some cases, a boosted once-daily PI regimen may be preferable.
When treatment is not taken 100% on time, the resistance risk may be relatively
lower than with NNRTIs.
For many patients the numbers of pills or requirements for food intake are important. The range of licensed and recommended initial regimens varies from 2 to 7
pills per day (caution: in many countries, the combination pill Atripla with one pill
QD has not been licensed as first-line).
Some patients find it unacceptable to have to take pills at certain times during the
day with fatty foods. Patients today are more demanding than before justifiably
so. There are now alternatives. Even the size or consistency of tablets can be a
problem. Such issues must be discussed before initiating therapy as ART needs to
become one more part of normal daily life.
Concurrent illnesses
Before starting treatment, possible concurrent illnesses must be identified (thorough
questioning and examination). The knowledge of the presence of other illnesses is
important before proceeding any further (Table 6.2).
Table 6.2: Concurrent illnesses requiring caution with specific drugs (not only in first-line
therapy). There are no absolute contraindications.
Illness
Active hepatitis B
Active hepatitis C
Active substance use, substitution
Anemia
Arterial hypertension
Chronic diarrhea, intestinal diseases
Diabetes mellitus
Kidney disease
Myocardial infarction
Pancreatitis
Polyneuropathy
Psychoses, other CNS illnesses
Caution with
Nevirapine, boosted PIs (In contrast to 3TC, FTC,
TDF, which are beneficial)
Nevirapine, boosted PIs
NNRTIs, ritonavir
AZT, possibly also 3TC
Indinavir
Nelfinavir, lopinavir, fosamprenavir, other PIs
PIs
Indinavir, tenofovir
Abacavir, ddI, PIs (potentially beneficial: nevirapine)
ddI
d4T, ddI
Efavirenz
For example, a patient with diarrhea should not be given fosamprenavir or lopinavir. Use with caution tenofovir or indinavir in patients with renal disease. DDI is
contraindicated in patients with a history of pancreatitis. Polyneuropathy requires
that d-drugs (ddI, d4T) are avoided; they are only used as exceptions in primary
therapy. Non-insulin-dependent diabetes can become insulin-dependent with PI
183
treatment. There are some cohort studies that report an association between recent
use of abacavir and an increased risk of myocardial infarction (Sabin 2008,
Lundgren 2009). Although the cause of this phenomenon is still under debate leading experts suggest that for now, it seems prudent to withhold abacavir from patients with high underlying cardiovascular disease risk if suitable alternative regimens are available (Reiss 2009).
Liver disease and chronic hepatitis must also be taken into account, because the risk
of developing severe hepatotoxicity on nevirapine or ritonavir is highest (Den
Brinker 2000, Sulkowski 2000). Caution is also required with boosted PIs. However, one study conducted in over 1,000 patients found no difference between lopinavir/r and an unboosted PI such as nelfinavir in patients coinfected with hepatitis
C (Sulkowski 2004). In coinfections with HBV, 3TC or FTC (not simultaneously)
with tenofovir should be utilized. In HBV-coinfected patients starting ART, it
seems advisable to use two HBV drugs in order to reduce the risk of HBV resistance.
Interactions with medications and drugs
Interactions are important in the choice of combination regimens. Whereas interactions between antiretroviral drugs are well known, interactions with other medications are often less well characterized (see section on interactions). The urgent need
for more research was demonstrated in a study investigating the interactions between ART and statins. In healthy volunteers, the measurement of plasma levels
showed that levels of simvastatin were elevated by 3,059% (!) after concurrent dosing with ritonavir or saquinavir (Fichtenbaum 2002). Several cases of fatal rhabdomyolysis on simvastatin, atorvastatin and PIs such as atazanavir, lopinavir and
nelfinavir have been described (Hare 2002, Mah 2004, Schmidt 2007).
Many drugs should be avoided in combination with particular antiretroviral drugs,
as incalculable interactions may occur. These include certain contraceptives. Even
drugs that seem unproblematic at first glance can have unfavorable effects. For example, the plasma levels of saquinavir can be reduced by half due to concurrent
administration of garlic capsules (Piscitelli 2002). Even a seemingly harmless agent
such as vitamin C can influence plasma levels. A small study in healthy volunteers
showed that vitamin C can significantly lower (14%) unboosted indinavir levels
(Slain 2005). Coumarin-derivative anticoagulants such as warfarin can also be a
problem; ritonavir can significantly lower plasma levels (Llibre 2002). Further typical problem drugs include migraine remedies, prokinetic drugs and sedatives/hypnotics. One fatal case has been described with ergotamine and ritonavir
(Pardo 2003). The simultaneous administration of ART and PDE-5 inhibitors (sildenafil, vardenafil, tadalafil) can also be problematic (see section on Sexual Dysfunction).
Drugs or alcohol can also interact with ART (Neuman 2006, Mass 2006). For those
in substitution programs, the methadone requirement may be significantly increased
by certain antiretroviral drugs such as nevirapine and efavirenz (Clarke 2001). To a
lesser extent, this is also true for ritonavir and nelfinavir. There is inconsistent data
on lopinavir but it may also require dose adjustments.
Other interactions have even more dangerous consequences. Several deaths have
been reported after simultaneous dosing with ritonavir and amphetamines or
184 ART
MDMA/ecstasy, or the popular narcotic gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), Samsonit or liquid ecstasy (Henry 1998, Harrington 1999, Hales 2000). Ritonavir in
particular inhibits the metabolism of amphetamines (speed or MDMA/ecstasy),
ketamines or LSD (Antoniou 2002). Clinician and patient are well advised to have
an open conversation about drug use before starting therapy. Marijuana and THC
appear to have a low potential for interactions (Kosel 2002). Amphetamines seem
to be particularly dangerous and neurotoxic in HIV patients (Chana 2006).
Not every agent can be discussed here. Many are described in the respective drug
chapters. It is always recommended to check the package insert. Initiation of ART
provides a good opportunity to re-evaluate existing prescribed medications.
Additive toxicities
Several potential additive toxicities should be considered in the choice of therapy. If
other myelotoxic drugs (i.e., valgancyclovir) are necessary, caution is required with
AZT. The same is true for cotrimoxazole or dapsone. When treating hepatitis C
with interferon and ribavirin, ddI must be avoided. Ribavirine should also not be
combined with AZT or d4T. Tenofovir should also be avoided with renal problems
or potentially nephrotoxic drugs.
Lastly, it is not advisable during primary therapy to start with potential allergyinducing agents if anti-infectious prophylaxis with cotrimoxazole or other sulphonamides is necessary. Included in this are nevirapine, efavirenz and abacavir
(and possibly fosamprenavir and darunavir). In order not to disturb the prophylaxis
it is better to avoid these drugs. Otherwise, it can be difficult to clearly identify the
causative agent for a drug-induced exanthema.
Which Drug Classes Are To Be Used?

All combinations currently used as initial regimens consist of two NRTIs plus either
a PI or an NNRTI. Both strategies reduce the risk of AIDS approximately equally
(Olsen 2005). A third NRTI (triple nuke) is seldom used as efficacy is less potent.
In contrast, all other combinations (including nuke-sparing or new drug classes such
as integrase inhibitors or CCR5 antagonists) are currently (March 2009) experimental or not justified for use outside the framework of clinical studies. Advantages and
problems of these three strategies are outlined in Table 6.3.
There are only a few studies comparing these strategies. Many of the tested regimens in large trials such as Atlantic (van Leeuwen 2003) or CLASS (Bartlett 2004)
are no longer current.
185
Table 6.3: Combining drug classes: Advantages ( ) and disadvantages ( )

2 Nukes + PI
2 Nukes + NNRTI
2 Nukes + 3rd Nuke
a lot of data, including clinical endpoints and severely

immunocompromised pts.
equivalent, perhaps even

better suppression of viral
load than with PIs
low pill burden, easy dosing
long-term data available

high genetic resistance
barrier
high pill burden (for the
older PIs), some once-daily
regimens not licensed
low pill burden!, oncedaily may be possible
leaves many options
leaves PI options
few interactions
clinical effect not proven

(only surrogate marker studies)
less potent in particular

tenofovir-containing triple
nuke therapy
less data in severly immunocompromised patients
once-daily with AZT not

possible
some PIs with cross-resistance, leaving limited options
rapidly occurring complete cross-resistance, low

resistance barrier
No clinical endpoints, no
long-term data
long-term toxicity, lipodystrophy, dyslipidemia with

most PIs
strict monitoring required

initially (esp. nevirapine),
allergies frequent
Possible raised mitochondrial toxicity
frequent drug interactions
In the ACTG 5142 trial, a boosted PI (lopinavir/r) was randomized against the
NNRTI efavirenz (Riddler 2008). In this three-arm study, 753 ART nave patients
received in addition to two NRTIs (chosen by the treating physician, mostly 3TC
plus AZT, TDF or d4T-XR) either lopinavir/r or efavirenz. A third arm was treated
with an NRTI-free therapy with lopinavir/r plus efavirenz. After 96 weeks, 12%
more patients treated with efavirenz+NRTIs reached levels below 50 copies/ml than
with lopinavir/r+NRTIs.
Table 6.4: ACTG 5142 main results at 96 weeks (Riddler 2008)
CD4 increase,
No treatment failu- Treatment con< 50 (< 200)
cells/l
re*
tinued
copies/ml
241
EFV + 2 NRTIs
76%
60%
89% (93%)
285
LPV/r + 2 NRTIs
67%
54%
77% (86%)
268
EFV + LPV/r
73%
61%
83% (92%)
* defined as viral load > 200 copies/ml or decrease < 1 log at 32 weeks or treatment changes
due to adverse events
Arm
Although virological failure on efavirenz+NRTIs was more seldom, if ART failed,

resistance was more frequent than in the lopinavir/r arm and CD4 T cells increased
more on lopinavir/r. The ACTG 5142 trial showed that NNRTIs were possibly
more effective than boosted PIs, because they were better tolerated. Resistance,
however, appears faster than on PIs. Similar results were achieved with the FIRST
study (Gardner 2008).
In a systematic evaluation of a total of 20 studies, 7,949 patients were analyzed
(Gupta 2008, see Table 6.5). All of the patients had been treated with either an
NNRTI or a boosted PI, and had additionally received 3TC or FTC. Virological
failure was as frequent under NNRTIs as under PIs (4.9% versus 5.1% of patients,
186 ART
p=0.50). However, major differences were observed in patients with virological
failure whose genotypic resistance testing was successful. Mutations were significantly higher under NNRTIs. This applied for NRTI key mutations like the M184
and K65R, and also for resistance mutations of NNRTIs or PIs.
Table 6.5: Resistance mutations at virological failure of first regimens containing NNRTIs or
to PIs after 48 weeks, percentages, meta-analysis (Gupta 2008)
M184V
K65R
Resistance to third agent
(NNRTI or PI)
NNRTIs
35.3 (29.3-41.6)
5.3 (2.4-9.9)
53.0 (46-60)
PIs
21.0 (14.4-28.8)
0 (0-3.6)
0.9 (0-6.2)
P
< 0.001
0.01
< 0.001
Pros and cons for the different strategies remain the controversy over the best
first-line therapy persists.
One should be warned against cross trial comparisons, which are often used as marketing strategy to influence health providers of the effectiveness of a specific treatment (we achieved over 90% tolerance rates in our study). In a systematic evaluation of 10 large-scale randomized trials with 2,341 therapy nave patients receiving
AZT+3TC+efavirenz, the success rates (viral load in the ITT analysis <
50/copies/ml at 48 weeks) ranged between 37% and 77%. This broad range was
seen with the same combination, in relatively similar ART-nave patients. Heterogeneous patient populations and study designs (e.g., definition of therapy failure),
but also clinician therapy experience and adherence may lead to variations (Hoffmann 2007). Besides ACTG 5142 (see above), other large trials are presently being
conducted, among them ARTEN (nevirapine vs. atazanavir) or ACTG 5202 (efiavirenz against atazanavir/r) and results are expected soon.
Below, various strategies or primary therapies are discussed. These include:
1. Two NRTIs plus an NNRTI
2. Two NRTIs plus a PI
3. Three or four NRTIs
4. Once-daily combinations
5. Experimental combinations (nuke-sparing, intensive approaches)
6. Problematic primary therapies which should be avoided
187
1. Two NRTIs plus an NNRTI

NNRTIs have an equal, if not superior effect on surrogate markers as PI combinations. NNRTIs have performed well in numerous randomized studies: efavirenzbased regimens were superior to indinavir, nelfinavir, amprenavir/r or triple nuke
(Staszewski 1999, Robbins 2003, Gulick 2004, Bartlett 2004). Nevirapinecontaining regimens were at least equivalent to nelfinavir and indinavir, and better
than triple nuke (Podzamczer 2002, van Leeuwen 2003). A direct comparison in the
2NN Study showed no major differences between efavirenz and nevirapine (van
Leth 2004).
Newer studies such as ACTG 5142 or FIRST seem to confirm superiority of
NNRTIs (MacArthur 2006, Riddler 2008). Advantages of NNRTI regimens include
the low pill burden and good tolerability. In contrast to PIs, however, data with
clinical endpoints is not available. Neither is there any long-term data or studies on
severely immunocompromised patients. A disadvantage of NNRTI combinations is
the rapid development of cross-resistance. This could result in failure, especially for
highly viremic patients, although this has not been confirmed in a study. Allergies
are frequent on all NNRTIs. Hepatic adverse events requiring careful monitoring
(nevirapine) but also central nervous system side effects and potential teratogenicity
(efavirenz) should be considered.
TDF+FTC plus efavirenz is one of the most frequently used combinations at present. In the Gilead 934 Study, TDF+FTC plus efavirenz was more effective than
AZT+3TC plus efavirenz after 48 weeks, because of tolerability (Gallant 2006, Arribas 2008). It is available as a single pill Atripla. It should be noted that in
Europe, approval for Atripla is more strict than in the US. The EMEA has only
approved the use of Atripla in patients who have already achieved virological suppression to below 50 copies/ml on their current antiretroviral regimen for at least
three months. Furthermore, patients must not have experienced virological failure
with an earlier treatment combination or be known to have resistance to any of the
drugs in Atripla.
TDF+FTC plus nevirapine is a well-tolerated alternative with low long-term toxicity. While a small Italian study found a higher risk for virological failure due to
resistance (Lapadula 2008), preliminary results of the large ARTEN study recently
showed non-inferiority of nevirapine compared to boosted atazanavir. In this first
large study to directly compare the efficacy and safety of an NNRTI and a ritonavirboosted PI when combined with a modern backbone such as TDF+FTC, 67% and
65% achieved the primary endpoint of viral load of < 50 copies/ml (Soriano 2009).
TDF+3TC plus efavirenz was virologically equivalent to d4T+3TC plus efavirenz
in the double blind, randomized Gilead 903 Study, although tolerability was significantly better (Gallant 2004). There exist convincing data for long-term use of more
than 6 years (Cassetti 2007). However, the combination of TDF+3TC is seldom
used today, as there are no combination pills available. Moreover, there is no reason
to use 3TC instead of FTC.
ABC+3TC plus efavirenz (or nevirapine) is an option for first-line therapy with
the introduction of pharmacogenetic HLA testing which is used to predict hypersensitivity to abacavir. The combination ABC+3TC+efavirenz has been evaluated
with success in numerous large trials such as CNA30024 (DeJesus 2004), ZODIAC
(Moyle 2004) and ABCDE (Podzamczer 2006). Data on ABC+3TC+nevirapine are
188 ART
limited. Caution should be taken with abacavir in patients with high underlying
cardiovascular disease risk (Reiss 2009).
AZT+3TC plus efavirenz or nevirapine were among those most frequently used
and have been evaluated in numerous milestone trials (006, Combine, ACTG 384,
5095, 934). Side effects may occur during the first weeks. In the 934 Study, anemia
and gastrointestinal problems occurred frequently in some cases, which significantly compromised the efficacy of AZT+3TC in contrast to TDF+FTC (Gallant
2006, Arribas 2008). One disadvantage that is becoming more and more important
is the fact that with these combinations (including AZT), OD dosing is not possible.
2. Two NRTIs Plus a PI
The combination of two NRTIs plus one protease inhibitor is the only three-drug
combination ART that is supported by efficacy data from randomized studies with
clinical endpoints (Hammer 1997, Cameron 1998, Stellbrink 2000). Given the high
resistance barrier and the robustness of these regimens, many experts still like to
use these combinations today, particularly in patients with AIDS or high viral load.
Disadvantages of the PI-containing primary therapy are the sometimes considerable
pill burden and relatively frequent side effects, which make compliance more difficult. Minor aspects such as storage or pill burden may be decisive (Table 6.6.) in
the choice of a specific PI.
Table 6.6: Frequently used PIs. Issues which may have an impact on treatment decision.
Pill number/day
Once daily
dosing?
Intake with
food?
Cool storage
required?
Important side
effects
Main study
DRV/r
LPV/r
ATV/r
SQV/r
FPV/r
3
yes
4
no (US: yes)
2
yes
6
no
4
no (US: yes)
irrelevant
irrelevant
yes
yes
irrelevant
yes
no
yes
yes
yes
Diarrhea
(mild)
ARTEMIS
Diarrhea
Hyperbilirubin., icterus
CASTLE
Diarrhea
(mild)
GEMINI
Diarrhea
Diverse
KLEAN
The following briefly describes the most common combinations:

TDF+FTC or ABC+3TC plus lopinavir/r are categorized in many guidelines as a
combination that should be used in preference to other regimens. There are more
data available for TDF+FTC+lopinavir/r, although the HEAT study did not find
significant differences compared to ABC+3TC+lopinavir/r (Smith 2008). In the US,
lopinavir/r is licensed for once-daily use. Data on equivalence are somewhat conflicting. Some studies show similar efficacy and tolerability (Molina 2007, Gathe
2009), while others suggest that the potency of once-daily (vs. BID) lopinavir/r is
slightly lower (Mildvan 2007, Ortiz 2008). The main advantage of lopinavir/rcontaining regimens is the fact that cool storage (refrigerator) is not necessary.
TDF+FTC plus darunavir/r proved at least as effective as TDF+FTC plus lopinavir/r in the ARTEMIS trial. It is possible that the tolerance (diarrhea, lipids) is
better (Ortiz 2008). The effects remain unchanged even after 96 weeks (Nelson
189
2009). Another advantage of this combination is that once-daily administration is

possible. A major disadvantage, which applies for all boosted PIs is that ritonavir
must be kept in the refrigerator.
TDF+FTC plus atazanavir/r was approved for first-line in 2008. In the CASTLEtrial, atazanavir/r was tested against lopinavir/r in 833 ART-nave patients and
proved virologically equal to lopinavir/r, but with better lipids and similar tolerance
(Molina 2008). Although a randomized study showed no difference between unboosted and boosted atazanavir (Malan 2008), boosting with ritonavir is recommended. The main arguments in favor of this combination are the low number of
pills and a good lipid profile. The major disadvantages are the hyperbilirubinemia,
which often manifests as harmless but disturbing icterus.
ABC+3TC (or TDF+FTC) plus fosamprenavir/r in the NEAT and SOLO studies, showed good efficacy (Gathe 2004, Rodriguez-French 2004). In the KLEAN
study there were no differences with lopinavir/r with regard to both efficacy and
tolerability. Rates of diarrhea or elevated lipids were comparable (Eron 2006). In
ALERT, fosamprenavir/r was as effective as atazanavir/r, both combined with a
TDF+FTC backbone (Smith 2006). In Europe, once daily use of fosamprenavir/r
has not been licensed. It has been shown possible using a low booster dosage of 100
mg ritonavir (Hicks 2009).
TDF+FTC plus saquinavir/r showed in the relatively small GEMINI study to be
non-inferior in virologic suppression at 48 weeks to lopinavir/r and offered a better
triglyceride profile (Walmsley 2009). The main disadvantage is the high pill burden
of saquinavir. Twice-daily dosing is required.
3. Three or four NRTIs Triple Nuke or Quadruple Nuke
Triple or quadruple nuke therapies, i.e., combinations of only nucleoside or nucleotide analogs, have several advantages: fewer pills, fewer interactions, no side effects
typical of PIs or NNRTIs, and the fact that all other drug classes can be spared for
later. A big disadvantage of triple nuke therapies is that they are virologically less
potent than other combinations. This may not be the case with quadruple nuke.
However, with the increasing knowledge on mitochondrial toxicity pure nuke
therapies have become less attractive.
AZT+3TC+ABC in a single tablet (Trizivir) is the classic triple nuke combination
and a very simple ART regimen: two pills a day provide a triple combination.
However, a disadvantage of Trizivir is that it has to be given twice daily. Apart
from that, it is not as potent as combinations with other drug classes. Initially,
AZT+3TC+ABC was comparable to two NRTIs plus either nelfinavir, indinavir
and atazanavir (Staszewski 2001, Matheron 2003, Kumar 2006). But since the
ACTG 5095, Trizivir is no longer valid as a primary therapy in many countries. In
A5095, a double blind, randomized study enrolling 1,147 treatment-nave patients
receiving either AZT+3TC+ABC, AZT+3TC plus efavirenz, or AZT+3TC+ABC
plus efavirenz, triple nuke clearly was less effective (Gulick 2004).
AZT+3TC+TDF: we have had fairly good experience with AZT+3TC+tenofovir
retrospectively. Given the different resistance pathways of AZT and TDF, the
thymidine analog seems to be protective against tenofovir-associated mutations
(Mauss 2005, Rey 2006). However, there are no controlled studies.
190 ART
AZT+3TC+ABC+TDF have prospectively reported good responses and low rates
of virological failure (Moyle 2006, Elion 2006, Gulick 2007, Ferrer 2008). However, these studies were not powered to demonstrate equivalence to other combination regimens. In at least one randomized study, discontinuation rates were high due
to adverse events (Mallolas 2008). The long-term toxicity and efficacy of these
combinations is still unknown.
TDF+3TC+ABC/ddI should be avoided (Jemsek 2004, Gallant 2005, Khanlou
2005). In up to 49% of patients early virological treatment failure is possible,
probably due to low genetic resistance barrier (Landman 2005). This is also true for
treatment-experienced patients who want to simplify (Hoogewerf 2003, Perez-Elias
2005).
It is difficult for this strategy to continue to carry the flag. Even when disregarding
the dismal results from tenofovir-containing therapies, triple nuke as first-line therapy is poorer in comparison to divergent regimens. Data on quadruple nukes seem
to be better but is still limited. This strategy may be useful for low viremic patients
with compliance problems or co-medications with the potential for interactions (i.e.,
therapy for TB or MAC). Triple and quadruple nuke therapy remain under consideration for maintenance therapy (see Chapter 7).
4. Once-daily combinations
Many drugs have been licensed for QD administration (once-daily, Table 6.6).
Some experts still fear that once-daily dosing is unfavorable with respect to the
theoretical development of resistance. If one dose is forgotten, a whole day of
treatment is lost at once. These regimens may therefore be less forgiving, particularly if there are problems with compliance (and this is exactly the patient group in
which these therapies are being used). In the setting of a directly observed therapy
(DOT), QD may be helpful in these patients (Staszewski 2000, Mitty 2005, Mitty
2006). However, in the ACTG 5073 study, the potential benefit of such a DOT
regimen was marginal and not sustained after discontinuation of observation (Mildvan 2007).
It has still not been confirmed that once-daily regimens really improve compliance.
In our experience, it is more important to go from three to two doses per day than
from two to one. One meta-analysis showed that compliance is better for once-daily
than three or four times daily dosing. The difference to twice-daily dosing (BID)
was not significant (Claxton 2001). Another study also showed that once-daily and
BID dosing were no different, if the BID regimens were simple and well tolerated
(Stone 2004). However, a recent meta-analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials
(n=3029) reveals that the adherence rate was better with once-daily regimens
(+2.9%; 95% confidence interval, 1.0%-4.8%; P < 0.003) than with twice-daily
regimens (Parienti 2009).
The higher peak levels may also reduce the tolerability, suggest several studies. In
the 418 Study, for example, once-daily lopinavir led to significantly more diarrhea
than twice-daily doses (Molina 2007). Once-daily regimens do not only affect the
peak levels, but the lengthened interval between doses also causes the trough levels
to sink, especially with boosted PIs. This may be relevant at least in treatmentexperienced patients (Elston 2004, la Porte 2005).
191
In summary, it is advisable to discuss the pros and cons of once-daily therapy with
the patient. It is certainly not required to treat all patients with these regimens, even
if the drug companies like to claim otherwise. On the other hand, the wishes of the
patient should be considered. It may be difficult for individuals who have shift
work, or other irregular lifestyles to take medication twice a day at set times. However, even these patients must be advised that it is important in once-daily regimens
to take the medication on time.
Table 6.7: Antiretroviral drugs and their usage in first-line once-daily regimens
Trade name
Abbrev.
Once-Daily? Comment
Nucleoside and nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs)
FTC
Yes
Emtriva
Epivir
3TC
Yes
Retrovir
AZT
No
QD definitively not possible
DDI
Yes
Must be taken on an empty stomach
Videx
Viread
TDF
Yes
Zerit
D4T
No
d4T-XP is no longer coming
Ziagen
ABC
Yes
Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs)
Intelence
ETV
No
QD not possible, no approval for first-line
Rescriptor
DLV
No
EFV
Yes
Sustiva ,
Stocrin
Viramune
NVP
Probably
Much data, but no approval for QD
Protease inhibitors (PIs)
Aptivus
TPV/r
Crixivan
IDV/r
Darunavir
DRV/r
SQV/r
Invirase
Kaletra
LPV/r
Reyataz
ATV/r
Telzir , Lexi- FPV/r
va
Viracept
NFV
No
No
Yes
Possibly
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Entry inhibitors, integrase inhibitors
MVC
No
Celsentri ,
Selzentry
Fuzeon
T-20
No
Isentress
RAL
No
Fixed combinations
Atripla
TDF+FTC+EFV
Yes
Combivir
AZT+3TC
No
Kivexa ,
3TC+ABC
Yes
Epzicom
Trizivir
AZT+3TC+ABC
No
TDF+FTC
Yes
Truvada

Limited data
Studies ongoing
QD licenced in US but not in Europe
US: Unboosted ATV also approved
QD licenced in US but not in Europe
Limited data
No approval for first-line
(not yet) licensed for first-line
Restricted first-line approval in Europe
QD not possible due to AZT
QD not possible due to AZT
192 ART
5. Experimental Combinations
Future combinations need to be more effective, simple and tolerable. Besides new
drug classes such as integrase inhibitors and CCR5 antagonists, two approaches with
ART are currently being closely investigated, combinations without any NRTIs
(nuke-sparing), and so-called induction therapies, comprised of intensive combinations using more than three active drugs or drugs from three different classes.
Nuke sparing
All classical ART regimens have to date included a backbone consisting of two
nucleoside or nucleotide analogs. This mainly has historical reasons: nucleoside
analogs were the first drugs on the market, and by the time NNRTIs and PIs were
under development, treatment with two nucleoside analogs was standard. With
growing knowledge of the mitochondrial toxicity of nucleoside analogs, more people are questioning this concept. Nuke sparing, i.e., omission of NRTIs, is being
discussed more and more (Table 6.5). There are different strategies such as the
combination of PI/r+NNRTI or double PI. Current studies are also evaluating the
concept of combining a PI/r with newer drugs such as raltegravir or maraviroc date are not yet available.
A few studies on pre-treated patients have already tested nuke-sparing regimens
successfully (see When to switch) and salvage therapy with double PI combinations
is also being investigated.
But for primary therapy? Current data is shown in Table 6.8. Patient numbers are
low. ACTG 5142 was the first large study providing convincing evidence for the
nuke-sparing strategy (Riddler 2008). This study showed that a combination of
lopinavir/r and efavirenz was not inferior to two NRTIs with either lopinavir/r or
efavirenz, although side effects were greater and tolerance lower.
193
Table 6.8: Prospective studies on nuke-sparing regimens in treatment-naive patients and patients with little prior treatment experience (intent-to-treat analyses)
n (naive)
NNRTI + PI
Staszewski 1999
Lopez-Cortes 2003
Stek 2003
Boyd 2003
Allavena 2005
Harris 2009
Ward 2006
Riddler 2008
Double PI
Gisolf 2000
Hellinger 2005
Cameron 2005
Landman 2008
Landman 2008
Van der Lugt 2008
Ulbricht 2008
combination
(study)
Percentage < 50 copies/ml
148 (126)*
42 (0)**
47 (na)*
61 (0)*
86 (65)*
14 (14)
63 (63)
253 (253)
EFV+IDV
(006-Study)
EFV+SQV/r
EFV+IDV/r
(EASIER)
EFV+IDV/r (HIVNAT 009)
EFV+LPV/r
(BIKS)
NVP+LPV/r
(CTN 177)
EFV+ATV/r
(BMS 121)
EFV+LPV/r (ACTG 5142)
47% at 48 weeks
71% at 52 weeks
53% at 48 weeks
69% at 96 weeks
73% at 48 weeks (< 400)
78% at 48 weeks
63% at 48 weeks
83% at 96 weeks
104 (104)
20 (4)*
16 (16)
30 (30)
31 (31)
48 (48)
37 (37)
SQV+RTV
SQV+LPV/r
SQV+LPV/r
FPV+ATV/r
SQV+ATV/r
SQV+LPV/r
LPV/r+ATV
63% at 48 weeks (< 400)

70% at 48 weeks
63% at 48 weeks
47% at 24 weeks
42% at 24 weeks
39-69% at 24 weeks
41% at 24 weeks
(Prometheus)
(PIN)
(ACTG 384)
(ANRS 127)
(ANRS 127)
(HIVNAT 019)
(LORAN)
*Patients all PI-nave. **22/42 with less than 50 copies/ml at the time of switch. Number of
treatment-nave patients in parentheses. na = not available.
Beside ACTG 5142 and the 006 study, there are only a few randomized studies to
date. The EASIER Study treated patients with indinavir/r and efavirenz with or
without addition of d4T. The 48-week analysis showed comparable effects with
respect to the surrogate markers and d4T did not have any additional effect. However, this study was compromised by the relatively high dropout rate, reflected in
the poor results of the ITT analysis (Stek 2003). There is one trial on African patients showing that different nuke-sparing regimens (different NNRTIs plus PIs)
were inferior to standard ART regimens (Duvivier 2008). In contrast, two other
small, randomized studies found no significant difference between nuke-sparing
and standard regimens (Harris 2005, Cameron 2005). However, several pilot trials
recently showed poor response rates for double PI (Landman 2008, Ulbricht 2008,
van der Lugt 2008).
It is still unclear whether mitochondrial toxicity and side effects really improve with
nuke-sparing regimens. A substudy of HIVNAT 009 reported that lipoatrophy resolved, and that visceral fat and subcutaneous limb fat increased (Boyd 2005). In
CTN 177 nuke-sparing regimens had a favorable effect on lactate (Harris 2005). In
ACTG 5142 rates of lipoatrophy were lower in the nuke sparing arm. However,
adverse events in total were not reduced and dyslipidemia was observed even more
frequently (Riddler 2008).
With regard to the data available, it is still premature to be able to recommend nukesparing as an equal alternative in its own right. This may change when the numerous
trials evaluating the combination of a PI/r plus a new drug class are reported. Current
trials are testing raltegravir with lopinavir/r, atazanavir/r or darunavir/r (PROGRESS
study, CCTG 589, RADAR), but also vicriviroc or maraviroc in combination with
atazanavir/r (A4001078, P04875AM2). Results are expected in 2010/2011.
194 ART
Monotherapy, alternating therapy
Does it get any easier? Several studies introduced a very avant-garde concept in the
summer of 2003: monotherapy with boosted PIs. With respect to the high resistance
barrier of boosted PIs, success was considerable (Gathe 2007). However, in many
studies, low-level viremia was found to be more frequent on monotherapies. In the
MONARK study, only 64% (compared to 75% on AZT+3TC+lopinavir/r) of the
patients achieved a viral load of less than 50 copies/ml at 48 weeks (Delfraissy
2008). Acoording to a newer review, the overall efficacy of ritonavir-boosted PI
monotherapy is slightly inferior to standard ART (Bierman 2009). Outside clinical
trials, this strategy is not recommended for treatment-nave patients.
Another approach is alternating therapy, which involves changing treatment every
few weeks. In the SWATCH Study (Martinez-Picado 2003) a total of 161 patients
were randomized to a regimen of d4T+ddI+efavirenz or AZT+3TC+nelfinavir. A
third arm changed between the two regimens every three months, as soon as the
viral load was below the level of detection. After 48 weeks, virological failure in
the alternating arm was significantly reduced. There was no difference for all other
parameters (CD4 T cells, side effects, adherence, quality of life). Whether this experimental approach will hold up to further investigation remains to be seen.
Induction with 4 or 5 drugs
Some experts are speculating whether more intensive approaches are necessary in
some patients. Rapid development of resistance, which is theoretically more likely
in patients with a high viral load, is a growing concern. A number of physicians
have already started to give initial treatment with four or even five drugs, and then
to simplify the regimen to a triple combination after several months, once the viral
load has dropped below the level of detection.
This theoretical concept has not yet been validated, and is based on hypotheses or
smaller proof-of-concept studies (Ramratnam 2004) in which it has been shown that
the viral load falls faster under intensive combinations than under standard therapies with three active drugs.
Approaches in which multiple individual drugs (usually nucleoside analogs) are
given have to be distinguished from approaches in which three instead of two
classes of drugs are used.
195
Multiple individual drugs: Current data indicates that there is no advantage to using
this strategy. Giving two PIs (or two NNRTIs) instead of one sometimes produced
even negative results in studies like SPICE, Danish PI or 2NN (Moyle 2000,
Katzenstein 2000, van Leth 2004). There is also little evidence at the moment in
favor of giving three instead of two NRTIs (Staszewski 2003, Orkin 2004, Mallolas
2008). In ACTG 5095, there was clearly no difference between Combivir plus
efavirenz and Trizivir plus efavirenz, not even when the starting viral load was
higher, or with regard to resistance (Gulick 2005). The subgroup analysis did not
reveal any difference. As a result, the concept of using additional individual agents
can be laid to rest.
More drug classes: The data on whether to use three or two drug classes is less
clear.
ACTG 388: in this open-label randomized study, 517 treatment- or PI-nave patients with relatively advanced HIV infection were randomized to three different
regimens: indinavir versus indinavir+efavirenz versus the double PI combination
indinavir+nelfinavir, each combined with AZT+3TC (Fischl 2003). After two
years, virological failure on indinavir+efavirenz was significantly lower than in
the other two arms. The poorest results came from the indinavir+nelfinavir arm,
which showed a trend towards more serious adverse events. Thus, ACTG 388
showed an advantage of triple-class therapy over two-class therapy with indinavir. However, a few patients in the study were treatment-experienced and
around 10% already had resistance mutations at baseline.
ACTG 384: 980 patients were randomized to six treatment arms (Robbins 2003,
Shafer 2003), either AZT+3TC or d4T+ddI combined with efavirenz, nelfinavir
or efavirenz+nelfinavir. The NRTI combinations were blinded; the other drugs
were given open-label. The quadruple arm was better than all triple regimen arms
combined, but not in comparison to the single most effective arm of
AZT+3TC+efavirenz.
INITIO: 911 patients received efavirenz, nelfinavir or efavirenz+nelfinavir, each
with a backbone of d4T+ddI, in an open-label randomized design. No difference
was seen between the triple and quadruple arms (Yeni 2006). The main disadvantage of this study was that the treatment regimens studied became somewhat outdated even during the study, and dropout rates were correspondingly high as a result.
ANRS 081: tested a triple-class regimen consisting of d4T+nevirapine+indinavir
compared to a conventional d4T+3TC+indinavir regimen in 145 patients who
were either treatment-nave or had only little prior treatment experience. The triple-class arm fared significantly worse. At week 72, 52% versus 79% had a viral
load below 20 copies/ml. 43% discontinued nevirapine therapy (Launay 2002).
FIRST (CPCRA 058): 1,397 ART-naive patients were randomly assigned to a
PI, an NNRTI or to a PI plus an NNRTI. All patients received two NRTIs. Because this study started in 1999, nelfinavir was the most frequently used PI.
Boosted PIs were seldomly used, leading to limited significance of this trial. The
triple class strategy was not superior to the NNRTI regimens (MacArthur 2006).
In summary, the studies above indicate that any supposed improved efficacy (which
was not shown in many trials) of these regimens is counterbalanced by more side
196 ART
effects. Indeed, there is the risk of scaring patients away with the higher number of
pills and side effects. Conspicuously little data is available on patients who start
ART at an advanced stage of disease (late presenters). It is still unclear whether and
in which patients such intensification of therapy is useful, and which drugs might be
preferred.
6. Suboptimal First Therapies
Combinations generally considered to be suboptimal include all forms of monoand dual-therapy, especially two nucleoside analogs. Even one nucleoside analog
plus one NNRTI is not good as shown by the INCAS Trial (Montaner 1998). When
using NRTIs it is important to make sure that they are not competing for the same
pocket. Combinations of thymidine analogs (AZT and d4T) or cytidine analogs
(FTC and 3TC) make no sense. The thymidine analogs AZT and d4T are even antagonistic (Havlir 2000, Pollard 2002).
Full dose ritonavir can be rejected as an active agent, as the tolerability is very poor.
There is no longer a reason to use ddI, d4T, indinavir or nelfinavir in a first-line
regimen. Some drugs, such as T-20, raltegravir and maraviroc (this may change
within the next months), but also etravirine, delavirdine or tipranavir are not licensed for use in primary therapy. Drugs such as ddC (HIVID), saquinavir-SGC
(Fortovase) and amprenavir (Agenerase) have been taken off the market.
NNRTIs combinations: act non-competitively at the same site, and furthermore all
can cause a rash, making differential diagnosis difficult. Efavirenz levels seem to be
lowered considerably in combination with nevirapine (Veldkamp 2001). In the
wake of the 2NN Study, it seems clear that the combination of efavirenz and nevirapine should be avoided. The study arm with this combination fared worse than the
other arms mainly due to toxicity (Van Leth 2004).
TDF in a triple nuke combination: should not be administered. Many studies have
reported poor response rates, particularly in combination with ABC+3TC
(Hoogewerf 2003, Jemsek 2004, Khanlou 2005, Gallant 2005) (see Triple Nukes).
TDF+ddI: at least five trials looking at TDF+ddI plus an NNRTI resulted in a high
failure rate, and some were stopped prematurely (Leon 2005, Podzamczer 2005,
Maitland 2005, van Lunzen 2005, Torti 2005). The worst efficacy was observed in
patients with a significant immune deficit and high viral load. BMS even issued a
warning letter concerning TDF+ddI. Meanwhile, there have been other reports that
CD4 T cells have decreased on this combination, even when there is a good virological effect (Kakuda 2004, Barrios 2005). The reasons for this are still being
discussed but may be due to the unfavorable interactions between tenofovir and ddI.
Reports on the higher toxicity and in particular pancreatitis (Martinez 2004, Masia
2005), have shown that the combination of TDF+ddI no longer has a place in antiretroviral therapy.
Starting gradually: All drugs should be started simultaneously. Highly significant
differences were shown between patients who had received three drugs immediately
and those who were started on only two drugs (Gulick 1998, Ait-Khaled 2002).
This is significant in the long-term. A large cohort study showed that the risk of
virological failure was doubled even years later if dual therapy had been the starting
regimen, even for as little as a few weeks (Phillips 2002). Initiating triple therapy
197
gradually, as is sometimes practiced due to concerns of side effects, is wrong and

dangerous.
Avoidable mistakes in primary therapy
Mono- or dual-therapy (except in controlled trials), as well as a gradual introduction of therapy always start with a complete ART regimen
Lowering the doses at the beginning (with the exception of nevirapine)
T-20, delavirdine, tipranavir, etravirine, raltegravir, maraviroc are not licensed for
primary therapy - this may change for raltegravir in 2009
ddC (HIVID), SQV-SGC (Fortovase), amprenavir (Agenerase) distribution
has been stopped
Ritonavir (not tolerated only for use as low-dose booster)
AZT+d4T and 3TC+FTC (antagonistic effects)
TDF+ddI (diverse reasons), d4T+ddI (toxicities)
TDF in triple-nuke therapy (especially without thymidine analogs)
Simultaneous introduction of ABC and NNRTIs without prior HLA testing (allergy potential)
Efavirenz+nevirapine (too toxic)
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200 ART
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7. When to Switch
201
7. When to Switch
Christian Hoffmann
Even though the rates of modification and interruptions in antiretroviral therapy
have declined during recent years, changes of ART remain very common. In EuroSIDA, among almost 1,200 patients who began ART after 1999, at one year after
initiation, only 70% of patients remained on their original regimen. 24% had
changed, and 6% were off all treatment.
In general, antiretroviral therapy is changed for three main reasons:
1. Acute side effects
2. Long-term toxicity (or concerns regarding this)
3. Virologic treatment failure
Switch Due to Acute Side Effects

Not every acute side effect requires immediate modification of ART. Nausea or
diarrhea at the beginning can and should be tolerated. Gastrointestinal side effects
that occur during the first weeks are not dangerous and often improve spontaneously or can be treated symptomatically. The same is true for some allergic reactions and for relatively mild CNS disorders with efavirenz (mild allergies). Talking
with the patient, suggestions on how to tolerate or palliate certain problems with the
idea that these will not continue indefinitely, will help the adherence issues that will
certainly come up. However, certain adverse drug events almost always require
discontinuation or changing of ART (see box below).
Side effects that almost always require discontinuation/change of ART
Severe diarrhea, which persists despite loperamide even after several weeks (usually due to nelfinavir, lopinavir, fosamprenavir/r, saquinavir/r)
Severe nausea, which persists despite metoclopramide, which requires continuous
treatment or leads to significant weight loss (usually AZT, ddI)
Polyneuropathy (d4T, ddI, possibly also 3TC) often resolves very slowly
Severe anemia (AZT)
Severe, progressive muscular weakness (d4T, ddI)
Pancreatitis (ddI, ddI+TDF, d4T+ddI, in rare cases lopinavir/r)
Lactic acidosis (most often d4T+ddI, but also all other NRTIs)
Severe allergies with involvement of mucous membranes, fever (typically abacavir, all NNRTIs, more rarely fosamprenavir or darunavir)
Renal failure (tenofovir, indinavir)
Nephrolithiasis or recurring renal colic (indinavir)
Hepatotoxicity with transaminases > 5 x normal values (nevirapine, tipranavir)
Jaundice (nevirapine, atazanavir, indinavir, tipranavir)
Severe repetitive onychitis (indinavir, possibly also 3TC)
Psychosis (efavirenz, possibly also AZT)
202 ART
Switching Due to Concerns over Long-term Toxicity

In the last few years, many clinicians have started to change virologically successful combinations out of concern for cumulative long-term toxicities (especially lipodystrophy and dyslipidemia). In particular PI- and d4T-containing combinations
are sometimes replaced with NNRTIs and other nucleoside analogs. A large number
of switch studies have appeared in the last few years. The most important studies
are discussed below.
PI replacement
PIs may cause some side effects in the long-term. Most relevant is lipodystrophy
(see chapter on Lipodystrophy), but also gastrointestinal side effects and dyslipidemia.
Table 7.1: Randomized studies on switching from PIs to other drugs
Source
Wk
VL Effect
Effect of switch on lipids (L)

or lipodystrophy (LD)
PI to NVP
Barreiro 2000
Ruiz 2001
138
106
24
48
Advantage
n.s.
L unchanged, LD better
L possibly better, LD unchanged
L better, LD better
Arranz-Caso 2005
160
48
n.s.
PI to EFV
Becker 2001
Molina 2005
346
355
48
48
Advantage
Advantage
PI to ABC
Clumeck 2001
Opravil 2002
211
163
24
84
Katlama 2003
Keiser 2002
209*
104
48
28
Advantage
Disadvantage
(trend)
n.s.
n.s.
PI to EFV v NVP
Negredo 2002
77
48
n.s.
Calza 2005
130
48
n.s.
PI to EFV v NVP v ABC

Martinez 2003
460
48
Trend against
ABC
L only better on ABC. LD

probably unchanged
PI to RAL
Eron 2009
350
24
Disadvantage
L better
L unchanged
L/LD n.a., side effects similar
L better, LD subjectively better
L better, LD unchanged
L better, LD better
L better
L only better on NVP, LD unchanged
L actually worse if the PI arm
contained lipid reducer
In all studies (except Martinez 2003), randomization was against continuing PIs. All had an
open-label design and all patients had been on PIs for several months at the time of the switch,
with undetectable viral load. VL=viral load in the switch arm versus the continuing arm.
Wk=weeks, LD=lipodystrophy, L=lipids, n.a.=not available, n.s. =not significant. *Here only
62% of patients were taking a PI, the rest were on NNRTIs or a triple nuke.
One main conclusion can be drawn from the studies on PI switching: switching to
NNRTI-, NRTI- or integrase inhibitor-containing regimens for reasons of existing
7. When to Switch
203
or possible long-term toxicity is virologically safe, if the viral load is well suppressed and if there is no evidence of resistance (see Table 7.1).
Taken together, these studies show that lipid levels are most likely to improve after
switching to other agents, in particular abacavir and raltegravir, and to a lesser extent, efavirenz. Whether lipodystrophy really improves after stopping a PI remains
unclear. There seem to be subjective improvements, but these are difficult to quantify. Quality of life improved significantly in the switch arms of most studies,
probably due to the reduced pill burden.
Switching from a PI to other drugs poses an increased risk of virological failure,
particularly with prior nucleoside analog treatment and the associated resistance
mutations. One example of what could happen when the drug is changed for strategic reasons is shown in Table 7.3. This case demonstrates how careful one must be
when switching drugs, if there is a past history of inadequate (dual-therapy!) treatment.
The switch to abacavir bears a higher risk of virological failure especially for patients with NRTI pre-therapy. Similar observations were recently made in the
SWITCHMRK trials regarding treatment of the integrase inhibitor raltegravir (Eron
2009). In this large-scale phase II study, a total of 702 patients on a stable and functioning lopinavir-containing regimen were randomized to change to raltegravir or to
continue with lopinavir. Lipids improved with the switch, however after 24 weeks a
non-inferiority of raltegravir compared to lopinavir/r in efficacy was seen. In the
ITT analysis, only 82% of patients on raltegravir versus 88% on the continued PI
maintained viral load below the limits of detection of under 50 copies/ml after 24
weeks. The viral load breakthrough applied especially for pre-treated patients with
previous therapy failure (66%).
Potential side effects also need to be considered with every switch. A rash or hepatotoxicity can be expected with nevirapine, and efavirenz may be associated with
adverse CNS events. There is the risk of a hypersensitivity reaction with abacavir,
the frequency of which reached a considerable 10% in the TRIZAL Study. Nowadays, HSR can be prevented by prior HLA testing.
However, one meta-analysis indicated that switching to an NNRTI may have some
immunological disadvantages, as CD4 T cells possibly increase slightly less on
non-PI regimens (Owen 2004). It is possible, that the PI does not always have to be
replaced by another class. In the case of dyslipidemia, a change to atazanavir can
also be considered (Wood 2004, Gatell 2007, Soriano 2008) which, in our experience showed no effects on lipodystrophy. Positive effects on the lipids may be
achieved with atazanivir, if ritonavir is omitted (Sension 2009).
There is still no data on a change or a PI substitution with maraviroc yet, but it is
being investigated.
D4T replacement
The thymidine analog d4T, which plays a leading role in mitochondrial toxicity (see
corresponding chapter), is frequently replaced with other nucleoside analogs. Such
switch studies have been smaller and often inconsistent sometimes PIs were replaced at the same time (see Table 7.2).
204 ART
Despite their heterogeneity, most studies show that lipoatrophy improves if d4T is
replaced by abacavir, for example. In particular, the subcutaneous fat of the limbs
increases, although at first the improvement is often unrecognizable clinically and
can only be detected in DEXA scans (Martin 2004). Histological investigations
have shown that the elevated rate of apoptosis in adipocytes normalizes when d4T
has been replaced (Cherry 2005, McComsey 2005).
Table 7.2. Controlled clinical studies on switching from d4T to other drugs (all randomized,
except McComsey 2004)
Source
Carr 2002
Martin 2004
John 2003
N
106
Switch
ABC instead of d4T or
AZT
AZT instead of d4T and
ABC instead of PI
Wk
104
Effect of switch
LA better, lipids unchanged
48
30
ABC instead of d4T or

PI/NNRTI, or AZT+ABC
instead of d4T+PI
48
McComsey 2004
118
48
Moyle 2005
105
48
LA better, lipids better on TDF
Milinkovic 2007
57
24
Tebas 2009
101
AZT or ABC instead of

d4T
TDF or ABC instead of
d4T or AZT
TDF or d4T reduction (30
mg) instead of d4T
ABC or nuke sparing
instead of d4T or AZT
LA of limbs slightly better,

lipids and abdominal fat unchanged
LA better (when replacing d4T)
Lipids better (when replacing
PI)
LA better, lactate better
Moyle 2003
LA, lipids better (TDF effects

better than d4T reduction)
LA better
37
48
No study showed any difference with respect to virological failure. Wk=weeks, LA=lipoatrophy.
In McComsey 2004 and Moyle 2005, only patients with LA were investigated.
Based on the available data it seems advisable to replace d4T with another nucleoside analog, if available. In resource-poor settings, a reduction of the d4T dosage
may help to reduce the rate of adverse events (McComsey 2008).
Switching to tenofovir
Studies on therapy-nave patients have shown that the short-term toxicity of tenofovir is lower than of d4T or AZT (Gallant 2004+2006). In the 903 Study, lipids
improved in patients that were switched from d4T to tenofovir. There was also an
increase of the mean limb fat after three years (Madruga 2007).
More recently, a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study showed unexpected results. In ACTG A5206, even the addition of tenofovir to existing virologically-suppressed ART regimens improved lipid parameters, supporting an independent lipid-lowering effect of TDF. According to the authors, the mechanism of
the lipid-lowering effect and potential rebound effect of increased trigylcerides with
discontinuation of tenofovior warrants further study (Tungsiripat 2009).
In a retrospective study, replacing d4T with tenofovir improved both lipids and
liver enzymes (Schewe 2006). Even the mitochondrial DNA that was depleted by
d4T seems to improve (Ribera 2003). However, so far only a few randomized studies have been performed on switching thymidine analogs to tenofovir. One such
study on 105 patients with lipoatrophy, who had the thymidine analog replaced by
7. When to Switch
205
either tenofovir or abacavir, showed that the lipoatrophy improved to the same extent with tenofovir as with abacavir. After 48 weeks, the clinical changes in both
arms were similarly pronounced, but the lipid changes were more significantly improved on tenofovir (Moyle 2006).
However, in view of the problematic data on triple nuke therapy containing tenofovir (see above), one should be cautious when making such a switch. The weak
efficacy of tenofovir-containing triple nuke regimens are not only noticeable in
primary therapy, but also in patients who simplify their sufficient therapy
(Hoogewerf 2003, Perez-Elias 2005). One example of how such an action can go
wrong is shown in Table 7.3.
Table 7.3: Example of what could happen on switching drugs (n.k.=not known).
Date
(HA)ART
CD4 cells
Viral load
1996-98
AZT+DDC
n.k.
n.k.
Since 1998 AZT+3TC+NFV (always under the limit of detection)
n.k.
n.k.
Nov. 2002 Findings: significant lipoatrophy. Decision to switch
688
< 50
Feb. 2003 ABC+3TC+NFV
788
< 50
Apr. 2003
ABC+TDF+NVP (= targeted regimen, notes below)
871
< 50
May 2003
Severe rash, ALT/AST > 500 U/l
n.k.
< 50
Jun. 2003
ABC+TDF+3TC
Aug. 2003 Resistance: M41L+D67N+M184V+L210W+T215Y
679
37,400
Sep. 2003 AZT+3TC+NFV
n.k.
59,100
Oct. 2003
n.k.
< 50
Oct. 2004
743
< 50
Notes: On account of possible allergies to both ABC and NVP, ART was changed in February
2003 in two steps. Rash with hepatic involvement did indeed occur on NVP, so that in July
2003, NVP was replaced by 3TC triple nuke! The resistance then detected was almost certainly present on the earlier treatment with AZT+ddC, but sufficiently suppressed by PI therapy.
In practice, changes are often made that go further than PI and d4T/AZT simply due
to concerns over long-term toxicity. Such switching (e.g., abacavir or tenofovir instead of ddI) is based on laboratory studies showing a certain hierarchy with respect
to mitochondrial toxicity (see chapter on Mitochondrial Toxicity). In addition, there
are an increasing number of reports on simplification of therapy, in which mono- or
nuke-sparing strategies are being used (see below).
So far, there is no clear clinical evidence to show that this procedure has any benefit
for the patient. Therefore, patients are being subjected to unnecessary risks of increasing viral load and possible resistance. It is currently more advisable to wait for
the results of the corresponding clinical studies.
Switching to Nuke-Sparing
Some studies have attempted to omit NRTIs completely. In Table 7.4 studies are
shown in which a switch to a regimen consisting of one PI and one NRTI was conducted. These nuke-sparing strategies have also been tested in ART-nave patients
(see previous chapter) and are likely to play a role in the future, after the success in
ACTG 5142 (Riddler 2008). In this study, nuke-sparing was virologically effective
with positive effects regarding lipoatrophy. However, the tolerability was not better
than on conventional regimens and dyslipidemia was more frequent (Riddler 2008).
206 ART
Data available on a switch to nuke-sparing regimens are still inconsistent. In ACTG
5116 (Fischl 2007), the largest study so far with 236 patients on successful ART,
the switch to lopinavir/r plus efavirenz compared to efavirenz plus NRTIs led to
higher discontinuation rates due to increased virological failure and other side effects. The results of this study are contrary to those of some other studies and to the
results of lopinavir/r plus efavirenz with ART nave patients (Riddler 2008). At this
point in time, it seems too early to recommend nuke-sparing as a transition strategy.
This concerns not only the new drug classes of integrase inhibitors and CCR5 antagonists (no data yet), but also monotherapies with boosted PIs (see next chapter).
Table 7.4: Studies on switching to Nuke-Sparing with PI plus NNRTI
Reference
Wks
Effect of the switch
Lopez-Corles
2003
42*
SQV/r + EFV
48
Virologically effective
Negredo 2005
(NEKA)
16*
LPV/r + NVP
48
Virologically effective, lipids and mitochondrial DNA better
Boyd 2005
(HIVNAT 009)
26*
IDV/r + EFV
48
Virologically effective, but more side

effects (due to ID), LA probably
slightly better
Tebas 2009
(ACTG 5110)
101
LPV/r + NVP
48
Virologically effective, lipodystrophy

better
Tebas 2007
(ACTG 5125)
62
LPV/r + EFV
48
Many metabolic disturbances and LA

better
118* LPV/r + EFV
110
Trend towards more virological failure, more side effects
Fischl 2007
(ACTG 5116)
Switch to
LA = lipoatrophy, * in Switch Arm
Switch Due to Virological Failure

Every change in treatment due to virological failure requires experience, a certain
degree of finesse and decisiveness. There are many possibilities for mistakes here.
On the one hand, there is a threat of acquiring more resistance in virological therapies (if they have not already developed), but on the other, young physicians often
tend to a quick change of treatment, which is not always the right solution. In many
cases a frequent change of therapy confuses the patient and causes anxiety. If the
problem is adherence, switching the regimen without talking adherence may not be
the solution. A switch only brings up more misunderstandings and, consequently,
may generate later resistance. It is always important to explain to patients, who often tend to be skeptical (should I save the other drugs for later?) when and why
treatment changes must be made.
As a rule of thumb, ART should be changed quickly with insufficient viral suppression and/or a rise in plasma viremia, as otherwise future options could be limited.
Even single point mutations can be a problem. Abacavir, 3TC, FTC and ddI lose
their efficacy in the presence of the K65R mutation, which is often selected under
tenofovir containing triple-nuke-therapies. Viral replication with insufficient plasma
levels are the best breeding ground for resistance. Therefore, it is recommended to
act fast if a clear virological failure should occur. The longer you wait, the more
complicated it becomes. An insufficient viral suppression means a viral load over
7. When to Switch
207
50 copies/ml. Some clinicians tolerate levels of up to 500 or even 1,000 copies/ml

for months. We believe such hesitation is not justified in most cases when patients
have good options and good adherence. A patients frequent assertions of not having symptoms do not count either. Obviously, such thoughts do not always play a
role in clinical reality. In an analysis in Great Britain 34% out of 694 patients remained on a virologically unsuccessful combination for over 6 months. Factors associated with an early switch were low CD4 T cells, a high viral load and older age
(Lee 2008).
Arguments for an rapid switch in the
case of virological therapy failure
The virus becomes incapable of generating
more resistance
Options are maintained
The switch is more successful with less
resistance
The lower the viral load at time of switch,
the better the response to the new therapy
The following regimens do not have to be
as complex as the present one some
things can be simplified (QD, no more
d4T/ddI, etc.)
Arguments for a later switch in the case of

virological therapy failure
New therapies always bear the risk of new toxicities/intolerance, which can lead to a termination of therapy
Most patients are immunologically stable for a
long time with low viremia (clinically)
Replication fitness is reduced on failing treatment
Resistance testing is often not possible with low
viral load, even though they are there, so you
may switch blindly
It is sometimes difficult to explain to the patient
why change of a well-tolerated and simple
regimen is necessary
When the first important resistance appears, the situation looks different. To date,
only a few randomized trials have investigated two randomized strategies in patients, in whom several ART combinations have failed: either the patients change
immediately or when the viral load reaches a certain level (early versus deferred
switch). The preliminary results indicate that even in such cases one can wait a
short time (Nasta 2006, Tenorio 2009). However, these trials only recruited small
numbers of patients. It seems to be difficult to motivate both physicians and patients
to participate in such strategy trials.
With failing PI therapies there is more time. In the prospective Johns Hopkins Cohort there was no association between a deferral of ART modification and mortality
in the course of the treatment in patients on a PI and showing virological failure
(Petersen 2008). In the TITAN study, the number of acquired PI mutations had no
effect on the success of darunavir/r although it did play a role for lopinavir/r (De
Meyer 2008).
In cases of clinical treatment failure (disease progression) or immunological failure
(stagnation or decrease in the level of CD4 T cells) in which the viral load is below
50 copies/ml the value of a change in therapy is uncertain. Some combinations such
as TDF+ddI are clearly unfavorable for immunological reconstitution (Negredo
2004). This may also be the case for AZT-containing regimens; such combinations
should be changed.
It is important that when virological failure occurs, the individual situation of the
patient is carefully analyzed. In particular, several questions need to be addressed:
208 ART
What are the reasons for the measurable viral load?
A viral load above 50 copies/ml does not necessarily mean that resistance mutations
have developed. A frequent cause may be a blip (see section on Goals and Principles of ART). These transient and, almost always, small increases in viral load usually have no relevance. However, a measurable viral load may be due to treatment
failure. It may indicate insufficient plasma drug levels (measure these if possible).
This may be due to drug malabsorption, drug interactions or simply insufficient
dosing (e.g., in large, heavy patients).
Compliance is also critical. Any possible difficulties associated with the regimen
should be openly addressed. Is it the number of pills? Do restrictions in food intake
cause problems? Would once-daily treatment be better? Are there other reasons,
such as depression? Any misunderstanding on how to take the drugs? The risks of
resistance developing as a result of non-compliance should be reiterated. If plasma
levels are sufficient and viral load remains detectable (monitor blips at short intervals within a few weeks), treatment should be changed as soon as possible.
How vulnerable is the present combination?
NNRTI regimens are extremely sensitive, as cross-resistance can develop particularly rapidly for the whole class. A prompt change in therapy is more vital than with
the other drug classes. Delaying this by even a few days or weeks may be too long.
Rapid development of resistance can also be expected with 3TC/FTC and probably
with the integrase inhibitor raltegravir. A PI-containing regimen without an NNRTI
may allow a little more time, but the credo still applies. The higher the viral load at
the time of modification, the lower the chance of success. One should not wait too
long.
What options does the patient have, and what are the consequences of the
change in therapy?
The more options that remain available the sooner they should be utilized. Therapy
can often be intensified quite easily (e.g., adding abacavir plus an NNRTI). In such
cases, the decision to change or intensify a regimen is less difficult.
On the other hand, it may be advisable in certain circumstances to continue therapy
in a patient, even if the plasma viremia is not completely suppressed. Often, the
viral load does not rise above the baseline value, and the CD4 T cells remain stable
or even increase. Some experts advocate waiting in these cases. Resistance to nucleoside analogs are to be expected, and so NNRTIs and PIs can be saved by waiting.
Even when multiple resistance is already present, one is probably able to wait (see
above). Especially in patients with adherence problems, it does not make sense to
run through new drug classes. Adherence will not automatically be better with a
newer regimens. One should therefore talk with the patient, find out what is working with the treatment and what needs to be better, and clarify if they are really
ready for intensification or modification of therapy.
7. When to Switch
209
Virological Failure: To be considered before changing therapy

How resistance-sensitive is the present therapy? NNRTIs, 3TC/FTC, raltegravir: rapid development of resistance, change quickly
The lower the viral load, the greater the prospect for a change
But are you sure it is a virological failure and not a temporary increase ( Blip)?
Are there other reasons for a detectable virus load? What about malabsorption/drug uptake?
What other therapies is the patient taking without the physician knowing? Ask.
Whether a gastric stimulant prescribed by the family doctor (i.e., PPIs) or
herbal agents prescribed by an alternative practioner, it should all be laid out on
the table
Has the patient been adherent to the present ART or have there been misunderstandings? Was the therapy discontinued ad hoc?
What do the plasma levels say and what does the patient say?
What options are there and what does a change mean for the patient? Is the
patient able to start a new therapy?
Does a reasonably up-to-date resistance test exist? (if not, do one)
If relevant mutations against the current agents have already developed, calmly
wait and prepare the patient for the new therapy, possibly with more adherence
counseling
210 ART
8. How to Switch ART

Christian Hoffmann
Changing a regimen that is successful but intolerable due to side effects is usually
easy. The suspected drug is replaced with another drug of the same class. Difficulties can arise if alternate drugs are contraindicated because of potential toxicity or if
resistance mutations to these drugs are suspected. In such cases, changes need to be
individualized.
This is particularly true in those subjects with a treatment history of 10 or 15 years,
who probably harbor multiresistant viruses. Even physicians with lots of experience
in treatment should discuss these complex individivual cases with their colleagues.
In several large centers, so called weekly ART meetings have been established. At
these meetings, both virologists (to translate resistance testing) and clinicians (with
personal experience of the individual patients situation) can discuss these complex
cases.
This chapter discusses two important reasons for switching where certain principles
should apply: changing due to virological failure, and changing to simplify the
regimen. Switching due to lipodystrophy has been discussed in previous chapters.
Switching due to virological failure
The same principles apply as when initiating therapy: compliance, dosing issues,
concurrent diseases, co-medications and drug interactions. It is also essential to
consider treatment history and possible existing resistance mutations. Although
desirable before any change in treatment, resistance tests are not always practical. It
is therefore useful to become familiar with the most important resistance mutations,
particularly for nucleoside analogs (see Table 8.1).
Table 8.1: Expected resistance mutations with different nuke backbones
Failing nuke backbone
AZT/d4T+3TC
AZT+3TC+ABC
TDF+3TC/FTC
ABC+3TC
AZT/d4T+ddI
TDF+ABC/ddI
Mutations
M184V and then successive TAMs, the longer one waits
K65R and/or M184V
L74V > K65R and/or M184V
TAMs, Q151M, T69ins
K65R
The basic principles for changing therapy in cases of virologic failure apply: the
faster the change, the better; the virus should be given as little time as possible to
generate more resistance mutations. In addition, the more drugs that are changed,
the higher the likelihood of success for the new regimen.
The situation with NNRTIs is more straightforward. There is usually complete
cross-resistance. Continuation in the presence of these resistance mutations is of no
use as they have no impact on the replicative fitness of the virus. Moreover, accumulation of further resistance mutations may compromise the efficacy of second
generation NNRTIs such as etravirine. The NNRTI should be stopped as soon as
possible if there is evidence of resistance.
211
There are also relevant cross-resistance mutations for PIs. For switching and sequencing PIs refer to the salvage section of the next chapter. Table 8.2 provides a
rough guide on how to proceed without knowledge of resistance mutations.
Table 8.2: Changing first-line therapy without knowledge of resistance mutations*
Failing initial therapy
3 Nukes
Potentially successful change

2 new nukes plus NNRTI or PI/r
possibly also:
2 new nukes plus NNRTI plus PI/r
(with high viral load)
2 Nukes + 1 NNRTI
2 new nukes plus PI/r
2 Nukes + 1 PI
2 new nukes plus NNRTI plus possibly new PI/r or integrase
inhibitor
* Note: there is insufficient data available on all these changes. In individual cases, other modifications or simply waiting may be advisable. All PIs should be boosted = PI/r. For complex
cases, see the chapter on Salvage.
If the increase in viral load is minimal, treatment success may also be achieved with
simple changes, if one acts quickly. In the case of two nukes plus an NNRTI, for
example, treatment may be intensified simply by the addition of abacavir (Degen
2000, Katlama 2001). In a placebo-controlled study, 41% of patients on stable therapy with a viral load between 400 and 5,000 copies/ml achieved a viral load below
400 copies/ml at 48 weeks after addition of abacavir alone (Katlama 2001). However, other studies did not find a sustained virological effect by the addition of abacavir to a failing regimen (Chabera 2004).
Addition of tenofovir one extra tablet a day also seems possible in certain cases
(Khanlou 2005). Tenofovir reduced the viral load on stable ART by 0.62 log
(Schooley 2002). Our experience with this approach has been good in cases with
minimal increases in the viral load (up to 500 copies/ml) and in the absence of
TAMs.
In patients who have been treated exclusively (and over a prolonged period) with
nukes, the above strategy is not promising. Extensive resistance mutations usually
exist and a complete change of ART is necessary. At least two randomized studies
(some blinded) have shown that a greater benefit is achieved by switching to an
NNRTI plus a PI plus at least one new nucleoside analog. This has been shown for
both nelfinavir plus efavirenz and indinavir plus efavirenz (Albrecht 2001, Haas
2001). In patients previously treated with NRTIs or NNRTIs, a boosted PI must be
used.
In the presence of a failing PI regimen, a new NNRTI is often not sufficient (Abgrall 2007, Khaykin 2008). With respect to resistance mutations and prior ART
exposure, new drugs such as raltegravir and maraviroc should be considered. For
complex resistance situations see the next chapter.
Simplification do maintenance therapies work?
Can HIV infection be treated in a similar fashion to some hematological diseases or
tuberculosis, with a sequence of intense induction therapy followed by less toxic
(and less expensive) maintenance therapy? The idea is appealing, and has circulated
almost since the existence of combination ART. Between 1998 and 2003, the answer was clearly that maintenance therapies do not work. Three randomized studies
212 ART
(Trilge, ADAM, ACTG 343) destroyed any hope that ART might be reduced to
two or even one drug.
In the French Trilge Trial, 279 patients adequately treated with ART were randomized to three arms of differing intensities (Flander 2002). At 18 months, viral load
had increased to above 500 copies/ml in 83 patients 10 on AZT+3TC+indinavir,
but 46 on AZT+3TC and 27 on AZT+indinavir. However, temporary dual therapy
had no negative effect and resistance did not develop (Descamps 2000). In the
ADAM Trial (Reijers 1998), patients who had been treated with d4T+3TC plus
saquinavir+nelfinavir for several months either stopped or continued their nucleoside analogs. The study was doomed at the interim analysis: in 9/14 (64%) patients,
simplifying therapy showed a detectable viral load at 12 weeks, versus 1/11 (9%) of
those continuing on the full regimen. The third study that finally led to the end of
the notion of induction/maintenance therapy was ACTG 343. 316 patients, with a
viral load of less than 200 copies/ml for at least two years, either continued to take
AZT+3TC+indinavir or a simplified regimen of AZT+3TC or indinavir. The rate of
treatment failure (viral load above 200 copies/ml) was 23% in the two maintenance
arms compared to only 4% in patients on continued therapy (Havlir 1998).
In the last few years, newer better drugs have been licensed. In particular, lopinavir
or darunavir with their antiviral potency and concurrent high resistance barriers cast
a different light on the negative image of maintenance therapies. In several pilot
studies, patients with good viral suppression were able to successfully simplify
therapy with monotherapy (see Table 8.3).
The studies show that in most of the cases virologic suppression remains when simplifying to a PI/r monotherapy. In the OK04 study with lopinavir/r, a reduction of
lipoatrophy rates was achieved. The observation period has now been extended to
four years (Cameron 2007, Pulido 2008).
However, some patients show low levels of viremia, especially in combination with
low CD4 T cells and as expected, they show poor compliance (Campo 2007, Pulido
2008). The same was observed with therapy-nave patients. The MONARK study
showed that in 136 patients with a viral load of less than 100,000 copies/ml at baseline, the proportion with a viral load below 50 copies/ml decreased after 48 weeks
(Delfraissy 2008). More cases of low viremia under mono-PI compared to
AZT+3TC+lopinavir/r were also observed. In all of the studies resistance was not
common. So far, monotherapies with lopinavir/r seem to be less potent than the
conventional triple combinations.
Less data is available for other PIs. A pilot study on atazanavir/r was prematurely
interrupted after virologic failure occurred in 5/15 patients (Karlstrom 2006). The
Ataritmo study observed an elevated viral load in cerebrospinal fluid within some
patients on atazanavir with otherwise well suppressed viral loads in blood. Studies
of darunavir are in progress.
213
Table 8.3: Newer studies on maintenance therapies (PI/r monotherapy)

Source
LPV/r Mono
Nunes 2006
(KalMo)
Campo 2009
(M03-613)
Pulido 2008
(OK04 Study)
Other Mono
Kahlert 2004
Karlstrom 2006
Maintenance
60
LPV/r versus
2 NRTIs+LPV/r
LPV/r versus
CBV+EFV
LPV/r versus
2 NRTIs+LPV/r
155
205
12
15
IDV/r
ATV/r
Wks
Less than 50 copies/ml?
48
83% vs 87% (ITT, VL < 80)
96
60% vs 63% (ITT), but low-level viremia

more frequently
85% vs 90% (ITT), Non-inferiority shown,
but low-level viremia more frequently
48
48
16
92%, 1 discontinuation, no failure

Failure in 33%, study was discontinued
prematurely
92%, no resistance or virological failure
Vernazza 2007
28
ATV/r
24
(ATARITMO)
Wilkin 2009
36
ATV/r
48
88%, no resistance
(ACTG 5201)
All patients had less than 50 (75) copies/ml for at least six months
Switching to simplify triple-nukes revisited

Triple nuke therapy, though now fairly obsolete for first-line therapy (see chapter
What to start with), seems justifiable for maintenance therapy. At least three randomized studies could not detect any virological disadvantage (Katlama 2003, Bonjoch 2005, Markowitz 2005). In the ESS40013 Study, a total of 448 patients were
treated with AZT+3TC+ABC plus efavirenz. After 36 or 44 weeks, 282 patients
with undetectable viral load at this time were randomized to continue with the same
therapy or to stop efavirenz. After 96 weeks, 79% versus 77% of patients were still
below 50 copies/ml, proving that triple nuke was not inferior (Markowitz 2005). In
a Spanish study, 134 patients with an undetectable viral load for at least 24 weeks
were randomized to receive either Trizivir or Combivir plus nevirapine (Bonjoch
2005). At 48 weeks, the percentage of patients with an undetectable viral load was
comparable across both arms (71% versus 73%, ITT). Similar results were also seen
in the TRIZAL study, in which 209 patients were randomized (Katlama 2003). In
the Swiss Cohort, the failure rate was low in 495 patients with suppressed viral load
and switch to Trizivir treatment. Patients with earlier exposure to mono- or dualNRTI therapy, low CD4 T cell count at time of switch, or AIDS were at increased
risk of treatment failure, limiting the use of Trizivir in these patient groups (Wolbers 2007).
There also exists some long-term data for the quadruple nuke strategy with
Trizivir and tenofovir (dEttore 2007, Llibre 2008).
The approach taken in the French COOL Study failed. In this trial, 140 patients
were randomized to TDF+3TC+efavirenz or TDF+efavirenz for 48 weeks. Inclusion criterion was ART with a viral load below 50 copies/ml for at least three
months; patients with prior treatment failure were excluded. There were no restrictions on CD4 T cell counts. An analysis showed a significantly worse outcome of
patients on the duo-therapy. Moreover, there were no differences in the toxicity
rates between arms. Thus, 3TC seems to be important in maintaining viral suppression. Its discontinuation, however, has no effect on tolerability (Girard 2006).
214 ART
Maintenance therapy using Trizivir seems feasible. However, the benefit remains
questionable. Other strategies such as monotherapy with boosted PIs are not yet
justifiable beyond clinical trials.
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216 ART
9. Salvage Therapy
Christian Hoffmann
Background
The term salvage therapy is not clearly defined in HIV medicine. As in oncology
the term is currently used to refer to varying situations. Some speak of salvage only
if all drug classes have failed, whereas others employ the term from second-line
therapy onward. As yet, no consensus on the definition of salvage has been
reached. Today, many clinicians talk about salvage when there is resistance to at
least two or three antiretroviral drug classes. TCR (Triple-Class Resistance) is present when viral resistance mutations against the three conventional drug classes
NRTIs, NNRTIs and PIs have developed. TCF (Triple-Class Failure) means that
the viral load remains detectable although these three drug classes have been implemented. Analogous to MDR tuberculosis, triple class resistant viruses with additional resistances are also referred to as MDR, multi-drug resistant viruses. However these terms are not uniformly defined.
Significant progress has been made for patients with TCR viruses in the last years
and salvage therapy has changed dramatically. For years lopinavir, T-20 and
tipranavir/r were the only TCR drugs, then, within a short period in 2007/08, four
new drugs were licensed. Darunavir, maraviroc, raltegravir and etravirine all have
remarkable effects in the presence of multiple resistance mutations. This allows us
to look to the future with optimism - and changes our goals. Therefore, even with
intensely pre-treated patients everything possible should be done to reduce their
viral loads to below the limit of detection (Youle 2006).
The number of patients with TCR viruses is in decline and not, as often presumed,
increasing (Lohse 2005, Lohse 2006, Napravnik 2007). In an analysis involving
30,000 patients from North America the proportion of patients whose second ART
had virologically failed decreased from 95/100 in 1996-97 to only 13/100 person
years in 2004-05 (Deeks 2008). The majority of patients with TCF originally received antiretroviral treatment with mono- and duo-therapies (Lederberger 2004).
Because of the decreasing number of salvage patients it is becoming more and more
difficult to find homogenous patient populations for prospective salvage studies. In
large HIV centers, often more than 50 different combinations are used. This makes
it difficult to test new salvage agents in Phase II/III trials. The correct study design
is also crucial. As the single use of an experimental drug in a failing regimen is
ethically questionable, ART must always be optimized (=OBT, optimized background therapy). If the OBT is too good, the effect of the new drug may be hidden,
as many patients achieve a good viral suppression just on OBT. If the OBT is too
poor, the effect of the new drug may only be temporary or too weak the window
through which the efficacy of a new salvage drug can be seen is small.
Preface
First a few words about daily practice: it should not be forgotten that patients with
TCF, who often have a long history of being on treatment and who now find themselves once again on a precipice need encouragement. It is important not to leave
these patients without hope. It usually takes years to progress from virologic treat-
9. Salvage Therapy
217
ment failure to immunological and finally clinical failure (see Principles of Therapy). Fortunately these patients, who are used to all kinds of outpatient departments
and specialist practices most having been treated for ten or fifteen years, living
through and suffering a lot are often not nearly as nervous as the often young HIV
doctor. They have learned that there is almost always more to come.
Much is possible now. Table 9.1 shows an example of the success of salvage therapy in a patient with TCF. After more than a decade of having a high level plasma
viremia, viral load has now been below the limit of detection for several months.
Table 9.1. Case report showing what has become possible today
Date
(HA)ART
Jun 95
Jun 96
Okt 96
Jul 97
Jan 99
Sep 99
Dez 01
Jun 03
Okt 03
Mai 04
Dez 04
Dez 07
Jan 08
Feb 09
AZT (later, ddC, ddI)

AZT+ddC+RTV
D4T+3TC+IDV
D4T+ddI+3TC+NVP+IDV
D4T+ddI+ABC+3TC+SQV/r
D4T+ABC+3TC+DLV+LPV/r
TDF+ddI+DLV+HU
TDF+3TC+FPV/r
TDF+3TC+ddI+TPV/r
AZT+3TC+TDF+LPV/r+T-20+DLV
AZT+3TC+TDF
AZT+3TC+TDF+DRV/r+RAL+T-20
CD4 cells
Viral load
0
25
10
173
212
231
174
143
77
43
32
7
54
83
N.A.
62.000
167.000
69.000
106.000
74.000
84.000
145.000
733.000
123.000
204.000
> 1.000.000
< 50
< 50
Comment: Not all treatment modifications are shown. T-20 was recycled when resistance testing did not clearly show if darunavir was still active.
Patients with TCF probably have a worse prognosis than non-TCF patients (Lohse
2007). In a population-based study from the Danish HIV Cohort Study on all patients who experienced TCF between January 1995 and November 2004 the total
number of genotypic resistance mutations and specific single mutations predicted
mortality. In a regression model adjusted for CD4 T cell count, HIV RNA, year of
TCF, age, gender and previous ART regimen, harbouring at least 9 (versus less)
mutations was associated with increased mortality. In contrast, other studies did not
find an association between number of resistance mutations and mortality (Lucas
2004). With good CD4 Tcell counts, even despite TCR viruses, the risk of developing AIDS is relatively small (Ledergerber 2004). TCR viruses have less ability to
replicate and are probably less aggressive (Prado 2005). And, newer classes of
drugs are on the horizon. So, in cases of TCR or MDR, be patient. It is, however,
important that patients with MDR viruses are very carefully monitored and undergo
regular (monthly) full-body exams something that is often neglected these days in
the discussions on blood values and resistance testing, etc. Loss of weight, Stage B
symptoms, oral candidiasis, OHL and cognitive worsening are early signs of disease progression that be watched for. If ever possible, these patients should be
treated in large centers that have access to clinical studies.
218 ART
Salvage with the newer drugs

A wide range of agents for the treatment of patients with limited options has been
licenced in the last few years. These agents include the PIs tipranavir/r and darunavir/r (which now also has an indication for nave patients), the NNRTI etravirine,
the CCR5 anatgonist maraviroc and the integrase inhibitor raltegravir. They have
revolutionized salvage therapy and have become indispensable in the struggle
against resistant viruses. Other strategies have proved less effective. The most important results on salvage therapy from large-scale studies within the last few years
are shown in Table 9.2 and Table 9.3.
Table 9.2: The large randomized studies in salvage therapy
References
Lalezari 2003, Lazzarin
2003, Nelson 2005
Hicks 2006
Clotet 2007
Lazzarin 2007, Madruga 2007
Gulick 2008, Ftkenheuer 2008
Cooper 2008,
Steigbigl 2008
Study (Agent)
TORO 1+2
(T-20)
RESIST 1+2
(tipranavir/r)
POWER 1+2
(darunavir/r)
DUET 1+2
(etravirine)
MOTIVATE 1+2
(maraviroc)
BENCHMRK 1+2
(raltegravir)
Main inclusion criteria

TCF or TCR or both, VL > 5,000
TCF and 1-2 primary PI-resistance, VL > 1,000
TCF and 1 primary PI-resistance, VL > 1,000
1 NNRTI-resistance and 3 primary PIresistance, VL > 5,000
TCR or TCF or both, VL > 5,000 (prior treatment interruption at baseline allowed), only
R5-tropic viruses
TCR, VL > 1,000
TCR=Triple-Class Resistance, TCF=Triple-Class Failure, VL=Viral load
Of note, inclusion criteria for these studies varied widely. Different resistance mutations were required, the definition of TCF was not consistent. There were great differences in patient populations. The proportion of patients additionally receiving T20 was between 20-44%. Different resistance scores were also used in order to determine the number of active agents in background therapy.
Accordingly, response rates vary considerably even in the placebo arms. The rates
of all patients with a plasma viremia of less than 50 copies/ml at 48 weeks ranged
from 10% to 40%. Response rates for patients in the placebo arms who added T-20
to their optimized background therapy, ranged from 11% to 62%. There was even a
broad range in the response rates of patients who had only one active agent in their
background therapy (1-24%).
Cross-trial comparisons need to be avoided. According to these trials, darunavir/r is
not better than tipranavir./r Raltegravir does not have a higher efficacy than maraviroc. The individual study matters greatly.
9. Salvage Therapy
219
Table 9.3: The large randomized studies in salvage therapy, main findings
Agent tested
Total n
Baseline characteristics
Median VL, log RNA/ml
Median CD4 T cells/l
0-1 active drug, %*
Background-Therapy
With de novo T-20, %
With darunavir, %
With tipranavir, %
Response at 48 Wo*
In total, %
With de novo T-20, %
0-1 active drug, %
POWER
RESIST
MOTIVATE
BENCHMRK
DUET
DRV
245
TPV
1509
MVC
1049
RAL
701
ETV
612
4.5-4.6
153-163
49-55
4.7
195-196
43-45
4.9
187-195
38-44
4.5-4.7
102-140
48-51
4.8
99-109
54
29-33
100
0
18-23
0
100
40-44
0
14-16
20
25-50
19-23
25
100
0
45 vs. 10
58 vs. 11
37 vs. 1
23 vs. 10
28 vs. 14
n.a.
44 vs. 17
61 vs. 27
37 vs. 6***
64 vs. 34
84 vs. 62
48 vs. 12
61 vs. 40
71 vs. 59
57 vs. 24
*Definition of an active drug varied considerably (different resistance scores were used);
**Response at 48 weeks defined as viral load below 50 copies/ml; ***Data at week 24.
n.a.=not applicable
What to do in patients with TCR

First of all, a resistance test should be available that has not been made during a
treatment interruption. Older resistance tests should also be looked reviewed. Resistance mutations detected earlier presumably still exist even if they are no longer
detected. It is also important to check incompatibilities of the last years to spare the
patient unnecessary side-effects and dangerous re-exposure. The next step is to go
over the classes, one by one, depending on the individual resistance profile. Table
9.4 shows an overview of the major salvage strategies with regard to each class.
Even if, with NRTIs, agents are no longer effective according to the resistance test, it
still might make sense, in many cases, to continue treatment with 3TC or FTC. In this
way, HIV is forced to conserve the M184V mutation, which reduces the replication
fitness (Eron 2004, Campbell 2005, Castagna 2006). Due to diverging resistance pathways, another consideration may be to use AZT and TDF. Recycling with ddI is also
possible. In the Jaguar study, 168 patients with over 1,000 copies/ml and a median 4
NRTI mutations on stable ART additionally received ddI or placebo (Molina 2005). The
decrease of viral load was 0.60 logs after 4 weeks although 68% of the patients had previously received ddI. Even with these patients, the viral load decreased by 0.48 logs.
In the case of NNRTIs, with less than three NNRTI resistance mutations, etravirine
seems to be a good option in combination with a boosted PI (most effective with
darunavir/r). In other cases it is recommended to discontinue NNRTIs. There is
little doubt that once generated, resistances remain. However, with pregnant women
who have received nevirapine once for transmission prophylaxis there was no elevated rate of treatment failure on nevirapine-containing regimens if ART was initiated more than 6 months after delivery at least theoretically, it seems possible for
NNRTI resistances to disappear or for NVP resistance not to inhibit later therapy
provided one waits a little (Lockman 2007). There is no other data on recycling
NNRTIs besides these for transmission prophylaxis.
220 ART
In the case of PIs, the boosted PIs darunavir and tipranavir are strongly recommended, which probably have distinct resistance profiles. When resistance findings
are unclear, they should be discussed with the treating physician or the virologist: If
darunavir/r and tipranavir/r are not available or are not tolerated, one can try lopinavir/r; other PIs are probably not suitable.
Table 9.4: Salvage strategies in patients with TCR to NRTIs, NNRTIs and PIs
Drug
Possible strategies
NRTIs
Try to conserve mutations that reduce replication fitness, such as M184V

with 3TC or FTC. Consider AZT and TDF simultaneously, due to diverging
resistance pathways
At < 3 NNRTI mutations consider etravirine (approved only with a boosted
PI/r), otherwise discontinue NNRTIs
Darunavir/r (good data with etravirine) or tipranavir/r
Tropism test? Due to non-detected dual-tropic viruses, use 2 definitively
active agents such as raltegravir and T-20 (if nothing else works), remember doses adaptions when boosting with PIs
At least 1-2 active agents additionally needed, be aware of rapid resistance
development
Consider when uncertain that at least one other agent than raltegravir and
maraviroc is active
NNRTIs
PIs
Maraviroc
Raltegravir
T-20
If at least one other agent is still active, it seems sufficient to treat with only one of
the new agents, either maraviroc or raltegravir to reduce the viral load below the
limit of detection. This way, one would keep the option with the other drug that
could be then combined with T-20 in the future.
Practical Tips for Salvage Therapy

1. First question: what is the treatment history, what level of success was there and
for how long? Perform resistance testing (not during treatment interruption).
2. Choose as many new active drugs as possible when changing therapy.
3. Do not add one new drug to a failing regimen. If the clinical and immunological
situation allows, wait for a second active drug.
4. Do not wait too long to switch, thus giving the virus the opportunity to develop
further mutations the higher the viral load at the time of switch, the more difficult the chances for success.
5. Do not be too demanding from the patient! Not everyone is suitable for
MegaART.
6. Patients should be treated in larger centers where new drugs and experience are
available.
7. Encourage the patient. New treatments will become available soon. A watch
and wait approach is possible.
8. Do not allow reversion to wild-type virus even a failing regimen should be
continued in the absence of further options.
9. Salvage Therapy
221
In the case of maraviroc, a recent tropism test should be available. If maraviroc or

raltegravir are the only active agents according to the resistance test, they could and
should be administered together. If maraviroc can not beused due to tropism, one
should start considering T-20.
It is also important to strategize. What comes after the present therapy, and what
can you do if that fails? To what extent is the patient standing with his back against
the wall, immunologically? How high is the risk of progression to AIDS? The lower
the CD4 T cells and the higher the viral load the more active agents are required to
control the virus.
If lab values are very poor, it is often better to put all stakes onto one option (the
one that works) with as many active agents as possible (2+), instead of saving up
further options. Such complex decisions should be discussed with a team of experienced HIV-physicians with a virologist, who can shed some light onto the resistance situation. The treating physician should be present as well, as they are familiar with the individual situation, knows the patients compliance history and understands what can be expected from the patient.
The folllowing strategies were used with some success pre-2007. Today, they have
a minor role to play.
Double PI salvage regimens
After the introduction of darunavir/r and tipranavir/r, double PI regimens lost some
standing in salvage therapy. They will briefly be discussed because some patients
are still taking such regimens. Table 9.5 provides an overview on double PI combinations. It seems clear that double PI is not a routine therapy. In ART-nave patients, data are disappointing (Ulbricht 2008, Landman 2008). There is no longer
any reason to put a patient newly on double PI.
Lopinavir/r + saquinavir/r: in vitro data indicate that there is synergy between
these drugs (Molla 2002). In LopSaq, the largest clinical study of its kind,
128 heavily treatment-experienced patients were treated for different reasons (resistance, toxicity) with a nuke-free combination consisting of lopinavir/r (400/100 mg
bid) plus saquinavir (1,000 mg bid). At week 48, 61% had reached a viral load of
below 50 copies/ml. However, the response in patients with numerous PI resistance
mutations and low CD4 counts was poor (Staszewski 2006, von Hentig 2007).
Atazanavir/r + saquinavir/r: PK parameters for saquinavir are significantly improved by atazanavir. Response in pretreated patients was good (von Hentig 2007,
Winston 2007, Manosuthi 2008). Despite the fact that saquinavir levels are elevated
by atazanavir, this combination is probably not useful without ritonavir (Haas 2003,
Johnson 2005, Ford 2006). A newer study, however, showed only a moderate response in treatment-nave patients (Landman 2008).
222 ART
Table 9.5: Double PI combinations with supporting data
Combination
More favorable
Lopinavir/r + saquinavir
Atazanavir/r + saquinavir
Saquinavir/r + fosamprenavir
Lopinavir/r + indinavir
Less favorable
Lopinavir/r + fosamprenavir
Lopinavir/r + atazanavir
Lopinavir/r + nelfinavir
Atazanavir + indinavir
Atazanavir + fosamprenavir
Atazanavir + saquinavir without /r
Tipranavir + LPV/APV/SQV
Indinavir + nelfinavir
Daily Dose/comment
Source
800/200/2,000
300/200/2,000
2000/200/1,400
800/200/1,600
Staszewski 2006
von Hentig 2007
Boffito 2004
Staszewski 2003
Poor PK data
Poor activity
Poor PK data, diarrhea
Elevated bilirubin
Poor activity
Poor activity
Poor PK data
Relatively poor activity
Kashuba 2005
Ulbricht 2008
Klein 2003
Chisolm-Burns 2007
Landman 2008
Johnson 2005
Walmsley 2004
Riddler 2002
Mega-ART with T-20, Treatment Interruptions

Intensified treatment combinations with more than three or four drugs often described as mega- or giga-ART may indeed be effective. Only well-informed and
highly motivated patients can be considered for mega-ART regimens, and such approaches are often unrealistic in clinical practice. There is some evidence from the
small INTENSE study that, it some cases, induction with T-20 is of benefit (Clotet
2008).
So, do structured treatment interruptions (STI) before initiation of such intensified
regimens provide additional benefit? The answer is clearly no. After some encouraging results from the early GIGHAART Study (Katlama 2004) there is an overwhelming amount of data showing that STIs do not have a positive effect in heavily
pretreated patients. In the CPRC064 Study in which patients interrupted treatment
for four months prior to the salvage regimen no differences were found between
patients on STI and those who were not (Lawrence 2003). However, it was disconcerting to see that patients who interrupted treatment not only had worse CD4
counts but also had a significantly higher frequency of severe clinical events during
the follow-up period. Other randomized studies did not find any virological benefit
in interrupting treatment prior to starting an intensified salvage regimen (Ruiz 2003,
Beatty 2006, Benson 2006, Walmsley 2007). This approach is no longer an option.
Utilizing NNRTI Hypersusceptibility
Viral strains are considered hypersusceptible to certain drugs if the IC50 (50%
inhibitory concentration) for the drug is lower than that of the wild-type in phenotypic resistance tests. NNRTI hypersusceptibility was first described in January
2000 (Whitcomb 2000). It generally occurs very rarely with NRTI but quite frequently with NNRTIs, and mostly in viruses that have developed resistance mutations against NRTIs (Albrecht 2001, Haubrich 2002). In an analysis of more than
17,000 blood samples the prevalence of hypersusceptibility in NRTI-nave patients
to efavirenz and nevirapine was 9% and 11%, respectively. In NRTI-experienced
patients, it was 26% and 21% (Whitcomb 2002). Studies show that NRTI muta-
9. Salvage Therapy
223
tions, predominantly at codons 215, 208 and 118, are independently associated with
NNRTI hypersusceptibility (Shulman 2004, Clark 2006).
There seems to be some evidence that patients with NNRTI hypersusceptibility
have better virologic response. Of 177 highly treatment-experienced (but NNRTInave) patients, 29% exhibited this type of lowered IC50 for one or several NNRTIs
(Haubrich 2002). Of the 109 patients who received a new NNRTI-containing regimen, those with NNRTI hypersusceptibility achieved better results. Viral load was
significantly lower even after 12 months, and the CD4 T cell count was also higher.
The replicative fitness, however, does not seem to be important here (Clark 2006).
Even if the real significance and molecular correlate for NNRTI hypersusceptibility
remain uncertain, the consequence is clear: patients with NRTI mutations and without NNRTI resistance should receive an NNRTI if possible.
Watch-and-Wait or even Simplifying ART
Sometimes even the most intensified salvage regimen is not effective. Viral load
cannot be suppressed to undetectable levels. What should be done with such patients? The answer is to keep going as long as the patient can tolerate the therapy.
Multi-drug resistant viruses are typically slightly less aggressive than wild-type, at
least for a certain period of time. A drug such as 3TC also has a positive effect on
the viral load even in the presence of a confirmed M184V resistance. In a small
study, in which 6 patients with MDR viruse stopped only 3TC, the viral load increased by 0.6 logs (Campbell 2005). An Italian study enrolled 50 patients with a
viral load of at least 1,000 copies/ml on a 3TC-containing regimen, with evidence
of the M184V mutation and at least 500 CD4 T cells/l (Castagna 2006, Gianotti
2008). Patients were randomized to completely interrupt treatment or to continue
with 300 mg 3TC alone because the M184V mutation reduces the replicative fitness
of HIV. Patients on 3TC indeed had a significantly lower increase in viral load (0.6
versus 1.2 logs) and lost significantly less CD4 T cells (73 versus 153/l). The
M184V mutation was maintained in all patients on 3TC, and no other mutations
accumulated. In contrast, a shift to wild-type was observed in all patients without
3TC. The benefit was sustained until week 144 (Castagna 2007).
However, ART should not be stopped completely in very immunocompromised
patients who are then at risk of developing opportunistic infections. In fact, all efforts should be made particularly in such cases to at least partially control the virus.
Waiting, even on a suboptimal regimen, is a strategy that can be used to gain valuable time until new drugs are available. In such cases, ART is not being taken in
vain: suboptimal ART is better than none at all, and some suppression of viral load
better than none. Patients benefit even with only a slight reduction in viral load
(Deeks 2000). A trial of patients with at least 2,500 copies/ml on ART who were
randomized to interrupt or continue ART for at least 12 weeks, showed an immunological benefit for those patients who remained on their regimen. CD4 T cells
dropped only by 15, compared to 128 cells/l in patients on STI (Deeks 2001). In a
large cohort study, CD4 T cell counts did not drop as long as the viral load remained below 10,000 copies/ml, or at least 1.5 logs below the individual set point
(Lederberger 2004).
224 ART
Table 9.6: Example of a successful wait-and-watch strategy for almost three years
Date
until 1997
Mar 97
Oct 97
Jun 98
Jan 00
Mar 02
Sep 02
Nov 02*
Jan 03
Feb 03
May 03
Dec 04
Jan 06
(HA)ART
AZT, AZT+ddC, AZT+ddI
AZT+3TC+SQV-HGC
d4T+3TC+SQV+NFV
D4T+3TC+NVP+IDV/r
AZT+3TC+ABC+NVP+IDV/r
AZT+3TC+ABC+TDF+NVP+IDV/r
d4T+ddI+3TC+NVP+LPV/r
AZT+3TC+ABC
AZT+3TC+ABC+TDF**
CD4 T cells
40 (nadir)
84
211
406
370
429
283
348
315
379
241
298
323
Viral load
107,000
259,000
67,000
1,200
1,030
3,350
5,000
7,600
16,400
6,640
2,400
4,200
5,800
*Resistance testing showed a total of 20 mutations, with genotypic resistance against all drugs
tested. Compliance of the patient is very good, and plasma levels were always adequate.
**TDF was added because of chronic hepatitis B infection. Note: the patients viral load has
been below the limit of detection since April 2006, when he started
AZT+3TC+TDF+TPV/r+RAL.
How intensively should treatment be continued? Which drugs can certainly be discontinued in this watch-and-wait setting? Quadruple nukes seems to be safe, as indicated by a retrospective study (Libre 2008). NNRTIs such as nevirapine or
efavirenz can be stopped if resistance mutations have been found, because replicative fitness is not influenced by the NNRTI mutations (Piketty 2004). Moreover,
acumulation of further resistance mutations should be avoided as these may compromise newer NNRTIs such as etravirine. The same is probably true for integrase
inhibitors (Wirden 2009).
What about PIs? There is data from a small pilot study showing that PI discontinuation may be safe (Deeks 2005). 18 patients, in whom the viral load remained high
despite more than 6 months on ART (good compliance, appropriate efficacy), had
the PIs removed from their respective ART regimens while the NRTIs were continued. Within the first two weeks, none of the patients had an increase of more than
0.5 logs, and even after 16 weeks, no increase was observed in most patients (in
only 5/18 patients was there an increase of between 0.5 and 1.0 logs; in the others
there was no increase, maybe even a fall). A negative immunological effect was
also seen in a few patients, but this was only moderate. Repeated resistance tests
showed that all PI mutations persisted in all patients in the first 12 weeks, although
PIs were not being taken. One retrospective study on HIV-infected children, in
which the PIs had been discontinued, was based on the same ideas as the Deeks
Study. Here, it was also seen that under continuous NRTI therapy, there was an
increase in viral load over a long period of time (LeGrand 2005).
Results from one of our own patients where this approach has been successful for
almost three years are shown in Table 9.6. Resistance testing after two years
showed that there were no changes in the MDR virus. Watch-and-wait on a simple
NRTI regimen seems feasible in some patients for a limited period of time. The
reasons for this phenomenon, however, are still not understood but it is possible that
9. Salvage Therapy
225
multiresistant viruses cannot easily mutate back. With PI therapy alone, this does
not appear to be effective in 5/5 patients, in whom only the nucleoside analog was
stopped, viral load increased significantly (Deeks 2005). As total patient numbers
are still very small in the data presented to date, many observers understandably
remain skeptical. The main question is how long and in which patients these strategies might be successful. It is thus advisable to monitor CD4+ T cells at short intervals.
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10. When to Stop ART
227

A review of treatment interruption
Christian Hoffmann
In the CASCADE cohort (8,300 patients from Europe) the probability of treatment
interruptions for at least several weeks was 16% (Touloumi 2006). Many treatment
interruptions occur without the clinicians knowledge. Treatment interruptions are
an important part of antiretroviral therapies whether as a clinician one approves of
them or not. The following chapter provides an overview of the current knowledge
in this area.
Viral Load and CD4 T cells during Treatment Interruptions

Almost all patients who stop treatment experience a rebound in viral load within a
few weeks, even patients in whom this has been undetectable for several years.
Viral load is usually detectable again within 10-20 days (Chun 1999, Davey 1999,
Harrigan 1999, Garcia 1999). The viral load in compartments such as the CNS, as
well as in semen and vaginal fluids, parallels that in the plasma (Garcia 1999, Neumann 1999). Patients should therefore be informed about the higher risk of transmitting HIV (Burman 2008).
Frequently, an initial overshooting rebound is observed (De Jong 1997, Birk 2001),
and only after a few weeks does the viral load settle to its original, pre-treatment
level (Hatano 2000). The rebounding virus evidently does not originate from latent
reservoirs; other cell populations must exist, from which this new virus can be produced so quickly (Chun 2000, Ho 2000, Imamichi 2001).
Treatment interruptions can have serious immunological consequences. Often, CD4
T cell counts drop within a short time to pre-treatment levels. The ground that has
been gained on ART is rapidly lost. The drop is biphasic, and the drop more pronounced in the first few months (Fagard 2005, Wit 2005, Skiest 2006). CD4 T cell
losses vary greatly between patients but may reach 200 or 300/l within a few
weeks. The higher and faster the CD4 T cells increase on ART, the more rapid their
decline (Tebas 2002). The CD4 nadir is also important. The lower it was and the
older the patient, the more rapidly the count drops again (Maggiolo 2004, Molina
2006, Skiest 2006, Touloumi 2006).
The loss of CD4 T cells during an interruption may not be regained as quickly. In a
prospective study, we saw a significant disadvantage for patients undergoing treatment interruptions. After a follow up of 18 months, CD4 T cells were more than
120/l less in these patients than in matched patients who had not interrupted treatment (Wolf 2005). This was also observed in the SMART study.
The Risks: Resistance, Clinical Problems, AIDS

Viral resistance always has to be anticipated whenever there is viral replication in
the presence of suboptimal drug levels, and thereby resistant mutants gain a selective advantage over the wild-type virus. As a result, there are concerns that resistance could develop both during the washout phase of medication (increasing viral
228 ART
replication with insufficient plasma levels) and on re-initiation of treatment (continued replication despite sufficient plasma levels).
However, in the case of single treatment interruptions, the probability of this does
not appear to be particularly high, as shown in 1999 by the small French COMET
Study, one of the first studies on treatment interruption (Neumann 1999). But there
is no certainty as to whether interruptions might not eventually lead to development
of resistant isolates, which merely require more time until they are able to dominate. Mathematical models show that this risk at least theoretically is not low,
especially if viral load rises to high levels (Dorman 2000, Bonhoeffer 2000).
The risk of resistance is probably higher for repeated treatment interruptions. In
several studies, these have led particularly to NNRTI- or 3TC-resistance (MartinezPicado 2002, Schweighardt 2002, Ruiz 2007). The risk seems particularly high for
strategies involving stopping and starting at fixed intervals (see below). Table 10.1
describes the example of a patient who was clinically well and who interrupted
treatment. It was probably the repeated stopping and starting of ART that ultimately
led to resistance in this case.
Table 10.1: Example of the development of resistance due to repeated ART interruptions*
Date
ART/comments
CD4 T cells
Viral load
Jun 97
Oct 99
Dec 99
Jan 00
Feb 00
AZT+3TC+SQV
288
67,000
ART stopped, patient feeling well
540
< 50
Diagnosis of autoimmune hyperthyroidism
400
63,000
AZT+3TC+NVP (+ carbimazole)
260
74,000
Diagnosis of anemia (Hb 7.3 g/dl)
347
1,500
ART stopped again
Mar 00
d4T+3TC+NVP (+ carbimazole)
Apr 00
Resistance mutations K103N, M184V
360
2,400
*During the first treatment interruption the patient developed autoimmune hyperthyroidism, the
treatment of which led to anemia after re-initiation of ART, so ART was interrupted again. As a
result, resistance developed against NNRTIs and 3TC. Autoimmune phenomena in the context
of treatment interruption as seen in this patient have not previously been described.
The sharp increase in viral load that may often occur can present as a retroviral
syndrome. The symptoms are similar to acute HIV infection, with lymphadenopathy, fever, asthenia and malaise (Colven 2000, Zeller 2001). Thrombocytopenia has
also been described during interruptions (Ananworanich 2003). The blood count
needs to be monitored, especially in patients with a history of thrombocytopenia.
Finally, attention should also be paid to patients who are coinfected with hepatitis
B. If the HBV treatment with 3TC, FTC or tenofovir is interrupted, HBV rebound
can result in fulminant and life-threatening hepatitis (Sellier 2004). It is therefore
advisable to monitor these patients very carefully and read the liver enzymes at
least every two weeks.
The risk of AIDS seems to be low for single interruptions provided the immune
defect is only moderate. In the Swiss Cohort, the risk of progression was not increased (Taffe 2002). In 133 patients who interrupted treatment we observed no
increased risk of AIDS after 24 months compared to 262 matched controls (Wolf
229
2005). However, almost all patients in this study were immunologically stable
throughout. The risk is probably higher in patients with severe immunodeficiency
(Deeks 2001, Lawrence 2003). The CPRC064 Study in which 270 patients with
MDR virus and clear immunodeficiency (median 144 CD4 T cells/l) were randomized before a salvage regimen either to a four-month treatment interruption or
not was stopped because of high risk of progression. In comparison with the control
group, a significantly higher number of AIDS illnesses (17 versus 5) occurred in the
group interrupting therapy. In a multivariate analysis, two factors were predictive
for death or progression: treatment interruption and the CD4 T cell count at the time
of interruption. The risk increased by 1.4 with every drop of 50 CD4 T cells. This
study demonstrates that severely immunocompromised patients are particularly at
risk of developing AIDS during treatment interruptions of several months. Treatment interruptions should be avoided in such patients. Newer data from the
SMART Study, however, show that even with higher CD4 T cells treatment interruptions can lead to the development of AIDS (see below).
STI for Immunological Reasons: No effects

Hardly any patient has become as famous as the acutely-infected man treated in a
Berlin private practice a few years ago who, with a viral load of approximately
80,000 copies/ml, began an ART regimen consisting of ddI, indinavir and hydroxyurea. The virus rapidly became undetectable. After several problems and two
short treatment interruptions ART was completely stopped after 176 days. Surprisingly even without drugs plasma viremia has remained below the level of detection for more than five years. Although virus was still detectable in lymph nodes,
thus excluding eradication, the immune system in this case referred to as the Berlin Patient among experts in the field (Lisziewicz 1999) was obviously capable of
durable control of infection. Why? Was it the early initiation of therapy, the hydroxyurea, or the treatment interruptions? No one knows the answer, even today.
There may be a completely different explanation: it is possible that certain host factors in this patients that have not yet been investigated could influence the course of
disease completely independent of ART, STI or Hydroxyurea (Bloch 2006).
STIs have been extensively investigated in acutely-infected patients (see chapter on
Acute HIV infection). The theory of endogenous vaccination seems plausible.
Transient increases in viral load could strengthen HIV-specific immune responses,
which decline with increasing viral suppression on ART.
In several pilot studies from 2000/2001, successive interruptions seemed to indeed
prolong the time to viral rebound or decrease the rate of rebound, and, in parallel,
there were measurable improvements in HIV-specific CD4 or CD8 T cell immune
responses (Haslett 2000, Garcia 2001, Lori 2000, Ortiz 1999, Papasavvas 2000,
Ruiz 2000). However, almost none of these studies included more than 2-6 patients,
and a control group was usually missing.
STIs were finally put to the test in the Spanish-Swiss SSITT Study (Oxenius 2002,
Fagard 2003): 133 patients were monitored throughout four ten-week treatment
cycles, each consisting of eight weeks ART and two weeks of treatment interruption. After this, ART was permanently interrupted. Treatment success defined as a
viral load below 5,000 copies/ml without ART after 52 weeks occurred in
21/99 patients. However, 5/21 patients had a low viral load even before the initia-
230 ART
tion of ART. Most importantly, none of the 32 patients with a pre-ART viral load
above 60,000 copies/ml achieved a viral load of less than 5,000 copies/ml. The viral
load set point was lowered in only a few patients, usually those with low initial viral
load, despite repeated STIs. In contrast to acute infection, improvement of HIVspecific immune response seems unlikely in the setting of chronic HIV infection.
SSITT clearly showed that treatment interruptions on immunological grounds alone
are not justified and are dangerous.
Approaches with immunomodulatory drugs such as hydroxyurea (Foli 2004), mycophenolate (Garcia 2004), steroids (Ulmer 2005) or IL-2 (Henry 2006, Kilby 2006,
Goujard 2007, Angus 2008) took place to lengthen the period of STIs. These approaches, whose benefits anyway seemed questionable to this author, are still in the
experimental phases and not justified outside studies. The same holds true for vaccination strategies (Harrer 2005, Jacobson 2006, Goujard 2007, Harrer 2008).
STI as a Salvage Strategy for MDR Virus: No effects

In most patients with MDR virus, treatment interruption leads to a gradual shift
back to wild-type and a loss of resistance. Resistance testing during treatment interruption is often of little use since mutations disappear from the blood as early as
two weeks after treatment interruption (Devereux 1999). In modestly immunosuppressed patients, this shift is observed more frequently and faster. In more advanced
stages of disease and with a longer duration of treatment, it lasts longer (Miller
2000, Izopet 2000), and sometimes after a longer interruption of therapy, no shift
can be seen (Halfon 2005). Providing the shift is visible, PI mutations are the first
to disappear, while NNRTI mutations are more protracted because they hardly affect the viral fitness (Deeks 2001, Birk 2001). It is assumed that the wild-type
merely dominates the resistant mutants. Special PCR methods can detect low quantities of resistant virus during STI (Izopet 2000) and when treatment is restarted
resistance mutations rapidly re-dominate (Delaugerre 2001). Only a few cases have
been described in which resistance mutations were apparently flushed out completely. There is one patient (Walter 2002), who was not able to attain sufficient
viral suppression despite intensified ART, and who then interrupted treatment. During the following seven months of treatment interruption, there was a gradual reversion to wild-type, and after re-starting ART (which, according to previous resistance testing, should have had no effect) the viral load was successfully suppressed
for several years.
Can patients with MDR improve the effect of the salvage regimen, if they have had
a previous interruption of treatment? At least two studies to date have shown that
the shift resulting from treatment interruptions can be beneficial for salvage strategies (Miller 2000, Katlama 2004). However, this data is in contrast to that of numerous other studies in which an increased risk of AIDS was seen during treatment
interruptions (Lawrence 2003, Lawrence 2006, Ruiz 2003, Ghosn 2005, Beatty
2006, Benson 2006, Walmsley 2007). In view of the risk of AIDS and the lack of
evidence regarding the benefits treatment interruptions are no longer justified.
STI for Reduction of Toxicity

Every antiretroviral therapy may cause side effects. Is it possible to reduce toxicity
by treatment interruptions? Increased transaminases or lipid levels drop quite rap-
231
idly after stopping treatment (Hatano 2000, Wolf 2005). However, is still not clear
whether this is relevant in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. In SMART,
the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic complications during STIs was actually
higher (see below). At present, it seems at least questionable that, through solitary
or repeated interruptions, the cardiovascular risk profile can be improved.
What about lipodystrophy and mitochondrial toxicity? At least two studies have
shown that, after a few months, mitochondrial DNA can regenerate itself following
a treatment break (Cote 2002, Mussini 2005, Kim 2007). In contrast, another study
showed no effect (Negredo 2006). Whether or not a clinically manifested lipodystrophy improves remains to be proven. At least short treatment interruptions have
not had any effect on morphological changes (Hatano 2000). A six-month ART
interruption markedly improved adipose tissue function, although fat distribution
did not visibly change (Kim 2007). Substudies from the SMART trial (see below)
showed a moderate positive effect on peripheral fat, lipids and bone mineral density
during CD4-guided treatment interruptions (Visnegarwala 2007, Grund 2008).
Resolution of lipodystrophy even after longer interruptions is by no means certain;
we have a patient who was treated during seroconversion and developed a buffalo
hump after one and a half years which has not resolved even after almost five years
of treatment interruption.Although a treatment interruption is theoretically the solution to long-term toxicity on ART a convincing argument has not been provided by
the data so far. Nevertheless, we will try to outline some relevant data. It is essential
to distinguish between structured intermittent treatment and interruptions that are
individualized based on CD4 T cell count.
Structured Intermittent Treatment (=SIT), Fixed Intervals: In the initial phase
immediately following ART interruption the viral load usually continues to be very
low. Plasma viremia only reaches pre-treatment levels after about four, sometimes
even six weeks. The risk of developing resistance is presumably small at lower levels of viral replication (Bonhoeffer 2000). Does this indicate that ultra-short treatment interruptions could be utilized to reduce drug use, costs and long-term toxicity?
In two NIH pilot studies on SIT in chronically infected patients ART was administered as seven days of treatment and seven days interruption (7-on-7-off). At 44-84
weeks, neither the viral load nor the proviral DNA increased (Dybul 2001, Dybul
2004). CD4 T cells and HIV-specific immune responses remained unchanged suggesting that the immune system is probably unaffected by such ultra-short breaks in
treatment. A significant reduction in lipid levels did, however, occur. Some patients
experienced several blips (temporary increases in viral load) to above
100 copies/ml. It is impossible to predict whether this treatment strategy might result in a higher risk of resistance in the long term. There are still no larger studies,
and it has become suspiciously quiet in this area. In addition, patients in the NIH
studies were carefully selected, with good immune status and many years of viral
suppression. This strategy is probably only applicable to a selected patients. A
three-armed study from Thailand has already gathered more negative experience
with the 7-on-7-off approach (Cardiello 2005). In this study, 19/36 patients experienced virological treatment failure within a short period of time, and this treatment
arm was consequently stopped prematurely. The main reason for this appears to lie
232 ART
in the fact that the majority of patients were NRTI-experienced. This means that if
NRTIs are unstable, such on-off strategies are problematic.
ART only on weekdays? This approach was taken by the FOTO Study (Five On,
Two Off) in which ART was taken from Monday to Friday and stopped at the
weekends (i.e., sparing 28%). This study enrolled patients on an ART regimen, who
had an undetectable viral load for at least three months. After 48 weeks, viral load
remained undetectable in 26/29 (90%) of the patients. None of the 9 patients on
efavirenz had an increase in viral load. The authors speculate that the long half-life
of efavirenz could be the reason for this.
In contrast, longer interruptions, over several weeks, with fixed intermittent treatment seem to be unfavorable. Results from a randomized NIH study with fixed intervals (each with one month of STI, two months of treatment) were disconcerting
(Dybul 2003). The SIT arm contained significantly more patients with virologic
treatment failure. Resistance mutations developed particularly against NNRTIs and
3TC, so that the study was stopped early. In the SSITT Study (2 weeks STI, 2
months ART) some resistance was seen (Yerli 2003), likewise in an Italian study
(Palmisano 2007), but not in the French WINDOW Study (two months each of STI
and therapy) (Marchou 2006). In the DART trial, the risk of AIDS was increased
during the three months of treatment interruption DART 2008).
CD4 T cell-driven interruptions: Beside fixed intervals, whether short or long,
there is another approach whereby interruptions are individualized based on CD4 T
cell count. In other words, in patients with a good CD4 count ART is interrupted
until the CD4 count drops below some immunological cut-off and only then is it
restarted. Over the last few years, many non-randomized studies with differing cutoff points and very heterogeneous patient populations came to the conclusion that
this approach is safe and allows for a considerable reduction in drug exposure
(Maggiolo 2004, Skiest 2004, Fernandez 2005, Mussini 2005). In the meantime, a
few randomized studies compare such CD4-driven intervals with continuous administration of ART. The relevant data and results of these studies are given in Table 10.2.
It is clear that the results of these randomized studies differ considerably. While
TIBET, Staccato or ACTG 5170 produced the verdict that CD4 T cell-driven interruptions are safe, two other studies, Trivacan and SMART came to other conclusions.
233
Table 10.2: Randomized studies of CD4 T cell guided structured treatment interruptions
Source
CD4 BL
CD4 Restart Results based on clinical findings

in STIs
TIBET, Ruiz 2005
201
> 500
> 6 Mo
SMART, El Sadr
2006
Trivacan, Danel
2006
Staccato, Ananworanich 2006
5472
> 350
< 350
or VL
> 100,000
< 250
326
> 350
< 250
430
> 350
< 350
ACTG 5170, Skiest 2006

LOTT, Maggiolo
2009
167
> 350
< 250
329
> 700
< 350
Some antiretroviral syndromes, some

de novo NNRTI resistance, otherwise
clinically safe.
Morbidity and mortality risk low but
significantly raised. See Table 10.3.
Morbidity significantly raised (double)
due to invasive bacterial infections.
Clinically safe (slightly more side effects in ART arm; more candidiasis in
STI arm). No evidence of resistance.
In general, safe, with risks only elevated when CD4 nadir was low.
Clinically safe. More pneumonias but
less cardiovascular events, no evidence of resistance.
FU=follow up; Mo=months; BL=baseline
In particular, the results of the SMART Study, which started in 2002, caused a sensation. In this, the largest randomized HIV study of all time, the cut off levels for
stopping ART were 350 cells/l, and 250 cells/l for re-initiating it. This study was
extremely successful worldwide. In the end, 318 centers in 53 countries recruited a
total of 5,472 patients. In January 2006 an independent data safety monitoring
board concluded that therapeutic interruptions result in an increased risk of AIDS
in the interruption arm, approximately twice as many AIDS illnesses were observed
at follow-up, over an average of 18 months. This included severe opportunistic infections as well as malignant tumors. In fact, the overall risk was low, but so significantly elevated that the unusual and far-reaching decision was made to end the
study.
In addition it was observed that cardiovascular incidents in the interruption arm did
not become less frequent, but actually increased. The clinical incidents in SMART
(http:/www.smart-trial.org/news.htm) are shown in the following table.
Table 10.3. Incidents occurring in SMART, for every 100 patient years (El Sadr 2006)
STI (n)
Progression of disease or death
3.7 (120)
Death
1.5 (55)
Cardiovascular/renal/hepatic events
1.8 (65)
Grade IV toxicity
5.0 (173)
*Significant difference. **95% Confidence interval.
Control (n)
Odds ratio
1.3 (47)
0.8 (30)
1.1 (39)
4.2 (148)
2.6 (1.9-3.7)*
1.8 (1.2-2.9) *
1.7 (1.1-2.5)*
1.2 (1.0-1.5)*
Quality of life did not improve in therapy interruptions it even declined (Burman
2008). More recent studies showed that clinical and immunological disadvantages
remained, even when ART was resumed (El Sadr 2008).
However, even after SMART, not all questions were answered. A striking fact was
the high incidence of clinical occurrences compared to Staccato, a study involving
234 ART
430 patients. As measured by the AIDS/mortality rates of ART, there should have
been at least 17 cases in Staccato instead there was not one. Moreover the significantly higher risk of an AIDS-defining malignancy during therapy interruption
(Silverberg 2007) was questionable as the majority of the patients who developed
KS or lymphoma in SMART had already suffered from AIDS illnesses before. Why
were these patients enrolled in the SMART study?
Most of the deaths in the interruption group were not ascribed to AIDS (only 4
compared to 3 cases in the control group), but to cancer which is normally not associated with HIV infection (11 versus 5), and to cardiovascular incidents (7 versus
4). Cases of death of unknown cause were also more frequent in the interruption
group (15 versus 3). One can only speculate about the increased cardiovascular,
renal and hepatic incidents in the interruption group. How many patients interrupted
therapy who should not have? How many patients with chronic hepatitis B experienced a HBV rebound during interruption, how many patients with previous
HIVAN developed renal problems, how many patients decided to stop concomittant
medications (statins) that led to a cardiovascular event?
Despite these questions, the conclusion remains that it is difficult to find a reasonable argument for treatment interruption anymore. Especially the argument that
therapy interruptions improve quality of life is no longer acceptable. One can discuss higher values for initiation and interruptions, but there will certainly noy be
any second SMART with altered limit values for some time.
Patients should be encouraged to continue ART. Thanks to the new classes, the
options have widened enabling us to react to many side effects. If the patient, after
discussion, still wishes to interrupt therapy the wish should be respected. The interruption will happen anyway with or without the doctors agreement. A monitored
interruption is better than one done secretly behind the physicians back. Under
strict surveillance the risk for complications is rather low.
235
Practical Tips for Treatment Interruptions

If there are no problems with ART, there is no reason to stop it.
To reverse resistance or for immunological reasons, i.e., for strategic points of
view, STIs are not useful.
A positive effect on cardiovascular incidents or lipodystrophy has not been confirmed. Following the SMART Study, this seems highly unlikely.
The patients wish for a break should be respected. The interruption will happen
anyway, whether the clinician agrees with it or not. A supervised treatment interruption is always better than one undertaken without the awareness of the clinician.
Beforehand, information should be provided on possible clinical (retroviral syndrome, AIDS), immunological (loss of CD4 T cells) and virological (resistance)
consequences.
Patients must be aware that the risk of infection increases even after a longer
suppression, viral load returns to initial levels after 4-6 weeks without ART.
Beware of HBV coinfection (danger of hepatitis flare-ups)
CD4 T cells (including percentage), viral load, and blood count (i.e., thrombocytes) should be monitored monthly during interruptions.
Risk of resistance is possibly higher with NNRTIs (choose robust regimens and
stop NNRTIs several days earlier if possible consider the half-life of the drugs).
Patients who started ART too early according to current standards can probably
interrupt safely.
Resistance testing during treatment interruptions is not useful it usually only
measures the wild-type.
Start with ART again, but not too late.
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Wolf E, Hoffmann C, Procaccianti M, et al. Long-term consequences of treatment interruptions in chronically HIV-1-infected patients. Eur J Med Res 2005, 10:56-62.
Yerly S, Fagard C, Gunthard HF, et al. Drug resistance mutations during structured treatment interruptions. Antivir Ther 2003, 8:411-5.
Zeller V, Charlois C, Duvivier C, et al. Pseudo-primary infection syndrome following discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy. Antivir Ther 2001, 6: 191-3.
238 ART
11. Monitoring
Christian Hoffmann, Christian Noah
Which parameters should be included in routine laboratory monitoring of HIVpositive patients? What results can be expected ? This section deals with viral load,
CD4 T cells, routine checks, and plasma levels. Resistance tests are the subject of a
separate chapter (see HIV Resistance Testing). For the tests to be performed on
initial presentation see the appropriate chapter.
Viral Load
Viral load is the amount of viral copies in the blood. Alongside the CD4 T cell
count viral load has become the most important surrogate marker for HIV infection
(Hughes 1997, Mellors 1997, Lyles 2000, Ghani 2001, Phillips 2004). It provides
both valuable information on the level of risk of disease progression and whether
antiretroviral therapy is indicated; it is the critical value in determining the success
of therapy. Other surrogate markers used frequently in the past such as p24, neopterin or 2-microglobulin are now superfluous and should be avoided as they do not
provide any additional information.
Viral load assays measure the amount of HIV RNA (viral genetic material), which
correlates directly with the number of virions. The units are viral copies/ml (or genome equivalents). This is reported either as a direct whole number or as a logarithmic number. A change of one or more logs refers to the change in viral load by
one or more decimal powers. Many labs provide both values, the number and the
log. There is no standardized international unit/ml as in used in hepatitis B or C.
Number of copies
Log10
10
50
100
500
1,000
10,000
50,000
100,000
1,000,000
1.0
1.7
2.0
2.7
3.0
4.0
4.7
5.0
6.0
Assessment
The higher the viral load, the higher the risk of a decrease in CD4 T cells, with subsequent disease progression or occurrence of AIDS-related illnesses (Mellors 1997,
Lyles 2000, Phillips 2004). A viral load above 100,000 copies/ml, i.e., 5.0 logs
(sometimes even above 50,000 copies/ml) is generally considered to be high; a
value below 10,000 copies/ml (sometimes less than 5,000 copies/ml) low. However,
these thresholds are not absolute and can only provide points of reference.
The effects of plasma viremia on immune status can vary greatly between individuals. There are some patients whose CD4 T cells remain stable for relatively long
periods despite having a high viral load, while others experience a rapid drop, al-
11. Monitoring
239
though the viral load is relatively low. Even in the so-called elite controllers in
which the viral load is undetectable even in the absence of ART a slow but constant
drop in the CD4 cells can be observed (Stellbrink 2008).
Viral load is probably lower in women than in men. In a meta-analysis, the difference was 41% or 0.23 logs (95% CI 0.16-0.31 logs) (Napravnik 2002). The reason
for this phenomenon remains unclear and whether it should have an impact on the
indication for treatment is still the subject of debate.
Methods
Three methods or assays are currently used to measure viral load: Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR); branched-chain DNA (bDNA);
and, occasionally, Nucleic Acid Sequence-Based Amplification (NASBA). These
three methods differ both in levels of detection and in the linear range within which
measurement is reliable or reproducible (see Table 11.1). In the case of PCR and
NASBA, the viral RNA is transformed in several enzymatic steps and then amplified to measurable amounts. Detection occurs after binding of marked DNA fragments. BDNA does not require an enzymatic step; signal amplification occurs via
binding of branched DNA fragments to viral RNA.
The market for assay systems is very dynamic. New assay systems will become
available, existing ones further developed. Siemens, for example, offers an RT-PCS
in addition to bDNA technology. Roche concentrates on RT-PCR and is working on
additional functions such as dual-target detection for more successful results.
This means that not one section of the viral RNA, like before, but two sections can
be duplicated at the same time. If duplication fails in one section on account of the
high variability of the HIV genome (the result in this case would be incorrect negative), it will be duplicated in the second section. Besides already established manufacturers, other companies such as Qiagen, are trying to gain market share. Experience will show whether their testing systems are reliable or not.
Although intra-assay variability is fairly good for all three methods and one can
expect reproducible results, methodological variations should be carefully considered. Differences of less than 0.5 logs are not considered significant. A decrease
from 4.3 to 3.9 logs, for example (corresponding to a decrease from approximately
20,000 to 8,000 viral copies/ml) does not necessarily signify a drop in viral load.
The same holds for increases in viral load. Changes of up to threefold can therefore
be irrelevant. Patients should be made aware of this.
Considerable differences exist between the three methods (Coste 1996), and to
change from one method to another is therefore generally not advisable. The results
obtained by bDNA are usually lower than the PCR by a factor of 2. Different subtypes are also detected with varying success according to the method employed
(Parekh 1999). One should be particularly cautious in patients from Africa and Asia
with non-B subtypes in whom the viral load at first presentation can be unexpectedly low. In such cases, use of a different assay may actually be indicated. However, newer versions with improved primers are probably superior in measuring
even unusual HIV subtypes with adequate sensitivity.
All assays have a linear dynamic range, outside of which precise numbers are not so
reliable. The following rule applies: use one method, one laboratory. The laboratory
should be experienced and routinely perform a sufficiently large number of tests.
240 ART
Measurement should take place as soon as possible after blood withdrawal, and
correct collection and shipping of centrifuged plasma is also important (contact the
laboratory ahead of time on these issues).
Tabelle 11.1: Methods of measurement
Company
Roche Diagnostics
Siemens Healthcare
Diagnostics
Abbott Molecular
Siemens Healthcare
Diagnostics
Biomrieux
1
Test
Technology
Detection
limit (copies/ml)
Linear Range (copies/ml)
COBAS TaqMan
HIV-1 Test; v2.0
Versant HIV-1 RNA
1.0 Assay (kPCR)
Abbott RealTime
HIV-1
Versant HIV-1 RNA
3.0 Assay (bDNA)
NucliSENS EasyQ
1
HIV v. 1.2
RT-PCR
20
20 10,000,000
RT-PCR
37
37 11,000,000
RT-PCR
40
40 10,000,000
bDNA
65
50 500,000
NASBA
250
25 3,000,000
Version 2.0 with a detection limit of 35 copies/ml (linear range 15 3,000,000 copies/ml) is
expected in May 2009.
Influencing factors
Apart from methodological variability a host of other factors may influence levels
of viral load including vaccinations and concurrent infections. During active OIs
viral load is often particularly high. One study showed a 5- to 160-fold elevated
viral load during active tuberculosis (Goletti 1996). Viral load can also increase
significantly during syphilis and declines after successful treatment (Buchacz 2004,
Kofoed 2006, Palacios 2007). In a large retrospective study, 26% of transient viremia in patients on ART were due to intercurrent infections (Easterbrook 2002). In
these situations, determining the viral load does not make much sense.
Following immunizations, for instance for influenza (OBrien 1995) or pneumococcus (Farber 1996), the viral load may be transiently elevated (Kolber 2002). As the
peak occurs one to three weeks after immunization, routine measurements of viral
load should be avoided within four weeks of immunization. It should be noted that
not every increase is indicative of virological treatment failure and resistance. Slight
transient increases in viral load, called blips, are usually of no consequence, as numerous studies in the last few years have shown (see chapter on Goals and Principles of Therapy). The possibility of mixing up samples always has to be considered.
Unusually implausible results should be double-checked with the laboratory, and if
no cause is found there, they need to be monitored people make mistakes. Should
there be any doubt on an individual result, the lab should be asked to repeat the
measurement from the same blood sample.
Viral kinetics on ART
The introduction of viral load measurement in 1996-1997 fundamentally changed
HIV therapy. The breakthrough studies by David Ho and his group showed that
HIV infection has significant in vivo dynamics (Ho 1995, Perelson 1996). The
11. Monitoring
241
changes in viral load on antiretroviral therapy clearly reflect the dynamics of the
process of viral production and elimination. The concentration of HIV-1 in plasma
is usually reduced by 99% as early as two weeks after the initiation of ART
(Perelson 1997). In one large cohort, the viral load in 84% of patients was already
below 1,000 copies/ml after four weeks. The decrease in viral load follows biphasic
kinetics. In the first phase, i.e., within the first three to six weeks, an extremely
rapid drop occurs, followed by a longer phase during which the viral load gradually
decreases further (Wu 1999).
The higher the viral load at initiation of therapy, the longer it takes to drop below
the level of detection. In one study, the range was between 15 days with a baseline
viral load of 1,000 and 113 days with a baseline of 1 million viral copies/ml (Rizzardi 2000). The following figure shows a typical biphasic decrease in viral load
after initial high levels.
10000000
1000000
100000
10000
1000
100
10
Day 0 Wk 6 Wk 10 Wk 14 Wk 18 Wk 24 Wk 28 Wk 32 Wk 36
Figure 1: Typical biphasic decrease in viral load on ART. Viral load was initially very high, and
reached a level below 50 copies/ml only at week 32. Note the temporary increase at week 24,
which is possibly due to methodological variability. ART was not changed.
Numerous studies have focused on whether durable treatment success can be predicted early (Thiabaut 2000, Demeter 2001, Kitchen 2001, Lepri 2001). In a study
on 124 patients, a decrease of less than 0.72 logs after one week was predictive of
virological treatment failure in more than 99% of patients (Polis 2001). According
to another prospective study, it is possible to predict virological response at 48
weeks even after 7 days (Haubrich 2007). However, this has little clinical relevance, and in our opinion it is pointless to start measurement of viral load only one
or two weeks after initiation of therapy.
242 ART
Practical tips for dealing with viral load (see chapter Goals and Principles of Therapy)
Use only one assay, if possible.
Use only one experienced laboratory, if possible, no home-brewed assays.
Watch for assay variability (up to half a log) and explain this to the patient.
Monitor viral load every four weeks with new ART until the viral load is below
the level of detection (50 copies/ml).
Then measure viral load sparingly on successful ART every three months may
be sufficient.
Without ART measurement every three months is usually sufficient.
Do not measure shortly after vaccinations or with concurrent infections.
Implausible results should be rechecked after 2-4 weeks.
Consider differences between subtypes (in some cases it may be useful to use
another method).
In the first few months, it is recommended to measure viral load every four weeks
until it has dropped below the level of detection the goal. An undectable viral load
should be achieved at least by six months. After this, viral load can be measured
every three months. In case of rebound closer monitoring becomes necessary. Following initiation of therapy, viral load should be below 5,000 copies/ml after one
month. Higher values are predictive of failure to reach levels below detection
(Maggiolo 2000).
Viral load can also be measured fairly reliably in body fluids other than blood or
plasma (for example cerebrospinal, vaginal or seminal fluid). However, such tests
are usually performed for scientific purposes and are not routine.
CD4 T cells
CD4 T cells are T lymphocytes that express the CD4 receptor on their surface. This
lymphocyte subpopulation is also referred to as T helper cells. Alongside viral load,
measurement of the CD4 T cell level is the most important parameter or surrogate
marker in HIV medicine. It allows for a reliable estimation of the individual risk of
developing AIDS. Every HIV-positive patient should have a CD4 T cell measurement
every six months. Two reference values are generally accepted: above 400-500 CD4
T cells/l, severe AIDS-related diseases are very rare; below 200 CD4 T cells/l, the
risk of AIDS-related morbidity increases significantly with increased duration of immunosuppression. Most AIDS-related illnesses occur below 100 CD4 T cells/l.
Several points should be considered when measuring CD4 T cells (usually by flow
cytometry). Blood samples should be processed within 18 hours. The lower normal
values are between 400 and 500 cells/l, depending on the laboratory. Samples should
always be sent to the same (experienced) laboratory. The same applies for viral load
as for CD4 T cells: the higher the level, the greater the variability. Differences of 50100 cells/l are not unusual. In one study, the 95% confidence intervals with a real
value of 500 cells/l were between 297 and 841 cells/l. At 200 CD4 T cells/l, the
95% confidence interval was between 118 and 337 cells/l (Hoover 1993).
11. Monitoring
243
Measurement of CD4 T cells should only be repeated in the case of highly implausible values. As long as the viral load remains below the level of detection, there is
no need to be concerned even with decreases in CD4 T cells. In such cases, the relative values (CD4 percentages) and the CD4/CD8 ratio (ratio of CD4 to CD8 T cells)
should be referred to; these are usually more robust and less prone to fluctuation.
As a general point of reference, with values above 500 CD4 T cells/l, fluctuations
of more than 29% are to be expected, with less than 200 CD4 T cells/l fluctuations
of less than 14%. Individual laboratories may define the normal ranges for the relative values and the ratio differently. If there are considerable discrepancies between
absolute and relative CD4 T cells, any decisions involving treatment should be
carefully considered if in doubt, it is better to check the values again. The remaining differential blood count should also be scrutinized carefully - is leucopenia or
leukocytosis present?
Clinicians sometimes forget that the result of the CD4 T cell count is of existential
importance for the patient. To go to the doctor and discuss the test results can involve a great deal of stress for many patients. Insensitively informing the patient of
a supposedly bad result can lead to further negative results. From the start, patients
must be informed about the possible physiological and method-related variability of
laboratory tests. In the case of unexpectedly good results, every effort should be
made to contain premature euphoria. In the long run, this saves time and discussions, and the patient is spared unnecessary ups and downs. We do not consider it
advisable for non-physician personnel (without extensive HIV experience) to inform patients of results.
600
550
500
CD4
450
400
350
300
250
200
Jan 99 Jul 99 Jan 00 Jul 00 Jan 01 Jul 01 Jan 02 Jul 02
Figure 2: Patient example for variations in absolute CD4 T cells/l over a period of four years.
The viral load was continuously below 50 copies/ml; ART remained unchanged.
Once CD4 T cell counts within the normal range are reached in addition to adequate
viral suppression measurements every six months should suffice, in our opinion.
The probability of CD4 T cells dropping to values below 350/l is extremely low in
such cases (Phillips 2003). Patients who might sometimes insist on more frequent
monitoring of immune status can be assured that there are usually no detrimental
changes in the CD4 T cell count as long as HIV remains suppressed.
244 ART
Influencing factors
Several other factors can influence CD4 T cell counts apart from laboratory-related
variables. These include concurrent infections, leucopenia of varying etiology and
steroids or other immunosuppressive therapies. Extreme exertion, surgical procedures or pregnancy can also lead to lower values. Even diurnal variation occurs;
CD4 T cells are lower at noon, and highest in the evening around 20.00 hours
(Malone 1990). Psychological stress seems to play a negligible role, even though
patients often assume the contrary.
Kinetics of CD4 T cells on ART
Similarly to viral load, a biphasic increase in CD4 T cells occurs following the initiation of ART (Renaud 1999, Le Moing 2002), with a rapid increase within the
first three to four months and a much slower rise thereafter. In a study of almost
1,000 patients, the CD4 T cell count increased by 21/l per month during the first
three months. In the following 21 months, this rate was only 5.5 CD4 T cells/l per
month (Le Moing 2002). The initial rapid increase in CD4 T cells is probably due to
redistribution, which is followed by the new production of nave T cells (Pakker
1998). Diminished apoptosis may also play a role (Roger 2002).
It is still being debated whether the immune system steadily continues its recovery
even after a long period of viral suppression, or whether a plateau is reached after
three to four years, beyond which there is less improvement (Smith 2004, Viard
2004).
Several factors can influence the extent of immune reconstitution during ART. The
degree of viral suppression is crucial the lower the viral load, the more pronounced the effect (Le Moing 2002). The absolute increase is higher if CD4 T cell
counts were high at the start of ART (Kaufmann 2000). Nave T cells still present at
initiation of therapy are a particularly important factor for long-term immune reconstitution (Notermans 1999).
Age is also important (Grabar 2004). The larger the thymus and the more active the
process of thymopoiesis, the more significant the rise in CD4 T cells is likely to be
(Kolte 2002); due to age-related degeneration of the thymus, CD4 T cells in older
patients do not increase as much as those in younger ones (Viard 2001). However,
we have seen both 20 year-old patients with very poor CD4 T cell count recovery
and 60 year-old patients with very good, above average increases in CD4 T cells.
The regenerative capacity of the human immune system seems to vary considerably, and no method to date has been capable of reliably predicting this capacity.
It is possible that some antiretroviral therapies such as ddI+tenofovir are associated
with less immune reconstitution than others. In addition, current studies evaluate if
immune reconstitution is better during treatment with CCR5 antagonists. Immunosuppressive concurrent medications should also be considered (see chapter on Goals
and Principles of Therapy).
11. Monitoring
245
Practical tips for dealing with CD4 T cells

As with viral load: use only one (experienced) laboratory.
The higher the values, the greater the variability (consider numerous factors)
compare the relative (percentage) values and CD4/CD8 ratio with previous results.
Do not disconcert the patient when there are apparent decreases if viral suppression is sufficient, the drop is usually not HIV-related. Only highly implausible results should be repeated.
If the viral load is below the level of detection, three-monthly measurements of
CD4 T cells are sufficient.
In the presence of good viral suppression and normal CD4 T cells, CD4 T cells
(not viral load) may also be checked less frequently.
CD4 count and viral load should be discussed with the physician. Do not leave
patients alone with their results.
Beyond the measurement of the CD4 T cell count and lymphocyte subpopulations, a
number of other assays allow detailed testing of the qualitative or functional capacity
of the immune system, for example in response to specific antigens (Telenti 2002).
These often cumbersome methods are not currently necessary for routine diagnostics
and their use remains questionable. However, they could one day help to better describe individual immune status and, for example, identify those patients who are at
risk of developing opportunistic infections despite good CD4 cell counts.
Routine Checks What Else Should Be Monitored?

Besides the CD4 T cell count and viral load several other parameters should be
monitored in the HIV-positive patient. The following recommendations apply to
clinically asymptomatic patients with normal results on routine laboratory evaluation, who have been on stable treatment for several months or who are not taking
antiretroviral therapy. Of course, if treatment is started or changed or if the patient
develops complaints more frequent monitoring is required. Depending on the problem additional tests may be necessary.
A complete physical examination should be performed regularly, and this often leads
to the discovery of important findings such as Kaposi lesions or mycoses (thrush).
The lower the CD4 T cells, the more frequently patients should be examined.
In patients with less than 200 CD4 T cells/l, we usually perform fundoscopies
every three to six months to exclude CMV retinitis. Close cooperation with an HIVexperienced ophthalmologist is essential. The better the CD4 T cells, the less often
fundoscopies are necessary in our opinion when CD4 counts have normalized
these can be stopped completely. In contrast, regular gynecological examinations
with PAP smears are recommended regardless of CD4 count. Many experts now
also recommend rectal examination (including proctoscopy) for the early detection
of precancerous lesions and anal cancer.
246 ART
However, such guidelines or recommendations can be interpreted very differently.
In our opinion in cases of good immune status unless there is a specific suspicion
routine X-rays, ultrasound examinations (exception: patients with chronic hepatitis,
as hepatocellular carcinoma is not rare in such cases), multiple serologies or lactate
measurements are not necessary. An annual ECG is only indicated in our view in
patients with a specific risk profile (see chapter on HIV and Cardiac Disease). The
tuberculin test (the Mendel-Mantoux skin test with 5 IE once a year) should only be
repeated if it is negative initially.
Table 11.2: Minimal evaluations per year in stable asymptomatic patients
Blood count, LDH, ALT, AST, creatinine,

bilirubin, AP, lipase, GGT, glucose
Viral load
CD4 T cells
Lipids
Physical examination, urine status
Gynecological examination
Funduscopy if CD4 T cells < 200/l
Patient on ART
per year
4-6 x
Untreated
per year
2-4 x
4x
2-4 x
1-2 x
2-4 x
1x
2-4 x
2-4 x
2-4 x
1x
1-2 x
1x
4x
With regard to the growing age of the HIV population, it is essential not to forget
cancer screening. In many countries, for example, colonoscopy is recommended for
early detection of colorectal cancer for every individual older than 50-55 years
(colonoscopy should be performed every 10 years). For further information see
WHO website, http://www.who.int/cancer/detection/en/
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM)

Individual plasma levels of many antiretroviral drugs may vary considerably for differing reasons (e.g., compliance, metabolism, absorption). But sufficient plasma levels are
essential for success of virological treatment (Acosta 2000). In the VIRADAPT Study,
adequate PI concentrations were even more crucial than knowledge of resistance mutations (Durant 2000). The importance of sufficient plasma levels has also been shown for
NNRTIs (Marzolini 2001, Veldkamp 2001). The measurement of drug concentrations
in serum or plasma (therapeutic drug monitoring, TDM) has therefore become an important tool for monitoring therapy (Clevenbergh 2004).
A more recent Cochrane review, however, did not support routine use of TDM in
ART-nave or -experienced patients on either boosted PI or NNRTI regimens. According to this review, TDM may improve virologic outcomes only in treatmentnaive participants on a PI-based ART regimen particularly if unboosted by ritonavir. The analyzed trials were underpowered with small sample sizes, short durations of follow-up and generally poor uptake of TDM recommendations. As all trials were conducted in higher income earning countries results may not be generalisable to resource-limited countries (Kredo 2009).
On the other hand, very high plasma levels correlate with a higher rate of side effects.
Reported renal problems with indinavir (Dielemann 1999), gastrointestinal disturbances
11. Monitoring
247
with ritonavir (Gatti 1999), hepatotoxicity with nevirapine (Gonzalez 2002) or CNS
problems with efavirenz (Marzolini 2001) were all associated with high plasma levels.
Measurement of plasma levels may currently reasonable in the following situations
(modified from the German-Austrian ART guidelines):
Complex drug combinations including boosted PIs
Patients with very high or low body weight
Side effects
Treatment failure
Concomitant medications that could lead to interactions or reduced efficacy
Suspected absorption or adherence problems
Severe liver or renal diseases
Pregnancy
Use of new drugs (unknown interactions)
Several problems associated with TDM limit its broader use. The measurement of
NRTIs, for example, is senseless since they are converted to the active metabolites
only intracellularly. Intracellular measurements are difficult and are not available in
routine clinical practice. There is no valid data available for new antiretroviral
agents such as T-20, raltegravir or maraviroc.
Measuring NNRTIs or PIs may therefore currently determine levels of only one
component of a failing combination. Further problems include not only viral strains
with different levels of resistance, different inhibitory concentrations, variable protein binding, and time-dependent variability of plasma levels, but also methodological problems with the assays, as well as the lack of clearly defined limits. Many
uncertainties thus remain in the assessment of therapeutic drug plasma levels. Until
data from randomized studies is available, proving the clinical value of TDM, both
the measurement and interpretation of results should be left to specialized centers.
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12. Prevention, compliance, costs
249

Christian Hoffmann
Prevention
HIV was discovered more than 25 years ago and a prophylactic vaccination remains
a distant prospect. In 2007 two highly promising vaccination studies were prematurely interrupted. It seems doubtful now that a vaccine to effectively prevent HIV
infection will be discovered in the next years a depressing forecast for this field of
HIV research. At the moment there is great uncertainty on how to move forward in
the vaccine arena. Several experts believe that a promising vaccine candidate
doesnt exist presently (Desrosiers 2008, Nathanson 2008) while others say it is
time to get used to the fact that a vaccine may never come. Neither blind hope nor
time schedules (minus X years and counting) have proved very helpful. Some
vaccine studies done up until now can in fact be regarded as counterproductive,
tiring out both sponsors and the community.
Considering all this, prevention will continue to be the central means of controlling
the HIV epidemic. However, common prevention strategies focused on the ABC
guidelines (abstinence, be faithful, condom use) have reached their limits. In 2007
UNAIDS declared a worldwide increase of 2.5 million new infections. In every
major city in the USA or in Europe syphilis endemics in HIV-infected patients have
been reported. In Germany, for example, the number of new infections among men
who have sex with men (MSM) is still rising. For the most part, ABC has been
abandoned, although certain aspects (the fall in transmissions in Uganda due to a
hard-line all-out adoption of the guidelines) may be salvageable.
It seems clear that advertisements and well-meant brochures alone are not the solution. High-risk groups are not being reached. Prevention remains an arduous business and success is not immediately visible nor is it profitable. Sexual behavior is
not so easily modified.
For some time, preventive medicine in HIV has been taking completely new and
sometimes unusual paths to reach focus groups. Terms such as serosorting, seropositioning, dipping or strategic positioning show that the medical world is learning
to face reality. People have sex and not everyone cares about, follows, or can follow
guidelines. Recent studies with serosorting, choosing sexual partners according to
perceived HIV serostatus, show that new prevention strategies can be developed
(Morin 2008).
ART & Prevention

Antiretroviral therapy is an important contribution to prevention, possibly the most
important (Hosseinipour 2002). As these studies show:
In a group of 415 HIV-discordant couples in Uganda 90 new infections were diagnosed over a period of 30 days. Not a single infection was caused by an infected partner with a viral load below 1,500 copies/ml. With every additional log
of HIV RNA, infection risk increased by a factor of 2.45 (Quinn 2000).
250 ART
In a study in Thailand with 493 HIV-discordant couples, the factor was 1.81. No
infection from a partner with less than 1,094 copies/ml was recorded (Tovanabutra 2002).
In a study in Spain with 393 heterosexual HIV-discordant couples, a transmission
rate of 8.6% was observed between 1991 and 2003. No infection was recorded
with infected partners who were receiving combination ART.
In a group of 534 MSM in San Francisco, infectiousness based on the probability
of transmission per couple decreased by 60% between 1994 and 1998 (Porco
2004). The HIV incidence decreased in spite of the reported higher number of
partners and risk contacts, even though not all of the HIV-infected partners were
on antiretroviral therapy.
In a Spanish study with 62 HIV-discordant couples (22 HIV-infected women, 40
HIV-infected men, all of them on ART), 76 natural pregnancies were diagnosed. Not a single HIV infection of a non-infected partner was recorded (Barreiro 2006).
The above-mentioned clinical studies show clearly that the lower the viral load in
the plasma, the less infectious the patient. In an ongoing meta-analysis in 11 cohorts
with 5,021 heterosexual couples (and 461 HIV transmissions), the transmission rate
of patients on ART was 0.46 per 100 person years (5 cases). Not one transmission
was detected from anyone who was under 400 copies/ml (Attia 2009).
Overall testing and immediate treatment?

At the end of 2008 a statistical paper caused great discussion. A research group led
by the Director of WHO Kevin De Cock calculated how to, at least theoretically,
curtail and even eliminate the worldwide HIV epidemic (Granich 2008). For this
ambitious goal they concentrated totally on the preventive effect of antiretroviral
therapies. They compared the common treatment strategy used today, beginning
ART only on symptomatic patients who have less than a certain number of CD4 T
cells, to a theoretical strategy that seems to be simple enough. Every person is
tested for HIV once a year and if found positive, starts ART immediately, irrespective of CD4 T cells or viral load. The study was based on population data in South
Africa, where 17% of the adult population is HIV-infected and on data from a successful intervention in Malawi. Other preconditions of the calculation model are
that infectiousness of treated versus not-treated patients was estimated at 1%. The
case-reproduction number, the so called R0 number of new infections caused by
one infection, was crucial for this calculation. The corresponding simple assumption: R0 of < 1 is required in order to reduce the incidence and to eventually eliminate HIV. An incidence rate of less than one new case per 1,000 person years was
determined for elimination of HIV.
Reality shows different results. At present, every untreated HIV-infected individual
causes another 7 HIV infections (R0=7) in the course of their life. R0 could be reduced to 4 if every person received regular treatment with therapy starting at 200
CD4 T cells/l, or even to 3 if therapy starts at 350 CD4 T cells/l. However, an R0
reduction to less than 1 is impossible by this method and curtailing the epidemic
with ART alone remains unrealistic. This could change however, with regular testing and immediate treatment of positively-diagnosed individuals elimination of
251
the epidemic could be possible by 2020, even in a country as severely affected such
as South Africa. Compared with common practice today where ART is begun only
at a certain number of CD4 T cells, immediate treatment could reduce AIDS mortality to half todays number by 2050. Calculations showed that this initially more
expensive strategy could start to be cost-saving by around 2032.
The comments to the WHO publication ranged from provocative (Cohen 2008) to
extremely radical (Garnett 2008). Critics raised concerns over the risks and the
absence of ethics (would all actors agree? Could a restricted individual autonomy
be achieved? Can changes in sexual habits be maintained?), medical (compliance
problems, the dangers of possible resistance, the side effects and overtreatment
starting too early) as well as financial (South Africa would have to triple their financial commitments) considerations.
Such calculations are not new. Other groups have arrived at similar results in the
past (Velasco-Hernandez 20002, Montaner 2006). What is new is that antiretroviral
therapies today are potentially more user-friendly and such programs are probably
easier to put into practice than just a few years ago.
In addition, people are realizing that the current preventive measures can only improve slowly and that neither vaccines nor microbicides can be expected in the near
future. At present, approximately 80% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa is
not aware of their infection. More than 90% do not know if their sexual partners are
infected - a great risk for further spreading of the epidemic.
Juggling figures like this may seem unhelpful at first. Despite all objections regarding methodological, ethical, financial or logistic considerations, etc, facing 2.7 million new infections per year, a number that is not likely to decline much (if at all) in
the near future, and the failure of several vaccine and prevention studies, one thing
has become clear. Antiretroviral therapy has turned into one of the most important
components of prevention.
Such initiatives like that of the WHO must be continued, and new and unusual
strategies must be continually developed. It cannot do harm to bring more therapy
to the 6.7 million people, worldwide, the number who by the end of 2007 desperately needed ART and didnt receive it.
ART & viral load in other body fluids
Do viral load in plasma and viral load in other body fluids correlate? Here are some
data:
In a study from Italy the viral load on PI-containing ART regimens decreased by
several logs in plasma as well as in semen (Liuzzi 1999).
In a Swiss study with 114 male patients with plasma viremia under 400 copies/ml
on ART, only 2 (2%) isolated viral loads were detected in semen, compared to
67% in untreated control groups.
In 205 HIV-infected women with plasma viremia under 400, 400-9,999 and over
10,000 copies/ml, the rate of detectable HIV-1 RNA in the genital tract was 3, 17
and 48%, respectively (Cu-Uvin 2000). In 7 ART-nave women, the viral load
decreased by 0.72.1 logs within the first 14 days of ART. Similar results were
achieved with 11 Brazilian female patients (Vettore 2006).
252 ART
In a group of 290 women with plasma viremia under 500 copies/ml, 44 (15%)
had detectable HIV-1 RNA in cervical smears (Neely 2007). In comparison to PIcontaining ART the risk with NNRTIs was double.
In a study with 34 females with plasma viremia under 80 copies/ml, all treated
with ART for at least 6 months, only one woman showed a viral load over 80
copies/ml in cervical vaginal fluid (CVF) compared to 7 rebounds in plasma
(Kwara 2008).
Out of 122 samples of cervical vaginal lavage the viral load in the lavage correlated highly with plasma viral load (Fiore 2003). However, in 25% of cases, virus
was found in the lavage even when plasma viremia findings proved negative.
In a study with 233 MSM (19961997), far less virus was found in anorectal
smears of those treated with ART. Among those patients with less than 50 copies/ml in plasma, 1/54 (2%) HIV-1 RNA was detected in the anorectal smear.
However, in 14/50 (28%) HIV-1 DNA was detected.
Among 255 MSM receiving ART with a plasma viral load below 40 copies/ml, 7
patients (3%) showed an isolated viral load in semen (Marcelin 2009). These 7
patients had been on ART for some time and treated with agents detected in semen.
In a prospective study on 25 Canadian patients on ART, a viral load in semen was
found in 19/116 (14%) samples (Sheth 2009). There was no reference to drug
concentration in seminal fluid.
In conclusion, most cases of viral load in plasma parallel the viral load in bodily
fluids. If the viral load in plasma decreases, so does the RNA in semen or the vaginal fluid within a short time. Below the limit of detection in plasma also means
below the limit of detection in other bodily fluids. There are a few exceptions. In
the studies above the variation was between 1 and 14%. Although there are implications that the detected viruses in semen are not completely infectious (Nunnari
2002), one cannot rule out the patient being potentially infectious even under successful ART.
Putting together these facts with clinical data, transmission with a low viral load
seems unlikely. To date, only a few cases have been recorded in which transmission
has taken place despite effective ART (Strmer 2008). These cases show that there
is in fact a residual risk. The question is how to manage that.
The EKAF paper
In January 2008 a paper was released by the Eidgenssische Kommission fr
Aids-Fragen (EKAF), the Swiss AIDS commission. Just the title of this paper
caused a great stir: HIV-infected individuals without other STDs on effective antiretroviral therapy are not sexually infectious. The original manuscript can be found
at http://www.saez.ch/pdf_d/2008/2008-05/2008-05-089.PDF.
EKAF concluded that HIV-infected individuals do not transmit the disease under
three conditions:
253
1. ART is adhered to and monitored by a clinician

2. The viral load has been below detection for at least six months
3. There is no other STD
It is obvious that this first official statement from public authorities on this subject
had a major impact. Despite its caveats, critics feared that this publication could be
misunderstood as an all-clear signal resulting in people being less careful and unnecessarily exposing themselves to risks of HIV infection.
Critics say that the data is not sufficient, especially for the risk of anal sexual contacts. The probability of infection is certainly under 1:100,000, but nevertheless not
0. The preventive effect of ART may be endangered by higher risk taking. According to mathematical models, a 10% rise in risk behavior could counter the effects of
ART (Blower 2001, Law 2001). However, a meta-analysis came to the conclusion
that ART does not increase risk behavior of the patient, even if the viral load is below detection (Crepaz 2004).
Clinicians must be prepared for this discussion. Patients are asking more questions:
do I have to use a condom for the rest of my life? Here, it is recommendable to give
individualized advice. It depends greatly on the non-infected partner as well, as he
or she should not be pressured. On the other hand, information of this type can be a
relief for many patients and their partners. The EKAF paper may also motivate
high-risk patients to finally start antiretroviral treatment (preventing more infections
rather than causing new ones initially feared by the release of the paper).
However, it must be repeated that the EKAF statement refers only to stable relationships. Safer Sex is recommended, especially with occasional sexual contacts
especially to avoid other sexually transmittable diseases.
Medical Prevention Strategies Besides ART

Circumcision
Circumcision of the male foreskin reduces the risk of infection for several diseases
in unprotected sexual intercourse (Weiss 2006). At least three randomized trials
with heterosexual males in Uganda, Kenya and South Africa demonstrated this in
recent years for HIV as well. Remarkable results were achieved (Table 12.1).
Table 12.1: Large randomized studies on circumcision
Place, Refen
Main Results
rence
Kenya
2784 TwoYearHIV Incidence 2.1% (95% CI
(Bailey 2007)
1.2-3.0) vs 4.2% (95% CI 3.0-5.4)
Uganda
4996 Over 24 months HIV-incidence
(Gray 2007)
0.66 vs 1.33/100 person years
South Africa
3274 Over 18 months HIV-incidence
(Auvert 2005)
0.85 vs 2.10/100 person years
TR = Transmission Risk, partly different definition/calculation
Reduction of
Transmission risk
53-60%
51-60%
60-61%
254 ART
A meta-analysis of these studies shows a relative risk of 0.44 for circumcision
(Mills 2008). The NNT (number needed to treat) required to prevent an event
reached a relatively successful number of 72.
The protective effect of circumcision is explained by the presence of CD4-positive
Langerhans cells and primary HIV target cells in the male foreskin. Circumcision
reduces the frequency of genital HSV-2 infection (Tobian 2008). An estimated 2
million HIV infections in Africa alone could be prevented in the next few years
(Williams 2006). The WHO recommends circumcision as a preventive means for
heterosexual men.
Circumcision, however, is not without risk. Complications (infections, postoperative bleeding) occur in 3-4% of cases (Gray 2007). Sexual behavior after circumcision, ethics and logistical problems are only a few aspects (Lie 2006). It must be
noted that circumcision reduces the risk for male but not for female partners. The
randomized study in Uganda showed a slight increase in infection of the female
partners of circumcised males (Waver 2008). This can be mainly explained by couples probably having sexual intercourse earlier than recommended. Several weeks
of no-sex are stipulated after the operation.
Is there a protective effect for MSM after circumcision? If there is, the data is less
clear compared to the results of heterosexual men. A meta-analysis of 15 greatly
varying studies with 53,567 MSM (52% with circumcision) showed no significant
difference between circumcised and uncircumcised males (Millet 2008).
Preventive treatment of HSV and other diseases

Genital infections clearly increase the risk of acquiring HIV. This applies especially
to the human herpes virus 2 (HSV-2).
According to a meta-analysis, the risk of HIV increases with HSV-2-seropositivity
(when HSV-2 antibodies are detected in the blood) in male patients by 2.7 fold and
in female patients by 3.1 fold (Freeman 2006). A considerable amount of new HIV
infections are due to HSV coinfection, with an estimated 3869% in female patients
and 849% in male patients.
Is a reduction of the HIV transmission rate possible by suppression of HSV-2?
HPTN 039, a double-blind, randomized, Phase III trial investigated (Celum 2008).
In total, 1,871 MSM from the USA and Peru and 1,380 women from Zimbabwe,
Zambia and South Africa received 400 mg acyclovir or placebo twice daily. Enrolled subjects were all HIV-negative and HSV-2-positive at the beginning of the
trial. Although less HSV ulcers were observed in the verum-group, the trial failed to
show a decline in HIV incidence in the acyclovir-group, with 3.9/100 person-years
compared to placebo (3.3/100). These disappointing results were confirmed by the
Mwanza trial with 821 women in Tanzania, in which again no decline was observed
(Watson-Jones 2008). According to current data, preventing HIV infection with
HSV therapy using acyclovir has proven unsuccessful. The prophylactic use of
azithromycin, to prevent bacterial STDs also showed no protective effect against
HIV (Kaul 2004).
However, some of these studies did show an interesting side effect, that there is a
slight but measurable effect with acyclovir and its derivatives regarding HIV viral
255
load (van de Perre 2008). In a double-blind randomized study with 300 South African women treated with 2 x 400 mg acyclovir, the viral load decreased by 0.34 log
(Delaney 2009). In a double-blind randomized study on 140 HIV-1/HSV-2coinfected women in Burkina Faso with no access to ART, 2 x 500 mg valcyclovir
led to a significant decline in HIV plasma viremia (0.53 logs) as well as in genital
HIV RNA (Nagot 2007). In a smaller randomized study with 20 women from Peru
treated with valcyclovir, the HIV RNA in plasma and in cervicovaginal fluids decreased by 0.26 and 0.35 log, respectively (Baeten 2008). These studies may possibly lead to the development of new acyclovir derivatives with improved antiviral
potency, provided they respond well to HIV.
Microbicides, lubricants, diaphragms

Microbicides are chemical agents mostly of topical application in the form of gels
that kill or immobilize HIV and other diseases. Presently very heterogenic mechanisms are being examined. Among them are inactivated agents that inhibit docking
to the target cell or antiviral agents such as tenofovir or the NRTI stampidine (Stone
2006). It is required that microbicides are not only inexpensive, easy to apply and
non-toxic, but also could effective against other STDs (Schwebke 2005).
By now, several microbicides have been tested in phase III studies, such as nonoxynol-9, cellulose sulfate, carraguard and savvy. Up to now, none of the products
have convincing protective effects in clinical studies. HIV transmission risk in fact
increased with nonoxynol-9 (Van Damme 2002). Another setback occurred in 2007.
In a randomized study by the Contraceptive Research and Development Programme
(CONRAD), a non-profit research organization, 1,333 women in South Africa, Benin and Uganda received either a placebo or cellulose sulfate gel. This gel (Ushercell) had proven very promising in previous studies (El-Sadr 2006). In a midevaluation of the CONRAD trial, some women using cellulose sulfate showed an
increased HIV transmission risk and the trial was prematurely stopped (Van
Damme 2008). Even though the reasons for the increase in risk were not known,
another major study in Nigeria was also interrupted.
The first non-negative results were recorded by HPTN 035, a four-armed phase-IIbstudy in the beginning of 2009 with 3,099 African women (Karim 2009). In this
study, two gels were compared, PRO 2000 and Buffergel with control groups
treated with a placebo gel or no gel at all. PRO 2000, from Indevus Pharmaceuticals, is a polyanion compound that binds to the positive charges on the surface of
viruses, thus interfering in cell infection. Buffergel increases the natural acids in the
vaginal tract. In a first analysis after 20 months, 194 new HIV infections were recorded, 36 in the PRO 2000 group and respectively 51-54 infections in the other
three groups. A decrease of 30% was seen in the PRO 2000 group. The difference
did not quite reach statistical significance, but made microbicide research raise its
hopes. Results of a more extensive phase III study with 9,000 patients are expected
later this year (2009).
The use of diaphragms and/or lubricants in addition to using condoms has shown no
protective effect, as one randomized study demonstrated (Padian 2007).
256 ART
PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis)
In the HIV setting, PrEP is referred to as an oral prophylactic antiretroviral treatment. Like malaria prophylaxis, it is taken before exposure. PrEP trials are currently being conducted in high-risk groups (i.e., sex workers). Most trials use tenofovir, either alone or in combination with FTC. Such studies, however, are regarded
with criticism. Pressured by activists and several organizations, a study with Cambodian prostitutes had to be interrupted in 2004 and others in Cameroon and Nigeria in 2005 (Cohen 2004, Sing 2005). The researchers involved were accused of not
providing sufficient information to the participants and of discontinuing treatment
once the study was over. Unclear long term side-effects, interactions, possible resistance and an increased pressure on prostitutes not to use condoms the ethic and
political problems of this PrEP approach are considerable.
However, with a worldwide alarmingly high number of new infections, PrEP remains an approach that must be pursued. First results of an extensive PrEP study
were announced at the World AIDS Conference in Toronto (Petersen 2006). Approximately 1,200 high-risk women from Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria received a
placebo or tenofovir daily. After one year, 6 versus 2 seroconversions were observed. Although the difference was not significant, the safe application of PrEP
had been proved. Presently, several large placebo controlled studies with over
20,000 people from different risk groups are being conducted in the USA, Africa,
South America and Thailand. The first results are expected in late 2009.
It is still not clear how to deal with positive results. In animal testing, PrEP with
tenofovir and FTC has proven protective (Garcia-Lerma 2008). If PrEP studies are
successful, many questions will follow. How should PrEP be administered? Who
will receive the treatment? And who will cover the expense? What about development of resistance in unidentified HIV infection? Will this decrease the use of condoms? Will PrEP be sold on the black market in the near future (and so, with limited adherence programs)? These are only a few aspects to be considered. In Switzerland, a commission dealing with these questions has already been set up, although the benefits of PrEP have not yet been scientifically proven.
In conclusion, with dramatically high numbers of continuing infections worldwide,
prevention must strike new paths. Propagating safer sex alone is not enough.
Among medical approaches, the use of antiretroviral therapy is certainly the most
imaginative strategy right now. The EKAF paper will continue to be discussed. HIV
healthcare providers will have to deal with it, whether they agree or disagree. Early
initialization of ART for preventive reasons cannot (yet) be recommended. Besides
ART, circumcision is also considered protective. Other prevention approaches such
as medical therapy for STDs and microbicides still lack convincing results. This
still applies to PrEP. However, once PrEP does prove successful, it will have a lasting effect on HIV prevention.
Compliance
Compliance is the Achilles Heel of every antiretroviral therapy and noncompliance the main, if not the major factor for developing resistance and treatment
failure (Turner 2000). Partial viral suppression with insufficient drug levels are
ideal conditions under which resistance grows. There is no doubt ART must be
taken regularly, correctly or not at all. Taking either more than 90% or less than
257
69% of the treatment are both associated with a lower risk of resistance (Sethi
2003). Compliance is defined as a patients consent and acceptance of therapy. In
the mid-90s a new term adherence, from the English language, was adopted.
Since then, the more politically correct term adherence is frequently used. This
term refers to both physician and patient working together to set up a treatment
concept acceptable to both parties and emphasizes that responsibility for a failure of
the therapy is not only the patients fault.
Adherence includes all factors that influence staying on a regimen, in terms of acceptability. Whichever term is used, three facts remain:
1. The success of a treatment is endangered if medication is taken irregularly
2. Clinicians tend to overestimate a patients compliance
3. Compliance diminishes with the complexity of the treatment
Not only drug consumers, those dependent on alcohol or patients with side effects
are considered risky patients when it comes to adherence. In several studies, depressed patients, patients living alone and younger patients have been identified as
problem groups (Murri 2001, Frank 2002, Glass 2006). Positive factors are the physicians experience, the patients confidence in the positive effects of ART, and
social support. Race, sex or stage of disease does not seem to be relevant. The individuals general view of illness and health, accepting modern medicine and fear of
side effects are further considerations. However, all these factors vary greatly, and
in the end, adherence is difficult to predict in individual cases (Lerner 1998). The
physician must rely on experience and intuition.
The importance of taking drugs regularly has been demonstrated in numerous studies. In one study with 99 patients, in which compliance was evaluated via an electronic monitoring system, the rate of viral treatment failure was only 22% in patients with a compliance level of at least 95% (95% of doses taken). Failure rates of
61% and as much as 80% were measured with a patients adherence between 8094% and < 80% (Paterson 2000). However, it must be taken into consideration that
this much-cited study is outdated. Newer drugs with longer half-lives, higher resistance barriers and better overall pharmacokinetics may be more forgiving concerning non-adherence (Rosenblum 2009). In the previously mentioned study, clinicians misjudged their patients compliance in 41% of the cases. Nurses did better
- judging incorrectly in only 30% of the cases (Paterson 2000). Adherence tended to
be overestimated in other studies as well (Miller 2002). The importance of adherence was demonstrated in patients with directly observed therapy (DOT) or directly
administered ART (DAART), applied in some penal institutions in the USA. In
institutions in Florida 100% of the patients in a DOT study achieved a viral load
below 400 copies/ml after 48 weeks, compared to 81% in an unmonitored control
group (Fischl 2001). According to one randomized study, response improved in
drug-addicted patients receiving DAART (Altice 2007).
Poor compliance not only leads to virological failure. It also bears immunological
consequences. In an analysis of two prospective studies, patients with a compliance
of 100%, 80-99% and < 79% experienced a reduction in viral load by 2.77, 2.33
and 0.67 logs after a year. At the same time, the CD4 T cell count increased by 179,
159 and 53 cells/l, respectively (Mannheimer 2002).
258 ART
Moreover, poor adherence has clinical effects beyond surrogate markers. In a Spanish study, patients who did not take more than 10% of their drugs showed a fourfold increase of mortality risk (Garcia 2002). This data has been confirmed in other
studies (Maher 1999, Hogg 2000, Wood 2004). Hospital stays are also less frequent
in patients with high adherence to ART (Paterson 2000). In addition, it should be
considered that non-adherent patients increase the risk of transmission of primary
resistant viruses. The basic mechanisms for development of resistance should be
explained to patients. One must emphasize that, in contrast to other chronic illnesses, resistance mutations do not disappear once they have developed. Diabetes
and hypertension make effective examples. These diseases may tolerate forgetting some tablets occasionally, but HIV is different. Blood glucose and blood pressure levels can easily be lowered again the next day, but with HIV this strategy may
not work. Even short-term lapses can have irreversible consequences. And every
new occurrence of resistance complicates therapy. Patients have to be made aware
of these dangers. Such conversations should be repeated from time to time and become a standard component of routine care. Cooperation with special treatment
discussion groups offered by patient-centered support organizations can be useful.
The 12-step table below provides additional suggestions.
In addition, a number of strategies on improving adherence have been investigated.
They range from employment of additional nurses to telephoning patients regularly.
This last one, telephone reminders, appears to not have an influence on compliance
(Collier 2005).
However, offering special therapy consultation hours (evenings and/pr weekends),
like those of some HIV help groups, have been successful.
If adherence remains poor

Despite all efforts, some patients will not succeed in improving their adherence.
Physicians and other healthcare providers should not take this personally or feel
offended should a patient not want to participate in the advances of medicine. Although it may be difficult to accept the patients views on life, disease and treatment, healthcare providers must keep tolerance and acceptance as key components
in their interactions with patients. Some providers, especially those who treat selective patient populations in university settings, tend to forget the reality of routine
medical practice. Rigidly upholding the principles of modern medicine usually does
not help here and putting patients under pressure achieves even less. It is important
to clearly outline and explain, advise, help, question and listen.
259
Twelve steps to improve compliance

1. Every patient should receive a written (understandable by the patient) treatment
plan, which should be reviewed at the end of the visit. It should include a telephone number to call in case of problems or questions, accessible evenings and
weekends would be even better.
2. Patient and clinician should agree on the treatment plan. The patients concerns,
questions and criticisms should be discussed.
3. The patient should have the impression that the treatment regimen is not randomly chosen, but tailored to his/her individual needs.
4. The explanation of a new or modified treatment plan takes time, and should not
be rushed all questions should be answered.
5. The reasons why adherence is so important should be explained. It makes sense
to repeat such conversations they should not only take place when initiating
or modifying treatment, but should be part of routine care.
6. Possible side effects should be explained, as well as what can be done to alleviate them.
7. Support groups and other types of assistance should be named and offered.
8. It is important to tell the patient to come back if any problems are encountered
with ART it is better to try to solve them together than have the patient try to
deal with them alone at home.
9. The patient should know that the treatment regimen must be taken in its entirety
(avoid, Last month I left out the big tablets).
10. Prescriptions should be documented, in order to get a rough idea of adherence.
Irregularities should be addressed openly. Pills counted, bottles checked?
11. During all stages of therapy, the patient should be informed of treatment success as seen by reduction of viral load and rise in CD4 count.
12. Ensure clinical vigilance to detect the early signs of depression and treat appropriately.
The question of whether noncompliant patients should continue to be treated with
antiretroviral therapy is not always easy to address. On the one hand, there are patients who benefit even from suboptimal therapy; on the other hand, drugs are expensive and should not be prescribed too readily. When resources are limited, available drugs should be distributed with care. Restraint should be applied until the reason for poor compliance is understood.
Duesbergians a sect of HIV medicine

Patients who principally refuse antiretroviral treatment form a special case. These
patients are frequently under treatment by (shockingly misdirected) doctors, who
call themselves Duesbergians (after the US virologist and AIDS dissident Peter
Duesberg, who denies any association between AIDS and illness). In such cases, it
can be very difficult to leave patients to their fate. Informative consultations should
260 ART
be as detailed as possible and preferably documented in writing. Below, an example:
An approximately 40 year old patient with a long history of untreated HIV, 30 CD4
cells/l and cerebral toxoplasmosis, which improved significantly after 4 weeks of
acute treatment (the last MRI still showed scattered lesions) introduced his case to
the HIV outpatient department. Clinically, he was relatively well and fully oriented
and due for discharge that day. In a conversation, the patient categorically refused
to start the urgently recommended antiretroviral therapy. His Duesbergian physician
had advised him against HIV therapy (You can die from AZT, and the other drugs
are not much better, etc). He refused antibiotics on principal as well. This was why
the patient would not continue the toxoplasmosis maintenance therapy, which had
made him suffer from diarrhea (NB, probably cryptosporidiosis), skin problems
(seborrhoic dermatitis, thrush), and extreme loss of weight (MAC?) since his first
day in hospital. It was very important for him to have a break from all medication.
In such cases, we make sure the patients sign the information sheets. Every patient
is allowed to and should decide for himself (if fully cognizant and capable) they
must know and be fully informed about what they are doing. It is important to give
the patient control: if he changes his mind, he may return!
In our experience, arguing with medical Duesbergians leads to nothing at all. This
sect has a very restricted view of the world and stick to their repetitive mantra-like
arguments. Discussing with them is time consuming and a waste of energy.
Fortunately, these cases have become rarer. The initial widespread scepticism towards ART has decreased significantly, due to its overwhelming success in the last
few years. Concerning Peter Duesberg, he has also become more quiet, at least as
far as his HIV activities goes. The sect is in decline.
Costs
Antiretroviral treatment is expensive. A health provider needs to be informed about
costs for drugs.
In Germany, for example, the price for individual drugs range between 300
(Epivir) and 2,000 (Fuzeon) per month, common threefold therapies range between 14,000 and 25,000 per year. Even within drug classes, there are astonishing differences. Crixivan (hardly used today) is relatively cheap, while Aptivus is
more than three times the price. Even within primary therapies there are great price
variations. Annual costs for Kivexa+Sustiva are 7,000 cheaper than for Truvada+Prezista/r. A salvage therapy for a patient with multiresistant virus can
amounts to as much as 50,000 and more per year.
The reason why prices for directly competing agents (3TC and FTC) are almost
exactly the same, whilst prices for other agents of the same drug class differ by 200300%, cannot be explained by development costs alone. There is no doubt. People
are making money with ART and the market is full of competitors monopolies
and patents are being protected.
Despite all the criticism and price discussions, two facts can not be forgotten:
First, the high development costs for new medicines sometimes can get to a billion
dollars or more. Most agents never make it to the market. Even a licensed drug such
as T-20 may never recoup its development costs. According to Roche, development
261
and research alone chewed up 600 million dollars. To cover such production costs,
thousands of patients worldwide would have to be treated with T-20 for several
years a very unrealistic scenario.
Second, there is hardly a more effective therapy than antiretroviral therapy. US estimations assume an expenditure of between $13,000 and $23,000 per additional
QALY (quality-adjusted life year) (Freedberg 2001). Compared to many other
therapies this is relatively cheap. ART reduces the cost of expensive treatment of
opportunistic infections, inpatient and outpatient care. In one German study, between 1997 and 2001 total annual spending per patient decreased from 35,865 to
24,482 (Stoll 2002). Many patients return to work, resulting in an overall economic gain for society (Sendi 1999).
Nevertheless, ART is expensive. Therefore, it should be expected from patients to
use up remaining packets of drugs, etc if the reasons for a change in therapy are not
urgent. Concerns of pill reduction or doubts about long-term toxicity should be part
of an ongoing discussion with patients. All patients need to be made aware of the
costs of medication to make them aware of the value of the therapy.
Initially, ART should be prescribed for a month. This way mountains of unused
pills that cannot be taken wont be left behind if signs of intolerability or difficult to
manage adverse events set in. If response to ART is positive and its effects constant, prescriptions can then be done for a period of three months.
Many companies now offer three-month supply packages. This practice has not
been without criticism. In any case, prescriptions of longer than a three months
supply should be avoided.
In the future, we all need to be more aware of the costs for ART. The patents for
AZT, ddI, 3TC, d4T and abacavir will be removed by the end of 2010. It will be
interesting to watch price developments. Patent loss for the first PI will take more
time. Saquinavir is scheduled to be released sometime in 2010.
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264
7. Management of Side Effects

Christiane Schieferstein-Knauer, Thomas Buhk
Patients on ART commonly suffer from side effects. As a result, treatment of HIV
infection has become a complicated balancing act between the benefits of durable
HIV suppression and the risks of drug toxicity. Delayed commencement of antiretroviral therapy, adherence problems, regimen changes or even withdrawal from
therapy are often the result of drug toxicity (Nolan 2005). About 25% of patients
stop therapy within the first year on ART because of side effects (Yuan 2006,
dArminio Monforte 2000). A similar number of patients do not take the recommended dosages of their medication due to worries about side effects. Gastrointestinal problems are the most frequent reason for withdrawal or change of ART
(Chubineh 2008). Patients who report significant side effects are more often nonadherent to therapy.
The patient should be counseled in detail on the potential side effects, so that he or
she is in a position to recognize them and to talk with their physician in time. This
can save lives, for example in the case of abacavir hypersensitivity reaction, or prevent the irreversible damage of some side effects, such as polyneuropathy. Being
prepared for the occurrence of possible problems and providing potential solutions
improves both the acceptance of treatment and adherence. This information needs
to be presented by the provider to the patient in a friendly manner the extensive
package inserts are ominous enough to frighten most patients. It is often difficult to
distinguish between symptoms related to HIV infection and those caused by antiretroviral therapy. An accurate history, including any co-medication (including overthe-counter products) is paramount. It is important to consider the intensity, variation and reproducibility of complaints, as other possible causes should be excluded
before symptoms are judged as being side effects of treatment.
It must be stressed that the majority of patients are able to tolerate ART well, even
for years. Nevertheless, the monitoring of treatment by an HIV clinician, even in
asymptomatic patients, is recommended in at least quarterly visits, and even more
often at the beginning of any new therapy when visits can be weekly or fortnightly.
Standard evaluations include a thorough history (including allergies and other side
effects), a physical examination and measurement of vital signs and body weight.
Routine investigations include a full blood count, liver, pancreas and renal function
tests, electrolytes (plus phosphate in patients on tenofovir) as well as fasting cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose levels. For lipodystrophy, see chapter on Lipodystrophy Syndrome.
Gastrointestinal side effects

Today, gastrointestinal (GI) problems have fortunately become less common, as
older NRTIs like AZT or ddI are no longer part of the current recommendations for
antiretroviral therapy. The newer NRTIs like tenofovir or abacavir cause significantly fewer gastrointestinal side effects. Treatment with AZT rarely leads to severe
gastritic pain, nausea and/or vomiting, in which case it should be discontinued. Ritonavir remains the leading PI that causes gastrointestinal side effects. GI side effects appear more frequently during the early stages of therapy. Typical symptoms
Management of Side Effects
265
include abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting,

heartburn, abdominal pain, gas in the abdomen or intestines and constipation. Diarrhea occurs frequently with all PIs, particularly with ritonavir but also with lopinavir, atazanavir, tipranavir and darunavir.
In addition to the often considerable impact on everyday life, gastrointestinal side
effects can lead to dehydration, malnutrition with accompanying weight loss, and
low plasma drug levels with the risk of development of resistant viral strains.
In most cases, symptoms occur early on in therapy. Patients should be informed that
these side effects usually resolve after some weeks (46) of treatment. If gastrointestinal side effects appear for the first time after longer periods on ART, other
causes such as gastritis and infectious diarrhea need to be considered.
Nausea and vomiting

If administration on an empty stomach leads to nausea and vomiting, most drugs
can be taken together with meals. Only the NNRTI efavirenz has to be administered
on an empty stomach; small quantities of low-fat salty crackers may lessen nausea.
Ginger, peppermint or chamomile teas or sweets may also be helpful, as well as
more frequent but smaller meals. Care should be taken with fatty foods and dairy
products. Coffee, smoking, alcohol, aspirin and very spicy foods should be avoided.
If treatment is necessary, metoclopramide has been proven to be useful. Dimenhydrinate, cimetidine, ranitidine or ondansetrone can also be taken. Antiemetic drugs
can not only be administered if the patient is feeling ill, but taken regularly prophylactically, ideally 30 to 45 minutes before taking ART. If taken on a regular basis,
attention should be paid to side effects such as dyskinesia. After a few weeks, doses
can generally be slowly reduced. If nausea persists for more than two months, a
change of treatment should be considered otherwise adherence problems will certainly occur.
Diarrhea
In patients with acute or severe diarrhea, the priority is to treat dehydration and loss
of electrolytes. Other causes such as GI infection or lactose intolerance should be
excluded. Difficult-to-digest foodstuffs (particularly those high in fat or glucose)
should be avoided and those that are easy to digest (e.g., potatoes, rice, noodles)
eaten instead. It makes sense to remember approved homespun remedies (see
table 1).
If significant dehydration and loss of electrolytes occur, coke and salty crackers,
sports drinks, herbal teas or electrolyte solutions may be taken. Oral rehydration
solution can be easily made from the juice of 5 oranges, 800 ml of boiled water or
tea (cooled to room temperature), a teaspoon of iodized salt and two tablespoons of
sugar.
Oat bran tablets have been proven to be useful and cheap for PI-associated diarrhea.
They are taken together with antiretroviral therapy (daily dose 1500 mg). Pancreli-
266 ART
pase, a synthetic pancreatic enzyme, has also been shown to be effective for PIassociated diarrhea.
PI-associated diarrhea can also be alleviated by calcium (Turner 2004), taken as
calcium carbonate, at a dose of 500 mg BID. However, as calcium binds with many
other agents, it should be taken 2 hours apart from HIV medication.
Oral supplements of glutamine (1030 g/day) or alanylglutamine (up to 44 g/day)
alleviate diarrhea and can also boost levels of antiretroviral drugs in the blood
(Bushen 2004, Heiser 2004). Glutamine can be purchased in drugstores or ordered
over the internet. The probiotics Saccharomyces boulardii and Lactobacillus acidophilus are used in infectious diarrhea and for the prevention of antibioticassociated diarrhea. They can sometimes ameliorate medication-associated diarrhea. Case reports implicate S. boulardii as an etiologic agent of possibly fatal invasive fungal infections. Particularly at risk are patients with an intravascular catheter
or on antibiotic therapy (Enanche-Angoulvant 2005).
Alternatively, psyllium may be effective. It should not be taken together with loperamide or opium tincture, or at the same time as HIV medication.
The cornerstone of symptomatic treatment is loperamide which inhibits bowel
movement (initially 24 mg, followed by 2 mg, up to a maximum of 16 mg daily).
If loperamide is not effective, opium tincture is an alternative (initially 5 drops,
maximum 15 to 20 drops), and attention should be paid to the risk of intestinal obstruction, especially if overdosed. In some cases, a combination of different antidiarrheal drugs may be appropriate.
Table 1: Approved homespun remedies
Pectin
in apples (raw with paring), bananas (pure), carrots (pure, cooked, soup), St. Johns bread
(oatmeal gruel or rice gruel with St. Johns flour). Pectin is a dietary fiber, which is not digested, it binds water and toxic agents and lessens the diarrhea.
Gruel
Soups made of oatmeal or rice gruel
Tanning agents
Black or green tea, dried blueberries (tea, powder), dark chocolate
Hepatotoxicity
Elevated liver enzymes are common with ART, and severe hepatotoxicity occurs in
up to 6% of patients. Liver failure is rare (Nunez 2005). Hepatotoxicity occurs more
often in patients with pre-existing liver dysfunction (Soriano 2008). Severe liver
damage has been associated with nevirapine, ritonavir and tipranavir, with several
fatalities linked to nevirapine and tipranavir (Rachlis 2007, Bjornsson 2006, ChanTack 2008). Case reports also exist about liver failure occurring on darunavir, indinavir, atazanavir, efavirenz, nelfinavir and different NRTIs (Carr 2001, Clark
2002).
Risk factors for severe hepatotoxicity are elevated liver enzymes before initiating
treatment, chronic hepatitis B or C, concomitant hepatotoxic medication, PI therapy, thrombocytopenia or renal dysfunction (Servoss 2006, Sulkowski 2002). Pa-
267
tients with pre-existing liver disease should use these drugs only along with strict
monitoring.
Hepatotoxic reactions occur at different time points for different drug classes: nucleoside analogs lead to hepatic steatosis, which is probably caused by mitochondrial toxicity and usually occurs after more than 6 months on treatment (Montessori
2003). NNRTIs often cause a hypersensitivity reaction within the first 12 weeks.
PIs can lead to hepatotoxicity at any stage during the course of treatment once
again, patients with chronic viral hepatitis are particularly at risk. One possible
cause is immune reconstitution syndrome (IRS) while on ART, with increased cytolytic activity against hepatitis virus infected liver cells. Among the PIs, toxic hepatitis is seen most frequently in patients on boosted atazanavir, indinavir and
tipranavir, (Sulkowski 2004).
NNRTIs
Liver toxicity occurs more commonly on nevirapine (NVP) than on other antiretroviral drugs. Clinically asymptomatic and symptomatic liver toxicity, including rapidly occurring fatal liver failure have been observed (Bjornsson 2006). Serious and
fatal liver toxicity has been reported even during post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP),
but not after single dose nevirapine (Jackson 2003, McKoy 2009).
Symptomatic hepatotoxicity seems to depend on gender, CD4 T cell count and
body mass index (BMI). The Indications and Usage section of the Viramune
(nevirapine) label advises against starting nevirapine treatment in women with CD4
T cell counts higher than 250 cells/l unless the benefits clearly outweigh the risks.
A higher risk of serious liver toxicity was observed in patients with higher CD4 T
cell counts prior to initiation of therapy. A retrospective analysis of the Boehringer
Ingelheim database showed that females have a three-fold higher risk of symptomatic NVP liver toxicity than males. Females with CD4 T cell counts > 250 cells/l
(males: > 400/l) have a 12-fold (5-fold) higher risk of symptomatic liver toxicity
than females with less than 250 cells/l (< 400/l). These patients were almost exclusively antiretroviral-nave. In a cohort of antiretroviral-nave pregnant women in
Mozambique, severe hepatotoxicity was also more common at higher CD4 T cell
counts. The increased risk seems particular to treatment-nave patients. Virologically suppressed patients switching to nevirapine seem not to have a significantly
higher risk of hepatotoxicity (Mallolas 2006, De Lazarri 2008, Kesselring 2009).
One open-label comparison of 742 patients treated with either nevirapine- or
efavirenz-based ART with a naive arm, experienced subjects or patients on salvage
therapy, found no increased hepatotoxicity in NVP-treated subjects, in particular
with regard to either sex or T-cell-mediated immunodeficiency (Manfredi 2006).
One risk factor seems to be chronic hepatitis C virus infection. In these co-infected
patients nevirapine should be avoided (Torti 2007). Females with a BMI lower than
18.5 also have an increased risk of liver toxicity on NVP (Sanne 2005).
Liver toxicity occurs usually early during therapy (within 18 weeks of starting) and
may progress to liver failure despite monitoring of laboratory tests, which is not
characteristic of other antiretrovirals.
268 ART
If liver enzymes increase to > 3.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) during treatment, nevirapine should be stopped immediately. If liver enzymes return to baseline
and if the patient has had no clinical signs or symptoms of hepatitis, rash, flu-like
symptoms, fever or other findings suggestive of organ dysfunction, it may, on a
case-by-case basis, be possible to reintroduce NVP. However, frequent monitoring
is mandatory in such cases. If liver function abnormalities recur, nevirapine should
be permanently discontinued. If clinical hepatitis (anorexia, nausea, jaundice, etc.)
occurs, nevirapine must be stopped immediately and never readministered.
The combination of nevirapine and etravirine has shown significant hepatotoxicity
(Johnson 2009). In patients treated with efavirenz minor enzyme elevations are
generally safe and usually resolve so that a treatment change is not necessary
(Gutierrez 2008, Kontorinis 2003). This also applies if tenofovir is added to therapy
with efavirenz (Lattuada 2008).
Protease inhibitors
Atazanavir and indinavir inhibit the hepatic enzyme UDP-glucuronosyltransferase,
increasing the level of bilirubin in up to 50% of patients (Torti 2009). Hyperbilirubinemia is not usually associated with signs or symptoms of hepatocellular
injury. It clinically resembles Gilbert's syndrome and is associated with higher ATV
plasma levels (Smith 2006). The levels of bilirubin return to normal following discontinuation of the drugs. If bilirubin is only mildly elevated (3 - 5 times ULN) and
the serum liver enzyme levels are normal, treatment change is not mandatory. If the
bilirubin is constantly markedly elevated, medication should be discontinued: no
one knows about the long-term consequences of hyperbilirubinemia (Sulkowsky
2004). Pre-existing liver fibrosis or cirrhosis seem to not increase substantially the
risk of severe transaminase elevations with atazanavir/r in co-infected patients (HIV
plus hepatitis) (Pineda 2008). In patients with end-stage liver disease, unboosted
atazanavir did not worsen liver disease; in fact, atazanavir allowed patients to maintain or gain immunovirological eligibility for orthopic liver transplantation (Guaraldi 2009).
Tipranavir/r is associated with a risk of transaminase elevations. In the RESIST
trials, grade 3 or 4 transaminase elevations were significantly more common in
tipranavir/r than in all other boosted PIs (Hicks 2006). From June 2005 to March
2007, twelve cases of liver-associated deaths were identified (Chan-Tack 2008).
Tipranavir/r should not be administered to patients with hepatic impairment ChildPugh Class B or C. Extreme caution should be exercised when administering it to
patients with mild hepatic impairment or patients with chronic hepatitis, as treatment-experienced patients with chronic hepatitis B or C co-infection or elevated
transaminases are at approximately 2-fold elevated risk for developing grade 3 or 4
transaminase elevations or hepatic decompensation. Frequent monitoring is mandatory in such cases.
Besides serological tests for viral hepatitis, an abdominal ultrasound should be performed in order to recognize structural liver dysfunction early, e.g., non-alcoholic
steatohepatitis or liver cirrhosis, before initiating ART. Liver function should be
monitored biweekly at the start of treatment with nevirapine and PIs and even more
frequently in patients with pre-existing liver disease. Monthly tests are generally
269
sufficient for all other drugs. If liver enzymes (ALT, AST) are moderately elevated
(< 3.5 times ULN) in the absence of clinical symptoms, treatment can be continued
under close monitoring. If liver enzymes are elevated to more than 3.5 times ULN,
additional diagnostic tests should be performed, including an abdominal ultrasound.
In cases of co-infection with hepatitis B or C, treatment of these conditions should
be considered. With other pre-existing liver conditions, it may be useful to determine drug plasma levels. Discontinuation of treatment may not be necessary except
in the case of nevirapine (see above).
If liver enzymes are elevated in a later phase of therapy (after more than 6 months
after initiation), a thorough investigation including serology for viral hepatitis,
CMV, and EBV, as well as an abdominal ultrasound, should be performed. Lactic
acidosis, hypersensitivity reactions to abacavir and other hepatotoxic drugs should
also be considered. A liver biopsy can reveal macro- and microvesicular steatosis
and mitochondrial alterations in NRTI-induced steatosis and is therefore helpful to
identify a nucleoside-induced hepatopathy and to distinguish it from other causes of
liver injury.
In patients with HCV co-infection, hepatitis C should, if possible, be treated before
the initiation of ART, to reduce the frequency of severe hepatotoxicity (see chapter
on Hepatitis C). In HBV co-infection, the ART regimen should include FTC or 3TC
with tenofovir. Patients with pre-existing liver dysfunction should undergo drug
plasma level monitoring, especially during treatment with PIs. Doses can be adjusted according to the plasma levels to help keep the patient on therapy.
Finally, drug interactions and hepatotoxicity related to other drugs (e.g., ACE inhibitors) or herbal medication taken concomitantly, should not be overlooked (Van
den Bout-van den Beukel 2008).
Renal problems
Atazanavir: About 7% of atazanavir is excreted unchanged in the urine. Some reports have highlighted occurrences of nephrolithiasis in patients on atazanavir
(Chan-Tack 2007).
Tenofovir (TDF): Animal studies showed a dose-related nephrotoxicity with tenofovir, and although several case reports suggest this in humans, severe renal toxicity
occurs rarely (Gallant 2008). One study showed that graded elevations in serum
creatinine occurred in 2.2% of patients (Nelson 2007). Severe cases have been reported with acute renal failure, proximal tubulopathy with Fanconis syndrome and
nephrogenic diabetes insipidus and rarely hypophosphatemic osteomalacia (Rollot
2003, Saumoy 2004). Tenofovir damages the proximal tubules, which clinically
manifests as proximal tubular acidosis, normoglycemic glycosuria, hypophosphatemia, hypouricemia, hypokalemia, generalized aminoaciduria, and proteinuria.
Renal toxicity occurs after some months, rarely at the beginning of therapy (Hansen
2004, Izzedine 2004, Rifkin 2004). Risk factors include a relatively high TDF exposure due to pre-existing renal impairment, low body weight, co-administration of
nephrotoxic drugs, lopinavir/r, and atazanavir/ddI (Nelson 2007).
PIs can interact with the renal transport of organic anions, leading to proximal tubular intracellular accumulation of tenofovir (Izzedine 2004 and 2007, Rollot 2003).
270 ART
In three studies no increased tenofovir-associated nephrotoxicity was observed in
patients with concomitant PI therapy (Gallant 2005, Antoniou 2005, Crane 2007).
Two other studies showed that treatment with TDF and a boosted PI was associated
with greater declines in renal function compared with tenofovir and NNRTI-based
regimens (Goicoechea 2008, Gallant 2009).
Furthermore, extensive pre-treatment with nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors seems to be another risk factor (Saumoy 2004). However, even in patients
without any predisposing factors, nephrotoxicity may occur (Barrios 2004).
In case of renal dysfunction, especially in patients with low body weight, tenofovir
should be avoided, or the dosing interval should be adjusted. The manufacturer recommends administering TDF every 48h in patients with a creatinine clearance of
between 30 and 49 ml/min. In case of severe renal dysfunction (creatinine clearance
< 30 ml/min) it should not be administered. Normal creatinine levels may be misleading especially in subjects with low body weight, which is why creatinine clearance should be measured before initiating tenofovir treatment. Renal function tests
including creatinine, urea, creatinine clearance, proteinuria, glycosuria, blood and
urine phosphate should be monitored every other week.
TDF is not recommended for use in patients with pre-existing renal insufficiency. It
should also be avoided with concomitant or recent use of nephrotoxic agents such
as aminoglycosides, amphotericin B, foscarnet, ganciclovir, pentamidine, vancomycin, cidofovir or interleukin-2. Usually, abnormalities resolve upon discontinuation
of the drug (Izzedine 2004, Rifkin 2004, Roling 2006).
Indinavir: Renal problems occur particularly with indinavir treatment, and are
caused by indinavir crystals, which may be found in the urine in up to 20% of patients. Approximately 10% of patients develop nephrolithiasis, which is not visible
on an X-ray, accompanied by renal colic. Nephrolithiasis is primarily caused by
high indinavir levels in relation to a low body mass index, drug interactions and
individual fluctuations of the drug plasma level. The intake of indinavir/r 800/100
mg with a light meal reduced the indinavir nephrotoxic maximum plasma concentration, probably reflecting a food-induced delay in the absorption of indinavir
(Aarnoutse 2003). However, renal failure is rare. In case of suspected high indinavir
levels, therapeutic drug monitoring should be performed and the dose adjusted
(Collin 2007, Wasmuth 2007). As prophylaxis, a daily intake of at least 3 liters of
water is recommended. Interruption of therapy, following a single incidence of
colic, is not usually necessary. Indinavir is no longer on the list of recommended
therapies.
CNS disorders
Efavirenz (EFV): In up to 40% of patients, treatment with efavirenz may lead to
CNS side effects such as dizziness, insomnia, nightmares, mood fluctuations, depression, depersonalization, paranoid delusions, confusion and suicidal ideation.
These side effects are observed mainly during the first days and weeks of treatment.
Discontinuation of therapy becomes necessary in approximately 3% of patients.
271
There is an association between high plasma levels of EFV and the occurrence of
CNS symptoms (Marzolini 2001).
Furthermore, genetic predisposition seems to play a role. Different variations described in the enzyme system CYP2B6 may be responsible for the elimination of
efavirenz (Haas 2004). Certain genetic variations more frequent in Afro-Americans
than in Europeans raise the levels of EFV. In one study blacks who carried the allele for 983C of the enzyme system CYP2B6 had increased CNS toxicity while on
efavirenz (Wyen 2007).
High efavirenz plasma levels can be caused by medication interactions, so a thorough drug history should be taken; perceptions of drug tolerance by the patients can
play an important role. It has been shown that EFV changes the sleeping pattern
(Moyle 2006).
Patients should be informed thoroughly about the nature of the possible side effects
of efavirenz, and that these are usually expected to resolve after a relatively short
period of time. Driving cars or operating machinery can be impaired in the first
weeks. If dizziness or drowsiness is experienced, these activities should be avoided.
Treatment with EFV should not be started before exams or other important events.
If the CNS side effects persist for more than two to four weeks, it is reasonable to
prescribe 200 mg pills, so that the dose can be divided into a 400 mg night dose and
a 200 mg morning dose. By doing this, we experienced a reduction in unpleasant
CNS side effects in 50% of patients in our center. The daily dose should not be reduced from 600 mg to 400 mg because of the higher risk of therapy failure and development of drug resistance.
Measurement of drug levels makes sense after the second week of therapy to confirm correct dosage, but the only consequence is the splitting of the 600 mg dosage.
Taking 400 mg/200 mg can reduce the Cmax levels and therefore the toxicity potential becomes milder.
Lorazepam can diminish the CNS side effects, and haloperidol can be given for
panic attacks and nightmares, but both drugs should be restricted to severe cases,
because of their side effects and addictive potency (lorazepam).
CNS side effects are possible with etravirine, too (Madruga 2007), although they
are less intensive and less frequent. If they persist with efavirenz even after splitting
the dosage for more than six weeks, EFV should be replaced, for example by nevirapine or by a different antiretroviral combination therapy.
Abacavir/3TC: Depression, insomnia and even psychosis rarely occur or get worse
on 3TC or abacavir therapy. If the patient complains of CNS-related side effects,
3TC or abacavir should be considered as a possible cause (Foster 2004).
Peripheral polyneuropathy
Peripheral polyneuropathy is mainly caused by NRTIs that are no longer prescribed
as first- or second-line drugs in most Western Countries, although still frequently
used in Africa or Asia, such as ddI, d4T or AZT. With the other NRTIs (ABC,
TDF, FTC, 3TC) it normally does not appear. Because of their continued use in
272 ART
much of the Global South, we will quickly review the symptoms and possibilities
for palliation. It usually presents with a distal symmetrical distribution and sensorimotor paralysis. Patients complain of paresthesia and pain (tingling) in their
hands and feet and perioral dysesthesia. The symptoms often begin gradually after
several months of therapy. HIV infection itself can lead to peripheral polyneuropathy, but the drug-induced form becomes apparent much earlier and may develop
within a shorter period of time. Patients must be informed that they should consult
their treating physician as soon as possible if these complaints develop. Additional
risk factors for polyneuropathy, such as vitamin B12 deficiency, alcohol abuse, diabetes mellitus, malnutrition, or treatment with other neurotoxic drugs, e.g., INH,
should be addressed as well. In any case, the nucleoside analogs ddI and d4T have
been dropped from first-line therapy recommendations (ddC is no longer manufactured). If possible they should be avoided for salvage therapy as well. Symptoms
frequently improve within the first two months following discontinuation of the
drugs responsible, but may initially increase in intensity and are not always fully
reversible. Because treatment is difficult, and there is no specific therapy, it is extremely important that peripheral polyneuropathy is recognized early by the doctor,
resulting in a rapid change of treatment. The causative agent needs to be stopped.
An easy test, in practice, is to test vibration with a tuning fork. A 64-Hz tuning fork
(Rydel-Seiffer) is applied to the appropriate bony surface (e.g., distal hallux, medial
malleolus or lateral malleolus) bilaterally. The patient is asked to report the perception of both the start of the vibration sensation and the cessation of vibration on
dampening. As the intensity of the vibration starts to diminish the two triangles
move closer together again. The intensity at which the patient no longer detects the
vibration is read as the number adjacent to the intersection. It can thus be quantified
and compared to the results of other tests. Through this simple method first signs of
polyneuropathy can be recognized easily and early.
Apart from symptomatic treatment with metamizole, acetaminophen (paracetamol),
carbamazepine, amitriptyline, gabapentine and opioids, methods such as acupuncture or transcutaneous nerve stimulation have been tried with varying success. Vitamin B supplementation can help to improve peripheral polyneuropathy faster.
Tight shoes or long periods of standing or walking should be avoided; cold showers
may relieve pain before going to bed. Uridintriphosphate (Keltican) is approved
for diabetic polyneuropathy, but data about its effectiveness are scant. Indeed, no
data or evidence is available to date on its use in HIV neuropathy. For uridine, see
chapter on Mitochondrial Toxicity.
Changes in blood count

Anemia
Some antiretroviral drugs (especially AZT) are myelosuppressive, especially with
respect to red cells, and lead to anemia (de Jesus 2004). Most commonly affected
are patients with advanced HIV infection and pre-existing myelosuppression, on
chemotherapy or co-medication with other myelotoxic drugs such as cotrimoxazole, pyrimethamine, amphotericin B, ribavirin, and interferon, or with other antiretroviral drugs.
273
5 to 10% of patients taking AZT develop anemia usually during the first 3 months
of therapy, but sometimes even after years on treatment (Carr 2001). AZT should
be discontinued in severe cases, and a blood transfusion may be necessary. MCV is
always elevated, even in patients on AZT without anemia, and is therefore a good
measure of adherence. It sometimes makes sense to change from Combivir to the
single drugs Retrovir and Epivir in anemic patients, because of the lower AZT
dose in Retrovir (250 mg) compared to Combivir (300 mg). Because there are
many alternatives to this third-line myelotoxic drug we see no reason to give high
cost medications like erythropoietin.
Leukopenia
HIV infection itself may cause pancytopenia. A very low CD4 T cell count may
therefore be rarely due to a severe leukopenia. In this case, the percentage of the
CD4 T cells and the CD4/CD8 ratio is normal.
Due to drug-induced neutropenia, it is possible that despite viral suppression the
CD4 T cells remain low after an initial rise. In these cases treatment should be
changed to less myelotoxic antiretroviral drugs such as d4T, 3TC, most of the PIs
and all NNRTIs. AZT should be avoided. Leukopenia may also occur on abacavir
or tenofovir.
Allergic Reactions
Allergic reactions are frequent during HIV therapy. They occur with all NNRTIs, as
well as with the nucleoside analog abacavir and the PIs fosamprenavir, tipranavir
and atazanavir. Because fosamprenavir, tipranavir and darunavir are sulfonamides,
they should be given with caution to patients with sulfonamide allergies. When
there are limited alternative treatment options, desensitization may permit continued
use of fosamprenavir or darunavir in patients with a history of allergy (Marcos
Bravo 2009). Atazanavir-associated macular or maculopapular rash is reported in
about 6% of patients and is usually mild, so that treatment withdrawal is not necessary (Ouagari 2006).
NNRTIs
Nevirapine (NVP) may cause a slight rash in 15 to 20% of patients, 5 to 10% of
whom discontinue treatment. The rash is seen less frequently on efavirenz and etravirine therapy, where only 2% of patients discontinue the drug (Carr 2001). With
etravirine fatalities due to toxic epidermal necrolysis have been reported as well as
hypersensitivity reactions, sometimes accompanied by hepatic failure. It should be
immediately discontinued when signs and symptoms of severe skin or hypersensitivity reactions develop.
The NNRTI allergy is a reversible, systemic reaction and typically presents as an
erythematous, maculopapular, pruritic and confluent rash, distributed mainly over
the trunk and arms. Fever may precede the rash. Further symptoms include myalgia
(sometimes severe), fatigue and mucosal ulceration. The allergy usually begins in
the second or third week of treatment. Women are more often and more severely
274 ART
affected (Bersoff-Matcha 2001). If symptoms occur later than 8 weeks after initiation of therapy, other drugs should be suspected. Severe reactions such as Stevens
Johnson Syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis (Lyell's syndrome) or anicteric hepatitis are rare.
Treatment should be discontinued immediately in cases with mucous membrane
involvement, blisters, exfoliation, hepatic dysfunction (transaminases > 5 times the
upper limit of normal) or fever > 39C.
If patients present with a suspected nevirapine-associated rash, additional hepatotoxicity and liver failure should be considered and liver function tests should be
performed. Patients with rash-associated AST or ALT elevations should be permanently discontinued from nevirapine.
Approximately 50% of NNRTI allergies resolve with continuation of therapy. Antihistamines may be helpful. Prophylactic treatment with glucocorticosteroids or antihistamines has been shown to be of no benefit for the prevention of nevirapine
allergy; in fact, rashes were even more common in some studies (Montaner 2003,
The Grupo Estudio 2004). Following a severe allergic reaction, the drug responsible
for the reaction should never be given again.
Abacavir hypersensitivity
Abacavir causes a hypersensitivity reaction (HSR), which may be life-threatening if
not recognized in time. It occurs in approximately 4-8% of Caucasian patients
(Hughes 2008). A higher rate is noted in patients on a once-daily regime, in artnave patients, in patients with a nevirapine allergy, and in acute HIV infection. In
over 90% of cases, the HSR occurs after a median of 8 days, and within the first
6 weeks. Hypersensitivity reaction to abacavir is strongly associated with the presence of the HLA-B*5701 allele, which has a prevalence of approximately 6% in
Caucasians. The prospective PREDICT study involving 1956 patients from 19
countries showed that HLA-B*5701 screening reduced the risk of hypersensitivity
reaction to abacavir (Mallal 2008). It is therefore recommended that HLA-B*5701
screening should be incorporated into routine care for patients who may require
abacavir (Phillips 2009). Nevertheless, HLA-B*5701-negative patients should be
informed about HSR, as it can rarely present also in these patients.
The rash associated with the abacavir HSR is often discrete, in contrast to the skin
reactions caused by nevirapine or efavirenz; in 30% of patients it may not occur at
all. 80% of patients have fever. In addition to general malaise (which grows worse
day to day), other frequent symptoms include gastrointestinal side effects such as
nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Respiratory symptoms, such as
dyspnea, cough and sore throat, are rare. Changes in the blood count, elevation of
liver transaminases, alkaline phosphatase, creatinine and LDH may accompany the
HSR. There is usually no eosinophilia. One case of Stevens Johnson Syndrome has
been described (Bossi 2002).
The simultaneous start of abacavir with NNRTIs is unfavorable because of the difficulties of differentiating between allergic reactions to NNRTIs and HSR. If abacavir is part of the initial therapy and flu-like symptoms occur, it is difficult to distinguish between immune reconstitution syndrome (IRIS) and HSR; HSR is diag-
275
nosed clinically. The differential diagnosis from an intercurrent infection is often

difficult. Criteria in favor of HSR include the development of symptoms within the
first 6 weeks of treatment, deterioration with each dose taken and the presence of
gastrointestinal side effects. If abacavir is discontinued in time, the HSR is completely reversible within a few days. HSR may be fatal if not diagnosed. Following
discontinuation of abacavir, further supportive treatment includes intravenous hydration and possibly steroids.
If the suspicion of HSR is only vague, and abacavir is not stopped, the patient
should be seen or spoken to (by telephone) daily, to be able to react immediately in
case of clinical worsening. Once the diagnosis of HSR has been established and
abacavir stopped, rechallenge with abacavir can be fatal and is strictly contraindicated. If there is only a vague suspicion of HSR and abacavir stopped, rechallenge
under in-patient conditions is possible. Whenever treatment is interrupted, it needs
to be noted that the HSR can occur for the first time after restarting treatment, even
without a prior HSR.
Treatment with abacavir requires detailed counseling (and documentation) on the
possible occurrence and symptoms of the HSR. Patients should know whom to contact in cases of suspected HSR, including at night and on weekends. It is important,
however, to talk with patients to avoid a non-necessary discontinuation.
Lactic acidosis
In comparison to asymptomatic hyperlactatemia, which occurs in approximately
15% to 35% of NRTI-treated patients (Carr 2001, Hocqueloux 2003), lactic acidosis is a rare but life-threatening complication. For clinical symptoms, pathogenesis,
and treatment please see chapter on Mitochondrial Toxicity.
It occurs most frequently on treatment with d4T and ddI, and less so in patients on
AZT, abacavir and 3TC. Risk factors are obesity, female sex, pregnancy and therapy with ribavirin or hydroxyurea, a diminished creatinine clearance and a low CD4
T cell nadir (Bonnet 2003, Butt 2003, Wohl 2006). When treatment with ribavirin is
necessary, ddI has to be replaced.
The clinical symptoms, including fatigue, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain,
weight loss and dyspnea, are non-specific and may develop acutely or more gradually. Blood results show elevated lactate levels with or without metabolic acidosis
(blood should be taken without using a tourniquet in a cooled fluoride oxalate tube,
with transport on ice and the lactate measured within 4 hours). CPK, LDH, lipase,
amylase, GGT and the anion gap may be increased; serum bicarbonate may be decreased. Hepatic steatosis can be seen with an ultrasound or CT.
Cases of severe lactic acidosis can occur without prior symptomatic hyperlactatemia. Lactate levels do not need to be monitored routinely, as increases are not
predictive and may lead to unnecessary changes in treatment (Brinkman 2001,
Vrouenraets 2002). In contrast, lactate levels should be tested immediately in symptomatic patients complaining of fatigue, sudden weight loss, abdominal disturbances, nausea, vomiting or sudden dyspnea, in pregnant women on NRTI treatment and in patients on NRTIs post-lactic acidosis (Carr 2003).
276 ART
Avascular necrosis
The incidence of asymptomatic avascular necrosis is approximately 4.4% in HIVpositive patients, significantly more frequent than in the general population (Lawson-Ayayin 2005). The postulated association with PIs has not been confirmed
(Loiseau-Peres 2002). Risk factors for avascular necrosis are alcohol abuse, hyperlipidemia, steroid treatment, hypercoagulability, hemoglobinopathy, trauma, nicotine abuse and chronic pancreatitis. Virological (viral load) or immunological parameters are not associated with a risk of developing avascular necrosis (Mondy
2003).
The most common site of the necrosis is the femoral head and, less frequently, the
head of the humerus. Initially, patients complain of pain when bearing weight on
the affected joint, with symptoms worsening over the following days and weeks.
The initial stages may be asymptomatic, but are followed by severe bone pain and
reduced mobility. Necrosis of the femoral head produces pain in the hip or groin,
which may radiate to the knee.
All patients on ART, especially those with additional risk factors like steroids
should be monitored closely when hip pain occurs for the first time. Even in subjects with moderate bone or joint pain, an MRI should be performed early on, as
this is more sensitive than conventional radiography. Early diagnosis and treatment
can spare patients pain, loss of mobility and surgical intervention.
If the diagnosis is confirmed, patients should be referred to an orthopedic surgeon
as soon as possible. Different treatment strategies are available for reducing bone
and joint damage as well as pain, depending on the stage of disease, localization
and grade of severity. In the early stages, reduced weight bearing with crutches is
often sufficient. Surgical core decompression is an option: several holes are drilled
in the femoral neck or head, causing new blood vessels to develop and thereby reducing the pressure within the bone. In the more advanced stages, the chances of
success decrease with the size of the necrosis. The alternative, osteotomy, has the
disadvantage of reducing the mobility of patients over long periods of time. In severe cases, a total endoprothesis (TEP) is usually necessary.
Further risk factors need to be identified and eliminated. If possible, steroids should
be discontinued. Sufficient data are missing as to whether treatment modification on
nonPI therapy is successful (Mondy 2003). Physiotherapy is recommended. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g., ibuprofen) are the treatment of choice for
analgesia.
Osteopenia
HIV-infected individuals have a lower bone density than uninfected individuals
(Loiseau-Peres 2002). Bone density is determined by the measurement of X-ray
absorption (e.g., DEXA scan). Results are given as the number of standard deviations (the T-score) from the mean value in young, healthy individuals. Values between -1 and -2.5 standard deviations (SD) are referred to as osteopenia, values
above -2.5 SD as osteoporosis.
In addition to HIV infection, other factors such as malnutrition, diminished fat tissues, steroid treatment, hypogonadism, immobilization and treatment with PIs and
277
NRTIs, seem to play a role in the pathogenesis of this disorder. Osteopenia and osteoporosis are often asymptomatic. Osteoporosis occurs mainly in the vertebrae,
lower arms and hips.
The following tests should be performed on all patients with AIDS: a lumbar spine
X-ray in the standard anteroposterior and lateral views, bone density measurement
(DEXA scan) of the lumbar spine and hip; and laboratory blood tests, including
calcium, phosphate and alkaline phosphatase. Osteopenia should be treated with
1000 I.E. vitamin D daily and a calcium-rich diet or calcium tablets at a dose of
1200 mg/day. Patients should be advised to exercise and offered methods on how to
give up alcohol and nicotine. In cases of osteoporosis, bisphosphonates (e.g., alendronate at 70 mg QW) should be added (Mc Comsey 2007, Huang 2009). The tablets should be taken on an empty stomach 30 minutes before breakfast, and an upright position should be maintained for at least 30 minutes. No calcium should be
taken on this day. Antiretroviral therapy should not be taken together with calcium.
Because testosterone suppresses osteoclasts, hypogonadism should be treated. Alcohol and smoking should be avoided; regular exercise is an essential part of the
therapy.
Increased bleeding episodes in hemophiliacs

HIV-infected patients with hemophilia A or B, after some weeks of treatment with
protease inhibitors, may have increased episodes of spontaneous bleeding into
joints and soft tissues. Rarely, intracranial and gastrointestinal bleeding has occurred. The etiology is unclear.
Specific side effects

Enfuvirtide (T-20)
The most common side effect of T-20 is an injection site reaction (ISR) with erythema, induration, nodules, pruritus, ecchymosis, pain and discomfort. Almost
every patient is affected, most of them, however, only mildly. ISR rarely limits
treatment, and only 3-7% of patients discontinue therapy (Lazzarin 2003). The
practitioner and the patient have to get used to the injection technique and the management of ISRs. Good injection technique (see Table 2), may be most effective in
minimizing the incidence and severity, as well as the incidence of associated events,
including infections. The appropriate management of ISR can lessen the reaction
(Clotet 2004, Buhk 2004). Desensitization therapy is available for the skin rash that
occurs rarely with T-20 (Shahar 2005). Another side effect, observed after 48 weeks
in the TORO study, was a higher rate of bacterial pneumonia in patients taking T20 (Clotet 2004, Tashima 2003).
Patients traveling to foreign countries should be prepared for questions about their
injection material. Taking along a medical certificate stating that the patient is on
injection therapy can help to avoid unpleasant situations.
278 ART
Table 2: Suggestions for prevention and management of injection site reactions (ISR) and
other injection-related adverse events (Clotet 2004)
Good injection technique
Ensure solution is at room temperature

Avoid muscle by bevelling needle at 4590 degrees, depending on body habitus
Inject slowly
Maintain sterile technique (wash hands, use gloves, clean injection area and vial caps with
alcohol swabs, never touch needle)
Feel for hard, subcutaneous bumps, avoid injecting into sites of previous ISR
Avoid indurated or erythematous areas
Avoid injections on the belt line
Rotate sites (abdomen, thighs, arms) and never inject two consecutive doses into the same
place
Gentle manual massage after every injection
Interventions for ISR

1. Injection pain
Topical anesthetic (e.g. lidocaine gel)
Oral analgesics pre-injection (e.g. ibuprofen or metamizole)
Numb area with ice or a cool pack before injecting
2. Management of pruritus
Oral antihistamines
Emollient creams or lotions (non-alcohol based and fragrance-free)
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281
8. Lipodystrophy Syndrome
Georg Behrens, Reinhold E.Schmidt
Background
The HIV lipodystrophy syndrome including metabolic complications and altered fat
distribution is a possible side effect of HIV therapy. The metabolic abnormalities
may harbor a significant risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In addition, several studies report a reduced quality of life in patients with body habitus changes
leading to a reduced treatment adherence. Despite the impact of lipodystrophy syndrome on HIV management, little is known about the pathogenesis, its prevention,
diagnosis and treatment. Current data indicate a rather multifactorial pathogenesis
where HIV infection, its therapy, and patient-related factors are all major contributors. The lack of a clear and easy definition reflects the clinical heterogeneity, limits
a clear diagnosis and impairs the comparison of results among clinical studies.
Therapeutic and prevention strategies have so far been of only limited clinical success, where avoiding the use of thymidine analogues appears to be most effective in
avoiding peripheral fat loss. General recommendations include dietary changes and
lifestyle modifications, altering antiretroviral therapy (replacing protease inhibitors
with NNRTIs or replacing d4T and AZT with abacavir or tenofovir), and finally,
the use of metabolically active drugs. Here we summarize the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment options of the HIV lipodystrophy syndrome.
Clinical manifestation
Lipodystrophy was originally described as a condition characterized by regional or
generalized loss of subcutaneous fat. The non-HIV-associated forms, such as congenital or familial partial lipodystrophy, have a very low prevalence. Generally,
these forms are associated with complex metabolic abnormalities and are difficult
to treat. The term lipodystrophy syndrome was introduced to describe a complex
medical condition including an apparent abnormal fat redistribution and metabolic
disturbances in HIV patients receiving protease inhibitor therapy (Carr 1998). Now,
years after its first description, there is still no consensus on a case definition for
lipodystrophy syndrome in HIV. Thus, the diagnosis of lipodystrophy in clinical
practice often relies on a more individual interpretation than on an evaluated classification. Finally, changes in fat distribution have to be considered as being part of a
rather dynamic process. In most cases, peripheral lipoatrophy is clinically diagnosed when significant fat loss of about 30% has already occurred.
HIV-associated lipodystrophy includes both clinical and metabolic alterations. The
most prominent clinical sign is a loss of subcutaneous fat (lipoatrophy) in the face
(periorbital, temporal), limbs, and buttocks. Prospective studies have demonstrated
an initial increase in limb fat during the first months of therapy, followed by a progressive decline over the ensuing years (Mallon 2003). Peripheral fat loss can be
accompanied by an accumulation of visceral fat, which can cause mild gastrointestinal symptoms. Initially truncal fat increases on therapy and then remains stable
(Mallon 2003). Visceral obesity, as a singular feature of abnormal fat redistribution,
appears to occur in only a minority of patients. Fat accumulation may also be found
282 ART
as dorsocervical fat pads (buffalo hump) within the muscle and the liver. Female
HIV-positive patients sometimes complain about painful breast enlargement, attributed to the lipodystrophy syndrome. Whether gynecomastia in male patients is a
component of the syndrome remains unclear. There is now accumulating evidence
that the major clinical components lipoatrophy, central adiposity and the combination of both result from different pathogenetic developmental processes.
The prevalence of lipodystrophy syndrome is estimated to be between 30 and 50%
based on cross-sectional studies. A prospective study over an 18-month period after
initiation of therapy revealed a prevalence of 17% but current HIV therapy combinations can be expected to lead to a lower incidence. Lipodystrophy, and in particular lipoatrophy, has been observed most frequently in patients receiving a combination regimen of nucleoside analogues and protease inhibitors, although almost all
antiretroviral drug combinations can be associated with fat redistribution. The risk
of the syndrome increases with the duration of treatment, the age of the patient and
the level of immunodeficiency. Children can be affected, like adults, with clinical
fat redistribution shortly after initiation or change of antiretroviral therapy. The evolution of the individual clinical components of the lipodystrophy syndrome is variable. The nucleoside analogue linked most strongly to lipoatrophy is d4T, particularly when used in combination with ddI. Tenofovir combined with 3TC and
efavirenz is associated with less loss of limb fat than d4T in a similar combination
in therapy-nave HIV patients (Gallant 2004).
Frequently, complex metabolic alterations are associated with these body shape
alterations. These include peripheral and hepatic insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, increased free fatty acids (FFA), and decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Often
these metabolic abnormalities appear or deteriorate before the manifestation of fat
redistribution. The prevalence of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance has been
reported in the literature at 20 to 50% depending on the study design and measurement methods. Frank diabetes is less frequent with a prevalence of between 1 and
6%. Lipodystrophic patients present with the highest rates of metabolic disturbances.
Hyperlipidemias are a frequently observed side effect of antiretroviral therapy, especially in combinations that include PIs. Newer drugs such as maraviroc or raltegravir seem to cause only minor disturbances in lipid metabolism. Given that many
HIV-infected patients present with already decreased HDL levels, these are not further reduced by antiretroviral drugs. Hypertriglyceridemias, especially in patients
with evidence of body fat abnormalities, are the leading lipid abnormality either
alone or in combination with hypercholesterolemia. Several weeks after initiation or
change of HIV therapy, lipid levels usually reach a plateau and remain stable. Part
of this increase can be considered as reconstitution of health, as some patients return to the lipid levels they had before seroconversion. All protease inhibitors can
potentially lead to hyperlipidemia, although to different extents. For example, atazanavir appears to be less frequently associated with dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. In contrast, ritonavir often leads to hypertriglyceridemia correlating to the
drug levels. Lopinavir leads to an approximate 18% mean increase in total cholesterol and 40% mean increase in triglycerides in patients on first line therapy.
Lipodystrophy Syndrome
283
The therapy-induced dyslipidemias are characterized by increased low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and triglyceride-rich very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). Detailed characterization revealed an increase of apoplipoprotein B, CIII and E.
Raised levels of lipoprotein(a) have been described in protease inhibitor recipients.
Mild hypercholesterolemia can occur during therapy with efavirenz but is not typical with nevirapine. D4T-based ART is associated with early and statistically significant increases in total triglycerides and cholesterol or NRTIs. It is important to
note that HIV infection itself is associated with disturbed lipid metabolism. During
disease progression, total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL levels decline and the total
triglyceride level rises. The latter is presumably caused by increased cytokine concentrations (TNF, IFN) and an enhanced lipogenesis in addition to impaired postprandial triglyceride clearance.
ART, lipodystrophy syndrome and cardiovascular

risk
The fat redistribution and disturbances in glucose and fat metabolism resemble a
clinical situation that is known as the metabolic syndrome in HIV-negative patients. This condition includes symptoms such as central adipositas, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, hyperlipidemia (high LDL, Lp(a) hypertriglyceridemia
and low HDL) and hypercoagulopathy. Given the well-established cardiovascular
risk resulting from this metabolic syndrome, there is growing concern about a potential therapy-related increased risk of myocardial infarction in HIV-positive patients. These fears are further sustained by reports of arterial hypertension on ART,
a high rate of smoking among HIV patients and increased levels of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in patients with
lipodystrophy. Although many of the mainly retrospective studies dealing with this
issue are inconclusive, data from a large international study (the D:A:D study) provide evidence for an increased relative risk of myocardial infarction during the first
7 years of ART (Friis-Mller 2003, El-Sadr 2006). The incidence of myocardial
infarction increased from 1.39/1,000 patient years in those not exposed to ART, to
2.53/1,000 patient years in those exposed for < 1 year, to 6.07/1,000 patient years in
those exposed for 6 years (RR compared to no exposure: 4.38, p = 0.0001). After
adjustment for other potential risk factors, there was a 1.17-fold increased risk of
myocardial infarction per additional year of combined ART exposure. It is, however, of note that older age, male gender, smoking, diabetes mellitus, and preexisting coronary artery disease were still associated with a higher risk of sustaining
cardiovascular events than ART in this study. Analysis of this cohort later provided
evidence that particularly PIs and abacavir contribute to this increased risk (FriisMoller 2007, D:A:D Study Group 2008). Although the CHD risk profile in D:A:D
patients worsened over time, the risk of myocardial infarction decreased over time
after controlling for these changes. Several other studies used ultrasonography to
measure the thickness of the carotid intima media or endothelial function to predict
the cardiovascular risk. Some of these investigations found abnormal test results
(e.g., reduced flow-mediated dilation) that correlated either with the use of protease
inhibitors or the presence of dyslipidemia (Currier 2005). Interestingly, HIV infection may lead to endothelial dysfunction and an unfavorable pro-atherogenic profile
(Grunfeld 2009). While there is some indication of an increased rate of coronary
284 ART
artery disease with ART, particularly in combinations containing abacavir (D:A:D
2008), the benefit of suppressed viral replication and improved immune function
resulting in reduced morbidity and mortality, clearly argues for the use of antiretroviral drugs according to current international guidelines. It seems obvious however,
that pre-existing cardiovascular risk factors in individual patients need to be considered more carefully before starting or switching ART.
Recommendations such as the National Cholesterol Education Program (NECP)
have been proposed for non-HIV-infected patients with similar risk profiles. These
guidelines are being considered for HIV patients as well (Schambelan 2002, Grinspoon 2005). According to these recommendations, the overall cardiovascular risk
in HIV-infected patients can be determined from specific risk factors by using the
Framingham equation. Prediction of coronary heart disease using this equation,
however, may have some limitations. A 10-year CHD risk estimation at any time
point is determined by the individuals past and expected future lipid levels (best
assessed as area under the curve). Hyperlipidemia in many treated HIV patients,
however, does not follow the 10-year time course seen in the uninfected population
due to therapy changes that may lower total cholesterol, increase HDL, and improve
atherogenic risk (Behrens 2005). Thus, the validity of this calculation for long-term
cardiovascular risk assessment in young patients with changing lipid levels and
medication regimens requires further studies, but it seems helpful to identify patients with increased myocardial risk.
Clearly, more clinical studies are necessary to assess whether these recommendations are also applicable in the presence of HIV and to determine the clinical value
of lipid lowering drug therapy in these patients. Most importantly, the information
about drug interactions of lipid lowering and antiretroviral drugs is still incomplete.
The accumulation of pre-existing and drug-related risk factors will get more clinical
attention, because, by improving the HIV-associated morbidity and mortality, ART
consequently increases an additional relevant cardiovascular risk factor: the age of
patients who are effectively treated with antiretroviral drugs.
Pathogenesis
For a better understanding of the pathogenesis of complex metabolic abnormalities,
it is useful to separate individual aspects of the lipodystrophy syndrome: adipocytes/fat redistribution, lipid metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism. This is
because it is very likely that the lipodystrophy syndrome is not a stereotypic syndrome but rather an amalgam of miscellaneous clinical features, with perhaps multifactorial causes. Studies published in recent years provide evidence for two fundamental assumptions: firstly, lipoatrophy and lipoaccumulation result from divergent
or only partially overlapping pathogenetic reasons. Secondly, NRTIs, NNRTIs, PIs,
and even drugs within each class contribute to the lipodystrophy syndrome and its
individual features by different possibly overlapping mechanisms.
NRTIs and lipodystrophy

The patterns of fat redistribution in patients who are only taking NRTIs are unlike
those observed in patients on PI therapy. Peripheral fat loss is the major symptom
observed in NRTI therapy (particularly d4T and AZT), although a few clinical stud-
285
ies have described a minimal intra-abdominal fat increase in these patients, which is
clearly less than on PIs. In ACTG 5142, in which patients receiving efavirenz (+2
NRTIs) or lopinavir (+2 NRTIs) where compared, a 20% percent reduction in peripheral fat tissue was significantly more frequently found in patients receiving d4T
or AZT (Haubrich 2009). Given that, commonly, only a mild increase in triglycerides has been observed, exclusive NRTI therapy seems to be of minor impact on
lipid metabolism, but is also not a preferred choice of therapy. Postprandially elevated FFA in patients with lipodystrophy, together with in vitro experiments, have
led to the hypothesis that NRTIs could impair fatty acid binding proteins (FABP)
that are responsible for cellular fat uptake and intracellular fat transport.
It is well established that long-term NRTI therapy can cause mitochondrial toxicity.
The clinical manifestation of this presents in symptoms such as hepatic steatosis,
severe hyperlactatemia, and polyneuropathy. As an explanation for these symptoms,
the pol- hypothesis has been proposed, which was later extended to reveal the
lipoatrophy observed under NRTIs (Brinkman 1999). To maintain an adequate bioenergetic level for accurate cell function, all metabolically active cells depend on a
persistent polymerase -mediated mitochondrial (mt) DNA synthesis. Mitochondria
require a constant supply of nucleosides for this process. The mitochondrial DNA
polymerase retains both DNA- as well as RNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity. The latter is perhaps responsible for the HIV reverse transcriptase activity
and therefore its susceptibility for interactions with NRTIs. Experimental data reveals that, for NRTI uptake into mitochondria, the subsequent phosphorylation and
then incorporation into the DNA, certain pharmacodynamic requirements need to
be fulfilled. These requirements, including thymidine kinase activity and deoxynucleotide transport specificity of the mitochondrial membrane, are apparently different for AZT and d4T, which partially explains the prevailing association between
lipoatrophy and d4T therapy. The postulated mechanisms of NRTI-induced mitochondrial dysfunction consist of competitive inhibition, incorporation into the
mtDNA resulting in mtDNA depletion, impairment of mitochondrial enzymes, uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation and induction of apoptosis. Depletion of
mtDNA and structural changes in the mitochondria, resulting in increased rates of
apoptosis in subcutaneous adipocytes, have been confirmed in other studies. Despite the experimental link between mitochondrial toxicity and fat tissue as one potential target organ, the degree to which mitochondrial damage contributes to fat
distribution abnormalities and its specificity remains unknown. In contrast, mitochondrial damage is widely believed to be responsible for other NRTI-related side
effects, such as myopathy, hyperlactatemia, microvesicular steatosis, and steatohepatitis with lactic acidosis.
Protease inhibitors and lipodystrophy

PIs account for the majority of metabolic abnormalities associated with the lipodystrophy syndrome. Numerous studies report increases in the levels of total triglycerides and triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (VLDL) accompanied by raised LDL levels
after initiation of PI therapy (Walli 1998, Behrens 1999). Conversely, these parameters improve substantially in most studies after discontinuation of the PI or on
switching to abacavir or nevirapine. The hyperlipidemic changes are frequently
associated with hyperinsulinemia and/or insulin resistance.
286 ART
It has been proposed, based on in vitro experiments, that PIs such as saquinavir,
indinavir, and ritonavir are able to inhibit proteasomal degradation of apolipoprotein B leading to intracellular stockpiling of this lipoprotein and excessive release in
response to FFA (Liang 2001). Using stable isotopes in vivo, other authors demonstrate a dramatic increase in FFA turnover together with increased lipolysis and
decreased clearance of triglyceride-rich VLDL and chylomicrons (Shekar 2002).
These conditions point towards an impaired postprandial insulin-mediated lipid
metabolism, since insulin, on the one hand, normally inhibits lipolysis and, on the
other hand, increases uptake of FFA, triglyceride synthesis, and fat oxidation in
favor of glucose oxidation.
It remains unclear whether impaired insulin action eventually leads to dyslipidemia,
or whether hyperlipidemia is responsible for reduced insulin function and insulin
resistance in the periphery. Presumably, both mechanisms are important given that
some PIs (e.g., indinavir) have been shown to induce insulin resistance without
changes occurring in lipid metabolism after short-term administration (Noor 2001,
Noor2002), whereas other PIs (e.g., ritonavir) have been demonstrated to cause
mainly hypertriglyceridemia due to increased hepatic synthesis without major
changes occurring in glucose metabolism (Purnell 2000).
It is reasonable to speculate that lipid abnormalities and, in particular increased
FFA levels, contribute substantially to the peripheral and central insulin resistance
of skeletal muscles and the liver, presumably due to the increased storage of lipids
in these organs (Gan 2002). Given this hypothesis, the visceral adiposity could reflect the adaptation of the body in response to raised FFA concentrations and an
attempt to minimize the lipotoxic damage to other organs.
Several in vitro experiments have indicated that almost all PIs can potentially lead
to insulin resistance in adipocytes. Short-term administration of indinavir caused an
acute and reversible state of peripheral insulin resistance in healthy volunteers,
which was determined in an euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp. These effects are
most likely caused by the inhibition of glucose transport mediated by GLUT-4, the
predominant transporter involved in insulin-stimulated cellular glucose uptake in
humans (Murata 2002). A common structural component found in most PIs has
been proposed to cause GLUT-4 inhibition. In some patients with lipodystrophy,
additional impairment of glucose phosphorylation may contribute to insulin resistance (Behrens 2002). This is presumably due to an impaired insulin-mediated suppression of lipolysis and subsequently increased FFA levels (Behrens 2002, van der
Valk 2001) and accumulation of intramyocellular lipids. Peripheral insulin resistance may also account for an increase in the resting energy expenditure in HIV
lipodystrophy and a blunted insulin-mediated thermogenesis.
Indinavir may also induce insulin resistance by inhibiting the translocation, processing or phosphorylation of the sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP1c). Either directly or via the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR),
SREBP-1 regulates FFA uptake and synthesis, adipocyte differentiation and maturation, and glucose uptake by adipocytes. Similarly, the function of these factors
has been proposed to be disturbed in inherited forms of lipodystrophy. Finally, hypoadiponectinemia, as found in patients with abnormal fat distribution, may contribute to insulin resistance (Addy 2003).
287
Diagnosis
Both the lack of a formal definition and uncertainty about the pathogenesis and possible long-term consequences leads to a continuing discussion about appropriate
guidelines for the assessment and management of HIV lipodystrophy syndrome and
its metabolic abnormalities. Outside clinical studies, the diagnosis relies principally
on the occurrence of apparent clinical signs and the patient reporting them. A standardized data collection form may assist in diagnosis (Grinspoon 2005). This appears sufficient for the routine clinical assessment, especially when the body habitus changes develop rather rapidly and severely. For clinical investigations however, especially in epidemiological and interventional studies, more reliable measurements are required. A recent multicenter study to develop an objective and
broadly applicable case definition proposes a model including age, sex, duration of
HIV infection, HIV disease stage, waist-to-hip ratio, anion gap, serum HDL cholesterol, trunk-to-peripheral-fat ratio, percentage leg fat, and intra-abdominal to extraabdominal fat ratio. Using these parameters, the diagnosis of lipodystrophy had a
79% sensitivity and 80% specificity (Carr 2003). Although this model is largely for
research and contains detailed body composition data, alternative models and scoring systems, incorporating only clinical and metabolic data, also gave reasonable
results (for more information, see http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/nchecr).
Despite individual limitations, several techniques are suitable for measuring regional fat distribution. These include dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA),
computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and sonography.
Anthropometric measurements are safe, portable, cheap and much easier to perform
than imaging techniques. Waist circumference or sagittal diameter are more sensitive and specific measures than waist-to-hip ratio. Repeated measurements of skin
fold thickness can be useful for individual long-term monitoring but need to be performed by an experienced person.
The main imaging techniques (MRI, CT, DEXA) differentiate tissues on the basis
of density. Single-slice measurements of the abdomen and extremities (subcutaneous adipose tissue = SAT, visceral adipose tissue = VAT) and more complex threedimensional reconstructions have been used to calculate regional or total body fat.
Limitations of these methods include most notably their expense, availability and
radiation exposure (CT). Consequently, CT and MRI should only be considered in
routine clinical practice for selected patients (e.g., extended dorso-cervical fat pads,
differential diagnosis of non-benign processes and infections).
DEXA is appropriate for examining appendicular fat, comprised almost entirely of
SAT, and has been successfully employed in epidemiological studies. However,
SAT and VAT cannot be distinguished by DEXA, which therefore limits the
evaluation of changes in truncal fat. Application of sonography to measure specific
adipose compartments, including those in the face, requires experienced investigators and has been minimally applied in HIV infection so far. Bioelectrical impedance analysis estimates the whole body composition and cannot be recommended
for measurement of abnormal fat distribution.
Patients should routinely be questioned and examined for cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension, adiposity, type 2 diabetes, and family history.
For an accurate assessment of blood lipid levels, it is recommended to obtain blood
after a fasting of at least 8 hours. Total cholesterol and triglycerides together with
288 ART
LDL and HDL cholesterol should be obtained prior to the initiation of, or switch to,
any new antiretroviral therapy and repeated 3 to 6 months later. Fasting glucose
should be assessed with at least a similar frequency. The oral glucose tolerance test
(OGTT) is a reliable and accurate instrument for evaluating insulin resistance and
glucose intolerance. An OGTT may be indicated in patients with suspected insulin
resistance such as those with adipositas (BMI > 27 kg/m2), a history of gestational
diabetes and a fasting glucose level of 110 to 126 mg/dl (impaired fasting glucose).
The diagnosis of diabetes is based on fasting glucose levels > 126 mg/dl, glucose
levels of > 200 mg/dl independent of fasting status, or a 2-hour OGTT glucose level
above 200 mg/dl. Additional factors that could lead to or assist in the development
of hyperlipidemia and/or insulin resistance always need to be considered (e.g., alcohol consumption, thyroid dysfunction, liver and kidney disease, hypogonadism,
concurrent medication such as steroids, -receptor blockers, thiazides, etc.).
Therapy
So far, most attempts to improve or even reverse the abnormal fat distribution by
modification of the antiretroviral treatment have shown only modest clinical success. In particular, peripheral fat loss appears to be resistant to most therapeutic
interventions. The metabolic components of the syndrome may be easier to improve
(Table 1). Thus, preventing lipoatrophy by avoiding thymidine analogues (AZT,
d4T) is the main goal (Behrens 2008). For more detailed recommendations for improving fat redistribution and treating dyslipidemia, please see the guidelines of the
European AIDS Clinical Society (www.eacs.eu)
Lifestyle changes
Dietary interventions are commonly accepted as the first therapeutic option for hyperlipidemia, especially hypertriglyceridemia. Use of NCEP guidelines may reduce
total cholesterol and triglycerides by 11 and 21%, respectively. Whenever possible,
dietary restriction of total fat to 25-35% of the total caloric intake should be a part
of any treatment in conjunction with lipid-lowering drugs. Consultation with professional and experienced dieticians should be considered for HIV-infected patients
and their partners. Patients with excessive hypertriglyceridemia (>1000 mg/dl) may
benefit from a very low fat diet and alcohol abstinence to reduce the risk of pancreatitis, especially if there is a positive family history or concurrent medications
that may harbor a risk of developing pancreatitis. Regular exercise may have beneficial effects, not only on triglycerides and insulin resistance, but probably also on
fat redistribution (reduction in truncal fat and intramyocellular fat) and should be
considered in all HIV-infected patients (Driscoll 2004a). All patients should be advised and supported to give up smoking in order to reduce cardiovascular risk. Cessation of smoking is more likely to reduce cardiovascular risk than any choice or
change of antiretroviral therapy or use of any lipid-lowering drug.
289
Table 1: Therapeutic options for HIV-associated lipodystrophy and related metabolic complications
Lifestyle changes (reduce saturated fat and cholesterol intake, increase physical activity,
stop smoking)
Change antiretroviral therapy: replacement of PI, d4T (Zerit ) or AZT (Retrovir)
Statins: Atorvastatin (Sortis ), Pravastatin (Pravasin ), Fluvastatin (Lescol )
Fibrates: Gemfibrozil (Gevilon ) or Bezafibrat (Cedur )
Metformin (Glucophage )
Thiazolidinediones: rosiglitazone (Avandia ), pioglitazone (Actos )
Recombinant human growth hormones (e.g., Serostim )

Surgical intervention
Specific interventions
Given the extensive indications that PIs are the culprits that substantially contribute
to metabolic side effects, numerous attempts have been made to substitute the PI
component of a regimen with nevirapine, efavirenz, or abacavir. Similarly, given
the close association of d4T-based therapy with lipoatrophy, replacement of this
thymidine nucleoside analogue by, for example, abacavir or tenofovir has been
evaluated in several studies. Indeed, these switch studies have demonstrated substantial improvement, although not normalization, of serum lipids (total and LDL
cholesterol, triglycerides) and/or insulin resistance in many patients. In patients
with hyperlipidemia, substitution of PIs with alternative PIs that have less metabolic
side effects (e.g., atazanavir) has also been proven to be a successful strategy (Mallolas 2009, Moebius 2005). Protease inhibitor cessation has not been shown to improve lipoatrophy. However, stopping administration of the thymidine nucleoside
analogue d4T or AZT usually leads to a slow recovery (over months and years)
measured by DEXA and moderate clinical increase in limb fat (Moyle 2006, Tebas
2009). Under restricted inclusion criteria and study conditions, most patients maintain complete viral suppression after changes to the ART regimen, but not all of
these studies included control groups with unchanged antiretroviral therapy. Recently, a pilot study evaluating the effect of uridine (NucleomaxX) on lipoatrophy
in HIV patients continuing their ART regimen described a significant increase in
subcutaneous fat after only three months. Further studies with uridine, a sugar cane
extract, will be necessary to fully assess the effectiveness and safety of this compound for patients with the lipodystrophy syndrome.
The most advantageous changes of metabolic parameters have been observed by
replacement of the PI with nevirapine or abacavir. This option is, however, not always suitable, and the clinical benefit of effective viral suppression and improved
immune function needs to be considered in view of drug history, current viral load,
and resistance mutations. When options are limited, antiretroviral drugs that may
lead to elevation of lipid levels should not be withheld for fear of further exacerbating lipid disorders.
290 ART
Table 2: Preliminary treatment recommendations and LDL cholesterol goals for ARTassociated hyperlipidemias
Risk Category
Recommendations
Aimed for LDL
Diet
if LDL
100 mg/dl
< 100 mg/dl
CHD or risk equivalent

2 RF and 10-years risk
20%
10-year risk 10-20%
< 130 mg/dl
10-year risk <10%
< 130 mg/dl
0-1 risk factors
< 160 mg/dl
130 mg/dl
130 mg/dl
160 mg/dl
Lipid-lowering
drugs if LDL
130 mg/dl
130 mg/dl
160 mg/dl
160 mg/dl
Coronary heart disease (CHD) includes history of myocardial infarction, unstable angina, stable
angina, coronary artery procedures, or evidence of clinically significant myocardial ischemia.
CHD risk equivalents include clinical manifestations of non-coronary forms of atherosclerotic
disease, diabetes, and > 2 risk factors with 10-year risk for hard CHD > 20%. Risk factors (RF)
include: age (male 45 years, female 55 years or premature menopause without hormone
replacement), positive family history for premature CHD (in first-degree relatives < 55 years
and first-degree female relatives < 65 years), cigarette smoking, hypertension (blood pressure
140/90 mmHg or taking antihypertension drugs), HDL < 40 mg/dl (1.0 mmol/l). If HDL cholesterol is over > 60 mg/dl (1.6 mmol/l), subtract one risk factor from the total (adapted from Dub
2000 and Schambelan 2002).
Lipid-lowering agents should be considered for the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia, elevated LDL or a combination of both. The clinical benefit, however, of lipid lowering or insulin-sensitizing therapy in HIV patients with lipodystrophy remains to be demonstrated. In light of the potentially increased cardiovascular risk to recipients of antiretroviral therapy, the AIDS Clinical Trials Group
(ACTG) published recommendations based on the National Cholesterol Education
Program (NCEP) for primary and secondary prevention of coronary artery disease
in seronegative patients (Table 2). In addition, more detailed recommendations by
the European AIDS Clinical Society have been published to provide guidelines for
physicians actively involved in HIV care that will be regularly updated
(www.eacs.eu). However, these recommendations should be considered as being
rather preliminary, given the so far limited numbers, size and duration of the clinical studies they are based on. It appears reasonable to measure fasting lipid levels
annually before and 3-6 months after antiretroviral therapy is initiated or changed.
Whenever possible, the antiretroviral therapy least likely to worsen lipid levels
should be selected for patients with dyslipidemia. The decision on lipid-lowering
therapy can be based on estimating the 10-year risk for myocardial infarction according to the Framingham equation (http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/atpiii/calculator.asp).
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors have been successfully used in combination with
dietary changes in HIV-positive patients with increased total and LDL cholesterol.
These drugs may decrease total and LDL cholesterol by about 25% (Grinspoon
2005). Many of the statins (as well as itraconazole, erythromycin, diltiazem, etc.)
share common metabolization pathways with PIs via the cytochrome P450 3A4
system, thereby potentially leading to additional side effects due to increased
plasma levels of statins which can then cause liver and muscle toxicity. They can be
combined with ezetimibe in order to improve their lipid lowering effect (Negredo
2006). Based on limited pharmacokinetic and clinical studies, atorvastatin (Sortis),
fluvastatin (Lescol), and pravastatin (Pravasin), carefully administered at increas-
291
ing doses, are the preferred agents for a carefully monitored therapy in HIVinfected patients on ART. Lovastatin (Mevinacor) and simvastatin (Zocor)
should be avoided due to their potential interaction with PIs.
Fibric acid analogues such as gemfibrozil or fenofibrate are particularly effective in
reducing the triglyceride levels by up to 50% (Rao 2004, Miller 2002) and should
be considered in patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia (>1000 mg/dl). Fibric
acid analogues retain a supportive effect on lipoprotein lipase activity and can
thereby lower LDL levels. Despite their potentially synergistic effect, coadministration of fibric acid analogues and statins in patients on ART should only
be used carefully in selected individuals, since both can cause rhabdomyolysis.
Niacinic acid has been shown to only minimally improve the hyperlipidemia induced by ART. It does, however, increase peripheral insulin resistance (Gerber
2004). Extended-release niacin (Niaspan) has been shown to have beneficial effects mainly on triglycerides and was well tolerated at a dose of 2,000 mg daily in a
study with 33 individuals (Dube 2005). Similarly, polyunsaturated fatty acids could
be beneficial in patients with hypertriglyceridemia (De Truchis 2007). Finally, it
should be stressed that the long-term effects of lipid-lowering agents and their impact on cardiovascular outcomes, especially in HIV-positive patients with moderate
or severe hypertriglyceridemia, are unknown.
Metformin has been evaluated for the treatment of lipodystrophy syndrome. Some
studies have revealed a positive effect on the parameters of insulin resistance and
the potential reduction of intra-abdominal (and subcutaneous) fat, although not
clinically obvious. Together with exercise training, metformin has been described to
reverse the muscular adiposity in HIV-infected patients (Driscoll 2004b). Metformin, like all biguanides, can theoretically precipitate lactic acidosis and should
thus be used with caution. Use of metformin should be avoided in patients with
creatinine levels above 1.5 mg/dl, increased aminotransferase levels, or hyperlactatemia. Thiazolidinediones, such as rosiglitazone (Avandia) or pioglitazone (Actos), exhibit the potency to improve insulin sensitivity via stimulation of the
PPAR and other mechanisms. Rosiglitazone has been successfully used to treat
abnormal fat distribution in genetic lipodystrophies. Three published studies on
HIV patients, however, revealed no or only minimal improvement in abnormal fat
distribution. But, insulin sensitivity was increased at the expense of increased total
cholesterol and triglycerides (Carr 2004, Hadigan 2004, Sutinen 2003, Cavalcanti
2005). Thus, at least rosiglitazone cannot be recommended for general treatment of
lipoatrophy in HIV patients at this time (Grinspoon 2005). It also reduces the
bioavailability of nevirapine, although not of efavirenz and lopinavir (Oette 2005).
A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial (ANRS 113) revealed a significant increase in subcutaneous fat 48 weeks after treatment with pioglitazone 30 mg
once daily without demonstrating negative effects on lipid parameters (Slama
2006).
Recombinant growth hormone (Serostim) at doses of 4-6 mg/d sc over 8-12 weeks
has been demonstrated in small studies to be a successful intervention for reducing
visceral fat accumulation, but it also reduces subcutaneous fat (Kotler 2004). Unfortunately, these improvements have been shown to consistently reverse after the discontinuation of growth hormone therapy. Studies with lower maintenance doses
have not been performed yet. The possible side effects associated with growth hor-
292 ART
mone therapy include arthralgia, peripheral edema, insulin resistance and hyperglycemia. Alternatively, a stabilized analogue of the growth hormone-releasing factor
(Tesamorelin), administered subcutaneously, can lead to reduction in visceral fat
accumulation with less side effects and awaits FDA approval (Falutz 2007).
Surgical intervention (liposuction) for the treatment of local fat hypertrophy has
been successfully performed, but appears to be associated with an increased risk of
secondary infection, and recurrence of fat accumulation is possible. For the treatment of facial lipoatrophy, repeated subcutaneous injection of agents such as polyL-lactic acid (Sculptra, New-Fill), a resorbable molecule that promotes collagen
formation, has been effectively used in HIV patients (Valantin 2003, Lafaurie 2003
Guaraldi 2005, Mest 2004, Casavantes 2004, Behrens 2008). In 2004, Sculptra
was approved by the FDA as an injectable filler to correct facial fat loss in people
with HIV. We recommend consultation with experienced specialists for surgical
treatments and injection therapy. Further evaluation in long-term follow-up studies
is necessary to fully assess the value of these methods.
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Mallon PWG, Miller J, Cooper DA, Carr A. Prospective evaluation of the effects of antiretroviral therapy on body composition in HIV-1-infected men starting therapy.
AIDS 2003; 17:971-79.
TM
Mest DR, Humble G. Safety and efficacy of intradermal poly-L-lactic acid (Sculptra ) injections in patients with HIV-associated facial lipoatrophy. Antivir 2004; 9:L36.
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2195-2200.
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Defic Syndr 2005; 39:174-180.
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Noor MA, Lo JC, Mulligan K, et al. Metabolic effects of indinavir in healthy HIV-seronegative men. AIDS 2001; 15:F11-F18.
Noor MA, Seneviratne T, Aweeka FT, et al. Indinavir acutely inhibits insulin-stimulated glucose disposal in humans: a randomized, placebo-controlled study. AIDS
2002; 16:F1-F8.
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Rao A, D'Amico S, Balasubramanyam A, Maldonado M. Fenofibrate is effective in treating hypertriglyceridemia associated with HIV lipodystrophy. Am J Med Sci 2004;
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Schambelan M, Benson CA, Carr A, et al. Management of metabolic complications associated with antiretroviral therapy for HIV-1 infection: recommendations of an
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th
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294
9. Mitochondrial Toxicity of NRTIs

Ulrich A. Walker and Nils Venhoff
Introduction
Two years after the introduction of PIs into the armamentarium of ART, reports of
HIV-infected individuals experiencing clinically relevant changes in body metabolism began to surface. These metabolic symptoms were initially summarized under
the term lipodystrophy (Carr 1998). Nowadays this lipodystrophy syndrome is
understood as the result of overlapping yet distinct effects of the different drug
components in ART. The main pathogenetic mechanism through which nucleoside
analogs are thought to contribute to metabolic changes and organ toxicities is mitochondrial toxicity (Brinkman 1999).
Pathogenesis of mitochondrial toxicity

NRTIs are prodrugs (Kakuda 2000) - they require activation in the cell through
phosphorylation before they are able to inhibit their target, HIV reverse transcriptase. In addition to impairing the HIV replication machinery, the NRTItriphosphates also inhibit a human polymerase called gamma-polymerase, which is
responsible for the replication of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), a small circular
molecule normally present in multiple copies in each mitochondrion and in hundreds of copies in most human cells. Thus, the inhibition of gamma-polymerase by
NRTIs leads to a decline (depletion) in mtDNA content (Lewis 2003). The biological task of mtDNA is to encode for enzyme subunits of the respiratory chain, which
is located in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Therefore, by causing mtDNA depletion, NRTIs also lead to a defect in the respiratory chain function.
An intact respiratory chain is the prerequisite for numerous metabolic pathways.
The main task of the respiratory chain is to oxidatively synthesize ATP, our chemical currency of energy. In addition, the respiratory chain consumes NADH and
FADH as end products of fatty acid oxidation. This explains the micro- or macrovesicular accumulation of intracellular triglycerides, which often accompanies mitochondrial toxicity. Last but not least, a normal respiratory function is also essential
for the synthesis of DNA, because the de novo synthesis of pyrimidine nucleosides
depends on an enzyme located in the inner mitochondrial membrane. This enzyme
is called dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) (Lffler 1997). The clinical implications of this are detailed below.
The onset of mitochondrial toxicity follows certain principles (Walker 2002a):
1. Mitochondrial toxicity is concentration-dependent. High NRTI concentrations
cause a more pronounced mtDNA depletion compared to low concentrations. The
clinical dosing of some nucleoside analogs is close to the limit of tolerance with
respect to mitochondrial toxicity.
2. Mitochondrial toxicity is time dependent and develops with prolonged NRTI
exposure. Changes in mitochondrial metabolism are observed only if the amount
of mtDNA depletion exceeds a certain threshold. As a consequence, long-term
NRTI exposure may lead to mitochondrial effects despite relatively low NRTI
Mitochondrial Toxicity of NRTIs
295
concentrations and the onset of toxicity is typically not observed in the first few
months of ART.
3. There are significant differences in the relative potencies of nucleoside and nucleotide analogs in their ability to interact with gamma-polymerase. The hierarchy of gamma-polymerase inhibition for the active NRTI metabolites has been
determined as follows: zalcitabine (ddC, HIVID) > didanosine (ddI, Videx) >
stavudine (d4T, Zerit) > lamivudine (3TC, Epivir) abacavir (ABC, Ziagen)
tenofovir (TDF, Viread) emtricitabine (FTC, Emtriva).
4. Zidovudine (AZT, Retrovir) may be peculiar because its active triphosphate is
only a weak inhibitor of gamma-polymerase. However, another mechanism can
explain how zidovudine might cause mtDNA depletion independent from
gamma-polymerase inhibition. AZT is an inhibitor of mitochondrial thymidine
kinase type 2 (TK2), and, as such, interferes with the synthesis of natural
pyrimidine nucleotides, thus potentially impairing the formation of mtDNA
(McKee 2004). Indeed, inborn defects of TK2 are known to cause mtDNA depletion in human muscle tissue (Saada 2001). It has also been demonstrated that
AZT can be non-enzymatically converted into d4T within the body, at least
within some cells (Becher 2003, Bonora 2004).
5. Mitochondrial toxicity is tissue-specific. Tissue specificity is explained by the
fact that the uptake of the NRTI prodrugs into cells and their mitochondria as
well as activation by phosphorylation may be different in different cell types.
6. There may be additive or synergistic mitochondrial toxicities if two or more
NRTIs are used in combination.
7. Some data suggest that mitochondrial transcription may also be impaired without
mtDNA alterations (Galluzzi 2005, Mallon 2005). However, the mechanism and
clinical significance of this are not yet understood.
Clinical manifestations
MtDNA depletion may manifest clinically in one or several main target tissues (Fig.
1). In the liver mitochondrial toxicity is associated with increased lipid deposits,
resulting in micro or macrovesicular steatosis. Steatosis may be accompanied by
elevated liver transaminases. Such steatohepatitis may progress to liver failure and
lactic acidosis, a potentially fatal, but fortunately rare complication.
Although steatohepatitis and lactic acidosis were already described in the early 90s
in patients receiving didanosine monotherapy (Lambert 1990), mitochondrial liver
toxicity is now observed under treatment with all NRTIs that have a relatively
strong potential to inhibit gamma-polymerase, especially with the so called ddrugs ddI, d4T (and formerly, ddC). However, liver complications have also been
described with AZT. It has been demonstrated in the hepatic tissue of HIV patients,
that each of the d-drugs leads to a time dependent mtDNA depletion. On electron
microscopy, morphologically abnormal mitochondria were observed.
296 ART
Figure 1: Organ manifestations of mitochondrial toxicity.
A typical complication of mitochondrial toxicity is an elevation in serum lactate.

Such hyperlactatemia was more frequently described with prolonged d4T treatment
(Carr 2000, Saint-Marc 1999), especially when combined with ddI. The toxicity of
ddI is also increased through interactions with ribavirin and hydroxyurea. The significance of asymptomatic hyperlactatemia is unclear. When elevated lactate levels
are associated with symptoms, these are often non-specific such as nausea, right
upper quadrant abdominal tenderness or myalgias. In the majority of cases, levels of
bicarbonate and the anion gap (Na+ - (HCO3- + Cl-)) are normal, although liver
transaminases are mildly increased in the majority of cases (Lonergan 2000). Therefore, the diagnosis relies on the logistically more cumbersome direct determination
of serum lactate. In order to avoid artifacts, venous blood must be drawn without
the use of a tourniquet from resting patients. The blood needs to be collected in
fluoride tubes and transported to the laboratory on ice for immediate analysis. Nonmitochondrial causes must also be considered in the differential diagnosis of lactic
acidosis (Table 1) and underlying organ toxicities should be looked for.
Mitochondrial myopathy in antiretrovirally treated HIV patients was first described
with high dose AZT (Arnaudo 1991). Skeletal muscle weakness may manifest under dynamic or static exercise. The serum CK is often normal or only minimally
elevated. Muscle histology helps to distinguish this form of NRTI toxicity from
HIV myopathy, which may also occur simultaneously. On histochemical examination, the muscle fibers of the former are frequently negative for cytochrome coxidase and carry ultrastructurally abnormal mitochondria, whereas those of the
latter are typically infiltrated by CD8-positive T lymphocytes. Exercise testing may
297
detect a low lactate threshold and a reduced lactate clearance, but in clinical practice these changes are difficult to distinguish from lack of aerobic exercise (detraining).
Table 1: Causes of hyperlactatemia/ lactic acidosis
Type A lactic acidosis
Type B lactic acidosis
(Tissue hypoxia)
Shock
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Heart failure
(Other mechanisms)
Thiamine deficiency
Alkalosis (pH>7.6)
Epilepsy
Adrenalin (iatrogenic, endogenous)
Liver failure
Neoplasm (lymphoma, solid tumors)
Intoxication (nitroprusside, methanol, methylene glycol,
salicylates)
Fructose
Rare enzyme deficiencies
mtDNA mutations
mtDNA depletion
Prolonged treatment with d-drugs may also frequently lead to a predominantly

symmetrical, sensory and distal polyneuropathy of the lower extremities (Moyle
1998, Simpson 1995). An elevated serum lactate level may help to distinguish this
axonal neuropathy from its HIV-associated phenocopy, although in most cases the
lactate level is normal. The differential diagnosis may also take into account the fact
that the mitochondrial polyneuropathy mostly occurs weeks or months after initiation of d-drugs. In contrast, the HIV-associated polyneuropathy generally does not
worsen and may indeed improve with prolonged antiretroviral treatment. In mice
AZT and ddC induce a mitochondrial neurotoxicity with ddC predominantly affecting the peripheral and AZT mainly the central nervous system. This is consistent
with findings in patients (Tardieu 2005, Moyle 1998) and the toxic effects of AZT
on CNS are plausible because AZT penetrates well in the CNS.
In its more narrow sense, the term lipodystrophy denotes a change in the distribution of body fat. Some subjects affected with lipodystrophy may experience abnormal fat accumulation in certain body areas (most commonly abdomen or dorsocervical region), whereas others may develop fat wasting (Bichats fat pad in the
cheeks, temporal fat, or subcutaneous fat of the extremities). Both fat accumulation
and fat loss may occur simultaneously in the same individuals. Fat wasting (also
called lipoatrophy) is partially reversible and generally observed not earlier than
one year after the initiation of antiretroviral therapy. In the affected subcutaneous
tissue, ultrastructural abnormalities of mitochondria and reduced mtDNA levels
have been identified, in particular in subjects treated with d4T (Walker 2002b). In
vitro and in vivo analyses of fat cells have also demonstrated diminished intracellular lipids, reduced expression of adipogenic transcription factors (PPAR-gamma
and SREBP-1), and increased apoptotic indices. NRTI treatment may also impair
some endocrine functions of adipocytes. For example, they may impair the secretion of adiponectin and through this mechanism may promote insulin resistance.
298 ART
D4T has been identified as a particular risk factor, but other NRTIs such as zidovudine may also contribute. When d4T is replaced by another NRTI, mtDNA
levels and apoptotic indices improve (McComsey 2005), along with an objectively
measurable, albeit small increase of subcutaneous adipose tissue (McComsey
2004). In contrast, switching away from protease inhibitors did not ameliorate lipoatrophy or adipocyte apoptosis. Taken together, the available data are consistent
with a predominant effect of mitochondrial toxicity in the pathogenesis of lipoatrophy.
Some studies have suggested an effect of NRTIs on the mtDNA levels in blood
(Cot 2003, Miro 2003). The functional consequence of such mitochondrial toxicity
on lymphocytes is still unknown. In this context, it is important to note that a delayed loss of CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes was observed, when ddI plasma levels
were increased by co-medication with TDF or by low body weight (Negredo 2004).
Recent in vitro investigations with exposure of mitotically stimulated T lymphocytes to slightly supratherapeutic concentrations of ddI also detected a substantial
mtDNA depletion with a subsequent late onset decline of lymphocyte proliferation
and increased apoptosis (Setzer 2005a, Setzer 2005b). Thus, mitochondrial toxicity
is the most likely explanation for the late onset decline of lymphocytes observed
with ddI. The data suggest that the mitochondrial toxicity of NRTIs on lymphocytes
has immunosuppressive properties.
Asymptomatic elevations in serum lipase are not uncommon under ART, but of no
value in predicting the onset of pancreatitis (Maxson 1992). The overall frequency
of pancreatitis has been calculated as 0.8 cases/100 years of NRTI-containing ART.
Clinical pancreatitis is associated with the use of ddI in particular. DDI re-exposure
may trigger a relapse and should be avoided. A mitochondrial mechanism has been
cited to explain the onset of pancreatitis, but this assumption remains unproven.
Furthermore an elevation of serum urate was observed under therapy with dideoxynucleosides (ddI and d4T). Impaired ATP production as a result of mitochondrial toxicity may increase urate production in the purine nucleotide cycle (Walker
2006b).
After long-controversial discussions, several studies now provide evidence that
TDF does cause mitochondrial damage to the kidney. TDF is a nucleotide analog
reverse transcriptase inhibitor (Viread) which has been associated with cases of
renal dysfunction, Fanconi's syndrome and cases of osteomalacia in animals (Tenofovir review team 2001) and patients (Gupta 2008, Wanner 2009). Patients treated
with TDF often present with elevated serum alkaline phosphatase and hypophosphatemia due to a diminished renal phosphate resorption (Kinai 2005). Also osteomalacia was observed in patients treated with TDF, especially when combined with
lopinavir/r (Parsonage 2005, Wanner 2009). TDF is taken up into the proximal renal tubules by human renal organic anion transporters (hOATs) 1 and 3. Despite the
fact that TDF only has a low potency to impair the polymerase gamma, the hOATs
may generate high intratubular tenofovir concentrations that then interfere with the
replication of mtDNA (Cote 2006). Decreased mtDNA levels have been found in
renal biopsies from patients exposed to TDF+ddI, an NRTI combination that is no
longer recommended (Cote 2006). In rats TDF induced an organ-specific nephrotoxicity with mtDNA depletion and dysfunction of mtDNA-encoded respiratory
299
chain subunits (Lebrecht 2009). With regard to these findings it is not recommended to use TDF in patients with established renal dysfunction.
The use of AZT to avoid vertical HIV transmission diminishes mtDNA levels in the
placenta, as well as in the peripheral cord blood of perinatally exposed newborns
(Divi 2004, Shiramizu 2003, Gingelmaier 2009). AZT was found to be incorporated
into mtDNA in pregnant monkeys treated with AZT plus 3TC prior to delivery and
mtDNA depletion was found in skeletal muscle, heart and brain (Gerschenson
2004) in which perinatally acquired lesions were shown to persist for months after
cessation of NRTI exposure in some models.
Mitochondrial symptoms and abnormal cerebral imaging were found at increased
frequency in infants perinatally exposed to NRTIs (Blanche 1999, Tardieu 2005).
Hyperlactatemia is not infrequently observed and may persist for several months
after delivery (Noguera 2003). Other clinical trials in contrast did not detect an increased perinatal risk in association with perinatal AZT prophylaxis although key
parameters of mitochondrial dysfunction were not assessed. Long-term follow-up
data are urgently needed (Venhoff 2006). The available information however does
not justify deviating from the currently recommended strategy to use AZT to prevent vertical HIV transmission, as part of a combination therapy for the mother.
Monitoring
There is currently no method to reliably predict the mitochondrial risk of an individual patient. Routine screening of asymptomatic NRTI-treated subjects with lactate levels is not warranted, since elevated lactate levels in asymptomatic subjects
are not predictive of clinical mitochondrial toxicity (McComsey 2004). Quantification of mtDNA levels in PBMCs is not reliable. Quantifying mtDNA within affected tissues is likely to be more sensitive; however this form of monitoring is invasive and not evaluated with regard to clinical endpoints.
Once symptoms are established, histological examination of a biopsy may contribute to the correct diagnosis. The following findings in tissue biopsies point towards
a mitochondrial etiology: ultrastructural abnormalities of mitochondria, diminished
histochemical activities of cytochrome c-oxidase, the detection of intracellular and
more specifically microvesicular steatosis, and the so-called ragged-red fibers.
Treatment, prophylaxis of mitochondrial toxicity

Drug interactions
Drug interactions may precipitate mitochondrial symptoms and must be taken into
account. The mitochondrial toxicity of ddI for example is augmented through drug
interactions with ribavirin, hydroxyurea and allopurinol (Ray 2004). When ddI is
combined with TDF, the dose of ddI must be reduced to 250 mg once daily. The
thymidine analog brivudine is a herpes virostatic that may sensitize for NRTIrelated mitochondrial toxicity because one of its metabolites is an inhibitor of
DHODH (see below). Brivudine should therefore not be combined with antiretroviral pyrimidine analogues.
300 ART
Mitochondrial toxins
An impairment of mitochondrial metabolism may also result from ibuprofen, valproic acid and acetyl salicylic acid as these agents impair the mitochondrial utilization of fatty acids. Numerous cases have been described, in which a life-threatening
lactic acidosis was triggered by valproic acid, both in HIV-infected patients and in
patients with inherited mutations of mtDNA. Acetyl salicylic acid may damage mitochondria and such damage to liver organelles may result in Reyes syndrome.
Amiodarone and tamoxifen also inhibit the mitochondrial synthesis of ATP.
Acetaminophen and other drugs impair the antioxidative defense (glutathione) of
mitochondria, allowing for their free radical mediated damage. Aminoglycoside
antibiotics and chloramphenicol not only inhibit the protein synthesis of bacteria,
but under certain circumstances may also impair the peptide transcription of mitochondria as our bacteria-like endosymbionts. Adefovir and cidofovir are also inhibitors of gamma-polymerase. Alcohol as a mitochondrial toxin is advised against.
The most important clinical intervention is probably the discontinuation of the
NRTI(s) responsible for mitochondrial toxicity. Several studies have demonstrated
that switching stavudine (Zerit) to a less toxic alternative led to an objective and
progressive improvement in lipoatrophy (Martin 2004, McComsey 2004, Moyle
2004). In contrast, a switch from protease inhibitors to NNRTIs was not associated
with an improvement of lipoatrophy. These findings stress the importance of mitochondrial toxicity in the pathogenesis of these fat abnormalities.
Uridine
When toxic NRTIs can not be avoided, the supplementation of uridine is currently a
very promising strategy to treat mitochondrial toxicity. As outlined above, any respiratory chain impairment also results in the inhibition of DHODH, an essential
enzyme for the synthesis of uridine and its derived pyrimidines (Fig. 2). This decrease in intracellular pyrimidine pools leads to a relative excess of the exogenous
pyrimidine nucleoside analogs, with which they compete at gamma-polymerase. A
vicious circle is closed and contributes to mtDNA depletion. By supplementing
uridine either prophylactically or therapeutically, this vicious circle may be interrupted, resulting in increased mtDNA levels (Setzer 2008). Indeed, uridine abolishes all the effects of mtDNA-depletion in hepatocytes and normalizes lactate production, cell proliferation, the rate of cell death and intracellular steatosis (Walker
2003). In d4T-exposed adipocytes uridine was able to normalize mitochondrial
function and lipid metabolism (Walker 2006a). New data indicate that uridine is
able to also prevent ddC-induced hepatotoxicity (Lebrecht 2007), and AZT-induced
myopathy (Lebrecht 2008), cardiomyopathy and neuropathy in mice.
The oral substitution of uridine as a pyrimidine precursor is well tolerated by humans, even at high doses (Kelsen 1997, van Groeningen 1986). Mitocnol, a food
supplement, was shown to have a more than 8-fold uridine bioavailability over conventional uridine (Venhoff 2005).
301
TM
Figure 2: Suggested mechanism of mitocnol (NucleomaxX ) in the prevention and treatment

of mitochondrial toxicity.
A randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial found that mitocnol improved

subcutaneous fat in lipoatrophic subjects under continued therapy with d4T or AZT
(Sutinen 2007) (Fig. 3). In a second study mitocnol was found to be efficacious
with regard to patient- and physician-assessed lipoatrophy scores (McComsey
2008).
Mitochondrial steatohepatitis is antagonized by mitocnol in animal models, as well
as in HIV-positive patients (Walker 2004, Banasch 2006, Lebrecht 2007).
Mitocnol is well tolerated and adverse events have not been observed so far. In one
study, a clinically insignificant HDL decline was noted, while in another HDL cholesterol was unchanged (McComsey 2008). There are no known negative interactions of uridine with antiretroviral treatment (Koch 2003, McComsey 2005, Sommadossi 1988, Sutinen 2007). In Europe and North America, mitocnol is available
as a dietary supplement called NucleomaxX and can be acquired in pharmacies
and the internet (www.nucleomaxX.com).
302 ART
Figure 3: Subcutaneous fat gain with mitocnol under stavudine and zidovudine treatment (in
comparison with NRTI-sparing strategies).
Hyperlactatemia
In symptomatic hyperlactatemia and in lactic acidosis, all NRTIs should be immediately discontinued (Brinkman 2000).
With respect to mtDNA depletion vitamin cocktails were not found to be effective
either in vitro or in clinical studies (Venhoff 2002, Walker 1995). In animals and humans mitocnol improves hyperlactatemia (Lebrecht 2007, Sutinen 2007). NRTI reexposure may be possible after normalization of lactate (Lonergan 2003). The supportive treatment of hyperlactatemia and lactic acidosis is summarized in Table 2.
303
Table 2: Supportive treatment of lactate elevation in HIV-infected patients (non-pregnant

adults)
Lactate 2-5 mmol/L + symptoms
Lactate > 5 mmol/L or lactic acidosis
Discontinue mitochondrial toxins

Consider vitamins and
NucleomaxX (36g TID on 3 consecutive days/ month)
Discontinue NRTIs and all mitochondrial toxins

Intensive care
Maintain hemoglobin > 100 g/L
Avoid vasoconstrictive agents
Oxygen
Correct hypoglycemia
Bicarbonate controversial 50-100 mmol if pH<7.1
Coenzyme Q10 (100 mg TID)
Vitamin C (1 g TID)
Thiamine (Vit. B1, 100 mg TID)
Riboflavin (Vit. B2, 100 mg QD)
Pyridoxine (Vit. B6, 60 mg QD)
L-acetyl carnitine (1 g TID)
NucleomaxX (36 g TID until lactate <5 mmol/L)
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305
10. HIV Resistance Testing

Patrick Braun, Eva Wolf
The development of resistant viral strains is one of the main reasons for failure of
antiretroviral therapy. If there is resistance to several drug classes, the number of
alternative treatment regimens is limited. However, effective salvage regimens are
possible with the use of second generation PIs or NNRTIs with different resistance
profiles or new drug classes like entry inhibitors and integrase inhibitors. Resensitization may also be of use in resistance-based treatment changes.
The rapid development of resistant variants is due to the high turnover of HIV
approximately 10 million new viral particles are produced every day (Perelson
1996) and the exceptionally high error rate of HIV reverse transcriptase. This
leads to a high mutation rate and constant production of new viral strains, even in
the absence of treatment. In the presence of antiretroviral drugs, resistant strains are
selected for as the dominant species (Drake 1993).
The discussion about genotypic resistance in this chapter focuses on the mutation
patterns emerging due to drug pressure in the reverse transcriptase, protease, envelope, and integrase genes, and their respective interpretations. Most data are derived
from patients with subtype B viruses (representing only about 10% of the global
HIV-1 epidemic). However, non-subtype B viruses have also been investigated and
resistance pathways and patterns may differ in the various subtypes (Snoeck 2006).
Assays for resistance testing

There are two established assays for measuring resistance or sensitivity of HIV to
specific antiretroviral drugs the genotypic and the phenotypic resistance tests
(Wilson 2003). Assays accredited by the FDA are:
HIV-1 TruGene (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics)
ViroSeq/ABI Prism 3100 Genetic Analyzer (Abbott Molecular/Applera Corporation of Applied Biosystems and Celera)
Other genotypic tests like GeneSeq (Monogram Biosciences) are established
within the laboratories of the manufacturers and are used in clinical trials.
Standard (population-based) genotypic tests can only detect viral mutants when
these comprise at least 20% of the total virus population. Ultrasensitive methods
(allele-specific real-time PCR, single genome sequencing) with detection limits of
<0.15% are available in some laboratories. The clinical relevance of minority
populations remains a controversial issue.
Phenotypic resistance tests include:
Antivirogram (Virco)
PhenoSense (Monogram Biosciences)
Phenoscript (Viralliance)
Disadvantages of phenotypic testing include the lengthy procedure and high expense
of the assay. The cost of genotyping ranges from 300 to 450 Euro, depending on the
assay and laboratory used. It is approximately twice that much for phenotyping.
306 ART
The drawback of both methods is that a minimum amount of virus is necessary in
order to perform the test. A viral load below 500-1000 copies/ml often is not sufficient for detection of resistance.
Phenotyping
Phenotypic resistance tests involve direct quantification of drug sensitivity. Viral
replication is measured in cell culture under the selective pressure of increasing
concentrations of antiretroviral drugs and is compared to viral replication of wildtype virus.
Drug concentrations are expressed as IC50 values (50% inhibitory concentration),
the concentration of drug required to inhibit viral replication in cell cultures by
50%. The sensitivity of the virus is expressed as the IC50 divided by the IC50 of a
wild-type reference virus (fold-change value) and compared to the so-called cut-off
value. The cut-off value indicates by how much the IC50 of an HIV isolate can be
increased in comparison to that of the wild-type and still being classified as sensitive. The determination of the cut-off is crucial for the interpretation of the results.
Three different cut-offs are currently being used. The technical cut-off is a measure
of the methodological variability of the assay.
The biological cut-off involves the inter-individual variability of wild-type virus
isolates from ART-naive HIV-positive patients. If the IC50 is below the biological
cut-off, virological success is very likely. However, an IC50 above the biological
cut-off does not allow prediction of the virological response to a drug.
By contrast, the clinical cut-off indicates up to which levels of IC50 virological success can still be expected.
The vircoType and PhenoSense reports include lower and upper clinical cut-offs.
The lower clinical cut-off is the fold-change in IC50 which indicates slightly reduced virological response. A fold-change above the upper clinical cut-off indicates
resistance, and a fold-change between the two cut-offs indicates partial resistance.
Due to limited clinical experience cut-off data is often lacking for recentlyapproved drugs.
Genotyping
Genotypic assays are based on the analysis of mutations associated with resistance.
These are determined by the direct sequencing of the amplified HIV genome or by
specific hybridization techniques with wild-type or mutant oligonucleotides. For
therapeutic decision making, sequencing of the pol region, which encodes for the
viral enzymes protease, reverse transcriptase and integrase, and sequencing of the
env region, which encodes for the glycoproteins of the virus envelope, gp41 and
gp120, are of relevance.
The interpretation of genotypic resistance patterns is based on the correlation between genotype, phenotype and clinical response. There is data available from in
vitro studies, clinical studies, clinical observations and duplicate testing, in which
genotypically localized mutations were investigated for phenotypic resistance.
Rules-based interpretation systems
HIV Resistance Testing
307
For the phenotypic interpretation of genotypic mutation patterns rules-based interpretation systems are commonly available. Expert panels (e.g., HIV-GRADE) have
developed algorithms based on the literature and clinical outcomes.
HIV-GRADE, http://www.hiv-grade.de
Stanford Database, http://hivdb.stanford.edu/pages/asi/
The Rega Algorithms, http://www.rega.kuleuven.be/cev/index.php?id=30
Data-based interpretation systems and virtual phenotype
Contrary to the knowledge-based interpretation algorithms developed by experts,
data-based interpretation systems like geno2pheno or vircoType are mathematical approaches to predicting (virtual) phenotype from genotypic information. The
virtual phenotype is characterized by the fact that phenotypic information is derived
from genotype without performing a phenotypic resistance test in the laboratory.
Phenotypic estimates derive from large databases of paired genotypic and phenotypic information.
The interpretation system geno2pheno, available free of charge, uses machine learning techniques such as decision trees and support vector machines (Beerenwinkel
2003).
The vircoType interpretation is based on a multiple, linear regression model,
which is applied to a database consisting of several tens of thousands of matched
genotype/phenotype pairs: For every drug the fold-change in IC50 is a function of all
mutations of the patients virus that contribute to specific drug resistance. To account for synergistic and antagonistic effects between mutations, specific pairs of
mutations are included in the model. According to their relevance, drug-specific
weight factors are attributed to individual mutations or pairs of mutations. Weight
factors are positive for mutations or pairs that contribute to resistance, negative for
mutations or pairs with a resensitizing effect.
Background & nomenclature

Within the nucleotide sequences of the HIV genome, a group of three nucleotides,
called a codon, defines a particular amino acid in the protein sequence. Resistance
mutations are described using a number for each gene, showing the position of the
relevant codon, and two letters, the letter preceding the number corresponding to
the amino acid specified by the codon at this position in the wild-type virus, while
the letter after the number describes the amino acid that is produced from the mutated codon. M184V indicates a mutation in codon 184 of the reverse transcriptase
gene leading to a valine for methionine substitution in the reverse transcriptase enzyme.
Mechanisms of resistance
NRTIs are prodrugs that only become effective after being intracellularly converted
to triphosphates. Nucleotide analogs require only two instead of three phosphorylation steps. Phosphorylated NRTIs compete with naturally occurring dNTPs (de-
308 ART
oxynucleotide triphosphates). The incorporation of a phosphorylated NRTI into the
proviral DNA blocks elongation of the DNA resulting in interruption of the chain.
There are two main biochemical mechanisms that lead to NRTI resistance (De
Mendoza 2002). Sterical inhibition is caused by mutations enabling reverse transcriptase to recognize structural differences between NRTIs and dNTPs. Incorporation of NRTIs is then prevented in favor of dNTPs (e.g., in the presence of the mutations M184V, Q151M, L74V, or K65R) (Naeger 2001, Clavel 2004).
Phosphorolysis via ATP (adenosine triphosphate) or pyrophosphate leads to the
excision of the NRTIs already incorporated in the growing DNA chain. This is the
case with M41L, D67N, K70R, L210W, T215Y and K219Q (Meyer 2000). Phosphorolysis leads to cross-resistance between NRTIs, the degree of which may differ
between agents (AZT, d4T > ABC > ddI > 3TC). Contrary to the excision mutations, K65R leads to a decreased excision of all NRTIs when compared to wildtype, resulting in a greater stability once incorporated. For K65R, the combined
effect of its opposing mechanisms (decreased incorporation and decreased excision)
results in a decreased susceptibility to NRTIs but an increased susceptibility to AZT
(White 2005).
NNRTIs also inhibit the viral enzyme reverse transcriptase (RT). NNRTIs are small
molecules that bind to the hydrophobic pocket close to the catalytic domain of the
RT. Mutations at the NNRTI binding site reduce the affinity of the NNRTI to the
RT and thus lead to a loss of antiviral activity due to NNRTI treatment failure.
Whereas a single mutation can confer resistance to first generation NNRTIs, resistance patterns are more complex for second generation NNRTIs.
PIs hinder the cleavage of viral precursor gag-pol-polyprotein by the HIV protease,
thereby producing immature, non-infectious viral particles. PI resistance usually
develops slowly, as several mutations must first accumulate. This is also referred to
as the genetic barrier. For PIs, a distinction is made between major (or primary) and
minor (or secondary) mutations.
Table 1: PI-specific resistance mutations
Major mutations
D30N, V32I, M46I/L/V, I47V/A, G48V/M, I50V/L, I54VM/L/T/A/S, L76V, V82A/T/F/T/L/S/M/C,
I84V/A/C, N88D/S/T/G, L90M
Minor mutations
L10IVFRY, V11I, I13V, K20MRTIVI, L24I, L33F/I, E35G, K43T, F53L/Y, Q58E, A71V/T/I,
G73C/A/T/S, T74P, N83D, L89V
(HIV Drug Resistance Database, Sequence Analyses Program, version 5.0.0, 2008-11-04;
http://hivdb.stanford.edu/pages/asi/releaseNotes/updates.html)
Major mutations are responsible for phenotypic resistance. They are selected early
in the process of resistance to one drug and/or are located within the active site of
the target enzyme, the HIV protease. They reduce the ability of the protease inhibitor to bind to the enzyme. Major or primary mutations may also lead to reduced
activity of the protease. Minor mutations (often referred to as secondary mutations)
are located outside the active site and usually occur after major mutations. Minor
mutations are commonly found at polymorphic sites of non-B subtypes. Minor mu-
309
tations compensate for the reduction in viral fitness caused by major mutations (Nijhuis 1999, Johnson 2007b). Mutations at positions 20, 36, 63, and 77 are polymorphisms which are observed without specific selective drug pressure particularly in
non-B subtypes. Their contribution to drug resistance is only minor and depends on
the presence of other mutations.
Fusion inhibitors prevent HIV from entering target cells. The first step in cell entry
occurs when the HIV envelope glycoprotein gp120 binds to the CD4-receptor and
the chemokine co-receptors, CCR5 or CXCR4, of the target cell. Interactions between the two heptad repeat regions HR1 and HR2 within the transmembrane glycoprotein subunit gp41 lead to a conformational change in gp41 and enable fusion
of the viral and cellular membranes.
The fusion inhibitor T-20, a synthetic peptide consisting of 36 amino acids, mimics
the C-terminal HR2 domain of gp41 and competitively binds to HR1. Thus, interactions between HR1 and HR2 are blocked and the conformational change of gp41
that is necessary for fusion of virions to host cells is inhibited. A single amino acid
substitution in HR1 can reduce the efficacy of T-20.
CCR5 antagonists bind to the CCR5 co-receptor and thereby impede interaction
with the viral surface protein gp120 necessary for entry into the target cell. There
are two ways to build up resistance to CCR5 antagonists: a receptor switch from
CCR5 (R5)- to CXCR4 (X4)-tropic viruses or the emergence of mutations that enable the virus to use the CCR5 molecules for entry into in the cell in the presence of
CCR5 antagonists.
Integrase inhibitors prevent insertion of HIV DNA into the human DNA genome.
Integrase inhibitors like raltegravir or elvitegravir block the strand transfer step.
INIs bind to the catalytic pocket of the integrase and are transported as a component
of the PIC into the cell nucleus where strand transfer activity of integrase is inhibited. The selection of key mutations in the integrase gene confers resistance to integrase inhibitors. Strand transfer as well as 3' processing can be affected by these
mutations. Different resistance pathways have been observed. The accumulation of
secondary mutations leads to a further decrease in susceptibility.
Transmission of resistant HIV strains

The prevalence of mutations already present in treatment-nave patients differs
among demographic regions. Prevalence - of more than 20% - has been observed in
large US cities with significant populations of homosexual men and a long history
of access to antiretroviral treatment. Comparably high rates of resistance transmission were observed in Madrid from 1997 to 1999 and in 2002 (Grant 2003,
Wensing 2003, De Mendoza 2003, 2005a, Truong 2006).
In the German seroconverter study of the Robert Koch Institute the prevalence of
resistance mutations was 11.2% between 1996 and 2007 (Kuecherer 2006, Bartmeyer 2008). In chronically-infected patients of the RESINA study, the proportion
with primary resistance was 14% between2001-2007 (Oette 2008).
The European CATCH study, a substudy of SPREAD (Strategy to Control Spread
of HIV Drug Resistance), determined a proportion of 10.4% with primary resistance out of 2,208 new HIV diagnoses between 1996 and 2002 (Wensing 2005).
Whereas NRTI resistance decreased over time, NNRTI resistance increased. PI re-
310 ART
sistance remained relatively constant. Primary resistance was observed especially in
subtype B infections (70% of all new diagnoses). However, also in non-B subtypes
primary resistance increased.
European-wide data from the years 2002-2003 derive from SPREAD, a program
established to monitor primary resistance in newly infected patients and ART-nave
patients. 9.1% of the 1050 newly diagnosed HIV patients were infected with virus
harboring at least one resistance mutation (Wensing 2006). Two-class resistance
was present in less than one percent.
Table 2: Prevalence of resistance prior to initiation of therapy.
Author
Wensing 2006
Region
Period
Patient population
Primary
resistance
Europe
2002-2003
Newly diagnosed
1050
9.1%
14.2%
(19 countries)
Cane 2005
Great Britain
1996-2005
Chronically infected
2357
Oette 2008
Germany
2001-2004
Chronically infected
1373
14%
Bartmeyer 2008
Germany
1996-2007
Seroconverters
1298
11.2%
De Mendoza
2005
Spain
1997-2004
Seroconverters
198
12.1%
Recordon-Pinson
2007
France
1996-2005
Seroconverters
194
15.7%*
Chaix 2007
France
2005-2006
Seroconverters
289
10.4%
Little 2002
USA
1995-2000
Seroconverters
377
22.7%
Truong 2006
San Francisco
2004
Newly diagnosed
129
13.2%
10.2%
7.8%
Jayaraman 2006
Canada
1999-2003
Newly diagnosed
768
Nkengafac 2007
Cameroon
2005-2006
Newly diagnosed
180
*18.2% Subtype B, 8.3% non-B
Transmission rates of resistant virus are possibly underestimated in the different

regions. Minority viral populations below 25% are not detected by standard sequencing techniques. Forty-nine viral isolates of acute seroconverters were tested
for the presence of L90M, K103N and M184V by quantitative real-time polymerase
chain reaction using specific oligonucleotides for the three key resistance mutations. In 10 of 49 patients these mutants were detected. In 5 of these 10 patients the
detected population represented a minor viral quasi-species and was not detected by
direct sequencing (Metzner 2005). In a Swiss study, M184V and/or K103N quasispecies were detected as minor variants in 18% (13/74) of patients with primary
HIV infection and documented wild-type virus (Metzner 2007a). In a study from
Atlanta focusing on L90M, M41L, K70R, K103N, Y181C, M184V, T215F and
T215Y, resistance mutations were detected in 33/205 acutely or chronically infected patients (16%) (Johnson 2007a).
Contrary to K103N or M184V, K65R is a rare primary mutation. K65R was observed only in 4/194 patients (2%) as a minority virus variant at initiation of treatment. Virological response to TDF+FTC combined with an NNRTI or a boosted PI
did not change out to week 24 (Metzner 2007b).
311
Transmitted primary resistance can persist for a long time (Pao 2004). In a Spanish
seroconverters study, 10 patients with primary resistance mutations T215Y,
T215N/S/C, M41L, L74V, V82S/A, L90M und I54V were followed over a median
time of 41 months. In only three of 10 cases (partial) reversion (of T215Y) was observed: T215Y revertants (T215S) were detected in two patients, and wild-type virus was detected in one patient after 7 years (De Mendoza 2005b).
In a case at our Munich centre transmitted resistance mutations persisted for four
years (Table 3).
Table 3: Resistance mutations persisting in a patient who was infected by a multi-resistant
virus (last negative HIV test was in 1997, HIV infection diagnosed in 06/2000).
Index person
02/2000
Patient
03/2001
01/2002
01/2003
07/2004
D67N
D67N
NRTI
M41L
M41L
M41L
M41L
D67N
D67N
D67N
D67N
V75M
V75M
K70R
K70R
V75M
V75M
M184V
L210W
M184V
L210W
T215F
T215F
T215F
K219Q
K219Q
K219Q
K219Q
K219Q
K219Q
G190A
G190A
G190A
G190A
G190A
M46I
M46I
M46I
M46I
M46I
A71V
A71V
A71V
A71V
NNRTI
G190A
PI
M46I
L63P
L63P
A71V
A71V
G73S
G73S
I84V
I84V
I84V
I84V
I84V
L90M
L90M
L90M
L90M
L90M
L90M
The clinical relevance of primary resistance has been shown in several studies.
Transmitted resistance mutations can limit further treatment options and reduce
treatment response rates (Harzic 2002, Little 2002, Riva 2002, Hanna 2001). However, on careful consideration of pre-existing resistance, treatment success is often
possible (Oette 2006, Reuter 2008).
In early 2005, one patient from New York caused a sensation. He was infected with
a multidrug resistant virus harboring 7 relevant NRTI mutations, 2 NNRTI mutations and 12 PI mutations. After 4 to 20 months (the exact time of infection is unknown), the patients CD4 count had decreased to 80 cells/l. The replication capacity of this resistant virus was comparable to that of wild-type virus. Only two
available antivirals, T-20 and efavirenz, were still active. Even though the transmission of multidrug resistant virus and rapid clinical progression are rare events, this
312 ART
case report demonstrates the possible clinical consequences of primary drug resistance (Markowitz 2005).
Clinical studies
The clinical importance of resistance testing before making changes to therapy has
been demonstrated in several prospective, controlled studies using genotypic tests
(VIRADAPT, CPCRA 046, Havana; Durant 1999, Baxter 2000, Tural 2002) as
well as in studies using phenotypic tests (VIRA 3001; Cohen 2002). Patients whose
physicians had access to information about existing mutations before the therapy
was changed usually had more significant decreases in their viral loads than patients
in whom ART was changed without knowledge of the resistance profile.
With regard to the increased number of NRTIs, NNRTIs or PIs with different resistance profiles, the clinical relevance of resistance testing might be even greater today. However, the relevance of resistance testing after introduction of new drug
classes like integrase inhibitors or CCR5 antagonists remains to be seen.
Interpretation of genotypic resistance profiles

NRTIs
For several NRTIs such as 3TC and for NNRTIs a high degree of resistance develops following just a single mutation (Havlir 1996, Schuurman 1995). For this reason, such drugs should only be used as part of highly effective regimens. However,
the 3TC-specific mutation, M184V, also reduces viral replication capacity (often
referred to as reduced viral fitness) by 40-60% (Sharma 1999, Miller 2003, Deval
2004). After 52 weeks with 3TC monotherapy, the viral load remained 0.5 log below the initial levels despite early development of the M184V mutation (Eron
1995). When compared to treatment interruptions, continuous monotherapy with
3TC delays virological and immunological deterioration (Castagna 2006). FTC has
nearly the same genotypic and phenotypic resistance pattern as 3TC (Borroto-Esoda
2007).
Thymidine analog mutations, known as TAMs, include the mutations M41L, D67N,
K70R, L210W, T215Y and K219Q. Three or more TAMs are associated with a
relevant reduction in the sensitivity to d4T (Calvez 2002, Lafeuillade 2003). The
term NAMs (nucleoside analog mutations) is also used, as these mutations are associated with cross-resistance to all other nucleoside analogs, with the exception of
3TC and FTC.
Viral mutants isolated from patients in whom treatment with AZT, 3TC or abacavir
has failed usually have a measurable phenotypic resistance. Two TAMs result in a
5.5-fold, three TAMs in a 29-fold and four or more TAMs in a >100-fold reduced
sensitivity to AZT. The use of abacavir in cases where there is a more than 7-fold
reduction in sensitivity no longer promises success. This usually requires at least 3
TAMs in addition to the M184V mutation (Harrigan 2000).
A score developed in the context of the Narval study (ANRS 088) seems to have a
good predictive value concerning virological response to abacavir. Virologic re-
313
sponse is poor in the presence of 5 mutations out of these six: M41L, D67N, L74V,
M184V, L210W, T215Y/F (Brun-Vzinet 2003).
The virologic response to ddI depends on the number of specific TAMs. In the Jaguar study with treatment-experienced patients T215Y/F, M41L and L210W and to
a lesser extent D67N und K219Q were associated with a reduced efficacy. The
virological response was not dependent on the presence of mutations M184V and
K70R (Marcelin 2005).
Clinical data indicates that three or more NAMs including M41L or L210W reduce
virological response to tenofovir (Antinou 2003).
The 3TC-associated mutation, M184V, as well as the L74V mutation and the
NNRTI-specific mutations, L100I and Y181C, may have an antagonistic effect on
the further development of resistance (Vandamme 1999).
M184V induces resensitization to AZT, resulting in a 50-60% reduction of IC50.
Resensitization to d4T results in a 30% reduction of IC50. However, resensitization
is of clinical relevance only if there are no more than three other AZT- or d4Tassociated mutations present (Shafer 1995, Underwood 2005). In one genotypic and
phenotypic resistance study consisting of 9000 samples, a combination of M41L,
L210W and T215Y decreased the susceptibility to AZT by more than 10-fold in
79% of cases. If the M184V mutation was also present, only 52% had a more than a
10-fold decreased susceptibility to AZT (Larder 1999). The M184V mutation also
increases sensitivity to tenofovir (Miller 2001, Miller 2004a). In contrast, the presence of M184V plus multiple NAMs or mutations at positions 65, 74 or 115 increases resistance to abacavir (Harrigan 2000, Lanier 2001).
So-called multidrug resistance (MDR) to all nucleoside analogs except 3TC is
established if one of the following combinations occurs: T69SSX, i.e., the T69S
mutation plus an insertion of 2 amino acids (SS, SG or SA) between positions 69
and 70, plus an AZT-associated mutation or Q151M, plus another MDR mutation
(V75I, F77L or F116Y) (Masquelier 2001).
The MDR mutation Q151M is relatively uncommon, with a prevalence of less than
5%. Q151M alone leads to intermediate resistance to AZT, d4T, ddI and abacavir
and involves only a minor loss of tenofovir activity. Q151M combined with mutations at positions 75, 77, and 116 confers high-grade resistance to AZT, ddI, d4T
and abacavir and intermediate resistance to tenofovir (Shafer 2003). Instead, the
T69SSX insertion induces an approximately 20-fold increase in the resistance to
tenofovir (Miller 2001, Miller 2004a).
The insertion T69SSX together with the mutation M184V, as well as the mutation
Q151M together with M184V, leads to a 70% reduction in viral replication capacity
(Miller 2003, Deval 2004).
The L74V mutation emerges after exposure to ddI or abacavir and leads to a 2-5
fold increase in the resistance to ddI (Winters 1997). The loss of efficacy by a factor
of around 2-3 for abacavir is not considered clinically relevant and requires further
mutations (Tisdale 1997, Brun-Vzinet 2003). L74V/I with or without M184V
leads to a reduction in IC50 of about 70%; phenotypic susceptibility increases by a
factor of 3 (Underwood 2005).
The K65R mutation can emerge while on tenofovir, abacavir or ddI and leads to an
intermediate resistance to tenofovir, abacavir, ddI, 3TC, FTC, and possibly d4T
314 ART
(Shafer 2002, Garcia-Lerma 2003). Tenofovir and ddI are classified as resistant (see
Table 4) in the presence of K65R. There is no cross-resistance with AZT (Miller
2004b). In antiretroviral combinations containing AZT, the incidence of the K65R
mutation is lower. The K65R emerges very rarely together with TAMs on the same
genome because they represent two antagonistic resistance pathways. Genotypes
harbouring K65R and TAMs are also very unlikely (Wirden 2005). When abacavir
was used as part of the combination abacavir+3TC+AZT (Trizivir) or in the presence of multiple TAMs, K65R was rare prior to the use of tenofovir. Similar to
large clinical trials using tenofovir within divergent (PI- or NNRTI-containing)
treatment regimens, the incidence of K65R stabilized at 5%. However, virological
failure of other triple-NRTI combinations such as TDF+3TC+ABC or
TDF+3TC+ddI was often associated with the development of the K65R (Farthing
2003, Gallant 2003, Landman 2003, Jemsek 2004). The main reason for the high
failure rate seems to be the low genetic barrier of these regimens: the emergence of
the K65R induces a loss of sensitivity to all three drugs.
K65R increases sensitivity to AZT and induces a resensitization to AZT in the presence of (few) TAMs. K65R alone increases sensitivity to AZT by a factor of 2, together with M184V/I by a factor of 2.5 (White 2005, Underwood 2005). Vice versa,
TAMs reduce the K65R-associated resistance to tenofovir, abacavir, and ddI
(Parikh 2007).
As with M184V, the mutation K65R leads to a reduction in the viral replication
capacity (RC), which is not the case with TAMs or the L74V/I. The median RC for
viruses with M184V/I (n=792), K65R (n=72) or L74V/I (n=15) alone were 68%
(P<0.0001), 72% (p<0.0001) and 88% (p=0.16), respectively. With the exception of
M184V, NAMs did not change the RC of viruses containing K65R or L74V/I
(McColl 2005). If both mutations K65R and M184V were present, an RC of only
29% was observed (Miller 2003, Deval 2004).
The mutation K70E was observed on failing therapy with tenofovir, particularly in
NRTI-based regimens with abacavir and 3TC (Delaugerre 2008). M70E and K65R
may be observed simultaneously, but it is unlikely that these mutations emerge on
the same genome (Lloyd 2005). There is one case report of the development of
K70E and M184V during therapy with tenofovir and FTC, which then were replaced by K70G and M184V. Both mutations were located on the same genome and
conferred phenotypic resistance to 3TC, FTC, abacavir, ddI and tenofovir, but not
to AZT or d4T (Bradshaw 2007).
The V75T mutation, which is associated with an approximately 5-fold increase in
the resistance to d4T and ddI, is only rarely observed (Lacey 1994).
In large patient cohorts, quantitative measurements of sensitivity have shown that
up to 29% of NRTI-experienced patients have a hypersusceptibility to NNRTIs
(i.e., a reduction in the inhibitory concentration by a factor of 0.3-0.6). A reduction
in AZT or 3TC sensitivity correlates inversely with an increased NNRTI susceptibility (Shulman 2000). The reverse transcriptase mutations T215Y, H208Y and
V118I seem predictive for EFV hypersusceptibility. A database analysis of pairwise genotypes and phenotypes showed NNRTI hypersusceptibility for TAMs and
for non-thymidine analogue-associated NAMs. Hypersusceptibility for efavirenz
was detected for 1-2 TAMs, multiple TAMs plus M184V and for non-thymidine
analogue-associated NAMs like K65R, T69X, M184V and in particular for
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K65R+M184V (Whitcomb 2000, Shulman 2004, Coakley 2005a). However, these

results have not influenced treatment strategies so far.
First generation NNRTIs (efavirenz, nevirapine)

For the first generation NNRTIs two mutation profiles were identified: K103N,
V106M and Y188L or L100I, V106A, Y181C/I, G190S/A and M230L. A single
mutation confers a high degree of resistance to one or more NNRTIs. In the presence of K103N or Y188L the use of first generation NNRTIs is not recommended
(Antinori 2002).
The relatively frequent K103N mutation leads to a 20 to 50-fold increase in resistance to all available NNRTIs (Petropolus 2000). V106M is more frequent in subtype C viruses and leads to a 30-fold increase in nevirapine resistance. V106M is
associated with high-level resistance not only to nevirapine but also to efavirenz
(Grossman 2004).
A98G/S (which occurs more frequently in subtype C viruses), K101E and V108
lead to low-grade resistance to all available NNRTIs. Intermediate resistance to
efavirenz and low-grade resistance to nevirapine result from the L101I and Y181C/I
mutation. Y181C/I causes a 30-fold increase in nevirapine resistance, and response
to efavirenz is only temporary. G190A is associated with a high degree of nevirapine resistance and an intermediate resistance to efavirenz. G190S and Y188C/L/H
are mutations that result in a high degree of nevirapine and efavirenz resistance
(Shafer 2003, De Mendoza 2002).
Second generation NNRTIs

Etravirine is effective against variants with single NNRTI mutations like K103N,
Y188L and/or G190A (Andries 2004). Compared to earlier NNRTIs, etravirine has
a higher genetic barrier, probably due to flexible binding to the reverse transcriptase
site. High-level resistance is usually seen with more than two mutations (Mills
2007, Katlama 2007, Vingerhoets 2007). In a selection experiment, the dominant
viral population harbored, after several in vitro passages, the mutations V179F (a
new variant on this position) and Y181C. Other mutations that have been selected
in vitro are L100I, E138K, Y188H, G190E, M230L, and V179I (Brilliant 2004,
Vingerhoets, 2005). High levels of resistance were observed with the combinations
V179F+Y181C+/-F227C or V179F+Y181I (INTELENCE Full Prescribing Information, January 2008).
In a placebo-controlled study, virological response to etravirine was adjusted for
other NNRTI mutations and the use of T-20 - comparable with or without K103N.
The Y181C mutation was associated with a reduced response (Vingerhoets 2006).
In patients with documented NNRTI resistance and at least three primary PI mutations, virologic response to etravirine decreased with the number of NNRTI mutations. In patients without baseline NNRTI mutations the mean viral load reduction
after 48 weeks was 1.67 logs. With one, two, or three or more mutations viral load
decrease was 1.38, 0.90 and 0.54 logs, respectively (Cohen 2006).
In the DUET studies, 17 baseline mutations associated with etravirine resistance
mutations were identified: V90I, A98G, L100I, K101E/H/P, V106I, E138A,
V179D/F/T, Y181C/I/V, G190A/S, and M230L. Based on these mutations, an et-
316 ART
ravirine resistance score weighting the individual NNRTI mutations was developed.
The main criteria were the impact of the baseline mutations on virological response
at 24 weeks and the correlation between respective mutations and the fold-change
in IC50. A weighting factor of 3 was attributed to Y181I/V (with fold-changes of 13
and 17 in site-directed mutants), followed by a weighting factor of 2.5 for L100I,
K101P, Y181C, and M230L. The mutations E138A, V106I, G190S, and V179F
received a weighting factor of 1.5 and the other mutations were weighted with 1.
Total scores of 0-2, 2.5-3.5 and 4 corresponded to 74%, 52% and 38% virological
response rates in the DUET studies (Vingerhoets 2008).
In a panel of 4,248 NNRTI-resistant clinical HIV-1 isolates, the mutations with the
highest weight, Y181I and Y181V, had a low prevalence of 1.5% and 0.9%, respectively. The mutation Y181C, which is selected more frequently in patients taking
nevirapine than with efavirenz, had a prevalence of 32% (Vingerhoets 2008).
In clinical trials using etravirine the most frequent newly emerging mutations were
L100I, E138G, V179F/I, Y181C and H221Y. In less than 10% of virological failures the mutations K101E, K103N, V106I/M, V108I, Y188L, V189I, G190S/C and
R356K emerged (INTELENCE Full Prescribing Information, accessed January
2008).
The effectiveness of rilpivirine does not seem to be impaired by single NNRTI resistance mutations such as K103N, V106A, G190S/A; rilpivirine also retains activity against double mutants such as L100I/K103N or K103N/Y181C (Goebel 2005).
In vitro no resistant variants were selected in the presence of 40 nM rilpivirine over
a period of 30 days. When using 10 nM, up to eight mutations were selected within
8 days, including L100L/I, V106V/I, Y181Y/C and M230M/I; the respective increased IC50 was 4. Of 22 mutant viruses generated by directed mutagenesis, the
double mutant L100I+K103N showed the lowest sensitivity; the respective increase
in IC50 was 5.4 (as opposed to > 10,000 for nevirapine and efavirenz).
The clinical cut-offs are still unknown. However, there is evidence for a high genetic barrier for rilpivirine. For wild-type virus, median IC50 is 0.5 nM (0.18 ng/ml).
In the presence of 50% human serum, the IC50 is increased by a factor of about 9. In
comparison, daily oral administration of 50 mg rilpivirine achieved a mean peak
concentration (Cmax) of 674 nM (247 ng/ml) over a period of 14 days (De Bethune
2005, Goebel 2005).
The possible tolerable plasma levels are several times higher than the required inhibitory concentration.
In a clinical study involving treatment-nave patients without any (known) NNRTI
mutations at baseline, eight emerging mutations were observed during treatment
with rilpivirine (at once daily doses of 25 - 150 mg) in combination with AZT/3TC
or tenofovir/FTC: L100I, K101E, K103N, E108I, E138K/R, Y181C and M230L
(Molina 2008).
Protease Inhibitors
The spectrum of PI mutations is very large. Although there is a moderate to high
degree of cross-resistance between PIs, the primary mutations are relatively specific
for the individual drugs. If treatment is changed early on to another PI combination,
317
i.e., before the accumulation of multiple mutations, the subsequent regimen may
still be successful.
Most data on primary mutations that are selected for early on in the presence of a PI
are derived from studies using unboosted PIs. In studies evaluating first-line triple
therapy with boosted lopinavir, fosamprenavir, saquinavir, atazanavir or darunavir,
plus two NRTIs, no patient with virological failure developed detectable major PI
mutations, and the incidence of minor mutations was low (Eron 2006, Walmsley
2007, Clumeck 2007, Gathe 2008, Lataillade 2008, Molina 2008). Development of
primary PI resistance in patients failing boosted PI therapy is rare (Conradie 2004,
Friend 2004, Lanier 2003, Coakley 2005b).
The typical nelfinavir-specific resistance profile, with the D30N primary mutation
and further secondary mutations, results in a relatively low degree of crossresistance to other PIs (Larder 1999). Virological failure with nelfinavir can also be
associated with the emergence of L90M (Craig 1999). In subtype B viruses, treatment with nelfinavir generally leads to the emergence of D30N or M46I plus N88S.
In subtype C, G and AE viruses, however, the mutations L90M and I84V occur
more frequently. A reason for these different resistance pathways is the prevalence
of natural polymorphisms: whereas the polymorphism M36I is present in only 30%
of subtype B viruses, M36I is present in 70100% of non-B subtypes. For subtypes
C or G different resistance pathways were observed (i.e., 82I/V+63P+36I/V or
82I+63P+36I+20I), while with subtype F the mutations 88S or 82A+54V emerged
(Gonzales 2004, Grossman 2004b, Sugiura 2002, Snoeck 2006).
A comparison between the replicative capacities of a virus with a single protease
mutation (D30N or L90M) and that of the wild-type virus demonstrated a significant loss of viral fitness in the presence of the D30N mutation selected by nelfinavir. In contrast, the L90M mutation only leads to a moderate reduction in the replicative capacity, which can be compensated for by the frequently occurring L63P
polymorphism. Conversely, the L63P mutation hardly influences the reduced replicative capacity of D30N mutants (Martinez 1999).
G48V emerges primarily with unboosted saquinavir and leads to a 10-fold decrease
in the susceptibility to saquinavir. G48V in combination with L90M reduces susceptibility to saquinavir to an even higher degree (Jakobson 1995). Yet generally,
any 4 mutations out of L10I/R/V, G48V, I54V/L, A71V/T, V77A, V82A, I84V and
L90M, are required to reduce the efficacy of ritonavir-boosted saquinavir (Valer
2002). One study re-evaluated the genotypic interpretation of saquinavir resistance
in a retrospective analysis of 138 PI-experienced patients. Here, the mutations
L10F/I/M/R/V, I15A/V, K20I/M/R/T, L24I, I62V, G73ST, 82A/F/S/T, I84V, and
L90M were identified as being most strongly associated with virological response.
The presence of 3 to 4 mutations was associated with a reduced response to boosted
saquinavir (Marcelin 2005).
Unboosted indinavir or ritonavir select mainly for the major mutation V82A(T/F/S),
which in combination with other mutations leads to cross-resistance to other PIs
(Shafer 2003). Mutations that frequently develop with indinavir, harboring M46I,
L63P, V82T, I84V or L10R, M46I, L63P, V82T, I84V are just as fit as the wildtype virus.
In the course of failing treatment with fosamprenavir, the following mutations have
been selected: I54L/M, I50V or V32I plus I47V, often together with the mutation
318 ART
M46I. In a small study, the corresponding virus isolates showed full susceptibility
to saquinavir and lopinavir (Chapman 2004, Ross 2003).
Based on data of a small study with 49 PI-experienced patients who were switched
to boosted amprenavir, an algorithm was developed that also included resistance
mutations at positions 35, 41, 63 and 82 (Marcelin 2003, Table 6).
The Zephir study evaluated virological response to treatment with fosamprenavir/r
in 121 patients. With less than three mutations out of L10I/F/R/V, L33F, M36I,
M46I / L, I54L/M/T/V, I62V, L63P, A71I/L/V/T, G73A/C/F/T, V82A/F/S/T, I84V
and L90M, viral load was reduced by 2.4 logs 12 weeks after treatment initiation
compared to only -0.1 log with 4 or more mutations. At least 80% of patients with a
maximum of 3 mutations reached a viral load below 400 copies/ml, compared to
35-45% of patients with 4-7 mutations and only 10% of patients with at least 8 mutations (Pellegrin 2005). In a smaller study with 63 patients receiving fosamprenavir/r, the mutations L10F/I/V, L33F, M46I/L, I47V, I54L/M/V/A/T/S, A71V,
G73S/A/C/T, V82A/F/C/G and L90M were associated with reduced virological
response. The relevant mutations were I54L/M/V/A/T/S, V82A/F/C/G, and L90M:
In the case of two mutations, virological response was reduced, while three mutations conferred resistance. N88S/D was associated with an increased response
(Masquelier 2006).
The response to lopinavir in PI-experienced patients correlates with the number of
any of the following mutations: L10F/I/R/V, K20M/R, L24I, M46I/L, F53L,
I54L/T/V, L63P, A71I/L/T/V, V82A/F/T, I84V, and L90M. Five mutations or less
result in an increase in the IC50 by a median factor of 2.7,;with 6-7 mutations this
factor is 13.5, and with at least 8 mutations it is 44 (Kempf 2001).
In studies where boosted lopinavir is part of a first-line regimen, no primary PImutations have been observed to date. Very few case reports of primary lopinavir
resistance have been published. In one patient, virological failure was associated
with the occurrence of the V82A followed by the mutations V32I, M46M/I and
I47A (Friend 2004). Susceptibility to other PIs, especially saquinavir, was not affected (Parkin 2004). In a second case, with pre-existing polymorphisms (M36I,
L63P and I93L), the mutations I54V and V82A, followed by L33F, were selected
(Conradie 2004).
A different algorithm to predict lopinavir resistance also includes mutations at
novel amino acid positions. Viruses with any 7 mutations out of L10F/I, K20I/M,
M46I, L, I50V, I54A/M/S/T/V, L63T, V82A/F/S as well as G16E, V32I, L33F,
E34Q, K43T, I47V, G48M/V, Q58E, G73T, T74S, and L89I/M display approximately a 10-fold increase in the IC50. Mutations at positions 50, 54 and 82 particularly affect the phenotypic resistance (Parkin 2003, Jimenez 2005).
In vivo selection of lopinavir resistance was prescribed in 54 PI-experienced patients failing treatment with lopinavir. Mutations at positions 82, 54 and 46 frequently emerged. Mutations like L33F, I50V or V32I together with I47V/I were
selected less frequently. New mutations at positions 84, 90 and 71 were not observed (Mo 2005).
The mutation I47A, which has rarely been observed since the availability of lopinavir, was identified to be associated with lopinavir resistance. I47A reduces the
binding affinity to lopinavir and results in an 86- to >110-fold loss of sensitivity. In
319
contrast, I47A leads to saquinavir hypersusceptibility due to an enhanced binding

affinity to saquinavir (Kagan 2005).
On failing lopinavir monotherapy, the occurrence of the mutation L76V was reported in subtype CRF02 (MONARK Trial) (Delaugerre 2007). The mutation
L76V, selected for by lopinavir and rarely by amprenavir, is associated with resistance to lopinavir, amprenavir und darunavir, but can lead to resensitization to atazanavir, saquinavir and tipranavir even in the presence of 5-10 PI-mutations
which normally confer broad PI cross-resistance (Mller 2004, De Meyer 2006b).
The resistance profile of atazanavir, an aza-peptidomimetic PI, differs a bit from
that of other PIs. In patients in whom first-line treatment with atazanavir failed, the
mutation I50L often combined with A71V, K45R, and/or G73S was primarily
observed. On the one hand, I50L leads to a loss of sensitivity to atazanavir; on the
other hand, I50L leads to an increased susceptibility to other currently approved
PIs. Mutants harboring I50L plus A71V showed a 2- to 9-fold increased binding
affinity to the HIV protease. Even in the presence of other major and minor PImutations I50L can increase susceptibility to other PIs (Colonno 2002, Weinheimer
2005, Yanchunas 2005). In PI-experienced patients, the I50L mutation was selected
for in only one third of patients failing atazanavir (Colonno 2004).
In PI-experienced patients, at least partial cross-resistance to atazanavir is probable
(Schnell 2003). The accumulation of PI mutations such as L10I/V/F, K20R/M/I,
L24I, L33I/F/V, M36I/L/V, M46I/L, M48V, I54V/L, L63P, A71V/T/I,
G73C/S/T/A, V82A/F/S/T, L90M, and in particular, I84V, leads to a loss of sensitivity to atazanavir. In the expanded access program using unboosted atazanavir the
number of the respective PI-mutations correlated with the change in viral load. For
unboosted atazanavir, the threshold for resistance is generally met if 3-4 PImutations are present; for ritonavir boosted atazanavir, resistance is likely with 6 or
more mutations (Colonno 2004, Gianotti 2005).
The Reyaphar-Score, developed by Pellegrin and colleagues for predicting response
to ritonavir-boosted atazanavir, includes mutations at 12 positions (L10I/F/R/V,
K20I/M/R, L241, M461/L, 154L/M/T/V, Q58E, L63P, A71I/L/V/T, G73A/C/F/T,
V771, V82A/F/S/T, 184V and L90M). With less than 5 Reyaphar mutations the
average viral load reduction at 12 weeks was 1.4 logs, compared to only 0.5 log
with more than 5 mutations (Pellegrin 2006).
Another atazanavir resistance score involves the mutations 10F/I/V, 16E, 33I/F/V,
46I/L, 60E, 84V, 85V, and 90M. In a study with 63 patients, the activity of boosted
atazanavir decreased significantly if three or more of these mutations were present
(Vora 2006).
Tipranavir, the first non-peptidic protease inhibitor, shows good efficacy against
viruses with multiple PI mutations. Even with reduced susceptibility to darunavir
about half of the 586 isolates proved susceptible to tipranavir (De Meyer 2006a). In
vitro, L33F and I84V are the first mutations selected by tipranavir, but the loss in
sensitivity is only two-fold. Selection experiments ended up with viral isolates harbouring 10 mutations (L10F, I13V, V32I, L33F, M36I, K45I, I54V, A71V, V82L,
I84V) resulting in an 87-fold reduced sensitivity (Doyon 2005).
Due to these and other experiments some mutations were regarded as key mutations, the so-called PRAMs (protease inhibitor-associated resistance mutations)
320 ART
which include the following mutations: L33I/V/F, V82A/F/L/T, I84V and L90M.
Resistance analyses showed that reduced sensitivity should be expected with at
least three PRAMs. However, a sufficient short term viral load reduction of 1.2 logs
was seen after two weeks on treatment with boosted tipranavir plus an optimized
backbone in patients with at least three PRAMs, compared to only 0.2 0.4 log
with amprenavir, saquinavir or lopinavir plus an optimized backbone (Cooper 2003,
Johnson 2008, Mayers 2004).
In the re-analysis of the Phase II and III trials, some PRAMs have been confirmed,
but new resistance mutations were also identified (Kohlbrenner 2004). Resistance
mutations in clinical isolates of tipranavir-experienced patients included L10F,
I13V, K20M/R/V, L33F, E35G, M36I, K43T, M46L, I47V, I54A/M/V, Q58E,
H69K, T74P, V82L/T, N83D, and I84V (Croom 2005).
Hence the "unweighted" tipranavir mutation score was developed, involving 21
protease mutations at 16 positions (I10V, I13V, K20M/R/V, L33F, E35G, M36I,
N43T, M46L, I47V, I54A/M/V, Q58E, H69K , T74P, V82L / T, N83D and I84V)
(Baxter 2006).
This score was followed by a weighted tipranavir score based on clinical data of
the RESIST trials (Scherer 2007). The respective model includes mutations of the
unweighted score plus five mutations which were related to an increased tipranavir
susceptibility. Weight factors were assigned to the mutations according to their contribution to resistance. The weights of the mutations add up to the weighted
tipranavir score. The major mutations I47V, I54A/M/V, Q58E, T74P, V82L/T, and
N83D contribute significantly to resistance and have a greater weight than minor
mutations like I10V, M36I, N43T, and M46L. L24I, I50L/V, I54L and L76V are
mutations conferring an increase in sensitivity and carry a negative weight (see Table 6). The mutations L33F as well as I13V and H69K, the most commonly observed in non-B subtypes, were removed from the score.
Darunavir has also shown good activity against a wide spectrum of PI-resistant viruses. In vitro, resistance to darunavir develops more slowly than seen with nelfinavir, amprenavir or lopinavir.
After several passages in vitro, further mutations were selected in addition to R41T
and K70E, leading to reduced replication fitness. A mutant virus with more than a
10-fold loss in darunavir susceptibility showed a corresponding loss in saquinavir
susceptibility, but not for the other PIs (atazanavir was not tested). This means that
primary darunavir failure is not necessarily associated with complete crossresistance to first generation PIs (De Meyer 2003, 2005).
Eleven mutations at 10 positions were associated with a diminished response to
boosted darunavir: V11I, V32I, L33F, I47V, I50V/L, I54L/M, T74P, L76V, I84V
and L89V. With three or more of these mutations, the response rate was reduced.
Individual mutations appear to influence susceptibility to darunavir in varying degrees. I50V has the highest impact, followed by I54M, L76V and I84V; V32I, and
L33F, and I47V have less influence. The weakest impact was associated with V11I,
I54L, G73S and L89V. This weighting needs to be validated.
New mutations that have occurred in treatment failure with darunavir are V32I,
L33F, I47V, I54L, and L89V. The median increase in darunavir IC50 was 8.14. Approximately 50% of these isolates were sensitive to tipranavir. The median change
321
in the tipranavir IC50 was 0.82. Conversely, over 50% of isolates with reduced
tipranavir susceptibility were still sensitive to darunavir (De Meyer 2006a, De
Meyer 2006b, Prezista US Product Information 2006, Johnson 2008).
Fusion inhibitors
The gp41 genome consisting of 351 codons has positions of high variability and
well-conserved regions. Polymorphic sites are observed in all regions of gp41. The
heptad repeat 2 (HR2) region has the highest variability. Primary resistance to T-20,
the only fusion inhibitor thus far approved, is a rare phenomenon (Wiese 2005).
A loss of efficacy is generally accompanied by the appearance of mutations at the
T-20 binding site which is the heptad repeat 1 (HR1) region of gp41. Especially
affected are the HR1-positions 36 to 45, such as G36D/E/S, 38A/M/E,
Q40H/K/P/R/T, N42T/D/S, N43D/K, or L45M/L.
The fold change in IC50, which ranges from 10 to several hundred, depends on the
position of the mutation and the substitution of the amino acid. The decrease in susceptibility is greater for double mutations than for a single mutation. For double
mutations like G36S+L44M, N42T+N43K, N42T+N43S or Q40H+L45M, a foldchange of >250 has been observed. Additional mutations in HR2 also contribute to
T-20 resistance (Sista 2004, Mink 2005). In clinical isolates harbouring G36D as a
single mutation, a 4- to 450-fold decrease in susceptibility was found. In the isolate
showing a 450-fold decrease in susceptibility a heterozygote change at position 126
in HR2 was observed (N/K). Other mutations in the gp41 gene were found at positions 72, 90 and 113 (Sista 2004, Monachetti 2004, Loutfy 2004).
In one small study, 6 of 17 patients with virological failure additionally developed
the mutation S138A in the HR2 region of gp41 mostly combined with a mutation
at position 43 in the HR1-region and a range of HR2 sequence changes at polymorphic sites (Xu 2004).
The replication capacity (RC) in the presence of HR1 mutations is markedly reduced when compared to wild-type virus with a relative order of RC wild-type >
N42T > V38A > N42T, N43K N42T, N43S > V38A, N42D V38A, N42T. Viral
fitness and T-20 susceptibility are inversely correlated (r=0.99, p<0.001) (Lu 2004).
CCR5 Antagonists
CCR5 antagonists are to be used in patients with exclusively R5-tropic virus. In the
presence of X4-or dual-tropic virus use is not recommended.
In about 80% of treatment-nave patients and 50-60% of treatment-experienced
patients only R5-tropic virus is detected. The detection of solely X4-tropic virus is
unlikely but possible (Demarest 2004, Brumme 2005, Moyle 2005, Wilkinson
2006, Hunt 2006, Coakley 2006, Melby 2006).
In approximately one third of patients on a failing regimen with maraviroc, the first
CCR5 antagonist approved, a shift from R5- to X4-tropic virus was reported. In
individual cases, a receptor-shift was observed also under control therapy. The phenotypic standard test TrofileTM, which was used in the maraviroc trials, had a detection limit of 5-10%. Minor virus populations below this threshold were not detected. Retrospective studies have shown that some patients on a failing maraviroc
322 ART
regimen harbored minor X4 variants at baseline (Heera 2008, Greaves 2006, Mori
2007, Lewis 2007).
Vicriviroc is still under investigation. In one of its phase IIb studies, 118 samples
were reanalyzed using the enhanced TrofileTM assay, which has a sensitivity limit of
0.3%. 25 patient samples were classified as dual-tropic in the re-analysis. The detection of these minor virus populations was associated with a lower viral load reduction on vicriviroc (Reeves 2008). However, the data on minor X4 variants are
still not conclusive.
Methodological comparison studies were carried out with the TrofileTM assay.
Matching of at least 80% was observed with other phenotypic tests (PhenoscriptTM
ENV) or genotypic assays using specialized bioinformatics tools to predict tropism.
In particular, analytical methods such as support vector machines (SVM) and decision trees or the so-called charge rule are used for genotypic prediction (Garrido
2007, Skrabal 2007, Obermeier 2008).
Tropism prediction tools for genotypic sequences can be found at the following web
addresses:
geno2pheno coreceptor, http://coreceptor.bioinf.mpi-sb.mpg.de/cgibin/coreceptor.pl
Wetcat, http://genomiac2.ucsd.edu:8080/wetcat/v3.html
web-PSSM (using position-specific scoring matrices), http://indra.mullins.microbiol.washington.edu/webpssm/
The advantages of genotypic tropism testing lie in its wide availability and rapid
results. Another advantage is the feasibility of this test for patients with undetectable plasma viral load. In this case, genotyping can be performed from proviral
DNA. Initial results show a good correlation between TrofileTM results and the
genotypic tropism predictions from proviral DNA (Obermeier 2008). Genotyping of
proviral DNA is of clinical importance in successfully treated patients requiring
treatment change due to side effects.
On failing treatment with maraviroc or vicriviroc different mutations in the V3 loop
of the HIV-1 envelope protein gp120 are detected. Respective resistance patterns
were not uniform and included mutations outside the V3 loop. The frequency and
clinical relevance of these env mutations is in clinical research and resistance analysis in this area is not yet routine. Some of the detected mutations are not associated
with an increase in IC50. Instead, phenotypic resistance is characterized by doseresponse curves that display a reduction in maximal inhibition (Mori 2008). Reduced maximal inhibition in phenotypic susceptibility assays indicates that viral
strains resistant to the CCR5 antagonist maraviroc utilize inhibitor-bound receptors
for entry (Landovitz 2006, Westby 2007, Johnson 2008). Cross-resistance between
maraviroc and vicriviroc has been described after several in vitro passages, but
there is no clinical data yet. Cross-resistance or complete class resistance with other
CCR5 antagonists under development, such as TAK-652, remains to be determined.
Integrase Inhibitors
Sequence analysis of viruses from treatment-nave patients showed that the integrase gene is very polymorphic, but most of the relevant positions for resistance,
323
such as 148 and 155, are conserved (Hackett 2008). Resistance analysis is currently
indicated only in the case of virologically failing therapy with an integrase inhibitor
therapy.
The key mutation N155H was observed in two patients initiated on raltegravir, tenofovir and 3TC, in one of the cases along with other integrase resistance mutations.
In other patients only 3TC mutations were detected. No further raltegravir mutations were observed after week 48 (Markowitz 2007+2008). In pre-treated patients
three raltegravir resistance pathways have been observed. Key mutations are
N155H, Q148K/R/H and less frequently Y143R/C. Mutations observed along with
N155H were L74M, E92Q, T97A, V151I, G163R, G163K, or S230R. In the presence of Q148K/R/H the following mutations may occur: L74M, T97A, E138A,
E138K, G140A, G140S and G163R, whereas mutations at positions 140 prevail.
The key mutation Y143H/R/C involves the mutations E92Q, T97A, V151I, G163R
or S230R (Cooper 2007, Fransen 2008, Steigbigel 2008, Hazuda 2007). The accumulation of additional mutations after the emergence of key mutations causes an
increase in resistance and, depending on the pattern of mutations, also an increase
in viral fitness. This is particularly true for the mutation Q148H (Goethals 2008,
Hatano 2008).
The mutations N155H and Q148K/R/H do not occur on the same viral genome; this
also applies for E92Q and mutations at position 148. Virus variants harboring
N155H and secondary mutations are often replaced by variants with higher replicative fitness harboring Q148H + G140S (Fransen 2008, Miller 2008).
Mutations occurring on failing elvitegravir, still under investigation, were E92Q,
E138K, Q148R/H/K and N155H. E92Q is often associated with the compensatory
mutation L68V. A high level of cross-resistance between raltegravir and elvitegravir is caused by Q148H/R+G140S. Response to treatment with raltegravir after
failing elvitegravir therapy is unlikely. This has been confirmed by individual case
reports (Mc Coll, 2007, DeJesus 2007, Goodman 2008).
Summary
Primary resistant viral variants can be observed in at least 10% of treatment-nave
HIV-positive patients in all regions of the world that have access to antiretroviral
drugs. Resistance testing prior to initiating antiretroviral treatment results in significantly better response rates. The emergence of viral mutants is one of the main
causes of virological treatment failure. With the aid of HIV resistance tests, antiretroviral treatment strategies can be improved. Pharmacoeconomic studies have
shown that genotypic resistance tests are cost-effective both in treatmentexperienced and in ART-nave patients (Sax 2005, Corzillius 2004, Weinstein
2001). National and international HIV treatment guidelines recommend the use of
resistance testing. New classes such as integrase inhibitors and CCR5 antagonists
should be included in the evaluation of resistance. However, genotyping including
sequence analyses of the integrase or envelope genomes is only partially covered by
public health insurance in several countries.
Currently, both genotypic and phenotypic resistance tests as well as genotypic and
phenotypic tropism tests show good intra- and inter-assay reliability. The interpretation of genotypic resistance profiles has become very complex and requires con-
324 ART
stant updating of respective guidelines. The determination of the thresholds associated with clinically relevant phenotypic drug resistance is crucial for the effective
use of (virtual) phenotypic testing.
Even while treatment failure requires the consideration of all causal factors, such as
patient adherence to the regimen, metabolism of drugs and drug levels, resistance
testing and measurement of viral tropism are of great importance in antiretroviral
therapy.
Finally, it needs to be emphasized that even with the benefit of well-interpreted
resistance tests only experienced HIV practitioners should start, stop or change antiretroviral therapy keeping in mind the clinical and the psycho-social situation of the
patient.
Resistance Tables
All tables are based on different rules-based interpretation systems, such as HIVGRADE (http://www.hiv-grade.de), the ANRS-AC 11 Resistance Group
(http://www.hivfrenchresistance.org/) and the Drug Resistance Mutations Group of
the International AIDS Society-USA (Johnson 2008) as well as the references mentioned in the text.
These tables are not exhaustive and should not replace the communication between
the practitioner and the laboratory experts in resistance interpretation.
Table 4: Mutations on the reverse transcriptase gene leading to NRTI resistance
RTI
Resistance mutations
Zidovudine (AZT)
T215 Y/F (esp. with other TAMs)

3 of the following: M41L, D67N, K70R, L210W, K219Q/E
Q151M (esp. with A62V/F77L/F116Y)
T69SSX (insertion)*
(Potential resensitizing effect associated with K65R, L74V, Y181C and
M184V)
V75M/S/A/T
T215Y/F (usually in combination with other TAMs)
3 TAMs*
T69SSX (insertion)*
(Potential resensitizing effect associated with L74V, Y181C and M184V)
M184V + 3 Mutations at M41L, D67N, L74I, Y115F, L210W, T215Y/F,
219Q/E
5 Mutations at M41L, D67N, L74I, L210W, T215Y/F, 219Q/E
K65R
L74V
Q151M (v.a. with A62V, F77L, F116Y)
T69SSX (insertion)*
M184V/I
T69SSX (insertion)*
K65R (resistance possible)
M184V/I
Stavudine (d4T)
Abacavir
Lamivudine (3TC)
Emtricitabine
325
(FTC)
T69SSX (insertion)*
K65R (resistance possible)
Didanosine (ddI)
L74V, esp. with T69D/N or TAMs
T69SSX (insertion)*
K65R
T215Y/F and 2 of the following: M41L, D67N, K70R, L210W, K219Q/E
Tenofovir DF
T69SSX (insertion)*
3 TAMs with M41L or L210W (only partial resistance)
3 - 5 of the following: M41L, E44D, D67N, T69D/N/S, L210W,
T215Y/F, K219Q/E
K65R
K70E/G
(Potential resensitizing effect associated with L74V and M184V)
TAMs = thymidine analog mutations
* T69SSX in combination with T215Y/F and other TAMs leads to a high degree of resistance to
all NRTIs and tenofovir
Table 5: Mutations on the reverse transcriptase-gene leading to NNRTI
mutations associated with a high degree of resistance in bold.
NNRTIs
Efavirenz
Resistance mutations
L100l
K101E
K103N(H/S/T)
V106M
V108I (with other NNRTI mutations)
Y181C(I)
Y188L(C)/(H)
G190S/A (C/E/Q/T/V)
P225H (with other NNRTI mutations)
Nevirapine
A98G
L100l
K101E/P/Q
K103N (H/S/T)
V106A/M
V108I
Y181C/I
Y188C/L/H
G190A/S (C/E/Q/T/V)
Etravirine
2*-3 mutations of (V90I, A98G, L100I, K101E/H/P, V106I, E138A/G/K/Q,

V179D/F/T, Y181C/I/V, G190A/S, F227C, M230L)
*in combination with a bold mutation
326 ART
Table 6: Mutations on the protease gene leading to PI resistance.
PIs
Relevant resistance mutations

and patterns
Further mutations associated with

resistance
Indinavir
M46l/L
V82A/F/S/T
l84A/V
when boosted with /r, several
mutations are required for sensitivity loss
I84V/A, 48V/M
3 mutations from (L10F/I/M/R/V,
K20I/M/ R/T, L24I, I62V, G73CST,
82A/F/S/T and L90M) or
4 mutations from (L10I/R/V,
I54V/L, A71V/T, V77I, V82A/
F/S/T and L90M)
Possible L76V-associated resensitizing effect
D30N
l84A/V
N88S/D
L90M
I50V
L76V together with other PI mutations
V32I plus I47V
6 mutations (L10F/I/V, K20M/R,
E35D, R41K, I54V/L/M, L63P,
V82A/F/T/S, I84V) or
3 mutations (L10I/F/R/ V, L33F,
M36I, M46I/L, I54L/ M/T/V, I62V,
L63P, A71I/L/V/T, G73A/C/F/T,
V82A/F /S/T, I84V and L90M) or
3 mutations at L10F/I/V, L33F,
M46I/L, I47V, I54L/M/V/A/T/S,
A71V, G73S/A/C/T, V82A/F/C/G
and L90M
I47A+V32I
3 mutations of (M46I, I47A/V,
L50V, I54A/M/V, L76V, V82FATS,
I84V)
L10I/V/F, K20R/M/I, L24I, V32I, M36I,

I47A/V, I50V, I54V/L/M/T, A71V/T,
G73C/S/A, L76V,
V77I, N88S and L90M
2 PRAMs*
I50L frequently in combination

with A71V
4 Mutations (L10I/F, K20R/M/I,
L24I, V32I, L33I/F/V, M46I, M48V,
I54V/M/A, A71V, G73C/S/T/A,
V82A/F/S/T, I84V, N88S and
L90M)
(Possible L76V-associated resensitizing effect)
7 mutations/points of
(K20M/R/V, L33F, E35G, N43T,
M46L, I47V, I54A/M/V, Q58E,
H69K, T74P, V82L/T, N83D and
N88S
2 PRAMs*
Saquinavir
Nelfinavir
Fosamprenavir/r
Lopinavir/r
Atazanavir
and
Atazanavir/r
(300/100 mg
QD)
Tipranavir
2 PRAMs*
V82A/F/S/T and at least 2 of the following: L10I, M36I, M46l/L, I54V/L/M/T,

A71V/T, V77I
2 PRAMs*
2 PRAMs*
5-7 of the following: L10F/I/R/V,

K20M/R, L24l, V32I, L33F, M46l/L,
I47V/A, I50V, F53L, l54L/T/V, L63P,
A71l/L/V/T, G73S, V82A/F/T, l84V,
L90M
2 PRAMs*
6 mutations/points of (K20M/R/V, L33F,

E35G, N43T, M46L, I47V, I54A/M/V,
Q58E, H69K, T74P, V82L/T, N83D and
I84V; V82L/T and I84V with twofold
327
I84V; V82L/T and I84V with twopoints score)

fold points score)
Score 3-10 of
Score >10 of
(I10V (+1), L24I (-2), M36I (+2), N43T
(I10V (+1), L24I (-2), M36I (+2),
(+2), M46L (+1), I47V (+6), I50L/V (-4)
N43T (+2), M46L (+1), I47V (+6),
I54A/M/V (+3), I54L (-7) Q58E (+5),
I50L/V (-4) I54A/M/V (+3), I54L (T74P (+6), L76V (-2),.V82L/T (+5),
N83D (+4), I84V (+ 2))
7) Q58E (+5), T74P (+6), L76V (2), V82L/T (+5), N83D (+4), I84V
(+ 2))
Darunavir/r
4 mutations of:
3 mutations of:
V11I, V32I, L33F, I47V, I50V,
V11I, V32I, L33F, I47V, I50V, I54L/M,
I54L/M, T74P, L76V, I84V, L89V
T74P, L76V, I84V, L89V (with I50V,
I54M, L76V and I84V having a higher
(with I50V, I54M, L76V and I84V
impact)
having a higher impact)
*PRAMs (protease inhibitor resistance-associated mutations) include the following mutations:
L33I/F/V, V82A/F/S/T, I84V and L90M. They lead to high PI cross-resistance.
Table 7: Mutations on the env (gp41) gene leading to T-20 resistance.
Fusion inhibitors Resistance mutations
T-20
G36A/D/E/S/V
38A/M/E/K/V
Q40H/K/P/R/T
N42T/D/S
N43D/K/H/S
N42T+N43S
N42T+N43K
G36S+L44M
L44M
L45M/L/Q
The reduction in susceptibility is generally higher for double than for single mutations.
Table 8: Mutations on the integrase gene leading to raltegravir resistance (and probably cross
resistance to elvitegravir)
Integrase inhibitors
Raltegravir
Resistance mutations (Resistance pathways and key mutations)

Q148H/G/K/R/E
N155H
Y143H/R/C
The appearance of additional
mutations produces an increase
in the level of resistance.
Other mutation- and resistance-profiles conferring

resistance
T66I and E92Q
Part 3
AIDS
330
11. Opportunistic Infections (OIs)

Christian Hoffmann
In Western industrialized countries, many opportunistic infections (OIs) that in previous years were considered prevalent, are now quite rare. This is particularly true
for infections associated with severe immunodeficiency, such as CMV and MAC
disease. The incidence of these OIs has been reduced to less than one-tenth of their
frequency in the pre-HAART era (Brooks 2009). ART has not only decreased the
incidence of the OIs, but it has also changed the course of OIs considerably. In
early years of the AIDS epidemic, the life expectancy of individuals diagnosed with
their first AIDS defining illness was two to three years, at most. Today, however,
many patients now live with AIDS for 15 years or longer. In our own clinical study
of 144 patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis, data from 1990-1993 indicated a 5year survival rate of 8%; it climbed to 30% by 1994-1996, and then to 80% by 1997
(Hoffmann 2007).
Most patients who develop AIDS or severe opportunistic infections are unaware of
their HIV infection status. Typically, these patients seek medical attention late and
when their overall health condition is serious. Since AIDS remains life-threatening,
every HIV clinician should be familiar with the diagnosis OIs and their respective
therapy. Even with recent improvements, over the years, many challenges still exist.
First, there is still no adequate treatment available for diseases such as PML or
cryptosporidiosis. Second, resistance to treatment has become an increasing problem in other OIs such as PCP. Third, ART does not always lead to immediate improvement. It may even complicate things, given the atypical course of a variety
diseases under ART (see below a separate sub-chapter on the so-called immune
reconstitution inflammatory syndrome IRIS). Moreover, there are no documented
guidelines for OI prophylaxis outside of the US, and the US recommendations published in 2008 (www.aids.info), cannot always be adopted elsewhere, since the seroprevalence rates of many infectious agents often differ.
Moreover, in small HIV centers or regions with low HIV prevalence, diagnostic
problems for many OIs may occur, due to a lack of familiarity with and inability to
recognize these rare pathogens. Therefore, it is highly recommended that specimens
be sent to specialized reference laboratories. If needed, then further advice can also
be sought from a specialized clinician or a clinical HIV center.
Table 1: Important cut-offs for CD4 T cells, above which particular AIDS illnesses are improbable. These CD4 counts are only reference values; exceptions are always possible.
No cut-off
Kaposis sarcoma, pulmonary tuberculosis, HZV, bacterial pneumonia, NHL
< 250/l
PCP, esophageal candidiasis, PML, HSV
< 100/l
Cerebral toxoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, miliary tuberculosis
< 50/l
CMV retinitis, atypical mycobacteriosis
The predominant rule for nearly all OIs is that the poorer the immune status of the
patient, the earlier the invasive diagnostic procedures should begin. The primary
aim should not be to spare patients of the unpleasant procedures associated with
extensive diagnostic test. Moreover, diagnostic tests must be repeated, if the results
Opportunistic Infections (OIs)
331
are inconclusive and nothing can be identified the first time. Also, treatment should
be initiated almost immediately.
The second rule is that in many cases, if the immune status is known, then, a number of OIs can largely be excluded. Therefore, knowledge of a patients current
CD4 T cell count is essential. Table 1 indicates the cut-offs values for CD4 T cells
and the expectancy of certain OIs. The occurrence of OIs above the respective values is, although possible, usually an exception.
The third OI rule is that if ART is not already in place, then it should be started as
quickly as possible. Immune reconstitution is the best protection against relapses or
other OIs. For patients with some OIs, such as PML or cryptosporidiosis, which
have no specific therapy, starting ART is essentially the only hope. However, the
optimal time point for the initiation of ART in the setting of an acute OI, such as
PCP, is still under debate. Some experts feel that it may be better to wait with ART
for a few days or even weeks since OI therapies, like cotrimoxazole, are highly
toxic and interactive. Recently, the results of the first prospective clinical trial addressing this issue were published (Zolopa 2009): In ACTG 5164, a total of 282
subjects were randomized to initiate ART immediately (within 14 days prior to
study entry) or after OI treatment. Patients with tuberculosis or an ART within 8
weeks prior to study entry were excluded. The most frequent OIs at study entry
were PCP (63%), cryptococcal meningitis (13%), and bacterial pneumonia (10%).
Immediate and deferred arms started ART at medians of 12 and 45 days, respectively, after the introduction of an OI treatment. It is notable that the immediate arm
had fewer deaths/AIDS progressions (p=0.035). At 48 weeks, 14% of patients in the
immediate-treatment arm died or had new serious OIs (versus 24%, p=0.04). There
was a trend towards earlier ART changes in the immediate arm, but no significant
differences in grade 3 or 4 adverse events, adherence, hospitalizations, or IRIS.
However, if this is true for other OIs, such as PCP, or in other patient ethnic populations since in ACTG 5164, most subjects were black (37%) or hispanic (36%), remains to be seen.
The following chapter is intended to be a relevant practical overview and does not
include clinical rarities. The literature cited refers to interesting reviews and, almost
exclusively, to controlled studies and when applicable, randomized studies.
References, OI reviews
Brodt HR, Kamps BS, Gute P, Knupp B, Staszewski S, Helm EB. Changing incidence of AIDS-defining illnesses in the era of antiretroviral combination therapy. AIDS
1997, 11:1731-8.
Brooks JT, Kaplan JE, Holmes KK, et al. HIVassociated opportunistic infectionsgoing, going, but not gone: the continued need for prevention and treatment
guidelines. Clin Inf Dis 2009;48:609611
Hoffmann C, Ernst E, Meyer P, et al. Evolving characteristics of toxoplasmosis in patients infected with hiv-1: clinical course and Toxoplasma gondii-specific immune
responses. Clin Microbiol Infect 2007, 13:510-5.
Kirk O, Reiss P, Uberti-Foppa C, et al. Safe interruption of maintenance therapy against previous infection with four common HIV-associated opportunistic pathogens
during potent ART. Ann Int Med 2002, 137:239-50.
Ledergerber B, Egger M, Erard V, et al. AIDS-related opportunistic illnesses occurring after initiation of potent antiretroviral therapy: the Swiss HIV Cohort Study. JAMA
1999, 282: 2220-6.
th
Makadzange A, Ndhlovu C, Tkarinda C, et al. Early vs delayed ART in the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis in Africa. 36c, 16 CROI 2009, Montral.
McNaghten AD, Hanson DL, Jones JL, Dworkin MS, Ward JW. Effects of antiretroviral therapy and opportunistic illness primary chemoprophylaxis on survival after
AIDS diagnosis. AIDS 1999, 13:1687-95.
Sepkowitz KA. Effect of HAART on natural history of AIDS-related opportunistic disorders. Lancet 1998, 351: 228-230.
Zolopa A, Andersen J, Powderly W, et al. Early antiretroviral therapy reduces AIDS progression/death in individuals with acute opportunistic infections: a multicenter
randomized strategy trial. PLoS 2009, 4:e5575.
332
AIDS
Pneumocystis Pneumonia (PCP)

PCP is still one of the most frequent OIs. Pneumocysts cause this interstitial pneumonia, which attribute to the majority of patient fatalites in the early years of the
HIV epidemic. In the last 20 years, there has been significant knowledge attained
and progress made in understanding this organism, especially through DNA analysis (review: Thomas 2004). Although Pneumocystis was previously classified as a
protozoan, it was established in 1988 that it is in fact an unusual type of fungus
(Edman 1988). In the 1990s, it was recognized that every host, whether rat, mouse,
monkey or human, had its own specific pneumocysts. It also became clear that
Pneumocystis carinii (P. carinii), which was first described in 1910, does not occur
in humans at all, but only in rats. The Pneumocystis species that affects humans is
referred to as pneumocystis jiroveci, not P. carinii, and carinii has now been taken
out of the name for the pneumonia, although the abbreviation remains the same
(Stringer 2002).
Today, the majority of patients diagnosed with PCP are not pre-treated with antiretroviral drugs, because many of them either do not know of their HIV infection
status or do not want to know it. In Europe between 1997-2004, among 760 cases of
so-called late presenters, diagnosed with HIV infection and AIDS diagnosed at
the same time, PCP was the by far most frequent OI (Mussini 2008).
PCP is a life-threatening disease, which should be treated by an HIV specialist. It
often requires mechanical ventilation and then still continues to have a high fatality
rate of up to 10% (Morris 2008, Walzer 2008). Factors associated with mortality are
older age, low hemoglobin level, and low partial pressure of oxygen breathing room
air at hospital admission (Benfield 2001, Walzer 2008). Moreover, relapses seen
frequently in the past have become rare, thanks to ART and prophylaxis. Scar tissue
formation may result in susceptibility to recurring pneumothoraces. While PCP may
rarely occur in relation to an immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (see
below). Extrapulmonary manifestations of Pneumocystis infections are also considerably rare. They may affect the liver, but many other organs may be involved.
Signs and symptoms

Every clinician should be familiar with the classic triad of PCP symptoms that include dry cough, subfebrile temperatures, and dyspnea on exertion; should ask patients specifically about their symptoms; and should measure the patients respiratory rates. A subacute course that allows differentiation from the productive cough,
acutely high fever, pain and less common dyspnea associated bacterial pneumonia
is a typical practice. Often, oral thrush is a significant symptom among patients
with PCP. Also, substantial weight loss of several kilograms in the weeks before
PCP diagnosis is also common. These and other symptoms may be more subtle in
cases with suboptimal prophylaxis (rare).
Weeks and sometimes even months may go by before the diagnosis of PCP is
made. It is noteworthy to state that decompensation as with all interstitial pneumonias often occurs much faster than expected. It is not rare for a patient to suddenly require ventilation after weeks of antibiotic therapy prescribed by the primary
health care provider, especially when even broad spectrum antibiotics do not
help. A patient with significant exertional dyspnea or even resting dyspnea should
be directed immediately to a hospital.
333
Diagnosis
If there is clinical suspicion of PCP determined by a physical examination with attention give to respiratory rate, oral thrush, and significant findings on auscultation,
then a chest x-ray should follow without delay and, if possible, a high resolution
computed tomography (HRCT) of the lungs. The chest x-ray often shows relatively
characteristic findings with a butterfly-shaped (perihilar) interstitial infiltrate. In the
early stages, the focus is on the mid- and lower fields. Indistinct, diffuse changes
are more easily visible on HRCT than on chest x-ray. A CT scan also allows a fairly
certain distinction from other pulmonary infections (Hidalgo 2003). However, in
cases where nothing pathological is visible on CT scan to an experienced radiologist, then rapid initiation of treatment is still justified even without a definitive diagnosis particularly in the presence of the classic triad of symptoms, low CD4 T
cell count and no previous PCP prophylaxis. Almost always present is partial respiratory insufficiency, which should be confirmed by arterial blood gas analysis. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is often elevated and may have limited use as a parameter for the course of disease. A high LDH is an unfavorable sign and may reflect the
severity of the PCP. In contrast, CRP is often normal, provided there are no other
concurrent infections.
Sputum specimens are generally not useful (review: Cruciani 2002), so that a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is usually necessary. This can lead to detection of pneumocysts even after several days of treatment. Therefore, it is not essential to wait
for the BAL to start treatment. The laboratory should be specifically alerted to the
suspicion of PCP. The routine test for detecting Pneumocystis in the BAL is direct
immunofluorescence assay (DFA). A real-time PCR assay also seems to be an accurate diagnosis method and could replace the DFA (Fillaux 2008).
Performing the BAL as early as possible also allows for the timely diagnosis of coinfections (CMV, pneumococci). It should be noted that respiratory insufficiency
can deteriorate with BAL. Full blood count, transaminases and kidney function
must be monitored during treatment and baseline values should be determined at
this point. Newer diagnostic approaches include antibody testing (Bishop 2003) and
measurement of S-adenosylmethionine, a agent that pneumocysts require but cannot
produce. S-adenosylmethionine levels are significantly reduced in patients with
PCP (Skelly 2008). It is currently not foreseeable, whether these tests, which spare
patients the discomfort of bronchoscopy, will be available for routine diagnostic
testing in the future.
Treatment
General
Treatment should be initiated immediately if there is clinical suspicion. In cases of
mild PCP (BGA: PO2 > 70-80 mm Hg), ambulatory treatment can be attempted. In
very mild cases, even oral medication can be considered. This may well be possible
in cooperation with a competent HIV nursing service. If such monitoring is not possible, if respiratory deterioration occurs, and in every case with resting dyspnea,
immediate hospitalization is advised. If ventilation becomes necessary, patients
have a poor prognosis, even today (Crothers 2005, Walzer 2008). Non-invasive
methods (like CPAP) may be beneficial if used from an early stage. This helps particularly in prevention of pneumothoraces (Confalonieri 2002).
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AIDS
When should ART be start in the setting of a PCP? A retrospective study showed
improved survival in patients who began ART while hospitalized (Morris 2003).
The disadvantages of this approach include possible cumulative toxicities and allergies, which may necessitate discontinuation of both PCP and HIV treatment (Watson 2002). More recently, ACTG 5164, a randomized trial on 282 patients with an
acute OI (63% with PCP) showed that immediate ART resulted in less AIDS progression/death with no increase in adverse events or loss of virologic response
compared to deferred ART. These results support the early initiation of ART in
patients presenting with PCP (Zolopa 2009).
Drugs
Acute therapy should last for 21 days. The drug of choice is co-trimoxazole. The
dose of three 960 mg tablets three times daily is possible in milder cases. However,
these higher oral doses are also associated with poor gastrointestinal tolerability. All
severe cases should be treated intravenously in hospital. Due to possible clinical
deterioration, which is probably a result of the bursting of pneumocysts in the alveoli, 20-40 mg prednisone bid should always be simultaneously co-administered
with the PCP therapy for 5-10 days. There should be no hesitation to use steroids
especially with worsening blood gases. On steroids, significantly less patients need
intubation (Briel 2006). Important: clinical deterioration during the first week of
treatment is still not uncommon. Initial treatment should be re-evaluated after one
week at the earliest, and only after exclusion of co-infections such as CMV.
The high doses of co-trimoxazole require monitoring of full blood count, electrolytes, renal function parameters and transaminases at least three times weekly. The
main problems in addition to myelotoxicity as well as liver and kidney problems
include a rash that usually occurs after the middle of the second week of treatment
and is often accompanied by drug fever. Patients should be checked daily for skin
changes. If an exanthema occurs, one can attempt to interrupt treatment for one or
two days, and then continue with half the dose under steroids. Otherwise, cotrimoxazole must be discontinued and replaced with alternative treatments.
All alternatives to co-trimoxazole are less effective. In cases of intolerability or
history of sulfonamide allergy, intravenous pentamidine is recommended as the
drug of second choice. An induction therapy is administered over the first few days
(200-300 mg in 500 ml 5% glucose or 0.9% NaCl), and half the dose can then be
given from day 6. This treatment is very toxic, which is why we have not used it for
many years. Severe decompensations of electrolyte and blood glucose levels (both
hyper- and hypoglycemia) are possible, as well as pancreatitis, arrhythmia and renal
failure. Initially, daily monitoring of blood glucose, electrolytes and renal parameters is necessary.
In very mild cases of PCP, inhalative treatment with daily pentamidine inhalations
(300-600 mg daily for three weeks) can be attempted (Arasteh 1990, Montgomery
1995). However, the experiences have not all been positive (Conte 1990, Soo
1990), and the current US-guidelines advise against inhalatory acute therapy (Benson 2004). Instead of pentamidine, treatment with atovaquone suspension (better
than the tablets used in the past) or a combination of clindamycin and primaquine is
possible. However, data on these alternative therapies is only available for mild to
moderately severe cases of PCP (Hughes 1993, Dohn 1994, Toma 1998). According to a recently published meta-analysis, clindamycin-primaquine seems to be the
335
best alternative to intravenous pentamidine as second-line treatment for PCP in patients who fail treatment with co-trimoxazole (Benfield 2008).
In the past few years, only these alternative agents (intravenous pentamidine,
atovaquone, clindamycin, primaquine) have been used in exceptional cases. Instead,
treatment has changed to a high dose co-trimoxazole for as long as possible, bearing
in mind that Every day with co-trimoxazole is a good day. A 10-day initial therapy is achievable in almost all patients, most of whom are then already significantly
better. If exanthema or toxicity forces the interruption of co-trimoxazole between
day 10 and 14, daily pentamidine inhalation is called into question in the third and
last week of acute therapy. As this is not toxic, it can usually be started in parallel to
ART. However, a study on this strategy has yet to be published.
Prophylaxis
Patients with less than 200 CD4 T cells/l (<14%) are at risk of PCP. Above these
values, the occurrence of PCP is rare. Therefore, these patients are treated prophylactically, ideally with co-trimoxazole. Daily dosages may be slightly more effective than giving the dosages three times weekly (El Sadr 1999). The gradual lead-in
administration of medicine over a period of14 days is supposed to prevent allergic
reactions, but is cumbersome (Para 2000).
In cases of a mild or moderate allergy to co-trimoxazole, desensitization after several weeks is possible (Leoung 2001), and should definitely be attempted. Although
dapsone and pentamidine inhalations are almost equally effective (Bozzette 1995,
Bucher 1997), co-trimoxazole prophylaxis is better for preventing bacterial infections such as enteritis, sinusitis and pneumonia (DiRienzo 2002). More importantly,
co-trimoxazole simultaneously provides reliable protection for cerebral toxoplasmosis. Pediatric co-trimoxazole suspension can be used for desensitization, by
slowly increasing exposure within six days from 12.5, 25, 37.5, 50 and 75 to 100%
of the dose in the 480 mg tablet. In a study of almost 200 patients, no cases of severe allergy occurred, and there was a reduction of fever and headaches. Approximately three quarters of all patients are thus able to tolerate co-trimoxazole again.
However, re-exposure should only be attempted after an interval of eight weeks
(Leoung 2001).
Monthly inhalation of pentamidine is a well-tolerated alternative. Coughing may
occur, asthma attacks are rare, and pneumothoraces are even rarer. A suitable inhalation system should be used, after administration of a beta-sympathomimetic to
dilate the bronchi. The loading dose (300 mg tid for the first 5 days) frequently used
in the past is no longer a universal standard. In patients with severe pulmonary disease, inhalation is probably less effective.
Further options are problematic. Dapsone has poor gastrointestinal tolerability, is
quite myelotoxic and often leads to elevation of LDH. LDH, an important diagnostic parameter, can therefore not be utilized under treatment with dapsone (Ioannidis
1996). Atovaquone was proven to be of comparable efficacy to co-trimoxazole,
dapsone and pentamidine in two multicenter studies (El-Sadr 1998, Chan 1999),
and since then, is considered to be a good alternative for PCP prophylaxis. The oral
suspension has better tolerability than the tablet formulation (Rosenberg 2001). A
significant disadvantage of atovaquone for long-term prophylaxis is the disproportionately high cost (in some European countries approximately 1,000 Euro/month).
336
AIDS
PCP prophylaxis regimens can be discontinued fairly safely with sufficient immune
reconstitution: more than 200 CD4 T-cells/l for three months (Schneider 1999,
Weverling 1999, Lopez 2001, Ledergerber 2001). PCP has only rarely been described in cases with CD4 counts greater than 200 cells/l after stopping prophylaxis (Degen 2002, Mussini 2003).
Resistance issues, current controversies
Stopping prophylaxis not only reduces side effects and costs, but also avoids other
negative developments: the proportion of co-trimoxazole-resistant bacteria is constantly increasing among HIV infected patients (Martin 1999). The worldwide use
of co-trimoxazole has also affected pneumocysts. Resistance analyses were previously difficult since this particular organism, even almost 100 years after its discovery, can still not be cultured. However, it is now possible to sequence sections of
the genome encoding for dihydropteroate synthetase (DHPS). DHPS is an important enzyme involved in the folate metabolism of many organisms, and is targeted
by sulfonamides such as sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and dapsone. The first mutations
in the DHPS gene in pneumocysts were discovered in 1997. A further study showed
DHPS mutations in 43%, while the gene region for dihydrofolate reductase
(DHFR), targeted by trimethoprim (TMP) and pyrimethamine, did not show a single relevant mutation. In contrast to SMX, there seems to be no selective pressure
associated with TMP a suspicion that has to be analyzed, that TMP is not effective against pneumocysts (Ma 1999). Recently, however, even DHFR-mutations
have been proven (Nahimana 2004). In addition, studies in large groups of patients
have demonstrated that the frequency of sulfa resistance mutations has in general
significantly increased in recent years. Resistance correlated significantly with the
duration of prior prophylaxis and its failure (Helweg-Larsen 1999, Kazanjian 2000,
Nahimana 2003+2004).
Treatment/Prophylaxis of PCP (daily doses, if not specified otherwise)
Acute therapy
Severe to moderately severe
PCP
Mild PCP
Alternatives
Co-trimoxazole
Co-trimoxazole
Pentamidine
Atovaquone
Clindamycin +
Primaquine
Prophylaxis
First choice
Alternatives
Co-trimoxazole
Pentamidine
Dapsone
Dapsone +
Pyrimethamine
Atovaquone
Duration: always at least three weeks

Co-trimoxazole 5-6 amp. at 480 mg tid plus
prednisolone 220 tbl. at 20 mg (5-10 days)
Co-trimoxazole 3 tbl. at 960 mg tid
Pentamidine 200-300 mg i.v. for 5 days (4 mg/kg),
then halve dose
In very mild cases: daily inhalations with 300 mg
Atovaquone suspension 5-10 ml bid (7501500 mg
bid)
Clindamycin 1 amp. at 600 mg i.v. q 6-8 h plus primaquine 1 tbl at 30 mg qd
Below 200 CD4 T cells/l; after PCP episode
Co-trimoxazole 1 tbl. at 480 mg qd or
co-trimoxazole 1 tbl. at 960 mg 3 x/week
Pentamidine inhalation 300 mg 1-2 x/month
Dapsone 2 tbl. at 50 mg qd
Dapsone 1 tbl. at 50 mg qd plus pyrimethamine 2 tbl.
at 25 mg/week plus leucovorin 2 tbl. at 15 mg/week
Atovaquone suspension 5 ml bid (750 mg bid)
337
It is not presently clear, whether DHPS mutations should affect decisions on PCP
therapy or lead to a change in treatment (Stein 2004). In a Danish study on 144 PCP
patients, DHPS mutations correlated with higher mortality rates (Helweg-Larsen
1999). In other studies, however, only a trend was observed (Crothers 2005, Valerio
2007). It should be stressed that resistance testing for pneumocysts is currently still
in the experimental stages. Results are often poorly reproducible (Beard 2004).
The sequencing of the Pneumocystis genome has uncovered other possibly relevant
findings: it seems highly likely that PCP is caused by a new infection, rather than
the reactivation of an existing infection as previously assumed (Stringer 2002,
Nahimana 2003, Wakefield 2003). Asymptomatic HIV patients with frequent detection of pneumocysts may be reservoirs (Wakefield 2003), in addition to HIVnegative patients on corticosteroid therapy (Maskell 2003) and of course patients
with active PCP. However, other authors doubt patient-to-patient transmission
(Wohl 2002), and isolation of PCP patients is still not generally recommended
(Thomas 2004).
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Cerebral toxoplasmosis
Although the incidence in Europe has been drastically reduced as a result of ART
(Abgrall 2001), cerebral toxoplasmosis remains the most important neurological OI
in HIV patients. At present, it is typically diagnosed in HIV patients with hitherto
unknown HIV infection or in those not under regular routine care (Hoffmann 2007).
Cerebral toxoplasmosis almost always results from the reactivation of a latent infection with Toxoplasma gondii, an intracellular parasite that infects birds, mammals
and humans. Prevalence rates vary considerably worldwide (Porter 1992). Whereas
Toxoplasma gondii is relatively rare in the US, prevalence rates in a few regions
within central Europe are as high as 90%. Toxoplasma has an affinity to the CNS.
Extracerebral organ manifestations (heart, skeletal muscle, liver, intestine, lung) are
extremely rare and often only detected at autopsy.
Cerebral toxoplasmosis is potentially life threatening, and treatment is complicated.
In severe cases, there may be residual neurological syndromes with significant disabilities, like hemiparesis. It is not rare to see a remaining lifelong susceptibility to
seizures as a result of defective healing. It should be noted that relapses may occur
even after long periods of time due to intracerebral persistence.
In Western countries, there is some evidence that the situation of an HIV-infected
patient developing toxoplasmosis in recent years differs from that of a patient developing toxoplasmosis during the early years of the HIV epidemic (Hoffmann
2007). Patients with toxoplasmosis today usually do not take antiretroviral therapy
or any prophylaxis. They are likely to be diagnosed with HIV at the time of TE diagnosis, and TE is more frequently the AIDS-defining illness in these patients than
in the pre-HAART era.
Signs and symptoms

Clinical symptoms depend on the localization of lesions with acute or peracute onset within a few days. The major signs include focal neurological deficits such as
paresis, speech problems or sensory loss (Porter 1992). A febrile psychosyndrome
with confusion is also frequently an early sign. It is not unusual to see an epileptic
seizure as the initial presentation, in the absence of other symptoms. Headaches
with fever or subfebrile temperatures are always suspicious. Meningitic signs, however, are less typical. Atypical manifestations in patients with immune reconstitution under ART have been described (Ghosn 2003).
A fairly rare, but important manifestation is Toxoplasma chorioretinitis. It causes
impairment of vision, is an important differential diagnosis to CMV retinitis and
may occur on its own (Rodgers 1996). Toxoplasma chorioretinitis should be treated
in exactly the same way as cerebral toxoplasmosis.
Diagnosis
Cerebral toxoplasmosis seldomly occurs above a CD4 T cell count of 100 cells/l;
over 200 CD4 cells/l it is very rare (Bossi 1998). In contrast, it should always be
expected below 100 CD4 T cells/l. A CT or MRI scan of the head should be performed promptly with in a week in every case of focal neurological deficit, but also
if seizures occur in significantly immunocompromised patients. In this instance, a
MRI is superior to a CT scan and almost always shows more visible lesions. A third
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of cases have either solitary, several (2-5) or multiple lesions, respectively. In approximately nine out of ten cases, ring enhancement is found around the lesions,
often accompanied by edema. Hemorrhage may occasionally occur.
For all radiologically detected lesions, the most likely diagnosis is cerebral
toxoplasmosis. In addition, the most important differential diagnosis is an atypical cerebral toxoplasmosis. Furthermore, the more lesions there are, the more
likely the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. However, the distinction between toxoplasmosis and a bacterial abscess or a cerebral lymphoma may be difficult. Other rare
differential diagnoses include PML, infarcts, tuberculomas and cryptococcomas.
HIV-unrelated diseases such as brain tumors or vascular diseases should also be
considered.
A brain biopsy is not obligatory. Suspicion of toxoplasmosis (clinically and radiologically) justifies a treatment attempt without before it comes to this. Response
to therapy then confirms the diagnosis. However, if the patient does not improve
clinically within one week, or even worsens, then stereotactical brain biopsy cannot
be avoided, and in this case, should not be postponed. The cerebrospinal fluid
(CSF), which also does not necessarily have to be analyzed if there are clear radiological findings (several lesions with contrast enhancement), usually shows moderate pleocytosis and slightly elevated total protein. Our experience with Toxoplasma
PCR from CSF has not been good. A negative result never excludes toxoplasmosis.
An updated serology should be available for every patient. Up to 97% of patients
with cerebral toxoplasmosis have IgG antibodies, and so a negative result, which
should be repeated in another laboratory if there is any doubt, makes toxoplasmosis
unlikely. Some clinicians use levels of IgG titers or increased titers as indicators
(Derouin 1996), but this approach has not been properly validated. IgM is only
rarely positive, and therefore usually does not help. PCR from the blood also has
little relevance (review: Bretagne 2003).
Treatment
Treatment of cerebral toxoplasmosis is not simple. The most frequently used combinations are usually effective (resistance has not yet been convincingly described),
but require modification in at least half the patients due to side effects particularly
allergies. Sulfadiazine and clindamycin are presumably equally effective in combination with pyrimethamine (Dannemann 1992). However, one large European study
demonstrated a trend, though not significant, in favor of sulfadiazine (Katlama
1996). Co-trimoxazole may also be an option. According to a Cochrane analysis,
the available evidence fails to identify any one superior regimen (Dedicoat 2006).
It is recommended that sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine be used for an initial attempt as oral treatment. In cases of sulfonamide allergy, sulfadiazine should be substituted with oral or intravenous clindamycin from the beginning. All disoriented
patients should receive clindamycin infusions, at least for reasons of compliance.
Because of the high rate of allergies under sulfadiazine, however, some clinicians
completely oppose this treatment. This perspective is not shared by all, since clindamycin is also allergenic and can be problematic, so pseudomembranous colitis
should be considered in cases of persistent diarrhea. A loading dose for
pyrimethamine during the first few days has been propagated since the first published study (Leport 1988). However it has not yet been proven whether or not it is
341
necessary. Even the dosages vary. For example, in the US, 200 mg is recommended for the first day (followed by 50-75 mg depending on the body weight); in
many European countries, 100 mg is often given for three days, followed by 50 mg.
It should be noted that, in contrast to clindamycin, pyrimethamine is also active in
the presence of an intact blood brain barrier, and therefore, is sometimes the only
effective agent.
Due to the myelotoxicity of sulfonamides and pyrimethamine, which inhibits transformation of folic acid to folinic acid, it is imperative to substitute sufficiently with
folinic acid which unfortunately is expensive from the start. Folic acid is much
cheaper. However, by itself, it is ineffective since it cannot be converted in the
presence of pyrimethamine (Luft 2000).
Good results have also been reported with intravenous co-trimoxazole, with administration of the same dosages as for PCP (Canessa 1992). In at least two randomized studies on patients with ocular or cerebral toxoplasmosis, co-trimoxazole
was as effective as sulfadiazine/pyrimethamine (Torre 1998, Soheilien 2005). we
haveIf allergies or intolerance to both sulfonamides and clindamycin occur, then a
combination of atovaquone and pyrimethamine is a possible alternative (Chirgwin
2002). A combination of azithromycin plus pyrimethamine could be another alternative (Bosch-Driessen 2002), however there is only very vague data available.
Acute therapy lasts for a period of four weeks and at best, six weeks duration or
possibly even longer for the less effective reserve therapies. Treatment success can
be assessed clinically in the first 14 days. While often an improvement in the symptoms can be observed within a few days. A patient who has not improved at all after
two weeks of therapy or has even deteriorated, probably does not have toxoplasmosis. If this occurs, the the diagnosis has to be reviewed and an urgent brain biopsy
must be organized. Changing the toxoplasmosis therapy is not useful in such cases
and just expends valuable time.
Antiretroviral therapy should be initiated as soon as possible. Drugs with the potential of allergic reactions such as NNRTIs and abacavir, when HLA-testing is not
possible, should be avoided. A control MRI is recommended for stable patients after two weeks at the earliest. Significant resolution of lesions is often only visible
after four weeks. In cases of increased intracranial pressure or extensive edema,
steroids are given (8 mg dexamethasone q 6-8 h). Steroids also should be given for
a limited duration, as there is a significantly increased risk of aspergillosis. All
treatment combinations require initial monitoring of blood count, glucose, transaminases and renal parameters at least three times weekly. Maintenance therapy with
the reduced dose should only be initiated if lesions have resolved by at least 75%.
Prophylaxis
Exposure prophylaxis: IgG-negative patients can protect themselves from primary
infection by not eating raw or undercooked meat (lamb, beef, pork, game, etc.).
However, it has not been proven, despite widespread opinion, that infection occurs
by mere contact with cats, the definitive hosts of Toxoplasma gondii. To date, the
only study that has seriously investigated this conjecture could not prove endangerment as a result of proximity to cats (Wallace 1993). Nevertheless, stricter
measures of hygiene should be followed (e.g. gloves should be used when handlingfor the cat litter box). Details in: Kaplan 2002).
342
AIDS
Primary prophyaxis: All IgG-positive patients with less than 100 CD4 T cells/l
require primary prophylaxis. The drug of choice is co-trimoxazole. In cases of cotrimoxazole allergy, desensitization may be considered (see PCP). An alternative is
dapsone plus pyrimethamine or high-dose dapsone. Primary prophylaxes can be
discontinued safely if CD4 T cells are above 200/l for at least three months.
Maintenance therapy/secondary prophylaxis: In the absence of immune reconstitution, patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis require lifelong maintenance therapy or
secondary prophylaxis, as there are otherwise recurrences in nearly all cases. It usually consists of half the dose of the acute therapy (Podzamczer 2000). However,
clindamycin is presumably less suitable, as it cannot cross the intact blood-brain
barrier (Luft 2000). Co-trimoxazole seems to be not as effective for secondary prophylaxis, but should be considered because it is simple. However, it definitely requires higher doses than those used to treat PCP (Ribera 1999, Duval 2004). With
immune reconstitution (at least six months above 200 CD4 T cells/l), secondary
prophylaxis can probably be stopped (Benson 2004, Miro 2006). When possible, an
updated MRI scan should be available beforehand. If there is enhancement, then it
may mean that lesions have become active even after years and there is a risk of a
recurrence. A recurrence even after five years has been observed, despite CD4
T cells levels being around 200/l.
Treatment/prophylaxis of cerebral toxoplasmosis (daily doses, if not specif. otherwise)
Acute therapy
First choice
Sulfadiazine+
Pyrimethamine
First choice
Clindamycin +
Pyrimethamine
Alternative
Atovaquone +
Pyrimethamine
Maintenance therapy
As for acute
therapy
Possibly
Co-trimoxazole
Primary prophylaxis
First choice
Co-trimoxazole
Alternative
Dapsone
Alternative
Dapsone +
Pyrimethamine
Duration: always at least four weeks

Sulfadiazine 2-3 tbl. at 500 mg qid plus
pyrimethamine 2 tbl. at 25 mg bid (for 3 days, then
halve dose) plus leucovorin 3 x 1 tbl. at 15 mg/week
Clindamycin 1 amp. at 600 mg i.v. qid or 1 tbl. at
600 mg qid plus
Atovaquone suspension 10 ml bid (1500 mg bid) plus
As for acute therapy, but halve dose
Discontinue if > 200 CD4 cells/l for > 6 months (if
MRI is normal or without contrast enhancement)
Co-trimoxazole 1 tbl. at 960 mg qd
Co-trimoxazole 1 tbl. at 480 mg qd
Dapsone 2 tbl. at 50 mg qd
Dapsone 1 tbl. at 50 mg qd plus pyrimethamine 2 tbl.
at 25 mg/week plus leucovorin 2 tbl. at 15 mg/week
This and other cases (Stout 2002, Ghosn 2003) have shown that quantitative measurement of CD4 T cells on ART does not always reflect the quality of the TGspecific immune response. As a result, there have been increasing efforts in recent
years to improve the characterization of this specific immune response via
ELISPOT. Studies have made known that the Toxoplasma-specific immune re-
343
sponse remains poor in approximately 10-20% of patients on ART, despite good

CD4 T cell counts (Fournier 2001, Miro 2003). In the future, ELISPOT testing may
allow identification of patients who are at risk of recurrence despite good CD4
counts and who should therefore continue with secondary prophylaxis.
References
Abgrall S, Rabaud C, Costagliola D. Incidence and risk factors for toxoplasmic encephalitis in HIV-infected patients before and during the HAART era. Clin Infect Dis
2001, 33: 1747-55.
Benson CA, Kaplan JE, Masur H, et al. Treating opportunistic infections among HIV-exposed and infected children: recommendations from CDC, the NIH, and the
IDSA. MMWR 2004, 53(RR-15):1-112.
Bosch-Driessen LH, Verbraak FD, Suttorp-Schulten MS. A prospective, randomized trial of pyrimethamine and azithromycin vs pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine for the
treatment of ocular toxoplasmosis. Am J Ophthalmol 2002, 134:34-40.
Bossi P, Caumes E, Astagneau P, et al. Epidemiologic characteristics of cerebral toxoplasmosis in 399 HIV-infected patients followed between 1983 and 1994. Rev
Med Interne 1998, 19:313-7.
Bretagne S. Molecular diagnostics in clinical parasitology and mycology: limits of the current polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays and interest of the real-time PCR
assays. Clin Microbiol Infect 2003, 9:505-11.
Bucher HC, Griffith L, Guyatt GH, Opravil M. Meta-analysis of prophylactic treatments against PCP and toxoplasma encephalitis in HIV-infected patients. J AIDS Hum
Retrovirol 1997,15:104-14.
Canessa A, Del Bono V, De Leo P, Piersantelli N, Terragna A. Cotrimoxazole therapy of toxoplasma gondii encephalitis in AIDS patients. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis
1992, 11:125-30.
Chirgwin K, Hafner R, Leport C, et al. Randomized phase II trial of atovaquone with pyrimethamine or sulfadiazine for treatment of toxoplasmic encephalitis in patients
with AIDS. Clin Infect Dis 2002, 34:1243-50.
Dannemann B, McCutchan JA, Israelski D, et al. Treatment of toxoplasmic encephalitis in patients with AIDS. A randomized trial comparing pyrimethamine plus
clindamycin to pyrimethamine plus sulfadiazine. Ann Intern Med 1992, 116:33-43.
Dedicoat M, Livesley N. Management of toxoplasmic encephalitis in HIV-infected adults (with an emphasis on resource-poor settings). Cochrane Database Syst Rev.
2006 Jul 19;3:CD005420.
Derouin F, Leport C, Pueyo S, et al. Predictive value of Toxoplasma gondii antibody titres on the occurrence of toxoplasmic encephalitis in HIV-infected patients. AIDS
1996, 10:1521-7.
Duval X, Pajot O, Le Moing V, et al. Maintenance therapy with cotrimoxazole for toxoplasmic encephalitis in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. AIDS 2004,
18:1342-4.
Fournier S, Rabian C, Alberti C, et al. Immune recovery under highly active antiretroviral therapy is associated with restoration of lymphocyte proliferation and interferony production in the presence of toxoplasma gondii antigens. J Inf Dis 2001, 183:1586-1591.
Furco A, Carmagnat M, Chevret S, et al. Restoration of Toxoplasma gondii-specific immune responses in patients with AIDS starting HAART. AIDS 2008, 22:2087-96.
Ghosn J, Paris L, Ajzenberg D, et al. Atypical toxoplasmic manifestation after discontinuation of maintenance therapy in a HIV type 1-infected patient with immune
recovery. Clin Infect Dis 2003, 37:112-114.
Girard PM, Landman R, Gaudebout C, et al. Dapsone-pyrimethamine compared with aerosolized pentamidine as primary prophylaxis against Pneumocystis carinii
pneumonia and toxoplasmosis in HIV infection. N Engl J Med 1993, 328:1514-20.
Hoffmann C, Ernst M, Meyer P, et al. Evolving characteristics of toxoplasmosis in patients infected with HIV-1: clinical course and Toxoplasma gondii-specific immune
responses. Clin Microbiol Infect 2007;13:510-5.
Jones JL, Hanson DL, Chu SY, et al. Toxoplasmic encephalitis in HIV-infected persons: risk factors and trends. AIDS 1996, 10:1393-9.
Katlama C, De Wit S, O'Doherty E, Van Glabeke M, Clumeck N. Pyrimethamine-clindamycin vs. pyrimethamine-sulfadiazine as acute and long-term therapy for
toxoplasmic encephalitis in patients with AIDS. Clin Infect Dis 1996, 22:268-75.
Leport C, Raffi F, Matheron S, et al. Treatment of central nervous system toxoplasmosis with pyrimethamine/ sulfadiazine combination in 35 patients with the AIDS.
Efficacy of long-term continuous therapy. Am J Med 1988, 84:94-100.
Luft BJ, Chua A. Central Nervous System Toxoplasmosis in HIV. Pathogenesis, diagnosis, and therapy. Curr Infect Dis Rep 2000, 2:358-362.
Miro JM, Lejeune M, Claramonte X. Timing of reconstitution of toxoplasma gondii-specific T-cell responses in AIDS patients with acute toxoplasmic encephalitis after
starting HAART: A prospective multi-center longitudinal study. Abstract 796, 10th CROI 2003, Boston, US.
Miro JM, Lopez JC, Podzamczer D, et al. Discontinuation of primary and secondary Toxoplasma gondii prophylaxis is safe in HIV-infected patients after immunological
restoration with highly active antiretroviral therapy: results of an open, randomized, multicenter clinical trial. Clin Infect Dis 2006;43:79-89.
Podzamczer D, Miro JM, Ferrer E, et al. Thrice-weekly sulfadiazine-pyrimethamine for maintenance therapy of toxoplasmic encephalitis in HIV-infected patients. Eur J
Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2000, 19:89-95.
Porter SB, Sande MA. Toxoplasmosis of the central nervous system in AIDS. NEJM 1992, 327:1643-8.
Ribera E, Fernandez-Sola A, Juste C, et al. Comparison of high and low doses of Trimethoprim-Sulfametho-xazole for primary prevention of toxoplasmic encephalitis in
HIV-infected patients. CID 1999, 29:1461-6.
Rodgers CA, Harris JR. Ocular toxoplasmosis in HIV infection. Int J STD AIDS 1996, 7:307-9.
Ruf B, Schurmann D, Bergmann F, et al. Efficacy of pyrimethamine/sulfadoxine in the prevention of toxoplasmic encephalitis relapses and PCP in HIV-infected
patients. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 1993, 12:325-9.
Soheilian M, Sadoughi MM, Ghajarnia M, et al. Prospective randomized trial of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxa-zole versus pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine in the treatment
of ocular toxoplasmosis. Ophthalmology 2005, 112:1876-82.
Stout JE, Lai JC, Giner J, Hamilton CD. Reactivation of retinal toxoplasmosis despite evidence of immune response to highly active antiretroviral therapy. Clin Infect Dis
2002, 35:37-39.
Torre D, Casari S, Speranza F, et al. Randomized trial of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole versus pyrimethamine-sulfadiazine for therapy of toxoplasmic encephalitis in
patients with AIDS. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1998, 42:1346-9.
Torres RA, Barr M, Thorn M, et al. Randomized trial of dapsone and aerosolized pentamidine for the prophylaxis of pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and toxoplasmic
encephalitis. Am J Med 1993, 95:573-83.
Wallace MR, Rossetti RJ, Olson PE. Cats and toxoplasmosis risk in HIV-infected adults. JAMA 1993,269:76-7.
Weigel HM, de Vries E, Regez RM, et al. Cotrimoxazole is effective as primary prophylaxis for toxoplasmic encephalitis in HIV-infected patients: a case control study.
Scand J Infect Dis 1997, 29:499-502.
344
AIDS
CMV Retinitis
Infections with cytomegalovirus are widespread. In Germany, seroprevalence is
around 50-70%, and above 90% in MSM. In severely immunocompromised individuals, (CD4 count below 50 cells/ l), reactivation of CMV infection can lead to
retinitis. In the past, CMV retinitis was a common AIDS-associated illness, leading
to blindness in up to 30% of patients. It occurs mainly in untreated patients, who are
often first diagnosed with HIV infection on presentation (Jacobson 2000). An inflammatory CMV retinitis, usually with severe vitritis, is also possible in the course
of an IRIS (see below). If CMV retinitis is not diagnosed and treated promptly, then
the patients sight is at risk. Impairment of vision is almost always associated with
lesions, which are no longer reversible even with adequate treatment. This is why
CMV retinitis remains a dangerous illness, although the prognosis has been significantly improved by antiretroviral therapy (Goldberg 2003, Salzberger 2005, Thorne
2006).
Other manifestations of disseminated CMV infection are rare (15%), and can affect
every organ. The lung (pneumonia), esophagus (ulcers), colon (colitis) and CNS
(encephalitis) are most frequently involved. Sinusitis may also occur (Jutte 2000).
The clinical signs of these CMV diseases depend on the organ affected. Diagnosis
is often difficult and may only be possible on histology (Goodgame 1993). There is
insufficient data on the treatment of these manifestations, so that systemic therapies
are usually chosen in analogy to treatment for CMV retinitis (Whitley 1998).
Signs and symptoms

Any visual impairment occurring peracutely or acutely, such as blurred vision or
floaters especially unilaterally should prompt an immediate (same day, if possible) ophthalmological examination of the patient. Symptomatic CMV retinitis is an
emergency. Once there is a black spot in the visual field, it will be permanent. Involvement of the posterior pole (zone 1 retinitis) accounts for approximately one
half of incident visual acuity loss. Cataract and retinitis-related retinal detachment
are also common causes of vision loss (Thorne 2006).
All CMV treatment regimens can prevent progression of lesions, but not reverse
them. Eye pain, burning, increased production of tears, and conjunctival irritation
are not typical. However, many patients suffer from systemic symptoms such as
fever and weight loss.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is made by fundoscopy. Assessment of the usually peripheral, whitish
exudates is dependent on the experience of the ophthalmologist. However, this can
frequently be a problem, due to the rare occurrence of CMV retinitis nowadays.
Unfortunately, incorrect diagnoses that are ill-fated due to the valuable time and, in
worst case scenarios, retina lost are no exception. Therefore, if the primary ophthalmologist remains undecided, then it is best to start with oral valgancyclovir and
transport the patient to a larger clinical center with ophthalmologists who are experienced in HIV. Furthermore, it is essential that the ophthalmologists receive information about the patients immune status. In cases of poor immune status and
CD4 count less than 100/ l, chorioretinitis caused by Toxoplasma gondii is the
most important differential diagnosis. CMV retinitis can almost be excluded at CD4
345
T cell counts above 100/ l; other viral infections (HSV, VZV) or even neurosyphilis should then be considered. CMV lesions may also be confused with cotton
wool spots, which are not rare in HIV patients with high HIV viral load. Multiple
small lesions without hemorrhage or exudates are almost always cotton wool spots,
and almost never CMV retinitis. Bilateral involvement is also usually the exception.
Vitritis is rare, except with immune reconstitution syndrome.
CMV serology (IgG almost always positive, IgM variable) is only seldomly helpful
for diagnosis. CMV PCR or a blood test for pp65 antigen to detect antibodies
against a CMV-specific phosphoprotein may be more useful. CMV retinitis or a
recurrence is unlikely with a negative PCR or pp65 result. The higher the levels of
CMV viremia, the higher the risk of CMV disease. Patients with positive CMV
PCR have a 3-5-fold elevated risk (Casado 1999, Nokta 2002). Positive CMV PCR
is also independently associated with a poor prognosis for the patient (Deayton
2004, Jabs 2005, Wohl 2005).
As with Toxoplasma gondii, there have been efforts to determine the antigenspecific immune response more precisely (Jacobsen 2004), although such testing is
not yet routine.
Treatment
CMV treatment should always be initiated promptly and strictly monitored by fundoscopy at least once a week in the beginning. Photodocumentation is advisable.
Initially, an intensive induction therapy is administered for two to three weeks, until
there is scar formation of the lesions. HIV clinicians and ophthalmologists should
work closely together, particularly during the induction therapy, and when possible,
communicate several times a week. Induction therapy is followed by maintenance
therapy at a reduced dose.
ART in particular has dramatically improved the prognosis of patients. That said,
all diagnosed patients should start ART without delay. This can restore CMVspecific immune responses (Komandouri 1998), so that CMV viremia may disappear even without specific therapy after a few weeks (Deayton 1999, OSullivan
1999). However, if retinitis is present, CMV-specific treatment should nevertheless
be started, as immune reconstitution may take several months.
Systemic treatment
Valgancyclovir, a prodrug of gancyclovir with good oral absorption, is the first
choice in CMV treatment. In a randomized study (Martin 2002) on 160 patients
with retinitis, the results were impressive: valgancyclovir tablets were just as effective as gancyclovir infusions. However, the toxicity profile of both agents was
comparable. This means, in cases of oral treatment, that the blood count has to be as
frequently monitored as for infusions and that the indication has to be equally carefully set. Treating a positive IgM serology (without any further diagnosis) with valgancyclovir is not only expensive, but also usually an unnecessary risk.
Other options for systemic treatment have become less important, and are only used
in cases of recurrence. If there is intolerability or more rarely (Martin 2007) resistance to valgancyclovir (Drew 1999), then foscarnet remains an option. This, however, requires daily infusions. Further problems with this drug include nephrotoxic-
346
AIDS
ity, and very painful penile ulcers. Very intensive hydration of the patient is therefore necessary under all circumstances.
There are no direct comparative studies available for cidofovir, which is also used
occasionally. The benefit of the long half-life (once weekly dosing possible) is outweighed by the considerable renal side effects of the drug (Plosker 1999). We observed creatinine elevations in every second patient treated, despite the fact that a
strict infusion plan was closely followed (see Drugs section).
In one analysis of three large studies, patients with CMV retinitis, who had received
additional treatment with G-CSF (filgrastim) in the years 1990-1997, had improved
survival rates. In particular, there was a reduction of bacterial infections. However,
the reason for this positive effect remains unclear despite extensive analyses. Administration of filgrastim is presently not generally recommended (Davidson 2002).
Local treatment
Several options for local treatment of CMV retinitis have been tested (review in:
Smith 1998). Although such treatments can be safely administered by experienced
ophthalmologists and are associated with few complications (infections, hemorrhage), disadvantages remain. Weekly intravitreal injections of gancyclovir or foscarnet, or pellet implantation (Vitrasert, must be replaced every 6-9 months) do
not protect from infection of the contralateral eye or from extraocular manifestations (Martin 1999). The same is true for fomivirsen (Vitravene), an antisenseoligonucleotide for intravitreal injection, which is astonishingly effective even with
multiresistant CMV strains (Perry 1999). These local treatments have become less
important since ART and valgancyclovir, and some have been taken off the market.
Treatment/prophylaxis of CMV retinitis (daily doses, if not specified otherwise)
Acute therapy
Treatment of
choice
Alternative
Alternative
Alternative
Duration: always at least three weeks

Valgancyclovir
Valgancyclovir (Valcyte) 2 tbl. at 450 mg bid
Gancyclovir
Foscarnet
Gancyclovir +
Foscarnet
Gancyclovir 5 mg/kg i.v. bid

Foscarnet 90 mg/kg i.v. bid
Half of the doses above
Maintenance therapy
Treatment of
Valgancyclovir
choice
Alternative
Foscarnet
Alternative
Cidofovir
Primary prophylaxis
Discontinue from > 100-150 CD4 cells/ l > 6 months

Valgancyclovir (Valcyte) 1 tbl. at 450 mg bid
Foscarnet 120 mg/kg i.v. qd on 5 days/week
Cidofovir 5 mg/kg i.v. qd every 14 days (plus probenecid hydration according to protocol, see Drugs
section)
Not recommended
Prophylaxis
Primary prophylaxis: In the prospective studies that have been performed, no
primary prophylaxis regimen has been convincing. There is also no effective vac-
347
cine. Therefore, the most important method for prevention in patients with CD4
counts less than 200 cells/ l is still fundoscopy every three months. With good immune reconstitution, intervals between examinations can be extended. It is important to perform a fundoscopy in severely immunocompromised patients prior to
starting ART. This allows detection of smaller lesions, which may later present with
severe inflammation during the course of immune reconstitution.
Secondary prophylaxis: After approximately three weeks of acute therapy, but at
the earliest with scar formation of lesions, a reduced dose secondary prophylaxis
(maintenance therapy) should begin, preferably with oral valgancyclovir (Lalezari
2002). However, the drug is not only very expensive but also just as myelotoxic as
gancyclovir infusions. Discontinuation of secondary prophylaxis as quickly as possible, is therefore also desirable for this OI (MacDonald 1998, Tural 1998, Jouan
2001), but it also requires strict ophthalmologic monitoring. According to US
guidelines, discontinuation should occur at the earliest after six months of maintenance therapy and with an immune reconstitution above 100-150 CD4 T cells/ l.
However, we have even successfully stopped gancyclovir at lower CD4 cell counts,
if both HIV and CMV PCR in blood were below the level of detection. One study
showed that stopping after 18 months of ART/maintenance therapy can be safe
above 75 CD4 T cells/ l (Jouan 2001). After stopping maintenance therapy, funduscopy should be performed every four weeks over the first months.
The previously required life-long daily infusions of gancyclovir or foscarnet via
port, pumps and nursing service are luckily now a thing of the past. If there are relapses under oral valgancyclovir, it is proposed that re-induction and maintenance
therapy with foscarnet or possibly with cidofovir.
References
Casado JL, Arrizabalaga J, Montes M, et al. Incidence and risk factors for developing cytomegalovirus retinitis in HIV-infected patients receiving protease inhibitor
therapy. AIDS 1999, 13:1497-1502.
Davidson M, Min YI, Holbrook JT, et al. Use of filgrastim as adjuvant therapy in patients with AIDS-related cytomegalovirus retinitis. AIDS 2002, 16: 757-65.
Deayton J, Mocroft A, Wilson P, et al. Loss of cytomegalovirus viraemia following HAART in the absence of specific anti-CMV therapy. AIDS 1999, 13:1203-6.
Deayton JR, Prof Sabin CA, Johnson MA, et al. Importance of cytomegalovirus viraemia in risk of disease progression and death in HIV-infected patients receiving
HAART. Lancet 2004, 363:2116-21.
Goldberg DE, Wang H, Azen SP, Freeman WR. Long term visual outcome of patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy. Br J
Ophthalmol 2003, 87:853-5.
Goodgame RW. Gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus disease. Ann Intern Med 1993, 119:924-35.
Jabs DA, Martin BK, Forman MS, et al. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) blood DNA load, CMV retinitis progression, and occurrence of resistant CMV in patients with CMV
retinitis. J Infect Dis 2005, 192:640-9.
Jabs DA, Martin BK, Ricks MO, Forman MS. Detection of ganciclovir resistance in patients with AIDS and cytomegalovirus retinitis: correlation of genotypic methods
with viral phenotype and clinical outcome. J Infect Dis 2006, 193:1728-37.
Jacobson MA, Maecker HT, Orr PL, et al. Results of a cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific CD8+/interferon- gamma+ cytokine flow cytometry assay correlate with clinical
evidence of protective immunity in patients with AIDS with CMV retinitis. J Infect Dis 2004, 189:1362-73.
Jacobson MA, Stanley H, Holtzer C, et al. Natural history and outcome of new AIDS-related cytomegalovirus retinitis in the era of HAART. Clin Inf Dis 2000, 30:231-3.
Jouan M, Saves M, Tubiana R, et al. Discontinuation of maintenance therapy for cytomegalovirus retinitis in HIV-infected patients receiving HAART. AIDS 2001, 15: 2331.
Jutte A, Ftkenheuer G, Hell K, Salzberger B. CMV sinusitis as the initial manifestation of AIDS. HIV Med 2000, 1:123-4.
Komanduri KV, Viswanathan MH, Wieder ED, et al. Restoration of cytomegalovirus-specific CD4+ T-lymphocyte responses after ganciclovir and HAART in individuals
infected with HIV-1. Nature Med 1998, 8:953-6.
Lalezari J, Lindley J, Walmsley S, et al. A safety study of oral valganciclovir maintenance treatment of cytomegalovirus retinitis. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2002,
30:392-400.
Macdonald JC, Torriani FJ, Morse LS, et al. Lack of reactivation of CMV retinitis after stopping CMV maintenance therapy in AIDS patients with sustained elevations in
CD4+ T cells in response to HAART. J Infect Dis 1998, 177:1182-7.
Martin DF, Kuppermann BD, Wolitz RA, et al. Oral ganciclovir for patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis treated with a ganciclovir implant. N Engl J Med 1999, 340:
1063-70.
Martin DF, Sierra-Madero J, Walmsley S, et al. A controlled trial of valganciclovir as induction therapy for cytomegalovirus retinitis. N Engl J Med 2002, 346:1119-26.
Martin BK, Ricks MO, Forman MS, Jabs DA. Change over time in incidence of ganciclovir resistance in patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis. Clin Infect Dis
2007;44:1001-8.
No authors listed. Foscarnet-Ganciclovir Cytomegalovirus Retinitis Trial: 5. Clinical features of cytomegalovirus retinitis at diagnosis. Studies of ocular complications of
AIDS Research Group in collaboration with the ACTG. Am J Ophthalmol 1997,124:141-57.
Nokta MA, Holland F, De Gruttola V, et al. Cytomegalovirus polymerase chain reaction profiles in individuals with advanced HIV infection: relationship to CMV disease.
J Infect Dis 2002, 185:1717-22.
348
AIDS
O'Sullivan CE, Drew WL, McMullen DJ, et al. Decrease of cytomegalovirus replication in HIV infected-patients after treatment with HAART. J Infect Dis 1999, 180:8479.
Perry CM, Balfour JA. Fomivirsen. Drugs 1999, 57:375-80.
Plosker GL, Noble S. Cidofovir: a review of its use in cytomegalovirus retinitis in patients with AIDS. Drugs 1999, 58:325-45.
Salzberger B, Hartmann P, Hanses F, et al. Incidence and prognosis of CMV disease in HIV-infected patients before and after introduction of combination antiretroviral
therapy. Infection 2005, 33:345-9.
Smith CL. Local therapy for cytomegalovirus retinitis. Ann Pharmacother 1998, 32:248-55.
Thorne JE, Jabs DA, Kempen JH, et al. Causes of visual acuity loss among patients with AIDS and cytomegalovirus retinitis in the era of highly active antiretroviral
therapy. Ophthalmology 2006, 113:1441-5.
Thorne JE, Jabs DA, Kempen JH, et al. Incidence of and risk factors for visual acuity loss among patients with AIDS and cytomegalovirus retinitis in the era of highly
active antiretroviral therapy. Ophthalmology 2006, 113:1432-40.
Tural C, Romeu J, Sirera G, et al. Long-lasting remission of cytomegalovirus retinitis without maintenance therapy in HIV-infected patients. J Infect Dis 1998, 177:10803.
Whitley RJ, Jacobson MA, Friedberg DN, et al. Guidelines for the treatment of cytomegalovirus diseases in patients with AIDS in the era of potent antiretroviral therapy:
recommendations of an international panel. Arch Intern Med 1998, 158:957-69.
Wohl DA, Zeng D, Stewart P, et al. cytomegalovirus viremia, mortality, and end-organ disease among patients with AIDS receiving potent antiretroviral therapies.
JAIDS 2005, 38:538-544.
349
Candidiasis
Candidiasis is an infection with yeast-forming fungi. Of the 150 Candida species
known to date, only approximately 20 cause disease. By far the most frequent species is C. albicans. Other species such as C. tropicalis, C. glabrata and C. krusei are
rare, but may respond less readily to treatment with azoles. Although it is commonly assumed that azole resistance is a problem particularly with albicans strains,
this has not been the case to date (Sanglard 2002).
Candidiasis is an important indicator of immunodeficiency and should be seen as a
reason to consider starting ART, even with a good immune status. Esophageal candidiasis and even oral thrush often occur following other OIs. Fever, which is not a
classic symptom of candidiasis, is a particular indication to be on the alert. If immune status is good, it must be remembered that there are also other reasons for
thrush alcoholism and steroid treatment are only two of many possibilities. In
addition to candidiasis of the oropharynx and esophagus, vaginitis is a frequent
problem in women (also occurring in healthy individuals). Candidemia occurs only
rarely in HIV-infected patients, even with severe immunodeficiency.
Signs and symptoms

The oropharynx is usually affected, with taste disturbances and sometimes, a burning sensation on the tongue. White, non-adherent plaques on the buccal mucosa,
tonsillar ring and tongue confirm the diagnosis. Involvement of the tongue alone is
rare. Occasionally, there may be atrophic candidiasis, which presents only with an
erythematous mucosa.
Candida esophagitis usually occurs with oropharyngeal involvement, but in about
one third of cases there is no oral thrush. It often presents with dysphagia (drinking
is ok, but food cant go down) and retrosternal pain. Some patients complain of
nausea, although vomiting occurs only rarely.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis in the oropharynx can be made based on the clinical appearance. A swab
is not usually required. Characterization by culture or even determination of drug
susceptibility (beware laboratory uncertainty!) is only advised if one treatment attempt with fluconazole or itraconazole has failed. Oral candidiasis is not to be confused with oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL). In contrast to candidiasis, the whitish,
hairy plaques of OHL, on the sides of the tongue, cannot be scraped off. OHL is not
caused by fungi but by EBV, and is an important disease marker for HIV, even if it
is harmless and does not require treatment.
Candida esophagitis can also initially be diagnosed clinically. Dysphagia, retrosternal pain and oral candidiasis make the diagnosis very probable. Empiric fluconazole
therapy reduces costs (Wilcox 1996). Upper GI endoscopy is only required if complaints persist. To distinguish fluconazole-resistant esophageal candidiasis from
herpes or CMV esophagitis, samples of lesions should always be taken. In contrast,
determination of serum antibodies or antigen is always unnecessary.
Treatment
With relatively good immune status and presentation for the first time, treatment
with topical antimycotics such as nystatin, amphomoronal or miconazole can be
350
AIDS
attempted. However, systemic treatment is usually necessary. This is more effective

and prevents relapses for longer (Pons 1997).
Fluconazole is the treatment of choice, and one week of oral treatment is usually
sufficient (Sangeorzan 1994). According to a recently published trial, shorter treatment duration with higher dosages seems to be an option. In this large randomized
study, a single dose of 750 mg of fluconazole was safe, well tolerated, and as effective as the standard 14-day fluconazole therapy (Hamza 2008).
If symptoms persist for more than a week, then a swab should be taken and the
daily fluconazole dose may be increased up to 800 mg for the second attempt. Itraconazole should only be used if the second treatment attempt fails and non-albicans
strains have been found. It will be effective in approximately two thirds of cases
(Saag 1997). Although itraconazole suspension is as effective as fluconazole
(Graybill 1998), we do not primarily use it as plasma levels are unreliable and there
are problems with numerous interactions.
Several new and promising antimycotics have been developed in recent years.
However, these should only be used in clear cases of fluconazole resistance. There
is insufficient evidence on the superiority of these drugs in the treatment of nonresistant candidiasis (Pienaar 2006). Voriconazole is expected to be as effective as
fluconazole, but is possibly not tolerated as well (Ruhnke 1997, Ally 2001). This
may be also true for posaconazole (Vasquez 2006). Like amphotericin B, these new
azoles should only be used for treatment of multi-azole resistant mycoses. The new
antimycotic class of echinocandins has also good efficacy, among them drugs such
as caspofungin, micafungin or anidulafungin (Keating 2001, Villanueva 2001,
Arathoon 2002, de Wet 2004, Reboli 2007). These drugs which can only be administered intravenously, showed similar efficacy and tolerability to intravenous fluconazole for treatment of candida esophagitis in randomized studies (Villaneuva
2001, de Wet 2004, Reboli 2007). Antiretroviral therapy should be initiated when
such mycoses occur, particularly with multiresistant strains, as these usually disappear with sufficient immune reconstitution (Ruhnke 2000).
Treatment/prophylaxis of candidiasis (daily doses)
Acute therapy
In mild cases
Topical
Treatment of
choice
Fluconazole
Alternative
Itraconazole
Prophylaxis
Duration: 5-10 days

e.g. amphotericin B 1 lozenge qid or
nystatin suspension 1 ml qid
Fluconazole 1 x 1 cap at 100 mg for oral candidiasis
Fluconazole 1 x 1 cap at 200 mg for esophageal candidiasis (twice the dose on the first day in each case)
Itraconazole 1-2 cap. at 100 mg bid or
Itraconazole suspension 10-20 ml bid (1 ml = 10 mg)
Not recommended
Prophylaxis
No survival benefit has been demonstrated for any Candida prophylaxis to date
(McKinsey 1999, Rex 2000, Goldmann 2005). In probably the largest randomized
study on this theme, a reduction in oral candidiasis episodes as well as in invasive
candidiasis was observed on long-term prophylaxis (Goldman 2005). The hypothe-
351
sis that long-term prophylaxis will lead to the selection of resistant non-albicans
strains (Vazquez 2001) was not confirmed in this study. Azol resistant candidas
were not seen more frequently in the long-term therapy group. Nonetheless, it goes
without saying to check the mouth of every immunocompromised patient at every
visit.
References
Ally R, Schurmann D, Kreisel W, et al. A randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, multicenter trial of voriconazole and fluconazole in the treatment of esophageal
candidiasis in immunocompromised patients. Clin Infect Dis 2001, 33:1447-54.
Arathoon EG, Gotuzzo E, Noriega LM, et al. Randomized, double-blind, multicenter study of caspofungin versus amphotericin B for treatment of oropharyngeal and
esophageal candidiases. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2002, 46:451-7.
de Wet N, Llanos-Cuentas A, Suleiman J, et al. A randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, dose-response study of micafungin compared with fluconazole for the
treatment of esophageal candidiasis in HIV-positive patients. Clin Infect Dis 2004, 39:842-9.
Goldman M, Cloud GA, Wade KD, et al. A randomized study of the use of fluconazole in continuous versus episodic therapy in patients with advanced HIV infection
and a history of oropharyngeal candidiasis: AIDS Clinical Trials Group Study 323/Mycoses Study Group Study 40. Clin Infect Dis 2005, 41:1473-80.
Graybill JR, Vazquez J, Darouiche RO, et al. Randomized trial of itraconazole oral solution for oropharyngeal candidiasis in HIV/AIDS patients. Am J Med 1998,
104:33-9.
Hamza OJ, Matee MI, Brggemann RJ, et al. Single-dose fluconazole versus standard 2-week therapy for oropharyngeal candidiasis in HIV-infected patients: a
randomized, double-blind, double-dummy trial. Clin Infect Dis 2008, 47:1270-6.
Keating GM, Jarvis B. Caspofungin. Drugs 2001, 61:1121-9; discussion 1130-1.
McKinsey DS, Wheat LJ, Cloud GA, et al. Itraconazole prophylaxis for fungal infections in patients with advanced HIV infection: randomized, placebo-controlled,
double-blind study. Clin Infect Dis 1999, 28:1049-56.
Pienaar ED, Young T, Holmes H. Interventions for the prevention and management of oropharyngeal candidiasis associated with HIV infection in adults and children.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2006, 3:CD003940. Review.
Pons V, Greenspan D, Lozada-Nur F, et al. Oropharyngeal candidiasis in patients with AIDS: randomized comparison of fluconazole versus nystatin oral suspensions.
Reboli AC, Rotstein C, Pappas PG, et al. Anidulafungin versus fluconazole for invasive candidiasis. N Engl J Med 2007;356:2472-82.
Rex JH, Walsh TJ, Sobel JD, et al. Practice guidelines for the treatment of candidiasis. Clin Infect Dis 2000, 30:662-78.
Ruhnke M, Adler A, Muller FM. Clearance of a fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans strain after switching antifungal therapy and initiation of triple therapy for HIV
infection. Clin Microbiol Infect 2000, 6:220-3.
Ruhnke M, Schmidt-Westhausen A, Trautmann M. In vitro activities of voriconazole (UK-109,496) against fluconazole-susceptible and -resistant Candida albicans
isolates from oral cavities of patients with HIV infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1997, 41:575-7.
Saag MS, Fessel WJ, Kaufman CA, et al. Treatment of fluconazole-refractory oropharyngeal candidiasis with itraconazole oral solution in HIV-positive patients. AIDS
Res Hum Retroviruses 1999, 15:1413-7.
Sangeorzan JA, Bradley SF, He X, et al. Epidemiology of oral candidiasis in HIV-infected patients: colonization, infection, treatment, and emergence of fluconazole
resistance. Am J Med 1994, 97:339-46.
Sanglard D, Odds FC. Resistance of Candida species to antifungal agents: molecular mechanisms and clinical consequences. Lancet Infect Dis 2002, 2:73-85.
Vazquez JA, Peng G, Sobel JD, et al. Evolution of antifungal susceptibility among Candida species isolates recovered from HIV-infected women receiving fluconazole
prophylaxis. Clin Infect Dis 2001, 33:1069-75.
Vazquez JA, Skiest DJ, Nieto L, A multicenter randomized trial evaluating posaconazole versus fluconazole for the treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis in subjects
with HIV/AIDS. Clin Infect Dis 2006, 42:1179-86.
Villanueva A, Arathoon EG, Gotuzzo E, et al. A randomized double-blind study of caspofungin versus amphotericin for the treatment of candidal esophagitis. Clin Infect
Dis 2001, 33:1529-35.
Walsh TJ, Gonzalez CE, Piscitelli S, et al. Correlation between in vitro and in vivo antifungal activities in experimental fluconazole-resistant oropharyngeal and
esophageal candidiasis. J Clin Microbiol 2000, 38:2369-73.
Wilcox CM, Alexander LN, Clark WS, Thompson SE 3rd. Fluconazole compared with endoscopy for HIV-infected patients with esophageal symptoms.
Gastroenterology 1996, 110:1803-9.
352
AIDS
Tuberculosis
Christoph Lange, Christian Herzmann, Giovanni Battista Migliori, Andrea Gori
About 8% of all Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infections occur in people
with HIV, making it the most important opportunistic infection worldwide (WHO
2008a, UNAIDS 2008). The spread of the TB epidemic is closely related to the HIV
prevalence in the general population (Corbett 2003). Recently, co-infection of the
two pathogens has become more noticeable in Eastern Europe and in Asia (WHO
2008a). Up to 50% of HIV infected children in South Africa are co-infected with
MTB-complex (M. tuberculosis, M. africanum, M. bovis, M. canetti or M. microti)
(UNAIDS 2008). The incidence of TB is more than eight times higher in HIVpositive than in HIV-negative people (Corbett 2006). In addition, there is a growing
concern that HIV-1 may enhance the spread of multidrug resistant (MDR) TB in
these regions (Dubrovina 2008) as MDR TB is already 10 times more frequent in
Eastern Europe than in Africa (Dye 2002).
Despite a steadily increasing prevalence of HIV-1 infection in Western Europe and
North America in recent years, the incidence of TB has continuously declined in
countries where ART is available (Kirk 2000, Girardi 2000, Nahid 2006).
However, clinical management of MTB-HIV co-infected patients is complicated
due to a wide range of drug interactions, overlapping side effects of ART and antituberculosis medications and low compliance caused by pill burden.
Interaction of HIV and MTB

HIV and MTB infections have synergic influence on the host immunoregulation.
Indeed, HIV infection impairs cell-mediated immunity largely through depletion of
CD4 T lymphocytes. The impaired immunity leads to a higher susceptibility to
MTB infecton with a higher number of cases of primary TB and reactivation TB in
HIV-infected people. In turn, TB may accelerate the progression of HIV infection
by accelerating viral replication and intensifying immunodepressive effect of HIV.
It is likely that TB enhances immunodeficiency related to HIV infection (Toossi
2003). The incidence of primary TB and reactivation TB is greater in HIV-infected
patients in comparison with HIV-seronegative individuals (Havlir 1999, Badri
2001). HIV infected patients have twice the risk of reactivation of a previous M.
tuberculosis episode, as demonstrated by correspondence of the Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) genotype analysis. The factors that lead to TB
reactivation in HIV infection can be linked to physiopatological conditions, as having a low CD4 T cell count, to a duration of the therapy of the previous TB episode
shorter than 9 months, but mainly to the the low compliance of HIV-potive patients
with the antituberculosis treatment (Bandera 2001).
The incidence of post-primary TB ranges from 5-30% in HIV-1 infected subjects.
The risk of active TB in patients with latent TB infection (LTBI) is approximately
8% per year in HIV-infected patients compared with a lifetime TB risk of 5-10% in
HIV-seronegative individuals. Despite adequate TB therapy, the probability of
morbidity and mortality is increased in HIV-seropositive patients in comparison
with HIV-seronegative ones (Manas 2004, Whalen 2000). While most opportunistic
infections (OIs), including other mycobacterial infections, occur in the advanced
353
stages of HIV infection, TB can develop at any stage of immunodepression regardless of the levels of circulating CD4 T cells (Ackah 1995). More than 50% of pulmonary TB cases occur in patients with more than 200 CD4 T cells/l in the peripheral blood (Badri 2001). It has been shown that the risk of TB is already significantly enhanced in the first year after HIV-antibody seroconversion (Sonnenberg
2005). However, the incidence of disseminated TB is much higher in patients with
advanced immunodeficiency (Wood 2000) and TB is the leading cause of death
among people with HIV infection, accounting for one-third of AIDS related deaths
worldwide (WHO 2008a, UNAIDS 2008).
Clinical manifestations
In the early stages of HIV infection the clinical symptoms of TB are similar to
those of HIV-seronegative patients. Fever, fatigue, night sweats and weight loss are
common.
Pulmonary TB
As in HIV-seronegative patients, typical lesions of pulmonary TB in HIV patients
with more than 200 circulating CD4 T cell /l are upper-lobe lung infiltrates (with
or without cavities) and tuberculous granulomas are always present in these lesions.
Cough and haemoptysis are frequent. Undefined lung opacities are often present on
chest radiography as well as enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes. As immunodeficiency progresses, atypical pulmonary presentations or TB pleuritis become more
frequent. Bronchopulmonary symptoms, such as cough and haemoptysis are often
absent when TB occurs in the advanced stages of HIV infection. Because CD4 T
lymphocytes are required for granuloma formation, these typical lesions are usually
absent on histopathological examination of tissue from AIDS patients (Nambuya
1988). With the progression of immunodeficiency, haematogenous and lymphatic
spread of mycobacteria is more common leading to miliary or disseminated TB or
localized extrapulmonary TB (Elliot 1993, Kingkaew 2009).
Extrapulmonary TB
Extrapulmonary TB occurs predominantly in HIV-MTB co-infected patients with
CD4 T cell count less than 200/l. The most common localization of extrapulmonary TB is cervical lymph nodes. The involved nodes are enlarged, hard and generally not painful on palpation. The formation of abscesses and draining fistulas as
well as fever and malaise are common.
Tuberculous meningitis often emerges with ambiguous prodromal symptoms such
as headache, nausea and vomiting followed by elevated temperature and clinical
signs of meningeal irritation. The basal meninges are usually involved and cranial
palsies of III and VI nerves are common. Mono-, hemi- or paraparesis as well as
loss of consciousness and seizures can occur. In any patient with symptoms and
signs of meningitis, a lumbar puncture should be performed without delay.
Other extrapulmonary localizations include pericarditis, osteoarthritis, urogenital
tract and skin TB. Tuberculous lesions may involve adrenal glands causing Addison's disease. Practically, every organ can be involved.
354
AIDS
Miliary or disseminated TB
Clinical manifestations depend on multiple small granular lesions (lat. milium effusum) and their localization. Lungs may be involved and micro-nodular opacities
are evident on chest x-ray. On radiological criteria alone, these lesions cannot be
distinguished from pulmonary cryptococcosis. Miliary dissemination of TB can also
involve abdomen. In febrile patients with abdominal pain and ascites, peritoneal TB
must be included in the differential diagnosis. Liver and spleen lesions may be detected by echography.
Diagnosis
Diagnostic steps in the management of an HIV-infected patient with suspected TB
do not differ from those used for HIV-seronegative patient (Lange 2004). In the
differential diagnosis, TB has to be distinguished from mycobacteriosis caused by
non-tuberculous mycobacteria (e.g. M. avium complex), cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, sarcoidosis, lymphoproliferative diseases and solid malignant neoplasia.
The diagnosis is made on clinical, radiological and microbiological grounds.
Radiographic images of pulmonary TB are often unclear and can vary substantially.
Pulmonary TB can mimic a variety of other pulmonary diseases and can be present
without evident changes on chest radiography. However, typical chest radiographic
findings are undefined single or multiple opacities in upper lobe, with or without
cavities inside opacities, and enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes. Calcifications and
fibrotic scar formation may be either a sign of healed pulmonary TB or a clue of
reactivated disease. In miliary TB, the chest radiography shows disseminated micro-nodular opacities. Patients with pulmonary TB and low CD4 T cell count often
present with pleural effusion without evident pulmonary infiltrates. In case of
doubt, a chest CT scan should be recommended whenever possible. If extrapulmonary TB is diagnosed, then lung radiographic imaging as well as abdominal ultrasound should be performed to identify possible pulmonary disease, liver and spleen
abscesses, thickening of the intestinal mucosa or ascites.
When pulmonary TB is suspected, three sputum samples should be collected on
consecutive days for mycobacteria culture and direct sputum smear examination.
If patients are unable to cough deeply and cannot produce sputum, then an attempt should be made by inhalation of nebulised 3% hypertonic sodium chloride
to induce sputum. Alternatively, early morning gastric aspirate can also be examined for mycobacteria. The acidic gastric aspirate should be rapidly buffered in
phosphate solution even before transportation to laboratory. If not enough sputum
can be obtained, then no acid fast bacilli are seen on smear microscopy and mycobacterial cultures remain sterile, bronchoscopy is usually indicated when the
clinical findings remain highly suspicious for TB. Bronchial secretions or bronchoalveolar lavage obtained by bronchoscopy do not allow a more sensitive or
specific diagnosis of TB than sputum smear in patients with HIV infection
(Conde 2000). However, bronchoscopy may be very helpful in the differential
diagnosis between TB and other diseases (Narayanswami 2003) particularly since
co-existence of several pulmonary disease is rather frequent in patients with HIV
infection. Furthermore, histopathological examination of transbronchial biopsies
collected by bronchoscopy may show typical tuberculous granulomas if TB is
present. On the day after bronchoscopy, sputum smear should be sampled for
355
analysis as the diagnostic yield is higher following the intervention even if no

mycobacteria were detected in lavage fluid.
Sputum and other collected biological materials should always be sent for culture .
The gold standard test for the diagnosis of TB is culture identification of MTB after
incubation of biological samples preferentially in liquid media or alternatively in
solid media. Liquid media take less time (2-4 weeks) than solid media (3-5 weeks)
until a positive result can be obtained. A mycobacterial culture is only to be considered negative if no mycobacteria are identified after 6 to 8 weeks of incubation.
Non-tuberculous mycobacteria usually grow much faster than MTB and can often
be identified within two weeks of incubation. All new clinical isolates of MTB
should always undergo drug susceptibility testing for the first-line and eventually in
case of MDR TB for second-line antibiotic regimens.
For sputum and other biological materials (bronchial secretions and lavage fluid)
direct microscopy should be performed to detect acid-fast bacilli (AFB) after staining. The sensitivity and specificity of direct microscopy of sputum are poor. At
least 5,000-10,000 mycobacteria per slide are necessary to achieve a positive result
in a routine setting. Approximately 50% of all patients with culture positive pulmonary TB are AFB smear negative on three consecutive sputum samples. AFB positive smears are present in approximately 5% of cases where pulmonary lesions are
not visible on standard chest radiography (Ackah 1995). In addition, discrimination
between MTB and non-tuberculous mycobacteria is not possible by acid-fast staining. While HIV-seropositive patients with more than 200 circulating CD4 T cell /l
with typical lesions of pulmonary TB have the same percentage of AFB-positive
smears as HIV-seronegative patients, in patients with TB and advanced stages of
HIV infection the likelihood of an AFB positive smear is decreased.
For the diagnosis of extrapulmonary TB, biological samples such as heparinised
venous blood, bone marrow aspirate, cerebrum-spinal fluid, urine, pleural fluid,
pericardial fluid and peritoneal fluid should be analysed by mycobacterial culture.
Biopsies of lymph nodes, pleura, peritoneum, synovia and pericardium are also
suitable for diagnosis of extrapulmonary TB as AFBs and typical tuberculous
granuloma may be found on histological examination of tissue lesions.
Indeed, acid-fast staining is rapid but neither very sensitive nor specific while culture test is very sensitive and specific but results takes more than 2 weeks. In the
past few years, bio-molecular analysis were designed to get more rapid results.
Presently, mycobacterial nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) can be detected in biological
samples by a routine PCR test. MTB PCR test is faster than culture test and more
sensitive and specific than acid-fast staining. PCR test is especially helpful for differentiation of mycobacterial species when AFBs are visible on microscopy. In
these circumstances, MTB PCR test sensitivity is above 95%. Unfortunately, sensitivity of MTB PCR test is decreased to about 40-77% if sputum samples are AFB
negative (Barnes 1997). Because in AFB sputum smear negative cases of the PCR
can yield false negative results, results should always be interpreted within the
clinical context.
In extrapulmonary TB, for example tuberculous meningitis, where direct microscopy is often negative but a rapid diagnosis is needed, MTB PCR testing should be
performed as part of the initial evaluation. For PCR analysis, biopsy samples should
356
AIDS
not be kept in formalin but rather be preserved in "HOPE" (Hepes-glutamic acid

buffer-mediated organic solvent protection effect) media (Olert 2001).
In case of suspected TB, a tuberculin skin test (TST), also known as purified protein
derivative (PPD) test, is recommended. Positive TST (or PPD) indicates an immunological memory to previous or ongoing contact with MTB. Positive TST results
may be found also in patients who were BCG-vaccinated or who had contact with
atypical mycobacteria. On the other side, TST give usually false negative results in
MTB-HIV co-infected patients with CD4 T cell count less than 200/l (Fisk 2003).
The TST should only be administered intradermally according to the method described by Mendel and Mantoux. The standardized dose that is recommended by
the WHO and the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases
(IUATLD) is 2 Tuberculin Units (TU)/0.1ml PPD RT23/Tween 80. In the United
States of America and other countries, the standardized dose is 5 TU/0.1ml PPD-S,
which is thought to be similar in strength. After 48-72 hours since intradermal injection, the diameter of induration (not redness) in the site of injection is measured
along the short axis of forearm (Sokal 1975). The TST is considered positive if the
induration diameter is 5 mm or more. In HIV infected patients, an induration > 5
mm is positive according to the definition of the Infectious Diseases Society of
America (IDSA). The IDSA guidelines for interpretation of TST result are based on
results of clinical studies that were conducted with 5 TU PPD-S in the US and
therefore cannot be directly applied to other countries where different antigens are
used.
Recently, Interferon (IFN)-gamma release assays (IGRA) have been introduced for
the diagnosis of MTB infection. They detect the secretion of IFN-gamma by peripheral blood mononuclear cells induced by the specific MTB peptides, ESAT-6
and CFP-10. These tests are more sensitive and specific than the TST for diagnosis
of MTB infection in patients with immunodeficiency (Chapman 2002, Pai 2004,
Ferrara 2006, Rangaka 2007b, Jones 2007, Luetkemeyer 2007, Leidl 2009). Two
IFN-gamma blood tests are currently available: an ELISA (Quantiferon-Gold in
tube test) and an ELISPOT (T-SPOT.TB Test). Two trials demonstrated a better
sensitivity for the ELISPOT assay in HIV-infection (Lawn 2007, Mandalakas
2008). Importantly, the ELISPOT test result is much less dependant on the number
of circulating CD4 T cells (Rangaka 2007a, Hammond 2008, Stephan 2008, Kim
2009), while the IFN-gamma response in the ELISA strongly correlated to the CD4
cell count (Leidl 2009). In patients with advanced immunodeficiency the ELISA
can therefore not be recommended for the diagnosis of LTBI.
Therapy
First-line drugs include rifampicin (RMP), isoniazid (INH), ethambutol (EMB)
pyrazinamide (PZA) and streptomycin (SM). The latter (SM) is only available as
i.m. or i.v. formular and may thus not be considered first-line. Isoniazid and RMP
are the most potent of these drugs. Second-line drugs include amikacin, capreomycin, cycloserine, levofloxacin, linezolid. moxifloxacin, prothionamide and rifabutin
(RB).
Uncomplicated cases of pulmonary TB can be treated with a standard 6-month
course, regardless of the HIV status. To prevent the development of drug resistance,
active TB should always be treated initially with a combination of four drugs (ini-
357
tial phase). Standard initial phase therapy is a 2-month-course of RMP, INH, EMB
and PZA, followed by the continuation phase therapy of 4 months with RMP and
INH. Drug doses are listed in Table 1. The four initial drugs should be administered
until culture test results show drug susceptibility of MTB isolates.
Hospitalization is generally indicated to prevent the spread of the infection until the
infectious period has been resolved with drug therapy. As long as AFBs are detected in the sputum or in the bronchoalveolar lavage, the patient should be treated
in isolation. The duration of the infectious period in pulmonary TB depends on the
extent of pulmonary lesions and cavities. Sputum should be regularly collected (in
the initial phase every week) and evaluated for AFBs (by direct microscopy) and
viable MTB (by culture test) until the end of treatment. The infectiousness of a patient is considered to be very low once AFBs are repeatedly absent in sputum
smears. When at least three sputum samples obtained on different days are AFB
negative, the treatment can be continued as an outpatient. However, viable MTB
can usually be cultured from sputum for a few weeks after microscope test has become AFB negative. Patients with MDR TB should be kept in isolation until both
microscope test and sputum cultures turn negative.
Failure of therapy is associated with drug resistance, poor drug compliance or insufficient treatment duration (Sonnenberg 2001, Korenromp 2003). If sputum cultures
were still positive after the initial phase of treatment, or if the initial drug regimen
was different from standard therapy (i.e. did not include RMP and INH), the duration of therapy should be extended to 9 months or longer (i.e. continuation phase
should be extended to 7 months or longer). Treatment is also longer than a standard
6-months-course for AIDS patients, cavitary pulmonary TB and TB meningitis.
Despite successful initial therapy, recurrence of TB occurs more often in HIVseropositive than HIV-seronegative individuals (Sonnenberg 2001).
Drug adverse events

The most frequent and significant adverse events of antituberculosis drugs are listed
in Table 1. Since INH often induces peripheral polyneuropathy the drug should
always be co-administered with prophylactic pyridoxine (vitamin B6).
Before and during therapy with EMB, colour vision should be examined and monitored as this drug may affect the optic nerve. Dosages of EMB and PZA need to be
adjusted in patients with renal insufficiency. In patients with liver disease (including drug induced hepatitis), the choice of first-line drugs is limited as RMP, INH
and PZA can worsen the liver injury. In these cases, a combination of EMB, streptomycin, cycloserine, moxifloxacin and/or linezolid may be administered. Since this
second-line therapy is no different from that of MDR TB and these patients should
be treated in specialized MDR TB centres. Audiometric monitoring should be performed when streptomycin is used. Following the start of antituberculosis therapy,
liver enzymes, serum creatinine and complete blood count should be monitored on
a regular basis (e.g. in the initial phase every week, then every 4 weeks). Hyperuricemia is common when PZA is used. A mild, polyarthralgia can be treated with
allopurinol and non-steroidal antiphlogistic drugs. Arthralgia can also be induced
by RMP and RB.
358
AIDS
Table 1: Antituberculous drug doses, side effects and drug interactions

AntitubercuRecommended Common adDrug interaclous drugs
daily dose
verse events
tions
Rifampicin
10 mg/kg
Elevation of liver Many drug inenzymes, toxic
teractions: in(RMP)
hepatitis;
allerduces
cyto> 50 kg: 600 mg
chrome p450
gy, fever; gasAlso available
< 50 kg: 450 mg trointestinal
(for ART drug
for i.v. injection
disorders; disco- interactions see
loration (orange table 3).
or brown) of
body fluids;
thrombopenia.
Isoniazid
5 mg/kg
Peripheral neu- Avoid d4T, ddI.
ropathy; eleva(INH)
maximum
ted liver enzy300 mg/day,
mes, toxic hepaAlso available
titis; CNS side
for i.v. or i.m.
administer with
effects: psychoinjection
vitamin B6
sis, seizures.
Ethambutol
40-55 kg:
Optic neuritis;
Antiacids may
(EMB)
800 mg/day
hyperuricemia;
decrease absorption.
peripheral neuropathy (rare).
56-75 kg: 1.2
g/day
76-90 kg:
1.6 g/day
Pyrazinamide
(PZA)
30 mg/kg/day
maximum 2.0
g/day
Streptomycin
0.75-1 g/day
i.v./i.m. administration only
< 50 kg: 0.75

g/day
> 50 kg: 1 g/day
Amikacin
maximum cumulative dose

50 g
1 g/day
maximum cumulative dose
50 g
Arthralgia, hyperuricemia, toxic

hepatitis, gastro-intestinal
discomfort
Auditory and
vestibular nerve
damage; renal
damage; allergies, nausea,
skin rash, leukopenia, thrombopenia, pancytopenia, hemolytic anemia.
Auditory and
vestibular nerve
damage;
Comments
Monitor LFTs*.
Avoid administration if preexisting liver

damage; avoid
alcohol.
Baseline screen
for visual acuity
and colour perception (repeated monthly);
contraindicated
in pts with preexisting lesions
of optic nerve.
Hyperuricemia:
uricosuric drug
(allopurinol);
monitor LFTs.
Audiometry;
cumulative dose
should not be
exceeded;
monitor renal
function; should
not be used in
pregnancy.
Audiometry;
cumulative dose
should not be
exceeded;
monitor renal
function; should
not be used in
pregnancy.

Capreomycin
Ciprofloxacin
15 30
mg/kg/day
max 1 g/day
> 50 kg: 1 g
< 50 kg: 0.75 g
maximum cumulative dose:
50 g
500 BID or 750
mg/day
Also available
for i.v. injection
Cycloserine
10-15 mg/kg
day
maximum
1,000 mg/day
Levofloxacin
500 or 1,000
mg/day
Also available
for i.v. injection
Linezolid
600 mg BID
Moxifloxacin
400 mg/ day
Also available
for i.v. injection
Prothionamide
0,75 1 g/day
Rifabutin
(RB)
300 mg/day
*LFTs: Liver function tests.

**CNS: Central nervous system.
Renal damage,
Bartter-like syndrome, auditory
nerve damage.
Gastrointestinal
discomfort, CNS
disorders, tendon rupture
(rare).
CNS disorders,
anxiety, confusion, dizziness,
psychosis, seizures, headache.
Gastrointestinal
discomfort, CNS
disorders, tendon rupture
(rare).
Thrombopenia,
anemia, CNS
disorders.
Gastrointestinal
discomfort,
headache, dizziness, hallucinations.
CNS disorders;
liver damage,
gastrointestinal
discomfort
Gastrointestinal
discomfort;
discoloration
(orange or
brown) of urine
and other body
fluids; uveitis;
elevated liver
enzymes; arthralgia.
Aggravates
CNS side effects of INH and
prothionamide.
359
Audiometry;
cumulative dose
should not be
exceeded;
monitor renal
function; should
not be used in
pregnancy.
Not approved
for treatment in
children; in adults rather use
moxifloxacin.
Contraindicated
in epileptics;
CNS side effects occur usually within the
first 2 weeks.
Not approved
for treatment in
children; in adults rather use
moxifloxacin.
Evidence for
clinical use
relies on case
reports; expensive.
Similar activity
as rifampin,
drug resistance
is still rare.
Slowly increase
dosage; monitor
LFTs
Weaker inductor
of cytochrome
p450 than rifampin;
(for ART drug
interactions see
table 3).
Monitor LFTs;
generally preferred instead of
rifampin in patients treated
with ART drugs
(see table 3).
360
AIDS
Patients who exhibit severe adverse events should always be hospitalized for diagnosis and treatment. Drugs that could possibly be responsible for a given adverse
event ought to be discontinued. If visual disturbance occurs on EMB, then renal
failure or shock or thrombocytopenia on RMP and vestibular dysfunction on streptomycin therapy, re-exposure to the same drug must be avoided. Other drugs can
be reintroduced one by one when symptoms resolve, beginning with the drug that is
least likely to cause the adverse event. All drugs should be restarted at low dosages
and dosages should be increased stepwise (Table 2). When no adverse effects occur
after 3 days, additional drugs can be added. The drug that is most likely to be responsible for an adverse effect should be the last one to be restarted if no alternative
is available.
If toxic hepatitis occurs, then all drugs should be stopped until the serum bilirubin
and liver transaminases (aminotransferase) have normalized. In many cases, it is
possible to re-introduce the causative drug (usually INH, RMP or PZA) with increasing dosage without further hepatic complications.
In all cases, when second-line drugs are used it is usually necessary to prolong the
standard duration of treatment.
Table 2: Re-introduction of antituberculous drug following drug adverse event
Drug
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
INH
50 mg
300 mg
5 mg/kg/day (max
300 mg/day)
RMP
75 mg
300 mg
10 mg/kg/day (max
600 mg/day)
PZA
250 mg
1,000 mg
25 mg/kg/day (max 2
g/day)
EMB
100 mg
500 mg
25 mg/kg/day for 2
months then 15
mg/kg/day
Streptomycin
125 mg
500 mg
15 mg/kg/day (max 1
g/day)
ART and TB therapy

Independent of the status of ART, uncomplicated non-cavitary pulmonary TB in
HIV-infected patients can be treated using standard 6-month course with a similar
success rate as HIV-seronegative individuals (Burman 2001, Chaisson 1996, Hung
2003). If the therapeutic response is delayed (e.g. when sputum cultures are still
MTB positive after 2 months of the initial phase), then the duration of TB therapy
should be extended to at least 9 months.
A few issues must be considered regarding simultaneous ART and TB therapy.
Paradoxical reaction: Following initiation of antituberculosis therapy, patients
already treated with ART present paradoxical reactions (increasing lymphadenopathy, fever or increasing pulmonary infiltrates) five times more often than ART nave patients (Breen 2005). An acute exacerbation of TH1 immune response against
361
mycobacterial antigens seems to be responsible for the paradoxical reaction in ART

experienced HIV-MTB co-infected patients (Bourgarit 2006).
Unmasked TB and immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS):
Unmasked TB represents the progression of an undiagnosed subclinical TB disease
present before starting ART. The mechanism is due to the recovery of pathogenspecific immune responses during the initial months of ART that triggers the unmasking of a disease with a subclinical presentation. Screening strategies for underlying TB need to be carefully emphasized in order to prevent severe unmasking
forms of the disease. All patients starting ART with an advanced immunodeficiency
and principally those with access to ART programs in resource-limited settings,
should undergo microscopic and culture screening for TB regardless of the presence
or absence of symptoms.
A similar immune-pathogenic mechanism is responsible of a different form of tuberculosis progression that could develop as IRIS. In this case, TB affected patients
with advanced HIV infection develop a clinical worsening of TB after ART is
commenced. In fact, even in the presence of TB treatment, the ART-induced immune recovery leads to a dysregulation of the specific immune system. The result is
the onset of a deterioration of the clinical symptoms of TB, mainly due to a strong
inflammatory component (Lawn 2008). IRIS has been reported to occur in 25-60%
of severely immunosuppressed patients in the first three months of ART treatment
(Michaelidis 2005, Lawn 2005a) and has been temporally associated with a rapid
immunologic and virologic response to ART. The mycobacterial antigen burden
and the intensity and quality of the associated host inflammatory response are the
major factors likely to determine the threshold for symptom onset and to affect the
timing and severity of cases of TB presenting during early ART. The criteria for the
diagnosis of IRIS have been newly defined in an international consensus statement
2008 (Meintjes 2008). In summary, classic symptoms of TB are required (fever,
lymphadenopathy, pulmonary consolidations, neurological symptoms, serositis).
Notably, more than 10% of TB-IRIS in high prevalence countries are due to mycobacteria showing a previously undetected resistance to Rifamipin (Meintjes 2009).
Nevertheless, despite the fact that IRIS can lead to a paradoxical exacerbation of the
clinical status, a diagnosis of TB should not prevent from ART introduction in patients with advanced HIV infection. Different studies suggested that simultaneous
use of ART and anti-TB treatment in patients with less than 200 CD4 T cells could
have a significant impact on survival (Schiffer 2007, Velasco 2009). Moreover, a
recent randomized trial demonstrated that, at least in res ource-limited settings,
ART has the potential to reduce mortality even in patients with relatively conserved
immune function (i.e. CD4 T cell count 200-500 cells/l) (Karim 2009).
Adherence: Adherence to therapy is very difficult to achieve due to the large number of ART and antituberculous pills administered simultaneously and overlapping
toxicities. The most decisive determinant for the success of antituberculosis treatment is complete drug adherence for the entire duration of therapy. In cases of poor
compliance, development of drug resistance and relapses are common. Therefore,
the WHO recommends that all patients with TB should be enrolled in therapeutic
programs based on directly observed therapy (DOT).
Drug interactions: There are many pharmacological interactions between ART and
antituberculosis drugs (Table 3 and 4). Both RMP and protease inhibitors (PIs) are
362
AIDS
metabolized by cytochrome P450 3A. As serum levels are unpredictable when administered simultaneously, concomitant therapy with PIs and RMP is generally not
recommended (exception: ritonavir saquinavir and ritonavir-hyper boosted lopinavir) (OARAC 2008) (Table 3). Either the combination of 2 NRTIs with efavirenz
or the suboptimal combination of 3 NRTIs are possible therapeutic options for treating HIV infection during TB treatment with RMP. Rifabutin can be co-administered
as an alternative to rifampin, with PIs as it has less cytochrome P450-3A inducing
potential. However, RB dosage adjustments have to be considered (Table 4).
There are few data about the the combination of rifampicin and some antiretroviral
agents, such as tenofovir, raltegravir, tipranavir, and maraviroc. Again, PIs should
be avoided due to the Cytochrome P450-3A induction. Maraviroc should be given
under close observation only. Rifampicin also induces the enzyme UGT1A1, leading to increased glucoronidation and reduced plasma levels of raltegravir (Merck
2009). No significant pharmacokinetic interactions were reported for tenofovir and
T-20 (Boyd 2003, Droste 2005).
Table 3: Recommendations for co-administering ART with Rifampin*
Drug
Antiretroviral dosage adjustment Rifampin dosage adjustment
Atazanavir
Should not be co-administered
Darunavir
Fosamprenavir Should not be co-administered
Indinavir
Nelfinavir
Lopinavir/r
Lopinavir/ Ritonavir 400/100 mg bid None
plus addition. Ritonavir 300 mg bid
Saquinavir/r
400 mg BID/400 mg BID
None (600 mg/day)
Tipranavir
Efavirenz
600 mg (<60 kg weight) or 800 mg
None (600 mg/day)
(>60 kg weight) OD (Matteelii 2007)
Nevirapine
200 mg BID
None
Delavirdine
Maraviroc
600 mg BID
None (CDC 2007)
Raltegravir
800 mg BID
None
(Manufacturer's recommendations)
* OARAC DHHS Panel Guidelines, 2008 (modified)
Priority: Treatment of active TB always has clinical priority over the treatment of HIV.
When TB occurs in ART nave patients with advanced immunodeficiency (i.e. less than
100 CD4 T cells/l) the risk of mortality is high. Therefore simultaneous treatment of
both infections is indicated (Dean 2002, Velasco 2009). Even in this situation, it is recommended that antituberculous therapy be started first and the initiation of ART be
delayed for at least two weeks. Providing the antituberculosis therapy is tolerated, ART
should be introduced. However, patients need to be monitored closely as the risk of
paradoxical reaction is high and there are some overlapping toxicities.
In patients with CD4 T cell count of 100-200/l who develop TB, antituberculosis
therapy must be started as soon as possible and the initiation of ART can be delayed
for at least two months; by this time, the number of antituberculosis drugs has been
363
reduced to two for the continuation phase. When TB occurs at CD4 T cell count
higher than 200/l, completion of antituberculosis treatment is usually recommended before the initiation of ART. Patients who are already on ART when TB
develops should remain on antiviral treatment, although ART should be modified
depending on the compatibility with antituberculosis drugs (Dean 2002).
Patients with advanced immunodeficiency remain at high risk of developing TB
despite ART as the function of immune system is not fully restored by ART (Lange
2003, Lawn 2005a+b, Bonnet 2006, Sutherland 2006).
Table 4: Recommendations for co-administering ART with Rifabutin*
Drug
Antiretroviral dosage
Rifabutin dosage adjustment
adjustment
Amprenavir
None
Decrease 150 mg/day
or 300 mg 3x/week
Fosamprenavir
None
Decrease 150 mg/day
or 300 mg 3x/week
Atazanavir
None
Decrease 150 mg every other day
or 150 mg 3x/week
Darunavir
None
or 150 mg 3x/week
Darunavir/ritonavir
None
or 150 mg 3x/week
Indinavir
Increase 1,000 mg TID
Decrease 150 mg/day
or 300 mg 3x/week
Indinavir/ritonavir
None
or 150 mg 3/week
Nelfinavir
Increase 1,000 mg TID
Decrease 150 mg/day
or 300 mg 3x/week
Ritonavir
None
or 150 mg 3x/week
Saquinavir
Lopinavir/ritonavir
None
or 150 mg 3x/week
Saquinavir/ritonavir
None
or 150 mg 3x/week
Tipranavir
None
or 150 mg 3x/week
Efavirenz
None
Increase 450-600 mg/day
or 600 mg 3x/week
Nevirapine
None
None (300 mg/day)
Delavirdine
* OARAC DHHS Panel Guidelines, October 2008 (modified)
Therapy of latent TB infection (LTBI)

Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is defined by a positive MTB specific immune
response in the TST or an IGRA in the absence of active tuberculosis (Mack 2009).
It is not clear which proportion of individuals with a positive MTB-specific immu-
364
AIDS
neresponse is indeed infected with viable MTB. Nevertheless, preventive chemotherapy is recommend for all HIV-seropositive individuals with a positive MTBspecific immuneresponse in order to to prevent active TB. According to guidelines
for the treatment of LTBI, HIV-infected persons should be given treatment if their
reaction to the TSTis 5mm (CDC 2007). ELISPOT (T-SPOT.TB test) testing is
superior over the TST and ELISA (Quantiferon-Gold in tube test) in HIV-infected
individuals with low numbers of circulating CD4 T-cell counts (Leidl 2009).
For the treatment of LTBI, a 9 -month course of INH (300 mg daily) and pyridoxine
is usually recommended. Alternatively, treatment with RMP (600 mg daily) can be
offered. A 2-months-course of RMP+PZA was associated with treatment interruption due to adverse hepatic effects and is not recommended (Woldehanna 2004,
CDC 2007).
HIV-infected patients with LTBI have a higher risk of developing active TB than
HIV-seronegative persons. The efficacy of prophylactic INH treatment to prevent
TB in HIV-infected patients with LTBI has been demonstrated in several randomized and controlled studies (Bucher 1999, Elzi 2007). However, ART nave patients
with negative TST do not benefit from either primary or secondary chemoprophylaxis of TB (Bucher 1999, Churchyard 2003). In addition, chemoprophylaxis with
INH has no positive effect on the overall mortality of these patients (Woldehanna
2004). Offering prophylactic INH chemotherapy to all HIV-infected subjects in a
country with a high incidence of TB reduced TB incidence only from 11.9 to 9.0
per 100 person/year (Grant 2005). Although ART has a beneficial effect on the
prognosis of HIV-positive patients with active TB, the effects of ART on HIVpositive patients with LTBI are still unknown.
Multidrug resistant (MDR) TB and extensively drug resistant (XDR) TB

MDR TB means TB caused by MTB isolates resistant to at least RMP and INH, the
two most efficient anti-TB drugs. Despite declining numbers of TB cases in many
industrialized nations in recent years, the proportion of MDR TB is rising in many
countries. For example, in Germany, 2,2% of all MTB isolates were MDR in 2004,
compared to 2,5% in 2004 (Eker 2008). Of these, 90% were isolated from migrants
from the Russian Federation. In this geographical region, up to 50% of MTB show
INH resistance, and up to 20% show multidrug resistance (WHO 2008b). In these
cases, selection of the correct drug regimen for treatment of LTBI and active TB
becomes problematic.
XDR TB is defined by the WHO (Global Task Force on XDR TB) as TB resistant
to at least RMP, INH, fluoroquinolones (moxifloxacin and levofloxacin) and to at
least one injectable drug (capreomycin, kanamycin and amikacin).
Initial reports of a near 100% mortality of XDR-infected patients could not be confirmed in a metanalysis (Gandhi 2006). However, XDR tuberculosis has been reported in at least 49 countries, already (Sotgiu 2009). Until now, data on the management and prognosis of HIV-XDR-TB co-infection is sparse.
Where possible, patients with MDR and XDR TB should be treated in specialized
centres with second-line antituberculosis drugs and should not be discharged before
repeated sputum cultures yield MTB negative results. In general, at least five anti-
365
tuberculosis drugs that are in vitro active against the causative strain of MTB
should be administered for a duration of 18 24 months after the sputum culture
conversion. Long-term treatment with linezolid against MDR- and XDR TB has
been associated with a high frequency of severe adverse drug events and linezolid
should only be used for the treatment of patients with TB when better options are
not available (Migliori 2009).
Given the limited number of drugs available for the treatment of resistant MTB, the
importance of tracing contact persons cannot be underestimated.
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Toossi Z. Virological and immunological impact of tuberculosis on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 disease. J Infect Dis 2003, 188:1146-55.
UNAIDS 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic. UNAIDS/08.25E/JC1510E. www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/GlobalReport/2008 (last accessed
31.07.2009)
Velasco M, Castilla V, Sanz J, et al. Effect of simultaneous use of highly active antiretroviral therapy on survival of HIV patients with tuberculosis. J AIDS 2009, 50:14852.
Whalen CC, Nsubuga P, Okwera A, et al. Impact of pulmonary tuberculosis on survival of HIV-infected adults: a prospective epidemiologic study in Uganda. AIDS
2000;14:1219-28.
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WHO, Antituberculosis drug resistance in the world. Fourth Global Report 2008b. WHO/HTM/TB/2008.394. www.who.int/tb/publications/2008/en/index.html (last
accessed 02.03.2009)
Woldehanna S, Volmink J. Treatment of latent tuberculosis infection in HIV infected persons. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2004:CD000171.
Wood R, Maartens G, Lombard CJ. Risk factors for developing tuberculosis in HIV-1-infected adults from communities with a low or very high incidence of tuberculosis.
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367
Atypical Mycobacteriosis
Atypical mycobacterioses are usually synonymous for infections with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). Although MAC is by far the most frequent pathogen,
numerous other atypical mycobacterioses exist that cause a similar disease pattern,
such as M. celatum, M. kansasii, M. xenopi or M. genavense. MAC bacteria are
ubiquitous and can be found in diverse animal species, on land, in water and in
food. Exposure prophylaxis is therefore not possible. Consequently, isolation of
infected patients is not necessary. While MAC may be detectable in the sputum or
stool of asymptomatic patients (colonization), only patients with massive immunodeficiency and less than 50 CD4 T cells/l develop disease (Horsburgh 1999). This
used to include up to 40% of AIDS patients in the pre-HAART era (Nightingale
1992).
The infection has now become very rare in industrialized countries (Karakousis
2004). However, it remains important, as it has developed into a completely new
disease in the ART era. It previously occurred mainly with a chronic, disseminated
course of disease, often in patients with wasting syndrome. MAC infections under
ART are now almost always localized and related to an immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. The disease now occurs with manifestations that were previously never seen (see below).
Signs and symptoms

The symptoms of disseminated MAC infection are unspecific. When the CD4 count
is less than 100 cells/l, fever, weight loss and diarrhea should always lead to consideration of atypical mycobacteriosis. Abdominal pain may also occur. As described above, disseminated MAC infection has now become rare.
Localized forms of atypical mycobacterioses are far more frequent. These include,
above all, lymph node abscesses, which may occur practically everywhere. We
have seen abscesses in cervical, inguinal and also abdominal lymph nodes, some of
which developed fistulae and resolved only slowly even after surgical intervention.
Any abscess appearing whilst on ART (with severe immunosuppression) is highly
suspicious of MAC! In addition to skin lesions, localized forms include osteomyelitis, particularly of the vertebrae, and septic arthritis (observed: knee, hand, fingers).
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of the disseminated form is difficult. Blood cultures (heparinized blood)
should always be sent to a reference laboratory. Although atypical mycobacteria
usually grow more rapidly than TB bacteria, the culture and differentiation from TB
may take weeks. In cases presenting with anemia, bone marrow aspiration is often
successful. If atypical mycobacteria are detected in the stool, sputum or even BAL,
it is often difficult to distinguish between infection requiring treatment and mere
colonization. In such cases, treatment should not be initiated if general symptoms
are absent. This is also true for Mycobacterium kansasii (Kerbiriou 2003).
Laboratory evaluations typically show elevated alkaline phosphatase (AP) - a raised
AP in severely immunosuppressed patients is always suspicious of MAC. Similarly,
MAC infection should be considered in any cases of anemia and constitutional
368
AIDS
symptoms. Cytopenia, particularly anemia, often indicates bone marrow involvement. Ultrasound reveals enlargement of the liver and spleen. Lymph nodes are
often enlarged, but become apparent due to their number rather than their size
(Gordin 1997). Here, differential diagnoses should always include TB or malignant
lymphoma.
Direct specimens should always be obtained for localized forms, as identification of
the organism from material drained from the abscess is usually successful.
Treatment
Treatment of MAC infection detected from culture is complex. Similarly to TB,
monotherapy does not suffice. Since 1996, many clinicians prefer the combination
of a macrolide (clarithromycin or azithromycin) with ethambutol and rifabutin
(Shafran 1996). In the past, this treatment was given lifelong; today it is generally
considered sufficient to treat for at least six months and until a ART-induced increase in the CD4 count to above 100 cells/l has been achieved. After publication
of data indicating that rifabutin may be omitted from the regimen (Dunne 2000), the
multicenter, randomized ACTG 223 Study demonstrated survival benefit with the
triple combination C+R+E compared to C+E and C+R mortality rates were
halved in the triple combination arm (Benson 2003).
Due to the high potential for interactions, however, rifabutin can be discontinued
after several weeks when clinical improvement is observed. The clarithromycin
dose should not exceed 500 mg bid. In at least two randomized studies, there was a
significantly higher number of deaths in treatment arms with a higher clarithromycin dose, for reasons that remain unclear (Chaisson 1994, Cohn 1999). Instead of
clarithromycin, azithromycin can also be given, which is cheaper and interacts less
with cytochrome P450 enzymes. Azithromycin and clarithromycin have comparable efficacy in combination with ethambutol (Ward 1998).
In disseminated illnesses, treatment should be monitored through regular blood cultures. Cultures must be negative after eight weeks, at the latest. In the localized
from, the response can be assessed better clinically. Every MAC therapy has a high
potential for side effects and drug interactions. The concomitant medications, including ART, should be carefully examined dose adjustments are frequently required and there may be contraindications (see Drugs section).
Reserve drugs such as amikacin, quinolones or clofazimine are only required in rare
cases today. It is important to perform resistance testing for all atypical mycobacterial infections with species other than M. avium complex.
We have generally stopped treatment of localized MAC infections when the abscess
has healed this usually takes several months. In individual cases, steroids may be
helpful temporarily. However, there are no specific guidelines for treatment of local MAC infections.
Prophylaxis
In the US, large placebo-controlled trials have shown that the macrolides,
clarithromycin and azithromycin, as well as rifabutin, significantly reduce MAC
morbidity and mortality when used for primary prophylaxis in severely immunocompromised patients (Havlir 1996, Nightingale 1992, Pierce 1996, Oldfield 1998).
369
Prophylaxis also saves costs (Sendi 1999). However, MAC infections are more rare
in Europe. As a result, and because of concerns over compliance and development
of resistance, few patients in Europe receive primary MAC prophylaxis (Lundgren
1997).
For patients failing currently available ART regimens and without new treatment
options, prophylaxis with a macrolide should be considered at low CD4 cell counts
(below 50 cells/l). Weekly dosing with azithromycin is convenient for patients and
has comparable efficacy to daily rifabutin (Havlir 1996).
Primary prophylaxis and maintenance therapies can be discontinued quite safely at
CD4 T cell counts above 100/l (Currier 2000, El Sadr 2000, Shafran 2002, Aberg
2003). It is possible that even partial viral suppression suffices for MAC-specific
immune reconstitution (Havlir 2000). Complete recovery as a result of immune
reconstitution is possible (Aberg 1998).
Treatment/prophylaxis of MAC (daily doses, if not specified otherwise)
Acute therapy
Treatment of
Clarithromycin +
choice
ethambutol +
possibly rifabutin
Alternative
Azithromycin +
ethambutol +
possibly rifabutin
Maintenance therapy
Azithromycin
As for acute therapy, but without rifabutin

Discontinue if > 100 CD4 T cells/l > 6 months
Consider for CD4 cells below 50/l
Discontinue if > 100 CD4 T cells /l > 3 months
Azithromycin 2 tbl. at 600 mg/week
Clarithromycin
Clarithromycin 1 tbl. at 500 mg bid
Primary prophylaxis
Treatment of
choice
Alternative
Clarithromycin 1 tbl. at 500 mg bid plus

ethambutol 3 tbl. at 400 mg qd plus
rifabutin 2 tbl. at 150 mg qd
Azithromycin 1 tbl. at 600 mg qd plus
ethambutol 3 tbl. at 400 mg qd plus
rifabutin 2 tbl. at 150 mg qd
References
Aberg JA, Williams PL, Liu T, et al. A study of discontinuing maintenance therapy in hiv-infected subjects with disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex. J Infect Dis
2003; 187: 1046-52.
Aberg JA, Yajko DM, Jacobson MA. Eradication of AIDS-related disseminated mycobacterium avium complex infection after 12 months of antimycobacterial therapy
combined with HAART. J Infect Dis 1998, 178:1446-9.
Benson CA, Williams PL, Currier JS, et al. A prospective, randomized trial examining the efficacy and safety of clarithromycin in combination with ethambutol, rifabutin,
or both for the treatment of disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex disease in persons. Clin Infect Dis 2003; 37:1234-43.
Chaisson RE, Benson CA, Dube MP, et al. Clarithromycin therapy for bacteremic Mycobacterium avium complex disease. A randomized, double-blind, dose-ranging
study in patients with AIDS. Ann Intern Med 1994, 121:905-11.
Cohn DL, Fisher EJ, Peng GT, et al. A prospective randomized trial of four three-drug regimens in the treatment of disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex
disease in AIDS patients: excess mortality associated with high-dose clarithromycin. Clin Infect Dis 1999, 29:125-33.
Currier JS, Williams PL, Koletar SL, et al. Discontinuation of Mycobacterium avium complex prophylaxis in patients with antiretroviral therapy-induced increases in
CD4+ cell count. Ann Intern Med 2000, 133:493-503.
Dunne M, Fessel J, Kumar P, et al. A randomized, double-blind trial comparing azithromycin and clarithromycin in the treatment of disseminated Mycobacterium avium
infection in patients with HIV. Clin Infect Dis 2000, 31:1245-52.
El-Sadr WM, Burman WJ, Grant LB, et al. Discontinuation of prophylaxis for Mycobacterium avium complex disease in HIV-infected patients who have a response to
ART. N Engl J Med 2000, 342:1085-92.
Gordin FM, Cohn DL, Sullam PM, et al. Early manifestations of disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex disease: a prospective evaluation. J Infect Dis 1997,
176:126-32.
Havlir DV, Dube MP, Sattler FR, et al. Prophylaxis against disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex with weekly azithromycin, daily rifabutin, or both. N Engl J Med
1996, 335:392-8.
Havlir DV, Schrier RD, Torriani FJ, et al. Effect of potent antiretroviral therapy on immune responses to Mycobacterium avium in HIV-infected subjects. J Infect Dis
2000, 182:1658-63.
Horsburgh CR Jr. The pathophysiology of disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex disease in AIDS. J Infect Dis 1999, Suppl 3:S461-5.
Karakousis PC, Moore RD, Chaisson RE. Mycobacterium avium complex in patients with HIV infection in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Lancet Infect Dis
2004, 4:557-65.
370
AIDS
Kerbiriou L, Ustianowski A, Johnson MA, Gillespie SH, Miller RF, Lipman MC. HIV type 1-related pulmonary Mycobacterium xenopi infection: a need to treat? Clin
Infect Dis 2003; 37: 1250-4.
Lundgren JD, Phillips AN, Vella S, et al. Regional differences in use of antiretroviral agents and primary prophylaxis in 3122 European HIV-infected patients. J Acquir
Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol 1997, 16:153-60.
Nightingale SD, Byrd LT, Southern PM, et al. Incidence of Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex bacteremia in HIV-positive patients. J Infect Dis 1992,
165:1082-5.
Oldfield EC 3rd, Fessel WJ, Dunne MW, et al. Once weekly azithromycin therapy for prevention of Mycobacterium avium complex infection in patients with AIDS: a
randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter trial. Clin Infect Dis 1998, 26:611-9.
Pierce M, Crampton S, Henry D, et al. A randomized trial of clarithromycin as prophylaxis against disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex infection in patients with
advanced AIDS. N Engl J Med 1996, 335:384-91.
Sendi PP, Craig BA, Meier G, et al. Cost-effectiveness of azithromycin for preventing Mycobacterium avium complex infection in HIV-positive patients in the era of
HAART. J Antimicrob Chemother 1999, 44:811-7.
Shafran SD, Singer J, Zarowny DP, et al. A comparison of two regimens for the treatment of Mycobacterium avium complex bacteremia in AIDS: rifabutin, ethambutol,
and clarithromycin versus rifampin, ethambutol, clofazimine, and ciprofloxacin. N Engl J Med 1996, 335:377-83.
Shafran SD, Mashinter LD, Phillips P, et al. Successful discontinuation of therapy for disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex infection after effective antiretroviral
therapy. Ann Intern Med 2002;137:734-7.
Ward TT, Rimland D, Kauffman C, Huycke M, Evans TG, Heifets L. Randomized, open-label trial of azithromycin plus ethambutol vs. clarithromycin plus ethambutol as
therapy for Mycobacterium avium complex bacteremia in patients with HIV infection. Clin Infect Dis 1998, 27:1278-85.
371
Herpes simplex
Infections with herpes simplex viruses are a frequent problem for HIV-infected
patients (Chang 1995). Chronic disease is frequent, particularly with severe immunodeficiency (below 100 CD4 T cells/l). Two viruses should be distinguished.
HSV-1 is transmitted by direct contact with mucosal membranes such as kissing,
and causes the typical, itchy perioral blisters on the lips, tongue, gums, or buccal
mucosa.
HSV-2 is sexually transmitted and leads to herpetiform lesions on the penis, vagina,
vulva and anus. HSV-2associated lesions significantly increase the risk of transmission of HIV (Freeman 2006, Ouedraogo 2006, see prevention).
In severe cases, other organs may be affected. These include mainly the esophagus
(ulcers), CNS (encephalitis), eyes (keratitis, keratoconjunctivitis, uveitis) and respiratory tract (pneumonitis, bronchitis). In such cases and with persistence of lesions
for a period of more than four weeks, herpes simplex infection is an AIDS-defining
illness.
Signs and symptoms

The typical blisters itch and burn. Oral involvement may impair food intake. In
cases of genital or anal herpes (proctitis), urination and defecation can be very painful. Extensive lesions may occur with severe immunosuppression. Regional lymph
nodes are often enlarged. The clinical symptoms of disseminated disease depend on
the organs affected.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of oral, genital or perianal herpes can often be made clinically. If there is
doubt, then swabs should be taken, placed in viral culture media, and quickly transported to the laboratory. The diagnosis of organ manifestations usually requires
histology. Diagnosis is particularly difficult for HSV encephalitis, as cerebrospinal
fluid often does not help. Serologies are only useful if they are negative, therefore
making HSV infection improbable.
Treatment
In general, every treatment, whether topical, oral or systemic, is more effective
when started early. For patients with a good immune status and only discrete lesions, topical treatment with acyclovir cream or ointment is adequate. Penciclovir
cream is probably as effective as acyclovir (Chen 2000) and allegedly less irritant,
although significantly more expensive.
The nucleoside analog acyclovir remains the treatment of choice for systemic
treatment. Acyclovir inhibits the DNA polymerase of herpes viruses. Resistance is
rare, despite the fact that this agent has been used since 1977 and numerous generics are now available (Levin 2004). Acyclovir is usually well tolerated and effective
against both HSV-1 and HSV-2. Severe cases with mucocutaneous or organ involvement should be treated immediately intravenously. As CNS levels are lower
than in plasma, the dose should be increased to treat encephalitis. If acyclovir is to
be given intravenously, renal blood values should be checked.
372
AIDS
Valacyclovir and famciclovir are equally effective alternatives to acyclovir (Ormrod 2000, Conant 2002), though substantially more expensive. The main advantage
is their improved oral bioavailability; they require less frequent dosages. In cases of
recurrent genital herpes lesions shorter therapeutic regimens (i.e., two days of famciclovir) may be as effective as standard 5-day courses (Bodsworth 2008).
Brivudin remains a good alternative for HSV-1 and VZV. However, it is possible
that this dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase inhibitor causes mitotoxicity and reduces the efficacy of HIV drugs (U. Walker 2005, personal communication). Foscarnet should only be used in exceptional cases due to its toxicity. However, it may
be helpful in extensive, refractory cases.
Newer drugs, unlike acyclovir, that do not inhibit DNA polymerase but rather helicase, another herpes virus enzyme, have been more effective than acyclovir and
well tolerated in animal studies their actual value remains to be shown (Kleymann
2003).
A local anesthetic that can be produced by the pharmacist can be prescribed in addition for painful mucocutaneous lesions. Unfortunately, the approved tetracaine solution (Herviros) has been taken off the market. Some pharmacists can, however,
make-up something similar.
Prophylaxis
Primary prophylaxis is not recommended. However, a meta-analysis of almost
2,000 patients in eight randomized studies showed that acyclovir can reduce the risk
of both HSV and HZV disease by more than 70%. Even mortality was reduced by
22% (Ioannidis 1998). The introduction of ART has changed the relevance of this
data. Nevertheless, it can still make sense, even today, to treat persistent recurrences
with long-term low dose acyclovir or valacyclovir (DeJesus 2003, Warren 2004).
Treatment/prophylaxis of HSV infection (daily doses)
Acute therapy
Treatment of
choice
Severe cases
Alternatives
Alternatives
Alternatives
Prophylaxis
Acyclovir
Valacyclovir
Famciclovir
Brivudin
Duration: 7-14 days

Acyclovir 1 tbl. at 400 mg 5x/day
Acyclovir -1 amp. at 500 mg tid (5-10 mg/kg tid) i.v.
Valacyclovir 2 tbl. at 500 mg tid
Famciclovir 1 tbl. at 250 mg tid
Brivudin 1 tbl. at 125 mg qd
Not recommended
Interactions between HIV and Herpes simplex

Prevalent HSV-2 infection is associated with a three-fold increased risk of HIV
transmission among both men and women (Freeman 2006) - see also the prevention
section in the ART chapter. Large randomized studies could demonstrate that during an anti-HSV therapy, HIV replication is also inhibited. During treatment with
valganciclovir and acyclovir, HIV plasma viremia is decreased by 0.26-0.53 log
(Nagot 2007, Baeten 2008) and by 0.34 log (Delany 2008), respectively. This reduction is at first sight not very impressive, but nevertheless it is significant. It re-
373
mains to be seen whether aciclovir or its new derivatives may become a part of drug
cocktails to suppress HIV. It should also be noted that acyclovir therapy could not
prevent the transmission in large randomized studies (Celum 2008, Watson-Jones
2008).
References
Baeten JM, Strick LB, Lucchetti A, et al. Herpes simplex virus (HSV)-suppressive therapy decreases plasma and genital HIV-1 levels in HSV-2/HIV-1 coinfected
women: a randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial. J Infect Dis 2008, 198:1804-8.
Bodsworth N, Bloch M, McNulty A, et al. 2-day versus 5-day famciclovir as treatment of recurrences of genital herpes: results of the FaST study. Short-Course Herpes
Therapy Study Group. Sex Health 2008, 5:219-25.
Celum C, Wald A, Hughes J, et al. Effect of aciclovir on HIV-1 acquisition in herpes simplex virus 2 seropositive women and men who have sex with men: a
randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2008, 371:2109-19.
Chen XS, Han GZ, Guo ZP, et al. A comparison of topical application of penciclovir 1% cream with acyclovir 3% cream for treatment of genital herpes: a randomized,
double-blind, multicentre trial. Int J STD AIDS 2000, 11:568-73.
Conant MA, Schacker TW, Murphy RL, et al. Valaciclovir versus aciclovir for herpes simplex virus infection in HIV-infected individuals: two randomized trials. Int J STD
AIDS 2002, 13:12-21.
DeJesus E, Wald A, Warren T, et al. Valacyclovir for the suppression of recurrent genital herpes in HIV-infected subjects. J Infect Dis 2003; 188: 1009-16.
Delany S, Mlaba N, Clayton T, et al. Impact of aciclovir on genital and plasma HIV-1 RNA in HSV-2/HIV-1 co-infected women: a randomized placebo-controlled trial in
South Africa. AIDS 2009, 23:461-9.
Freeman EE, Weiss HA, Glynn JR, Cross PL, Whitworth JA, Hayes RJ. Herpes simplex virus 2 infection increases HIV acquisition in men and women: systematic
review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. AIDS 2006, 20:73-83.
Ioannidis JP, Collier AC, Cooper DA, et al. Clinical efficacy of high-dose acyclovir in patients with HIV infection: a meta-analysis of randomized individual patient data. J
Infect Dis 1998, 178:349-59.
Kleymann G. New antiviral drugs that target herpesvirus helicase primase enzymes. Herpes 2003, 10:46-52.
Levin MJ, Bacon TH, Leary JJ. Resistance of herpes simplex virus infections to nucleoside analogues in HIV-infected patients. Clin Infect Dis 2004, 39 Suppl 5:S24857.
Nagot N, Ouedraogo A, Foulongne V, et al. Reduction of HIV-1 RNA levels with therapy to suppress herpes simplex virus. N Engl J Med 2007;356:790-9.
Ormrod D, Scott LJ, Perry CM. Valaciclovir: a review of its long term utility in the management of genital herpes simplex virus and cytomegalovirus infections. Drugs
2000, 59:839-63.
Ouedraogo A, Nagot N, Vergne L, et al. Impact of suppressive herpes therapy on genital HIV-1 RNA among women taking antiretroviral therapy: a randomized
controlled trial. AIDS 2006, 20:2305-13.
Safrin S. Treatment of acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus infections in patients with AIDS. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 1992, Suppl 1:S29-32.
Vinh DC, Aoki FY. Famciclovir for the treatment of recurrent genital herpes: a clinical and pharmacological perspective. Expert Opin Pharmacother 2006, 7:2271-86.
Warren T, Harris J, Brennan CA. Efficacy and safety of valacyclovir for the suppression and episodic treatment of herpes simplex virus in patients with HIV. Clin Infect
Dis 2004, 39 Suppl 5:S258-66.
Watson-Jones D, Weiss HA, Rusizoka M, et al. Effect of herpes simplex suppression on incidence of HIV among women in tanzania. N Engl J Med 2008, 358:156071.
374
AIDS
Herpes zoster
Herpes zoster is the reactivation of an earlier infection with varicella virus, which
subsequently maintains a lifelong residence in the spinal ganglia. Herpes zoster
episodes can occur even in HIV patients with relatively good immune status, and
are also seen during immune reconstitution (Martinez 1998). With more advanced
immunodeficiency, herpes zoster tends to become generalized. In addition to involvement of one or more dermatomes, dangerous involvement of the eye (affecting
the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve, herpes zoster ophthalmicus, with
corneal involvement) and ear (herpes zoster oticus) may occur. Most feared is involvement of the retina with necrotizing retinitis. The neurological complications
include meningoencephalitis, myelitis and also involvement of other cranial nerves
(Brown 2001).
Signs and symptoms

There are often prodromal signs with headache, malaise, and photophobia, accompanied only rarely by fever. The affected areas are initially hypersensitive, and then
become pruritic and/or painful within hours or days. Pain can precede lesions by
several days. Lesions often show segmental, yet always unilateral, erythema with
herpetiform blisters within one or more dermatomes. Lesions ulcerate, are often
hemorrhagic, and gradually dry up. They should be kept dry and clean to avoid bacterial superinfection. Involvement of several dermatomes often leaves treatmentresistant pain syndromes with zoster neuralgia. Post-herpetic neuralgia can be assumed if pain persists after more than a month (Gnann 2002).
Diagnosis
Cutaneous involvement usually allows clinical diagnosis of herpes zoster. However,
diagnosis may be difficult especially on the extremities and in complicated zoster
cases. Typical cases do not require further diagnostic tests. If there is uncertainty, a
swab may be taken from a blister and sent to the laboratory in viral culture media.
An immunofluorescence assay is presumably more reliable. VZV encephalitis is
only detectable through analysis of CSF by PCR. Herpes zoster oticus should be
considered in cases of unilateral, peracute hearing loss, which is not always visible
from the outside. Either examine the ear yourself or consult an ENT specialist! For
visual impairment the same rules apply as for CMV retinitis refer the patient to
the ophthalmologist as quickly as possible.
Treatment
Monosegmental zoster can be treated on an outpatient basis with oral acyclovir.
Rapid initiation of treatment is important. Systemic therapy is always necessary,
and doses are higher than for HSV. Lesions dry up more rapidly if calamine lotion
is used, which also relieves pain. Gloves should be worn, given that the lesions are
highly infectious initially. Likewise, unvaccinated individuals without a history of
chickenpox should not come into close contact with a case of herpes zoster.
Analgesics (novaminsulfone, or better still tramadol) should be given generously.
Any complicated, multi-segmental or facial herpes zoster should always be treated
with intravenous therapy. This can also be done in ambulatory care with a competent nursing service.
375
As with HSV, several alternatives for treatment include valacyclovir, famciclovir

and brivudin (see HSV). The unpleasant post-herpetic neuralgia allegedly occurs
less frequently under these drugs than under acyclovir in HIV-negative patients
(Gnann 2002). However, valacyclovir, famciclovir and brivudin have not been
tested widely in HIV patients, and are not licensed for treatment of immunocompromised patients. They are also substantially more expensive than the numerous
acyclovir formulations. Acyclovir resistance may occur in the thymidine kinase
gene, but is rare (Gershon 2001, Saint-Leger 2001). In these cases, foscarnet can be
given.
Pain management of post-herpetic neuralgia is problematic. Carbamazepine or
gabapentin only partially help. Steroids are generally not advised (Gnann 2002).
Prophylaxis
Varicella vaccination, previously contraindicated in HIV patients, seems to be fairly
safe and effective for patients with more than 400 CD4 T cells/l, as shown in a
placebo-controlled study (Gershon 2001). It should be considered if VZV serology
is negative. In individuals with negative serology and exposure to highly infectious
VZV, administration of hyperimmunoglobulin (2 mg/kg i.v.) may be attempted in
individual cases. Long-term primary prophylaxis is not advised. Some dermatologists, however, do recommend long-term therapy with low doses if there are persistently recurring episodes.
Treatment/prophylaxis of VZV infection (daily doses)
Acute therapy
Duration: at least 7 days
Treatment of choice Acyclovir
Acyclovir 1 tbl. at 800 mg 5x/day
Severe cases
Acyclovir 1-2 amp. at 500 mg tid (10 mg/kg tid) i.v.
Alternatives
Valacyclovir
Valacyclovir 2 tbl. at 500 mg tid
Alternatives
Famciclovir
Famciclovir 2 tbl. at 250 mg tid
Alternatives
Brivudin
Brivudin 1 tbl. at 125 mg qd
Prophylaxis
Not recommended
References
Brown M, Scarborough M, Brink N, Manji H, Miller R. Varicella zoster virus-associated neurological disease in HIV-infected patients. Int J STD AIDS 2001, 12:79-83.
Gershon AA. Prevention and treatment of VZV infections in patients with HIV. Herpes 2001, 8:32-6.
Gnann JW Jr, Whitley RJ. Clinical practice. Herpes zoster. N Engl J Med 2002, 347:340-6.
Martinez E, Gatell J, Moran Y, et al. High incidence of herpes zoster in patients with AIDS soon after therapy with protease inhibitors. Clin Infect Dis 1998, 27:1510-3.
Saint-Leger E, Caumes E, Breton G, et al. Clinical and virologic characterization of acyclovir-resistant varicella-zoster viruses isolated from 11 patients with AIDS. Clin
Infect Dis 2001, 33:2061-7.
376
AIDS
Progressive multifocal Leukoencephalopathy

PML is a severe demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. It is caused
by JC virus (JCV), a polyoma virus found worldwide. JCV was named after the
initials of the first patient, from which this simple DNA virus was first isolated in
1971 (Major 1992). Therefore, JC has no connection, as is often wrongly assumed,
with Jakob-Creutzfeld syndrome. As seroprevalence is high, at up to 80%, latent
persistent infection is assumed. Only impaired cellular immunity leads to reactivation of JCV and manifestation of disease. HIV infection is by far the most underlying disease, but PML can also occur in patients with hematological diseases or during therapy with monoclonal antibodies such as rituximab, natalizumab or efalizumab (Yousry 2006, Carson 2009).
It seems certain that JCV reaches the CNS via leukocytes, and then affects mainly
oligodendrocytes and consequently the cells which comprise the myelin sheaths.
Destruction of these is as macroscopically apparent as multifocal demyelination.
The main focus of the disease is the white matter of the cerebral hemispheres, but in
some cases, the cerebellum, the grey matter may also be affected. Severe immunodeficiency is frequently seen, but not obligatory for development of PML. In contrast to CMV or MAC infection, PML does not always indicate the final stages of
HIV infection. Although CD4 T cells are usually below 100/l at manifestation of
disease, PML may also occur at above 200 CD4 T cells/l. The decrease in incidence is not as marked as with other OIs. After cerebral toxoplasmosis, it is now
probably the second most common neurological OI (Antinori 2001).
Prognosis was poor in the pre-HAART era. The median interval between the onset
of the first symptoms and death was between 3 and 6 months. Patients usually died
of secondary complications after being bedridden for many weeks. The prognosis is
slightly better at CD4 counts above 200/l (Berger 1998). Disease progression
seems to be much slower under ART, and even complete remission seems possible
(Albrecht 1998). However, these effects are not as impressive as for other OIs: in a
Spanish study of 118 PML patients on ART, 64% were still alive 2.2 years after
diagnosis (Berenguer 2003). Complete remissions are not the rule, even under sufficient ART. They mainly occur in cases of inflammatory PML, which occurs in the
course of an immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (Du Pasquier 2003,
Hoffmann 2003, Tan 2009).
Signs and symptoms

Although there is a broad spectrum of PML symptoms due to the variety of localized areas of demyelination, the clinical signs and course of the disease have several
common characteristics. In addition to cognitive disorders, which may range from
mild impairment of concentration to dementia, focal neurological deficits are very
typical of PML. Mono- and hemiparesis are observed most frequently, as well as
speech and even visual deficits. We have seen several blind patients with PML.
These deficits may be isolated and initially present as discrete changes in coordination, rapidly leading to considerable disabilities. Epileptic seizures may also occur.
Loss of sensibility, fever, and headache are rare and are usually more typical of
cerebral toxoplasmosis.
377
Diagnosis
Clinical suspicion of PML should be rapidly confirmed radiologically. But beware:
a CCT scan is not helpful it does not clearly reveal hypodense lesions. A MRI is
much more sensitive to detecting both the number and size of lesions than a CCT
and usually shows high signal intensity lesions in T2-weighted imaging and in
FLAIR sequence, which are hypointense in T1-w and often do not show gadolinium
enhancement or mass effect. ART may result in inflammatory courses that involve
significant enhancement (see IRIS). Exclusion of grey matter is typical since this
is a leukoencephalopathy. Furthermore, it should be noted that the lesions are almost always asymmetrical.
A MRI often allows distinction from cerebral toxoplasmosis or lymphoma. However, the huge, extensive lesions covering an entire hemisphere that are often shown
in textbooks are not always present. Every PML starts small very discrete, localized, solitary lesions can occur and certainly do not exclude the diagnosis. PML can
occur everywhere in the brain, and there are no typically susceptible areas. Lesions
are often parieto-occipital or periventricular, but the cerebellum may also be involved. It is important that the images are assessed by a radiologist or clinician familiar with PML. Even then, it is difficult to distinguish PML from HHV-6 infection (Caserta 2004) or HIV leukoencephalopathy (Langford 2002).
Clinicoradiological diagnosis is therefore not definitive. Examination of cerebrospinal fluid is essential. Generally, if there is no other co-infection, then unspecific
inflammatory signs are absent, although the total protein content is usually slightly
elevated. Pleocytosis is rarely seen, and more than 100/3 cells make PML unlikely.
CSF should always be tested for JCV. Newer PCR methods have a sensitivity of
around 80% and a specificity of over 90%. A CSF sample should be sent to a JCVexperienced laboratory.
PML is very probable in cases of clinicoradiological suspicion and positive JCV
PCR. In such cases, brain biopsies are no longer recommended today. Nevertheless,
negative PCR does not exclude the diagnosis. Levels of JCV viral load may vary
significantly and do not correlate with the extent of lesions (Eggers 1999, Garcia
2002, Bossolasco 2005). Unfortunately, JCV PCR is even less useful many patients with PML have a low or undetectable JCV CSF viral load under ART (Bossolasco 2005). Stereotactic brain biopsy may become necessary in individual cases.
Treatment
A specific PML treatment is not available. Numerous strategies such as foscarnet,
interferon, immune stimulants and even steroids have been abandoned after only
modest successes. Cytosine arabinoside is also no longer recommended following
the disappointing results of a randomized study (Hall 1998). Cidofovir and camptothecin are the two new drugs currently being discussed. It is feared that these drugs
will have a similar fate in controlled studies. Camptothecin is an alkaloid cytostatic,
which inhibits topoisomerase I, a nuclear enzyme that is required for DNA and
therefore also JCV replication (OReilly 1997). Currently, only data from case studies and a small series of patients exist (Vollmer-Haase 1997, Royal 2003).
What can be said about cidofovir? In the small, usually uncontrolled studies described to date, it has had positive effects in some, but not all cases (De Luca 2001,
378
AIDS
Gasnault 2001, Herrero-Romero 2001, Marra 2002, Wyen 2004). According to an

analysis of 370 patients from numerous studies, so far, a real benefit has not been
proven (De Luca 2008). Observed experiences have been rather disappointing and,
in a retrospective analysis of 35 patients, cidofovir was even associated with a
poorer prognosis. However, this chiefly reflects the frustration of patients and clinicians cidofovir was mainly used in cases of progressive disease (Wyen 2004).
Furthermore, the opinion exists that there is no longer an argument for the use of
cidofovir in PML patients.
In the last years, 5-HT2a-inhibitors and/or serotonin receptor antagonists have been
proposed for PML treatment. It has been shown that the serotonergic receptor
5HT2AR could act as the cellular receptor for JCV on human glial cells (Elphick
2004); the blockade could represent thus a therapeutic goal. Case studies for some
agents such as risperidon and mirtazapin, which block serotonergic receptors, exist
already (Verma 2007, Focosi 2007+2008, Cettomai 2009). However, controlled
studies are missing.
The absolute priority should currently be to optimize ART in cases of PML. In
1998, it was shown that prognosis significantly improved under ART (Albrecht
1998). This has been confirmed by several other groups (Clifford 1999, Dworkin
1999, Gasnault 1999+2008, Tantisiriwat 1999, Berenguer 2003). Since synergism
between HIV and JCV has been demonstrated in vitro, maximal HIV suppression
should at least be achieved. Although progression of disease has been described
under sufficient antiretroviral therapy, ART often remains the only real hope for
patients today. There is also some evidence that intracerebral penetrating antiretroviral agents such as AZT, FTC, abacavir, nevirapine and lopinavir are more efficient on survival of PML patients (Gasnault 2008).
Treatment/prophylaxis of PML
Acute therapy
Treatment of
choice
ART
The most important goal is maximal HIV suppression and immune

reconstitution. Use intracerebral penetrating agents such as AZT,
FTC, abacavir, nevirapine and lopinavir
Experimental
Only within clinical trials (risperidone? mirtazapine?)
Prophylaxis
Not available
Prophylaxis
There is none. Exposure prophylaxis is also not possible.
379
References
Albrecht H, Hoffmann C, Degen O, et al. HAART significantly improves the prognosis of patients with HIV-associated progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.
AIDS 1998, 12:1149-1154.
Antinori A, Ammassari A, Giancola ML, et al. Epidemiology and prognosis of AIDS-associated progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in the HAART era. J
Neurovirol 2001, 7:323-8.
Berenguer J, Miralles P, Arrizabalaga J, et al. Clinical course and prognostic factors of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in patients treated with highly active
antiretroviral therapy. Clin Infect Dis 2003, 36: 1047-52.
Berger JR, Levy RM, Flomenhoft D, et al. Predictive factors for prolonged survival in AIDS-associated progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. Ann Neurol 1998,
44:341-9.
Bossolasco S, Calori G, Moretti F, et al. Prognostic significance of JC virus DNA levels in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with HIV-associated progressive multifocal
leukoencephalopathy. Clin Infect Dis 2005, 40:738-44.
Carson KR, Evens AM, Richey EA, et al. Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy following rituximab therapy in HIV negative patients: a report of 57 cases from the
Research on Adverse Drug Event and Reports (RADAR) project. Blood 2009 Mar 5.
Caserta MT. Human Herpesvirus 6 Infection of the Central Nervous System. Curr Infect Dis Rep 2004, 6: 316-321.
Cettomai D, McArthur JC. Mirtazapine use in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. Arch Neurol 2009,
66:255-8.
Clifford DB, Yiannoutsos C, Glicksman M et al. HAART improves prognosis in HIV-associated progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. Neurology 1999, 52:623-5.
De Luca A, Ammassari A, Pezzotti P, et al. Cidofovir in addition to antiretroviral treatment is not effective for AIDS-associated progressive multifocal
leukoencephalopathy: a multicohort analysis. AIDS 2008, 22:1759-67.
Du Pasquier RA, Koralnik IJ. Inflammatory reaction in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: harmful or beneficial? J Neurovirol 2003; 9 Suppl 1:25-31.
Dworkin MS, Wan PC, Hanson DL, Jones JL. Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: improved survival of HIV-infected patients in the protease inhibitor era. J
Infect Dis 1999, 180:621-5.
Eggers C, Stellbrink HJ, Buhk T, Dorries K. Quantification of JC virus DNA in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with HIV-associated PML - a longitudinal study. J Infect
Dis 1999, 180:1690-4.
Elphick GF, Querbes W, Jordan JA, et al. The human polyomavirus, JCV, uses serotonin receptors to infect cells. Science 2004;306:1380-3.
Engsig FN, Hansen AB, Omland LH, et al. Incidence, clinical presentation, and outcome of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in HIV-infected patients during
the highly active antiretroviral therapy era: a nationwide cohort study. J Infect Dis 2009, 199:77-83.
Falc V, Olmo M, del Saz SV, et al. Influence of HAART on the clinical course of HIV-1-infected patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: results of an
observational multicenter study. J AIDS 2008, 49:26-31.
Focosi D, Kast RE, Maggi F, Ceccherini-Nelli L, Petrini M. Risperidone-induced reduction in JC viruria as a surrogate marker for efficacy against progressive multifocal
leukoencephalopathy and hemorrhagic cystitis. J Clin Virol 2007; 39:634.
Focosi D, Kast RE, Maggi F, et al. 5-HT2a inhibitors for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: old drugs for an old disease. J Infect Dis 2008, 197:328.
Garcia De Viedma D, Diaz Infantes M, Miralles P, et al. JC virus load in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: analysis of the correlation between the viral
burden in cerebrospinal fluid, patient survival, and the volume of neurological lesions. Clin Infect Dis 2002, 34:1568-75.
Gasnault J, Lanoy E, Bentata M, et al. Intracerebral penetrating ART are more efficient on survival of HIV+ patients with progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy.
Gasnault J, Taoufik Y, Goujard C, et al. Prolonged survival without neurological improvement in patients with AIDS-related PML on potent combined antiretroviral
therapy. J Neurovirol 1999, 5:421-9.
Hall CD, Dafni U, Simpson D, et al. Failure of cytarabine in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy associated with HIV infection. N Engl J Med 1998, 338:134551.
Hoffmann C, Horst HA, Albrecht H, Schlote W. Progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy with unusual inflammatory response during antiretroviral treatment. J
Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2003;74:1142-4.
Khanna N, Wolbers M, Mueller NJ, et al. JCV-specific immune responses in hiv-1 patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. J Virol 2009 Feb 11. [Epub
ahead of print]
Langford TD, Letendre SL, Marcotte TD, et al. Severe, demyelinating leukoencephalopathy in AIDS patients on antiretroviral therapy. AIDS 2002, 16:1019-29.
Major EO, Amemiya K, Tornatore CS, Houff SA, Berger JR. Pathogenesis and molecular biology of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, the JC virus-induced
demyelinating disease of the human brain. Clin Microbiol Rev 1992, 5:49-73.
Marzocchetti A, Sanguinetti M, Giambenedetto SD, et al. Characterization of JC virus in cerebrospinal fluid from HIV-1 infected patients with progressive multifocal
leukoencephalopathy: insights into viral pathogenesis and disease prognosis. J Neurovirol 2007;13:338-46.
O'Reilly S. Efficacy of camptothecin in progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy. Lancet 1997, 350:291.
Royal W 3rd, Dupont B, McGuire D, et al. Topotecan in the treatment of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. J
Neurovirol 2003; 9:411-9.
Tan K, Roda R, Ostrow L, McArthur J, Nath A. PML-IRIS in patients with HIV infection. Clinical manifestations and treatment with steroids. Neurology 2009 Jan 7.
Tantisiriwat W, Tebas P, Clifford DB, et al: Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in patients with AIDS receiving HAART. Clin Infect Dis 1999, 28:1152-4.
Verma S, Cikurel K, Koralnik IJ, et al. Mirtazapine in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy associated with polycythemia vera. J Infect Dis 2007;196:709-11.
Vollmer-Haase J, Young P, Ringelstein EB. Efficacy of camptothecin in progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy. Lancet 1997, 349:1366.
Wyen C, Hoffmann C, Schmeier N, et al. Progressive multifocal leukencephalopathy in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy: survival and risk factors of death.
J AIDS 2004, 37:1263-1268.
Yousry TA, Major EO, Ryschkewitsch C, et al. Evaluation of patients treated with natalizumab for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. N Engl J Med 2006,
354:924-33.
380
AIDS
Bacterial pneumonia
Bacterial pneumonia occurs even with a relatively good immune status (above
200 CD4 T cells/l). It is not as closely associated with immunodeficiency. Furthermore the decrease in incidence since the HAART era has been more moderate
than for other opportunistic infections. Only recurring, radiologically and culturally
detected acute pneumonia (more than one episode in the last 12 months) is considered AIDS-defining. As with HIV-negative patients, community-acquired pneumonia should be distinguished from nosocomial pneumonia. Travel history is important, particularly for community-acquired pneumonia.
The bacteria that are most frequently found to cause community-acquired pneumonia in HIV infected patients are Pneumococcus and Hemophilus influenza. Mycoplasma is important to consider, particularly in younger patients. Klebsiella,
Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are other common pathogens.
Legionella are rare.
Intravenous drug users develop community-acquired pneumonia significantly more
often than other patient groups. Associated comorbidity, alcohol abuse and current
smoking are other risk factors (Grau 2005). In the SMART study, patients who randomly received episodic antiretroviral therapy were significantly more likely to
develop pneumonia than patients who randomly received continuous antiretroviral
therapy (Gordin 2008). Cigarette smoking was also a major risk factor in SMART.
Individuals who smoke cigarettes had more than an 80% higher risk of pneumonia
in comparison with those who had never smoked.
Nosocomial pneumonia is often caused by hospital germs (Klebsiella, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas). In such cases, treatment depends on local resistance patterns
and experience (Gant 2000, Vogel 2000, Franzetti 2006).
Signs and symptoms/Diagnosis

Acute, usually high, fever and productive cough are typical. Breathing may be painful because of accompanying pleuritis, but real dyspnea is rare. Auscultation almost
always allows distinction from PCP. If something can be heard, then PCP is
unlikely. Chest radiography secures the diagnosis. CRP is significantly elevated,
LDH usually normal. It is essential to take several blood cultures at body temperatures above 38.5C before starting treatment. Sputum culture is a simple method
allowing determination of etiology in approximately half of all cases however, its
overall utilization remains controversial (Cordero 2002).
Treatment
General
Treatment of bacterial pneumonia in HIV patients is similar to that in HIVseronegative patients. Therapy should always begin empirically, without waiting for
sputum or blood culture results. Many HIV patients with bacterial pneumonia can
be treated as outpatients. Patients with poor immune status, very high fever (above
39.5C), poor compliance, signs of organ failure, CNS disorders (confusion) and
381
poor vital signs (tachypnea, tachycardia, hypotonia), as well as older patients

(above 65 years), should be hospitalized immediately.
Sufficient hydration is important in all patients. If patients remain in ambulatory
care, then this is an indication that they should drink a lot (more than 2 l water
daily). The use of supportive therapy with expectorants or mucolytics such as Nacetylcysteine or antitussives is controversial. On adequate therapy, improvement
can be expected within 48-72 hours. If patients, especially the severely immunocompromised, have a persistent fever, then the treatment must be reconsidered after
72 hours, at the latest. It should be noted that the current first line therapies are not
effective against Pseudomonas aeroginosa.
Medication
Different drugs are possible for ambulatory treatment. Even an attempt with penicillin may be justified in some circumstances depending on local rates of Pneumococcus and Hemophilus influenzae resistance. It should be noted that HIV patients
frequently develop allergies.
Empiric treatment/prophylaxis of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (daily doses) there may be significant differences in price!
Outpatient
Mild
Mild
Mild
Mild
Mild
Inpatient
Severe
Severe
Amoxicillin +
clavulanic acid
Clarithromycin
Roxithromycin
Cefuroxim
Cefpodoxim
Piperacillin
(+ tazobactam)
+ macrolide
Ceftriaxon
+ macrolide
Duration: 7-10 days

1 tbl. at 875/125 mg tid
1 tbl. at 500 mg bid
1 tbl. at 300 mg qd
Tazobac 1 bottle at 4.5 g i.v. tid plus
roxithromycin 1 tbl. at 300 mg qd or clarithromycin
Cefriaxon 1 infusion. at 2 g qd i.v. plus
roxithromycin 1 tbl. at 300 mg qd or clarithromycin
Severe
Cefuroxim
+ macrolide
Cefuroxim 1 infusion at 1.5 g tid i.v. plus

roxithromycin 1 tbl. at 300 mg qd or clarithryomcin
Prophylaxis
Vaccination (pneumococcal polysaccharide)
Pneumovax 23 pre-filled syringe i.m.
Aminopenicillins are effective against Hemophilus influenza and various gram

negatives. However, when combined with clavulanic acid, which is active against
beta-lactamase-producing bacteria, they are associated with more gastrointestinal
complaints.
Newer oral cephalosporins have a broader spectrum against gram negatives, while
at the same time having good efficacy against Pneumococcus and Hemophilus.
They are, however, comparatively expensive.
382
AIDS
Macrolides are advantageous for atypical bacteria such as Mycoplasma, Chlamydia

and Legionella but the proportion of macrolide-resistant Pneumococcus is increasing (14% in Germany). Weaknesses also exist in the Hemophilus strains.
For quinolones, it should be noted that ciprofloxacin has no or only weak efficacy
against many important pathogens. Therefore only newer quinolones should be
used. However, in 2009, a 'Dear Doctor' letter was sent to European health care
professionals, describing the rare occurrence of fulminant hepatitis and the StevensJohnson syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis in patients using moxifloxacin.
These side effects must be placed in the overall balance of pros and cons of
moxifloxacin as compared to the alternatives.
If patients are hospitalized, then intravenous administration is possible initially. In
these cases, at least two antibiotics should be combined.
Targeted treatment after isolation of the pathogen, and, in particular, treatment of
nosocomial pneumonia, should depend on local resistance patterns and the recommendations of the in-house microbiologist.
Prophylaxis
The Pneumovax vaccine provides effective protection. It should be utilized in all

HIV patients with adequate immune status (above 200 CD4 T cells/l). However,
newer data suggest that Pneumovax has a significant, independent protective effect against pneumococcal disease, regardless of CD4 lymphocyte count (Pearanda
2007).
References
Cordero E, Pachon J, Rivero A, et al. Usefulness of sputum culture for diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia in HIV-infected patients. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2002,
21:362-7.
Franzetti F, Grassini A, Piazza M, et al. Nosocomial bacterial pneumonia in HIV-infected patients: risk factors for adverse outcome and implications for rational empiric
antibiotic therapy. Infection 2006;34:9-16.
Gant V, Parton S. Community-acquired pneumonia. Curr Opin Pulm Med 2000, 6:226-33.
Gordin FM, Roediger MP, Girard PM, et al. Pneumonia in HIV-infected persons: increased risk with cigarette smoking and treatment interruption. Am J Respir Crit Care
Med 2008, 178:630-6.
Grau I, Pallares R, Tubau F, et al. Epidemiologic changes in bacteremic pneumococcal disease in patients with human immunodeficiency virus in the era of highly
active antiretroviral therapy. Arch Intern Med 2005;165:1533-40.
Penaranda M, Falco V, Payeras A, et al. Effectiveness of polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine in HIV-infected patients: a case-control study. Clin Infect Dis 2007;45.
Rimland D, Navin TR, Lennox JL, et al. Prospective study of etiologic agents of community-acquired pneumonia in patients with HIV infection. AIDS 2002, 16:85-95.
Vogel F, Worth H, Adam D, et al. Rationale Therapie bakterieller Atemwegsinfektionen. Empfehlungen einer Expertengruppe der Paul-Ehrlich-Gesellschaft fr
Chemotherapie e.v. und der Deutschen Atemwegsliga. Chemotherapie Journal 2000, 1:3-23 Komplett im
383
Cryptosporidiosis
Cryptosporidiosis is a parasitic intestinal disease with fecal-oral transmission. It is
mainly caused by the protozoon Cryptosporidium parvum (two genotypes exist,
genotype 1 is now also known as C. hominis), and may affect both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts (review: Chen 2002). First described in 1976,
cryptosporidia are among the most important and most frequent causes of diarrhea
worldwide. Important sources of infection for this intracellular parasite include
animals, contaminated water and food. The incubation period lasts approximately
10 days. While diarrhea almost always resolves within a few days in otherwise
healthy hosts or in HIV patients with CD4 counts greater than 200 cells/l, cryptosporidiosis is often chronic in AIDS patients. Particularly in severely immunocompromised patients (below 50 CD4 T cells/l), diarrhea may become life threatening
due to water and electrolyte losses (Colford 1996). Only chronic, and not acute,
cryptosporidiosis is AIDS-defining.
Signs and symptoms

The typical watery diarrhea can be so severe that it leads to death as a result of electrolyte loss and dehydration. Up to twenty bowel movements a day are not uncommon. Tenesmus is frequent, along with nausea and vomiting. However, the symptoms are highly variable. Fever is usually absent. Additionally, the biliary ducts
may occasionally be affectedwith the elevation of biliary enzymes. Pancreatitis is
also possible.
Diagnosis
When submitting stool samples, the laboratory should be informed of the clinical
suspicion. Otherwise, cryptosporidia are often overlooked. If the laboratory is experienced and receives the correct information, then usually just one stool sample is
sufficient for detection. In contrast, antibodies or other diagnostic tests are not helpful. The differential diagnosis should include all diarrhea-causing pathogens.
Treatment
No specific treatment has been established to date. Diarrhea is self-limiting with a
good immune status; therefore, poor immune status should always be improved
with ART and this often leads to resolution (Carr 1998, Miao 2000). To ensure
absorption of antiretroviral drugs, symptomatic treatment with loperamide and/or
opium tincture , a controlled drug prescription at its maximum dosage, is advised. If
this is unsuccessful, then treatment with other anti-diarrheal medications, perhaps
even sandostatin, can be attempted. Sufficient hydration is necessary and infusions
may even be required.
A recent review confirmed the absence of evidence for effective agents in the management of cryptosporidiosis (Abubakar 2007) and reportedly, good results have
been observed in individual cases with the antihelminthic agent nitazoxanide (Cryptaz or Alinia). Nitazoxanide proved to be effective in a small, randomized study
and is possibly the first drug with real efficacy for treating cryptosporidia (Rossignol 2001). In a Mexican pilot study, approximately two-thirds of the patients
responded to therapy (Rossignol 1998). However, a study in African children
showed an effect only on HIV-negative children and not on HIV-infected children
384
AIDS
(Amadi 2002). The data available was not sufficient for the FDA, so nitazoxanide
has only been licensed in the US for non-immunosuppressed children under 11
years of age. There is no approval for AIDS patients.
In the near future, an alternative, rifaximine (Normix 400 mg) will possibly be
available. It is a new absorbable antibiotic that is already licensed in the US and a
few European lands as an anti-diarrheal. The first data on cryptosporidiosis are very
promising (Kokkoutou 2005).
If immune reconstitution cannot be achieved and the health insurance provider refuses, then options become very limited. One option, paromomycin, a nonabsorbed
aminoglycoside antibiotic, is available in powder and tablet form, and has been
used by many clinicians since a small, uncontrolled study showed a favorable effect
on diarrhea (White 2001). In the only double-blind randomized study to date, however, there was no advantage over placebo (Hewitt 2000). Potentially, there is an
effect in combination with azithromycin (Smith 1998).
Treatment/prophylaxis of cryptosporidiosis (daily doses)
Acute therapy
Symptomatic
Loperamide +
Symptomatic
opium tincture
Octreotide
Curative attempt
Curative attempt
Nitazoxanide
Rifaximin
Prophylaxis
Loperamide 1 cap at 2 mg 26 times daily or

loperamide solution 10 ml (10 ml = 2 mg)
26 times daily and/or
Opium tincture 1% = 515 drops qid
Sandostatin solution for injection 1 amp at 50 g
s.c. bid or tid (increase dose slowly)
Nitazoxanide 1 tbl. at 500 mg bid
Rifaximin 2 tbl. at 200 mg bid
Exposure prophylaxis: no tap water
Prophylaxis
There is no generally accepted prophylaxis, although retrospective analyses have
reported a protective effect of rifabutin and clarithromycin (Holmberg 1998). The
importance of good hygiene and not drinking tap water should be emphasized to
patients, at least in countries with limited access to clean, adequate drinking water.
Contact with human and animal feces should be avoided. The tendency for patients
to become ill during the summer months can often be linked to swimming in rivers
or lakes. Cryptosporidia are resistant to most disinfectants. In hospitals and other
medical facilities, the usual hygienic measures, such as wearing gloves, are adequate. Moreover, patients do not need to be isolated. However, they should not be
put in the same room with other significantly immunocompromised patients.
385
References
Abubakar I, Aliyu SH, Arumugam C, Usman NK, Hunter PR. Treatment of cryptosporidiosis in immuno-compromised individuals: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Br J Clin Pharmacol 2007;63:387-93.
Amadi B, Mwiya M, Musuku J, et al. Effect of nitazoxanide on morbidity and mortality in Zambian children with cryptosporidiosis: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet
2002, 360:1375-1380.
Carr A, Marriott D, Field A, Vasak E, Cooper DA. Treatment of HIV-1 associated microsporidiosis and cryptosporidiosis with combination antiretroviral therapy. Lancet
1998, 351:256-61.
Chen XM, Keithly JS, Paya CV, LaRusso NF. Cryptosporidiosis. N Engl J Med 2002, 346: 1723-31.
Colford JM Jr, Tager IB, Hirozawa AM, et al. Cryptosporidiosis among patients infected with HIV. Factors related to symptomatic infection and survival. Am J Epidemiol
1996, 144:807-16.
Gathe JC Jr, Mayberry C, Clemmons J, Nemecek J. Resolution of severe cryptosporidial diarrhea with rifaximin in patients with AIDS. J AIDS 2008, 48:363-4.
Griffiths JK. Treatment for AIDS-associated cryptosporidiosis. J Infect Dis 1998, 178:915-6.
Hewitt RG, Yiannoutsos CT, Higgs ES, et al. Paromomycin: No more effective than placebo for treatment of cryptosporidiosis in patients with advanced HIV infection.
Clin Inf Dis 2000, 31:1084-92.
Holmberg SD, Moorman AC, Von Bargen JC, et al. Possible effectiveness of clarithromycin and rifabutin for cryptosporidiosis chemoprophylaxis in HIV disease. JAMA
1998, 279:384-6.
Miao YM, Awad-El-Kariem FM, Franzen C, et al. Eradication of cryptosporidia and microsporidia following successful antiretroviral therapy. J Acquir Immune Defic
Syndr 2000, 25: 124-9.
Rossignol JF, Ayoub A, Ayers MS. Treatment of diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum: a prospective randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of
Nitazoxanide. J Infect Dis 2001, 184:103-6.
Smith NH, Cron S, Valdez LM, Chappell CL, White AC Jr. Combination drug therapy for cryptosporidiosis in AIDS. J Infect Dis 1998, 178:900-3.
White AC, Cron SG, Chappell CL. Paromomycin in cryptosporidiosis. Clin Inf Dis 2001, 32:1516-7.
386
AIDS
Cryptococcosis
Infection with the yeast Cryptococcus neoformans is a rare AIDS-defining illness in
Europe. In the US and especially in Southeast Asia, cryptococcosis occurs much
more frequently and is considerably one of the more prominent AIDS-defining illnesses worldwide. Presumably transmitted via inhalation, bird droppings are a key
reservoir for C. neoformans. This pulmonary infection may remain subclinical in
immunocompetent patients, but is almost always followed by disseminated disease
in HIV patients. Apart from the lungs, the main manifestation after hematogenic
spread is in the CNS. For this reason, a CSF examination is obligatory in every suspected case. However, isolated skin manifestations and lymphadenitis can also occur. Organ involvement, such as in the urogenital or gastrointestinal tract, is rare.
Cryptococcosis almost always occurs with severe immunodeficiency. In a collection of 114 cases, 87% had less than 100 CD4 T cells/l; the median CD4 count
was 30/l (Weitzel 1999). Cryptococcosis is fatal if untreated. Treatment is lengthy,
complicated and should managed only on an inpatient basis. Relapses were frequent
in the pre-HAART era and occurred in at least 15% of cases. In addition, cryptococcosis occurs relatively frequently in the presence of an immune reconstitution
inflammatory syndrome. Prognosis has much improved over the last years. In one
study from France, the mortality rate per 100 person-years was 15.3 in 1996-2000,
compared with 63.8% in the pre-HAART era although early mortality did not differ
between the two periods (Lortholary 2006).
Signs and symptoms

The CNS manifestation with encephalitis is the most frequent manifestation (ca.
80%). Patients complain mainly of headaches, fever and confusion or clouding of
consciousness which progresses rapidly over a few days. Disorders of gait, hearing,
and vision may occur, as well as paresis, particularly of the cranial nerves, in such
cases intracranial pressure is almost always increased. However, meningeal symptoms are usually absent. In the course of an immune reconstitution syndrome, clinical symptoms are often atypical and characterized by extensive abscesses (Manfredi
1999).
Pulmonary disease leads to symptoms of atypical pneumonia with unproductive
cough and chest pain. Skin lesions can initially resemble molluscum contagiosum,
and later become confluent in the form of larger, ulcerative lesions.
Diagnosis
Cryptococcosis is life threatening, and the mortality rate in larger studies is between
6 and 25% (Saag 2000). There is no time to lose during diagnostic testing. Rapid
examination of the lungs (HR-CT) and CNS in particular (MRI) should be initiated
in every suspected case (e.g. positive cryptococcal antigen test).
The chest x-ray usually does not reveal much; therefore, an HRCT scan must be
performed if pulmonary involvement is suspected. The spectrum of morphology on
the image is very variable. Diffuse, small lesions similar to tuberculosis may occur,
but there can also be sharply defined infiltrates reminiscent of bronchopneumonia.
Cavitation and bronchiectasis may also be present. Every attempt should therefore
be made to clearly identify the causative organism by BAL.
387
An MRI scan of the head should always be performed if there are neurological
symptoms. However, in contrast to toxoplasmosis and primary CNS lymphoma, it
usually does not reveal much, and isolated or multiple mass lesions (cryptococcomas) are very rare. Nevertheless, intracranial pressure is often increased and a fundoscopy (papillary edema) should be performed.
The most important test for cryptococcosis is lumbar puncture after a fundoscopy
and/or an MRI. Diagnosis can be made via India ink stain in almost all cases. CSF
must be examined even in cases with pulmonary or other manifestation to exclude
CNS involvement. Cryptococcal antigen in the blood (titer > 1:8) is a good parameter and should always be determined. Blood cultures are also often positive. With
cutaneous involvement, the diagnosis is usually made from a biopsy.
Treatment
CNS involvement immediately requires a combination of antimycotics during the
acute phase of treatment, followed by maintenance therapy with fluconazole (Saag
2000). Fluconazole alone is not sufficient, as recently shown by two randomized
trials from Africa. In these trials, mortality of cryptococcal meningitis was unacceptable high. Within the first weeks, 54-59% of the patients died (Longley 2008,
Makadzange 2009).
Combination prevents resistance and allows reduction of acute therapy to 46 weeks. The choice of combination is not clearly defined. In Germany, combination therapy with the three antimycotics amphotericin B, flucytosine and fluconazole is often used for meningitis. The triple therapy leads to complete remission of
meningitis in around 80% of cases (Weitzel 1999), and consequently the possibility
of a slightly higher rate than under dual therapy with amphotericin B and flucytosine as favored in the United States (van der Horst 1997).
However, other data is raising questions as to the superiority of triple therapy. According to the measurements of cryptococcal clearance in the CSF, in a small, randomized study of 64 patients in Thailand, the combination of amphotericin B and
flucytosine was the most effective treatment (Brouwer 2004). It was even significantly better than triple therapy and also amphotericin B and fluconazole. Amphotericin B at a dosage of 1 mg/kg plus is possibly more rapidly fungicidal than is
standard-dose Amphotericin B (Bicanic 2008).
Nevertheless, in view of the toxicity of flucytosine which is only available in many
countries for infusion and not in tablet form, the combination of amphotericin B and
fluconazole is preferable. In untreated patients, ART is typically started during the acute
phase of treatment. Caution should be taken with tenofovir, given an observed case of
renal failure requiring dialysis after treatment with tenofovir and amphotericin B. Since
there is also a high risk for the development of IRIS, the optimal time for initiation of
ART is still under debate. In ACTG 5164, early start of ART was of advantage (Zolopa
2008), in a small African study on seriously ill patients; however, mortality was increased in patients starting ART immediately after diagnosis (Makadzange 2009).
In addition to having significantly lower toxicity, liposomal amphotericin B is slightly
more effective than conventional amphotericin B (Leenders 1997, Hamill 1999). However, even combinations with liposomal amphotericin B are very toxic. Daily monitoring of kidney and liver enzymes, blood count and electrolytes are highly recommended.
Fluconazole should be administered as an infusion, particularly in confused patients.
388
AIDS
In cases of isolated pulmonary involvement (CSF negative) or other extracerebral

manifestations, treatment without flucytosine can be completed the acute therapy
with amphotericin B and fluconazole within two instead of four weeks. If there is a
positive cryptococcal antigen test without evidence of CNS, pulmonary or other
infection, then treatment can consist of fluconazole alone.
Treatment success is monitored based on the clinical course and repeated lumbar
punctures. CSF is negative in approximately 60% of cases after two weeks (Saag
2000). When this is the case, maintenance therapy or secondary prophylaxis can be
started, though not sooner than after four weeks of acute therapy. If there is increased intracranial pressure, then CSF drainage may become necessary (Graybill
2000). Steroids are ineffective (Saag 2000).
Prophylaxis
Exposure can presumably also not be prevented. As survival benefit was not demonstrated, primary prophylaxis against Cryptococcus neoformans is not recommended even in endemic areas such as Thailand (McKinsey 1999, Chariyalertsak
2002). Fluconazole is given as secondary prophylaxis or maintenance therapy. It is
significantly more effective than itraconazole. For example, in a very large randomized study, the relapse rate in the fluconazole arm was only 4% compared to
23% in the itraconazole arm, resulting in discontinuation of the study before completion (Saag 1999). Fluconazole can probably be discontinued with sufficient immune reconstitution (above 200 CD4 cells/l, undetectable viral load for three to
six months), as demonstrated in several studies (Aberg 2002, Kirk 2002, Vibhagool
2003, Mussini 2004), and after at least six months of maintenance therapy. It is
prudent to check for cryptococcal antigen before stopping (Mussini 2004). Positive
antigen tests require continuation of treatment as the risk of relapses is high, especially in patients with high antigen titres (Lortholary 2006).
Treatment/prophylaxis of cryptococcosis (daily doses, unless specified otherwise), see also
Drugs section for further details!
Acute therapy
Treatment of
choice
Amphotericin B
+ fluconazole
+ flucytosine *
Maintenance therapy
Treatment of
choice
Fluconazole
Alternative
Itraconazole
Primary prophylaxis
Duration: always at least six weeks

Amphotericin B 0.5-0.75 mg/kg qd or
liposomal amphotericin B 3 mg/kg qd (preparation by
pharmacy) plus
fluconazole 1 bottle at 200 mg i.v. bid or
fluconazole 1 cap. at 200 mg bid plus
flucytosine 1 bottle at 250 ml (2.5 g) i.v. qid
(= 100-150 mg/kg distributed in four separate doses)
Discontinuation possible from > 200 CD4 cells/l > 36 months
Fluconazole 1-2 cap. at 200 mg qd
Itraconazole 2 cap. at 100 mg bid
Not recommended
*Note: We usually omit flucytosine. Instead, we begin with ART during the acute therapy phase
in those patients, who are almost always ART naive.
389
References
Aberg JA, Price RW, Heeren DM, Bredt B. A pilot study of the discontinuation of antifungal therapy for disseminated cryptococcal disease in patients with AIDS,
following immunologic response to ART. J Infect Dis 2002, 185:1179-82.
Bicanic T, Wood R, Meintjes G, et al. High-dose amphotericin B with flucytosine for the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis in HIV-infected patients: a randomized trial.
Brouwer AE, Rajanuwong A, Chierakul W, et al. Combination antifungal therapies for HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis: a randomised trial. Lancet 2004,
363:1764-7.
Chariyalertsak S, Supparatpinyo K, Sirisanthana T, et al. A controlled trial of itraconazole as primary prophylaxis for systemic fungal infections in patients with advanced
HIV infection in Thailand. Clin Infect Dis 2002, 34:277-84.
Graybill JR, Sobel J, Saag M, et al. Diagnosis and management of increased intracranial pressure in patients with AIDS and cryptococcal meningitis. Clin Infect Dis
2000;30:47-54.
Hamill RJ, Sobel J, El-Sadr W, et al. Randomized double blind trial of Ambisome and amphotericin B in acute cryptococcal meningitis in AIDS patients. 39th ICAAC
1999, San Francisco; Abstract 1161.
Kirk O, Reiss P, Uberti-Foppa C, et al. Safe interruption of maintenance therapy against previous infection with four common HIV-associated opportunistic pathogens
during potent antiretroviral therapy. Ann Intern Med 2002, 137:239-50.
Leenders AC, Reiss P, Portegies P, et al. Liposomal amphotericin B (AmBisome) compared with amphotericin B both followed by oral fluconazole in the treatment of
AIDS-associated cryptococcal meningitis. AIDS 1997, 11:1463-71.
Longley N, Muzoora C, Taseera K, et al. Dose response effect of high-dose fluconazole for HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis in southwestern Uganda. Clin Infect
Dis 2008, 47:1556-61.
Lortholary O, Poizat G, Zeller V, et al. Long-term outcome of AIDS-associated cryptococcosis in the era of combination antiretroviral therapy. AIDS 2006, 20:2183-91.
Makadzange A, Ndhlovu C, Tkarinda C, et al. Early vs delayed ART in the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis in Africa. 36cLB, 16th CROI 2009, Montral.
Manfredi R, Pieri F, Pileri SA, Chiodo F. The changing face of AIDS-related opportunism: cryptococcosis in the HAART era. Case reports and literature review.
Mycopathologia 1999, 148:73-8.
McKinsey DS, Wheat LJ, Cloud GA, Itraconazole prophylaxis for fungal infections in patients with advanced HIV infection: randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind
study. Clin Infect Dis 1999, 28:1049-56.
Mussini C, Pezzotti P, Miro JM, et al. Discontinuation of maintenance therapy for cryptococcal meningitis in patients with AIDS treated with HAART: an international
observational study. Clin Infect Dis 2004, 38:565-71.
Saag MS, Cloud GA, Graybill JR, et al. A comparison of itraconazole versus fluconazole as maintenance therapy for AIDS-associated cryptococcal meningitis. Clin
Infect Dis 1999, 28:291-6.
Saag MS, Graybill RJ, Larsen RA, et al. Practice guidelines for the management of cryptococcal disease. Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clin Infect Dis 2000,
30:710-8.
van der Horst CM, Saag MS, Cloud GA, et al. Treatment of cryptococcal meningitis associated with the AIDS. N Engl J Med 1997, 337:15-21.
Vibhagool A, Sungkanuparph S, Mootsikapun P, et al. Discontinuation of secondary prophylaxis for cryptococcal meningitis in HIV-infected patients treated with
HAART: a prospective, multicenter, randomized study. Clin Infect Dis 2003, 36:1329-31.
Weitzel A, Arasteh K, Mertensktter T, et al. Kryptokokkosen bei HIV-positiven Patienten in Deutschland eine Auswertung 24 deutscher Zentren. In: Brockmeyer NH
et al. HIV-Infekt, Springer-Verlag; 1999.
Zolopa A, Andersen J, Komarow L, et al. Immediate vs deferred ART in the setting of acute AIDS-related opportunistic infection: final results of a randomized strategy
trial, ACTG A5164. 15th CROI 2008, Boston.
390
AIDS
Salmonella septicemia
Infection with non-typhoid Salmonella, which typically only causes enteritis in
healthy individuals, can lead to severe septicemia in immunocompromised patients
(Jacobs 1985). In Central Europe, Salmonella septicemia is rare in HIV patients,
and accounts for less than 1% of AIDS cases. In the Swiss cohort of over
9,000 patients, only 22 cases of recurring salmonellosis were documented over a
period of nine years (Burkhardt 1999).
In Southern Europe as well as Africa, salmonellosis is much more frequent. Infected food, particularly poultry, is the most widely recognized as a longestablished reservoir for Salmonella. In most cases, relapses are frequent. In addition to septicemia, atypical infections with osteomyelitis, empyema, pulmonary
abscesses, pyelonephritis or meningitis have been described (Albrecht 1992,
Nadelman 1985). Recurring, non-typhoid Salmonella septicemia is considered an
AIDS-defining illness. The risk of recurrent septicemia decreased significantly in
the ART era (Hung 2007).
Signs and symptoms/diagnosis

Patients are often severely ill. Chills and high fever are usually present. If treatment
is delayed, then there is always a danger of septic shock. Diarrhea may be absent.
Blood cultures mainly lead to isolation of enteritis-causing Salmonella strains such
as S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium. The pathogens causing typhoid or paratyphoid
fever, S. typhi and S. paratyphi, are rare.
Treatment
Ciprofloxacin is the treatment of choice (Jacobson 1989). Although oral bioavailability is good, intravenous dosing is preferable. It should be noted that in a study
from Taiwan, salmonella isolates were obtained from HIV-infected patients who
were increasingly resistant to fluoroquinolones during the last years (Hung 2007).
Also reports of increasing rates of resistance of up to 30%, from other areas, exist.
In these cases, cephalosporins such as cefotaxime or ceftriaxone have proven to be
effective.
Treatment/prophylaxis of Salmonella sepsis (daily doses)
Acute therapy
7-14 days
Treatment of choice
Ciprofloxacin
Ciprofloxacin 1 bottle at 200 mg i.v. bid
Alternative
Ceftriaxone
Ceftriaxone 1 bottle at 2 g i.v. qd
Prophylaxis
For relapses
Ciprofloxacin 1 tbl. at 500 mg bid (6-8 months)
One week of treatment with ciprofloxacin or ceftriaxone is usually enough. Maintenance therapy should continue for 6-8 months and not be stopped too early (Hung
2001). However, lifelong secondary prophylaxis, which was propagated in the past
(Nelson 1992), no longer seems necessary.
391
Prophylaxis
Drug prophylaxis is not recommended. However, HIV patients should generally be
advised to pay attention to food hygiene.
References
Albrecht H, Stellbrink HJ, Fenske S, Steiner P, Greten H. Salmonella typhimurium lung abscesses in an HIV-infected patient: successful treatment with oral
ciprofloxacin. AIDS 1992, 6:1400-1.
Burckhardt B, Sendi P, Pfluger D, et al. Rare AIDS-defining diseases in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 1999, 18:399-402.
Gordon MA. Salmonella infections in immunocompromised adults. J Infect 2008, 56:413-22.
Hung CC, Hsieh SM, Hsiao CF, Chen MY, Sheng WH. Risk of recurrent non-typhoid Salmonella bacteraemia after early discontinuation of ciprofloxacin as secondary
prophylaxis in AIDS patients in the era of HAART. AIDS 2001, 15:645-7.
Hung CC, Hung MN, Hsueh PR, et al. Risk of recurrent nontyphoid Salmonella bacteremia in HIV-infected patients in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy and
an increasing trend of fluoroquinolone resistance. Clin Infect Dis 2007;45.
Jacobs JL, Gold JW, Murray HW, Roberts RB, Armstrong D. Salmonella infections in patients with the AIDS. Ann Intern Med 1985, 102:186-8.
Jacobson MA, Hahn SM, Gerberding JL, et al. Ciprofloxacin for Salmonella bacteremia in the AIDS. Ann Intern Med 1989, 110:10271029.
Kitkungvan D, Apisarnthanarak A, Plengpart P, Mundy LM. Fever of unknown origin in patients with HIV infection in Thailand: an observational study and review of the
literature. Int J STD AIDS 2008, 19:232-5.
Nadelman RB, Mathur-Wagh U, Yancovitz SR, Mildvan D. Salmonella bacteremia associated with the AIDS. Arch Intern Med 1985, 145:1968-71.
Nelson MR, Shanson DC, Hawkins DA, Gazzard BG. Salmonella, Campylobacter and Shigella in HIV-seropositive patients. AIDS 1992, 6:1495-8.
392
AIDS
Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome

(IRIS)
For the first time, in mid-1997 and early 1998, two groups described atypical manifestations of CMV retinitis (Jacobsen 1997) and MAC disease with abscess formation (Race 1998) in HIV patients within a few weeks of initiation of ART. Although
the pathogens, pathogenesis and localization were very different, all these illnesses
had a distinct inflammatory component and were associated with significant immune reconstitution in these patients. Consequently, suspected early on that these
presentations could constitute a syndrome during which a latent infection present at
initiation of therapy is fought more effectively by the recovering immune system
(Overviews: Shelbourne 2006, French 2009).
Manifestations of numerous diseases have been attributed to the now established
term immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). The main problem of
IRIS research is the lack of a clear, generally accepted definition for IRIS (Robertson 2006, Meintjes 2008). Therefore, IRIS in many publications today is often a
collection of bizarre, sometimes grotesque case reports, which have actually only
one common ground: an unexpected, usually clinically impressing infection, differing significantly from the courses of diseases seen during the pre-HAART era.
Nevertheless, IRIS has three rules:
1. Anything is possible.
2. Nothing is as it was in the pre-HAART era.
3. IRIS does not mean that ART has failed. In addition, the patients usually have a
good prognosis.
How frequently does IRIS occur? Due to the lack of a definition, the data vary substantially. In our experience, a frequency of 5-10% in patients with less than
200 CD4 T cells/l is realistic. A high viral load before initiation of therapy or a
rapid drop on ART seems to be an important predictive factor for IRIS (Hoffmann
1999, Shelbourne 2005). The overall prevalence rate of 25% cited elsewhere seems
slightly too high (French 2000). However, if only the patients who were infected
with mycobacteria or Cryptococcus before ART was started, had been taken into
account, it is probable that a rate of 30% would have been reached (Shelbourne
2005).
Mycobacterial IRIS. For MAC, the number of published cases with grotesque,
fistular lymphadenitis, cutaneous or muscular abscesses, osteomyelitis, nephritis or
meningitis is too large to be cited here. After a total of 83 patients started ART with
a CD4 T cell count of less than 200/l, only six mycobacterioses, among these
four MAC infections were observed within the first weeks of beginning therapy
(Hoffmann 1999). Lymph node abscesses usually occur during the first weeks on
ART. Not all cases are avium: IRIS cases with Mycobacterium xenopi or Mycobacterium kansaii have also been described (Chen 2004, Phillips 2005).
There are now also numerous reports on tuberculosis (John 1998, Chien 1998),
which are reminiscent of the paradox reactions to TB treatment known since the
1950s. All of these patients similarily suffered an initial and drastic deterioration
under sufficient tuberculostatic treatment and ART-induced immune reconstitution.
By the same token, meningitis as well as marked lymphadenopathy with unspecific
393
histology can complicate the course of disease, yet both respond astonishingly rapidly and well to steroids. In one study, four out of five patients, who had clinically
developed atypical mycobacterioses after ART and significant improvements in
CD4 T cell levels, showed a significantly increased MAC-specific T cell response
in vitro, and thus proving in all likelihood that this phenomenon is indeed caused by
the unmasking of subclinical infections (Foudraine 1999).
CMV IRIS. In addition to mycobacteriosis, numerous cases of unusual CMV infections under ART have been published. Inflammatory CMV retinitis with vitritis that
may lead to visual impairment, papillitis and macular edema, can now be described
as a distinct syndrome, differing significantly from the course of CMV retinitis seen
in the pre-HAART era (Jacobson 1997, Whitcup 2000). Neovascularization endangers vision even after resolution (Wright 2003). A prospective study was conducted
in 30 patients with CMV retinitis that had reached levels of more than
60 CD4 T cells/l for at least two months on ART. Of these 30 patients, reportedly
19 patients (63%) developed symptomatic vitritis, in some cases with considerable
loss of vision (Karavellas 1999). In one small prospective cohort, the proportion
reached 12 out of 14 patients (Whitcup 2000). As with MAC disease, in vitro studies have shown that the CMV-specific immune response is improved most significantly in those patients developing vitritis (Mutimer 2002, Stone 2002). Inflammatory CMV manifestations are not limited to the retina and may involve other organs
(Gilquin 1997).
PML IRIS. The course of inflammatory PML that occurs during an IRIS is different from the infaust prognosis seen during the pre-HAART era (Cinque 2001, Collazos 1999, Kotecha 1998, Miralles 2001). Clinical symptoms are often more fulminant initially, and on radiology, there is a contrast enhancement which is otherwise atypical for PML, that may resolve over time. Patients have a better prognosis,
and PML seems to even resolve completely (Hoffmann 2003, Du Pasquier 2003). It
appears that a number of patients with inflammatory PML, who have been asymptomatic for years, live without any residual symptoms. However, fatal cases of inflammatory PML have also been reported (Safdar 2002). Previously documented
experiences indicate that steroids are ineffective, although there have been accounts
of positive results (Nuttall 2004, Tan 2008).
Cryptococcal IRIS. Numerous cases with inflammatory courses of disease have
been described (Manfredi 1999, Woods 1998, Cinti 2001, Breton 2002, JennyAvital 2002, King 2002, Boelaert 2004, Lortholary 2005, Shelbourne 2005, Skiest
2005). Together with MAC/TBC and CMV, cryptococci are probably the most influential pathogens that contribute to an IRIS. In particular, severely immunocompromised patients who start with ART after cryptococcal therapy should be watched
closely for the first few weeks and months. Newer studies show that 10-30% of
patients with co-infections develop a cryptococcal IRIS (Lortholary 2005, Shelbourne 2005). The MRI usually shows choriomeningitis with significant enhancement in the choroid plexus. Cryptococcal antigen in the CSF is positive, although
culture remains negative (Boelaert 2004). The intracranial pressure is often particularly high (Shelbourne 2005). As well as meningitis, lymphadenitis can also occur
(Skiest 2005).
IRIS, induced by other infections. A variety of contemporary case studies have
documented the induction of IRIS by the follwing infections: leishmaniasis (Jim-
394
AIDS
nez-Expsito 1999), histoplasmosis (De Lavaissiere 2008), pneumocystosis (Barry

2002, Koval 2002, Gody 2008), and herpes (Fox 1999). Herpes zoster and hepatitis
B or C episodes also seem to occur on ART, particularly during the first weeks
(Behrens 2000, Chung 2002, Manegold 2001, Martinez 1998, Domingo 2001).
HHV-8-associated Kaposis sarcoma can worsen significantly on ART in the presence of an IRIS (Bower 2005, Leidner 2005, Feller 2008). Increasing dermatological problems such as exacerbation of pre-existing folliculitis or skin disease have
also been reported (Handa 2001, Lehloenyia 2006, Pereira 2007, Iarikov 2008).
There are even reports about parvovirus and leprosy (Nolan 2003, Couppie 2004).
IRIS and other diseases. Diseases other than opportunistic infections are now recognized to occur under IRIS. These include autoimmune diseases such as Graves
disease, lupus, Sweets and Reiters syndromes, Guillain-Barr syndrome, acute
porphyria and sarcoidosis, to name but a few (Bevilacqua 1999, Behrens 1998, Fox
1999, Gilquin 1998, Makela 2002, Mirmirani 1999, Neumann 2003, Piliero 2003).
Furthermore, two cases of Peyronies disease, a fibrosis of the penis, were reported
(Rogers 2004). These reports do raise the question of whether all of these manifestations are truly induced by immune reconstitution or perhaps merely chance occurrences. While most publications initially offered little information on the etiology
beyond purely hypothetical discussions, it has recently become apparent that
changes in the cytokine profile are involved in the pathogenesis of IRIS, together
with an activation of the cellular immune response. However, it seems that the
mechanisms differ according to disease and genetic profile (Price 2001, Shelbourne
2005).
Consequences
Patients starting ART with less than 200 CD4 T cells/l and particularly those who
have a high viral load require close clinical monitoring during the first weeks. Close
attention should be give especially in cases where very immunocompromised patients who have previously declined antiretroviral treatment, suddenly feel physically affected, express subfebrile conditions, and want to start ART after thinking about it for a long time. Latent infections are often present in such cases and
rapidly become apparent as immune reconstitution occursthe poorer the immune
status and the longer its duration, the greater the danger of IRIS.
Chest radiography, abdominal ultrasound and fundoscopy should be included in
routine investigations of such patients before beginning treatment. Moveover, clinical examination which nowadays are often gladly overlooked should be taken seriously. Some authors suggest that MAC prophylaxis start even before ART in severely immunocompromised patients seems problematic, even though prophylaxis
cannot prevent MAC IRIS (Phillips 2002+2005). Still, prospective clinical studies
have yet to prove whether administration of IL-2 or GM-CSF is worthwhile, as was
recently postulated (Pires 2005).
Mycobacterioses in particular should be treated generously with steroids. One
should always be prepared for atypical localizations, findings and disease courses of
opportunistic infections. Generally speaking, prognosis of IRIS usually is good.
Mortality of patients developing IRIS is reportedly not higher than that of patients
without IRIS (Park 2006).
395
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Wasting syndrome
Wasting syndrome is defined as involuntary weight loss of at least 10% of original
body weight accompanied by persistent diarrhea (at least two bowel movements
daily for more than 30 days) or extreme fatigue and/or fever without apparent infectious etiology. With thorough and competent searching, a specific causative agent
can usually be found for wasting syndrome because it is essentially a classical exclusion diagnosis and really more of an epidemiological instrument than a specific
disease. Although previously a very frequent condition, wasting syndrome has become rare today. For example, in a large study conducted in 2000, only 14% of
patients still indicated having lost more than 10% of their original body weight
(Wanke 2000). Wasting rates are even higher in intravenous drug users (Campa
2005). Weight loss remains an independent risk factor for mortality, even in the
HAART era, and every patient should be weighed regularly. In one large study,
mortality risk in patients with a loss greater than 10% of body weight was more
than four to six times higher than that of patients with stable body weight (Tang
2002). Patients with classic wasting syndrome are often extremely weak. That said,
the risk for opportunistic infections is significantly elevated (Dworkin 2003). There
is also cognitive impairment in these patients (Dolan 2003).
Diagnosis
The causes of wasting syndrome are complex. First, it is necessary to exclude or
treat opportunistic infections (TB, MAC, cryptosporidiosis and microsporidiosis). If
none are found, then several reasons remain that may contribute, even in combination, to wasting syndrome. These include: metabolic disorders, hypogonadism,
poor nutrition and malabsorption syndromes (overview: Grinspoon 2003).
Consequently, a thorough patient history is extremely beneficial. Does the patient
have a sensible diet? How are meals distributed throughout the day? Is the patient
depressed? Which drugs (ART) are being taken? Distinction from antiretroviralinduced lipoatrophy (d4T/ ddI) is often difficult. Significant weight loss also occurs
frequently on interferon (Garcia-Benayas 2002), but rapidly resolves after finishing
treatment. In addition, hypogonadism should be ruled out with the measurement of
testosterone. While there are several simple tests for malabsorption syndromes, it is
prudent to start with testing albumin as well as TSH and cholesterol levels.
Further tests such as D-xylose absorption or biopsies of the small intestine should
only be initiated after consulting with a gastroenterologist. Other tests, such as
DEXA, densitrometry, bioelectrical impedance analysis, should be conducted in
centers experienced with wasting syndrome in AIDS patients to determine the patients body composition.
Therapy
Wasting syndrome always requires competent diet counseling. Exercise, if possible,
is also good. Of course, both only have limited success. Supportive parenteral nutrition only helps if there are problems with absorption (Kotler 1990, Melchior 1996).
Effective ART, ideally without drugs that cause lipoatrophy such as d4T or ddI, and
possibly even omitting nucleoside analogs completely, is ideal. Severe lipoatrophy
may require complete omission of nucleoside analogs (see chapter on Nuke sparing).
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AIDS
Beyond this, many kinds of drug treatment have been attempted. However, these
have limited success and are often problematic.
Megestrol acetate, a synthetic gestagenic hormone, shows some benefit as an appetite stimulant in wasting syndrome, as demonstrated in some studies (Von Roenn
1994, Mulligan 2006). Its side effects are ones typically associated with steroids,
including induced hypogonadism which should always be evaded, especially in
cases of wasting syndrome. As a result, it is not widely nor currently recommended
that this drug be used.
What are some considerations for the use of THC (dronabinol)? Dronabinol, the
main active ingredient in marijuana, has been licensed in the US since 1985 as Marinol, and may be prescribed for pharmacy formulation as drops or hard gel capsules. This drug is certainly attractive for many patients and sometimes actively
demanded. Prescription should be carefully considered, particularly in view of the
significant cost associated with the medication. In some European countries, Dronabinol costs approximately 600 Euros per month for the usual dose of 5 mg tid.
Without a clear diagnosis of wasting syndrome, clarity about the health insurance
coverage and communication with the insurance company may minimize substantial problems. In generally, some health insurances reject the request. The effect on
wasting syndrome is moderate at best, if detectable at all (Beal 1995). It tends to be
even weaker than megestrol acetate (Timpone 1997).
Hypogonadism, a frequent condition of patients with wasting syndrome, calls for
the measurement of testosterone age-dependent levels. If the levels are low, then
testosterone substitution has proven itself as useful, both for weight gain and quality of life (Grinspoon 1998). A dose of 250 mg testosterone is given i.m. every 3-4
weeks, and there is a variety of less expensive generic names. The effect is sustained, even with long-term use (Grinspoon 1999). If testosterone levels are normal,
then the substitution in cases of wasting syndrome is not indicated. In women, one
should exercise caution when administering androgenic hormones. Other anabolic
steroids are available in addition to testosterone, such as oxandrolone or nandrolone
(Gold 2006). Although, they are commonly associated with other side effects, particularly those related to the liver (Corcoran 1999). Positive effects have been demonstrated with the anabolic steroid oxymetholone in a small, double-blind, randomized study (Hengge 2003). However, the extremely high elevation of transaminases,
which sometimes occurs, prevents the broader use of this drug.
High costs and side effects have limited the use of recombinant human growth
hormones (rhGH), for which long-term data is still not available (Mulligan 1993,
Schambelan 1996). However, the results of a recent metaanalysis suggest that
growth hormones may be more effective than anabolic steroids or testosterone in
wasting syndrome (Moyle 2004). Common adverse events with rhGH therapy include blood glucose elevations, arthralgia, myalgia, and peripheral edema, but these
usually respond to dose reduction or drug discontinuation (review: Gelato 2007).
399
References
Beal JE, Olson R, Laubenstein L, et al. Dronabinol as a treatment for anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS. J Pain Symptom Manage 1995;10:8997.
Corcoran C, Grinspoon S. Treatments for wasting in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. NEJM 1999, 340:1740-50.
Dolan S, Montagno A, Wilkie S, et al. Neurocognitive Function in HIV-Infected Patients With Low Weight and Weight Loss. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2003; 34:
155-64.
Dworkin MS, Williamson JM. AIDS wasting syndrome: trends, influence on opportunistic infections, and survival. J AIDS 2003; 33: 267-73.
Garcia-Benayas T, Blanco F, Soriano V. Weight loss in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med 2002, 347: 1287-8.
Gelato M, McNurlan M, Freedland E. Role of recombinant human growth hormone in HIV-associated wasting and cachexia: pathophysiology and rationale for
treatment. Clin Ther 2007;29:2269-88.
Gold J, Batterham MJ, Rekers H, et al. Effects of nandrolone decanoate compared with placebo or testosterone on HIV-associated wasting. HIV Med 2006, 7:146-55.
Grinspoon S, Corcoran C, Anderson E, Hubbard J, Basgoz N, Klibanski A. Sustained anabolic effects of long-term androgen administration in men with AIDS wasting.
Clin Infect Dis 1999, 28:634-636.
Grinspoon S, Corcoran C, Askari H, et al. Effects of androgen administration in men with the AIDS wasting syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled
trial. Ann Intern Med 1998;129:18-26.
Grinspoon S, Mulligan K. Weight loss and wasting in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus. Clin Infect Dis 2003; 36: S69-78.
Hengge UR, Stocks K, Faulkner S, et al. Oxymetholone for the treatment of HIV-wasting: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase III trial in eugonadal
men and women. HIV Clin Trials 2003; 4:150-63.
Kotler DP, Tierney AR, Culpepper-Morgan JA, Wang J, Pierson RN Jr. Effect of home total parenteral nutrition on body composition in patients with AIDS. J Parenter
Enteral Nutr 1990;14:454-458.
Melchior J, Chastang C, Gelas P, et al. Efficacy of 2-month total parenteral nutrition in AIDS patients: a controlled randomized prospective trial. AIDS 1996;10:379-384.
Mulligan K, Grunfeld C, Hellerstein MK, et al. Anabolic effects of recombinant human growth hormone in patients with wasting associated with HIV infection. J Clin
Endocrinol Metab 1993, 77:956-962.
Mulligan K, Zackin R, Von Roenn JH, et al. Testosterone supplementation of megestrol therapy does not enhance lean tissue accrual in men with hiv-associated
weight loss: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006 Nov 7;
Schambelan M, Mulligan K, Grunfeld C, et al. Recombinant human growth hormone in patients with HIV-associated wasting: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
Ann Intern Med 1996, 125:873-882.
Tang AM, Forrester J, Spiegelman D, et al. Weight loss and survival in HIV-positive patients in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. J AIDS 2002, 31: 230-6.
Timpone JG, Wright DJ, Li N, et al. The safety and pharmacokinetics of single-agent and combination therapy with megestrol acetate and dronabinol for the treatment
of HIV wasting syndrome. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 1997, 13:305-15.
Von Roenn JH, Armstrong D, Kotler DP, et al. Megesterol acetate in patients with AIDS-related cachexia. Ann Intern Med 1994, 121:393-399.
Wanke CA, Silva M, Knox TA, et al. Weight loss and wasting remain common complications in individuals infected with HIV in the era of highly active antiretroviral
therapy. Clin Infect Dis 2000, 31:803-5.
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Rare OIs
Christian Hoffmann and Gerd Ftkenheuer
Several opportunistic infections that rarely occur in central Europe or have become
increasing rare due to the introduction of ART include: aspergillosis, bacillary angiomatosis, histoplasmosis, isosporiasis, coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides immitis), visceral leishmaniasis, microsporidiosis, Penicillium marneffei mycosis, and
rhodococcosis. In addition to affecting HIV-infected patients more frequently than
immunocompetent individuals, these infections also are considered to have more
severe courses of disease and more frequent recurrences in HIV-infected patients
than in HIV-negative patients. Despite this, according to the current CDC/WHO
classification, only histoplasmosis, isosporiasis, and coccidioidomycosis are AIDSdefining.
Aspergillosis
Aspergillosis occurs almost exclusively in severely immunocompromised patients
but is not classified as AIDS-defining. In the largest series described worldwide to
date, in a study of 342 cases of invasive aspergillosis, almost all of the patients had
less than 50 CD4 T cells/l (Mylonakis 1998). Although the lungs are largely susceptible to pneumonia or tracheobronchitis, almost all other organs can be compromised, particularly the CNS (Mylonakis 2000).
For the most part, aspergillosis occurs in HIV patients on long-term and in some
cases excessively long steroid treatment for another OI. Severe neutropenia
(< 1,000 leucocytes) is another risk factor. Found in over 90% of invasive aspergillosis cases, Aspergillus fumigatus is by far the most frequent pathogen. Other important aspergillus pathogens are A. flavus, A. niger, A. terreus, and A. nidulans.
The severely ill patients complain of fever, cough, dyspnea and chest pain. Hemoptysis frequently occurs. Initial manifestations can even take the form of rhinosinusitis or abscesses in the kidneys or liver (Hunt 2000).
The only way to reach a reliable diagnosis is biopsy. A serum antigen test on Galactomannan, a component of the cell wall of Aspergillus (not exclusively, also other
mycoses) may support the diagnosis. Chest x-rays often remain inconspicuous. In
the HR-CT, bilateral, multifocal and nodular lesion could be the most common radiological characteristic, while Halo and crescentic sign occur occasionally.
Treatment should be initiated immediately. Suspicion of aspergillosis justifies a
treatment attempt without definitive diagnosis i.e., biopsy results. Each delay worsens a potentially unfavorable prognosis substantially. At present voriconazol is considered as to be treatment of choice (Schwartz 2005). In contrast to other antifungal
drugs, voriconazole penetrates well into the CNS. In patients with invasive aspergillosis, initial therapy with voriconazole led to better responses and improved survival and resulted in fewer severe side effects than the standard approach of initial
therapy with amphotericin B (Herbrecht 2002). Voriconazol is given at a dosage of
4 mg i.v./kg BID (Loading dose: 6 mg/kg BID on day 1, oral therapy with 200 mg
BID starting from day 7). Main adverse events are visual disturbances (20%) and
(reversible) increases of liver enzymes.
401
An alternative approach is Amphotericin B, whose inferiority to voriconazole is

doubted by some authors (Jorgensen 2006). The effect of combinations is not
proven. Salvage therapy include lipid-based formulations of amphotericin B, caspofungin, high-dose itraconazole, posaconazole and micafungin (Dockrell 2008).
References
Umfassende bersicht: Aspergillose - Stand des Wissens zu Diagnose, Therapie;
Dockrell DH. Salvage therapy for invasive aspergillosis. J Antimicrob Chemother 2008;61:Suppl 1.
Herbrecht R, Denning DW, Patterson TF, et al. Voriconazole versus amphotericin B for primary therapy of invasive aspergillosis. N Engl J Med 2002, 347:408-15.
Hoang A. Caspofungin acetate: an antifungal agent. Am J Health Syst Pharm 2001, 58:1206-14.
Hunt SM, Miyamoto RC, Cornelius RS, Tami TA. Invasive fungal sinusitis in the AIDS. Otolaryngol Clin North Am 2000, 33:335-47.
Jorgensen KJ, Gotzsche PC, Johansen HK. Voriconazole versus amphotericin B in cancer patients with neutropenia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2006; 0.
Mylonakis E, Barlam TF, Flanigan T, Rich JD. Pulmonary aspergillosis and invasive disease in AIDS: review of 342 cases. Chest 1998, 114:251-62.
Mylonakis E, Paliou M, Sax PE, Skolnik PR, Baron MJ, Rich JD. Central nervous system aspergillosis in patients with HIV infection. Report of 6 cases and review.
Medicine (Baltimore) 2000, 79:269-80.
Schwartz S, Ruhnke M, Ribaud P, et al. Improved outcome in central nervous system aspergillosis, using voriconazole treatment. Blood 2005, 106:2641-5.
Bacillary angiomatosis
Bacillary angiomatosis in HIV patients was first described in the 1980s (Review:
Maguina 2000). Bacillary angiomatosis is caused by the rickettsial species Bartonella
henselae and Bartonella quintana (Rochalimaea until the beginning of the 1990s).
While Bartonella henselae is typically associated with cats, its primary host, and cat
fleas, its vector; Bartonella quintana frequently affects homeless patients and is associated with poor hygiene and social-economic conditions. Several possible reservoirs
have been discussed for such cases (Gasquet 1998). In a Spanish study of 340 HIVinfected patients, 22% patients reacted to one or more Bartonella antigens. Of all the
studied seroprevalence rate factors, only age was statistically significant (Pons 2008).
Reportedly, Bartonella occurs more often in North and South America than in Europe.
In a study of 382 febrile HIV patients in San Francisco, Bartonella was found to be
the causative organism in 18% (Koehler 2003).
Bacillary angiomatosis remains an significant differential diagnosis in all cases with
skin lesions of unknown etiology. The pseudoneoplastic, vascular skin proliferation
is quite often clinically and histologically mistaken for Kaposis sarcoma or hemangioma. The vascular nodules or tumors may be isolated, but are usually multiple and reminiscent of fresh Kaposis sarcoma, with cherry red or purple nodules.
One-quarter of the cases may have bone involvement with painful osteolytic foci
(AP elevation). Here, the skin lesions sometimes resemble dry hyperkeratotic
changes such as those seen in psoriasis. Different organs may be affected. In a collection of 21 cases, 19 patients had skin, 5 bone and 4 liver involvement (Plettenberg 2000). Manifestations in lymph nodes, muscle, CNS, eye, gingiva and gastrointestinal tract have also been reported.
Diagnosis of BA is difficult. The gram-negative bacteria are only visible on biopsy
samples stained with Warthin Starry silver stain. If this stain method is not applied,
then bacillary angiomatosis will not be find. Moreover, pathologists should be informed of the suspected diagnosis, as the Warthin Starry silver stain is not routinely
performed. PCR is also possible. Reference laboratories should be contacted for
further diagnostic details.
Treatment of bacillary angiomatosis is with erythromycin (at least four weeks with
500 mg qid) or clarithromycin. Relapses are common, which is why some physicians favor therapy for at least three months. Supposedly effective, doxycyclin, is
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the therapy of choice for CNS involvement. Since transmission is generally via cats,
American guidelines recommend not having cats as pets. Preferably, cats should be
healthy and older than one year; and scratches should be avoided.
References
Cockerell CJ, LeBoit PE. Bacillary angiomatosis: a newly characterized, pseudoneoplastic, infectious, cutaneous vascular disorder. J Am Acad Dermatol 1990, 22:50112.
Gasquet S, Maurin M, Brouqui P, Lepidi H, Raoult D. Bacillary angiomatosis in immunocompromised patients. AIDS 1998, 12:1793-803.
Koehler JE, Sanchez MA, Garrido CS, et al. Molecular epidemiology of bartonella infections in patients with bacillary angiomatosis-peliosis. N Engl J Med 1997,
337:1876-83.
Koehler JE, Sanchez MA, Tye S, et al. Prevalence of Bartonella infection among hiv-infected patients with fever. Clin Infect Dis 2003, 37:559-66.
LeBoit PE, Berger TG, Egbert BM, Beckstead JH, Yen TSB, Stoler MH. Bacillary angiomatosis: the histopathology and differential diagnosis of a pseudoneoplastic
infection in patients with HIV disease. Am J Surg Pathol 1989, 13:909-920.
Maguina C, Gotuzzo E. Bartonellosis. New and old. Infect Dis Clin North Am 2000, 14:1-22. Komplett im
Plettenberg A, Lorenzen T, Burtsche BT, et al. Bacillary angiomatosis in HIV-infected patients--an epidemiological and clinical study. Dermatology 2000, 201:326-31.
Pons I, Sanfeliu I, Nogueras MM, et al. Seroprevalence of Bartonella spp. infection in HIV patients in Catalonia, Spain. BMC Infect Dis 2008, 8:58.
Stoler MH, Bonfiglio TA, Steigbigel RB, et al: An atypical subcutaneous infection associated with AIDS. Am J Clin Pathol 1983, 80:714-718.
Histoplasmosis
Histoplasma capsulatum is a dimorphic mould, found largely in moist soil and without a
capsule despite its name. The Southern and Midwestern of regions of the US as well as
Central America and Africa are endemic areas. Inhalation of microconidia, the spores of
H. capsulatum, can cause granulomatous disease in the lungs of immunocompetent individuals. In HIV patients with impaired immunity (85% have less than 100 CD4 T
cells/l), infection leads to an acute, life-threatening disease with dry cough, fever,
dyspnea and malaise (Gutierrez 2005, Mora 2008). Miliary TB and PCP are important
differential diagnoses. Disseminated courses of disease may also occur, in which the
fungus can be detected in bone marrow or by liver biopsy (Albrecht 1994). Skin ulcerations or CNS involvement may also occur (Scheinfeld 2003, Wheat 2005). Hepatosplenomegaly is common, occurring in almost 90% of the patients (Mora 2008).
Histoplasmosis is an AIDS-defining illness whose pathogen like that of cryptococcal antigen can be reliably detected in the blood with an antigen test. Laboratory
evaluations often reveal significantly elevated LDH and alkaline phosphatase as
well as transaminases.
Amphotericin B should be given as initial treatment. Liposomal amphotericin B
(3 mg/kg daily for 14 days) is not only less toxic, but possibly also more effective
(Johnson 2002). In milder cases, itraconazole (200 mg bid or tid) is effective, and
can also be used as a secondary prophylaxis. It is significantly more effective than
fluconazole (Wheat 2002), but is associated with a high risk of interactions, particularly with ritonavir (Crommentuyn 2004). With regard to other OIs, secondary prophylaxis for histoplasmosis can be discontinued if immune reconstitution is sufficient (Goldman 2004). Initiation of ART and the subsequent immune reconstitution
may reveal undiagnosed latent disseminated histoplasmosis (Nacher 2006).
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Albrecht H, Stellbrink HJ, Petersen J, et al. Disseminated histoplasmosis in AIDS. Dtsch Med Wschr 1994, 119:657-62.
Crommentuyn KM, Mulder JW, Sparidans RW, et al. Drug-drug interaction between itraconazole and the antiretroviral drug lopinavir/ritonavir in an HIV-1-infected
patient with disseminated histoplasmosis. Clin Infect Dis 2004, 38:e73-5.
Goldman M, Zackin R, Fichtenbaum CJ, et al. Safety of discontinuation of maintenance therapy for disseminated histoplasmosis after immunologic response to
antiretroviral therapy. Clin Infect Dis 2004, 38:1485-9.
Gutierrez ME, Canton A, Sosa N, et al. Disseminated histoplasmosis in patients with AIDS in panama: a review of 104 cases. Clin Infect Dis 2005;40:1199-202.
Johnson PC, Wheat LJ, Cloud GA, et al. Safety and efficacy of liposomal amphotericin B compared with conventional amphotericin B for induction therapy of
histoplasmosis in patients with AIDS. Ann Intern Med 2002, 137: 105-9.
Mora DJ, dos Santos CT, Silva-Vergara ML. Disseminated histoplasmosis in AIDS patients in Uberaba, MG, Brazil. Mycoses 2008;51:136-40.
Nacher M, Sarazin F, El Guedj M, et al. Increased incidence of disseminated histoplasmosis following HAART initiation. J AIDS 2006, 41:468-70.
403
Scheinfeld N. Diffuse ulcerations due to disseminated histoplasmosis in a patient with HIV. J Drugs Dermatol 2003, 2:189-91.
Wheat LJ, Connolly P, Haddad N, et al. Antigen clearance during treatment of disseminated histoplasmosis with itraconazole versus fluconazole in patients with AIDS.
Wheat LJ, Musial CE, Jenny-Avital E. Diagnosis and management of central nervous system histoplasmosis. Clin Inf Dis 2005, 40:844-52.
Isosporiasis
Isospora belli is a ubiquitous intestinal parasite. While rare in Europe, it is a issue
of great concern in the developing world, especially in the tropics and subtropics
(Lagrange-Xelot 2008). Similar to cryptosporidiosis, this microbe may cause epidemic-type outbreaks in immunocompetent hosts. Patients suffer at a minimum
with enteritis-like complaints and occasionally, also experience very severe watery
diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramps and nausea.
In immunocompromised patients, chronic diarrhea and malnutrition may occur (review in: Goodgame 1996). Fever is seldom seen. Chronic isosporiasis with diarrhea
lasting for more than four weeks is AIDS-defining. Detection of the relatively large
oocysts is possible via normal stool sampling for parasites, as well as in acid-fast
stains. Blood tests usually reveal eosinophilia (Certad 2003).
Treatment is co-trimoxazole (960 mg daily for one week). Ciprofloxacin is slightly
less effective (Verdier 2000). Relapse is common despite cotrimoxazole maintenance therapy (Lagrange-Xelot 2008).
References
Certad G, Arenas-Pinto A, Pocaterra L, et al. Isosporiasis in Venezuelan adults infected with hiv: clinical characterization. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2003, 69:217-22.
Goodgame RW. Understanding intestinal spore-forming protozoa: cryptosporidia, microsporidia, isospora, cyclospora. Ann Int Med 1996,124:429-41
Lagrange-Xelot M, Porcher R, Sarfati C, et al. Isosporiasis in patients with HIV infection in the HAART era in France. HIV Med 2008;9:126-30.
Verdier RI, Fitzgerald DW, Johnson WD Jr, Pape JW. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole compared with ciprofloxacin for treatment and prophylaxis of Isospora belli and
Cyclospora cayetanensis infection in HIV-infected patients. A randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med 2000, 132:885-8.
Coccidioidomycosis
Infection with the mould Coccidioides immitis is endemic in the Southwestern US
and therefore, taken into consideration when presented with patients who have been
in this region. (review: Galgiani 2005, Ampel 2007). Laboratory personnel also
should also be informed of the high risk of infection, even in suspected cases.
After inhalation of spores, the primary manifestation begins in the lungs (Pappagianis 1993). Approximately 1-3 weeks after exposure, a pneumonia-like illness
develops with fever, cough, chest pain and general malaise. The infection, although
often symptomatic, usually resolves in immunocompetent patients without sequelae. Occasionally, there is residual cavitation. Disseminated coccidioidomycosis
beyond the lung and hilar lymph nodes (for example chronic meningoencephalitis)
occurs practically only in significantly immunocompromised patients with CD4
counts of less than 250 cells/l (Ampel 2007). Disseminated coccidioidomycosis is
an AIDS-defining illness. Prognosis was poor in the pre-HAART era. In an analysis
of 602 patients with disseminated coccidioidomycosis, mortality after one year was
63% (Jones 1995).
Amphotericin as well as azoles are effective (Hernandez 1997), and should be, if
necessary, combined (Ampel 2007). Detailed recommendations for the different
situations (meningeal or disseminated cases must be treated more intensively) can
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be found in the publication of Galgiani 2005. Fluconazole should be given as maintenance therapy at high doses (400 mg).
In the past few years, it seems that the disease has become rarer as a result of ART,
and that maintenance therapy can be discontinued when CD4 cells are greater than
250/l with only initial pulmonary involvement. However, lifelong treatment is still
recommended for cases of meningeal involvement (Woods 2000, Galgiani 2005,
Ampel 2007).
References
Ampel NM. Coccidioidomycosis in persons infected with HIV-1. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2007;1111:336-42.
Galgiani JN, Ampel NM, Blair JE, et al. Coccidioidomycosis. Clin Infect Dis 2005, 41:1217-23.
Hernandez JL, Echevarria S, Garcia-Valtuille A, Mazorra F, Salesa R. Atypical coccidioidomycosis in an AIDS patient successfully treated with fluconazole. Eur J Clin
Microbiol Infect Dis 1997, 16:592-4.
Pappagianis D. Coccidioidomycosis. Semin Dermatol 1993, 12:301-9.
Woods CW, McRill C, Plikaytis BD, et al. Coccidioidomycosis in HIV-infected persons in Arizona, 1994-1997: incidence, risk factors, and prevention. J Infect Dis 2000,
181:1428-34.
Leishmaniasis (visceral)
Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease that is caused by 20 species pathogenic for
humans belonging to the genus Leishmania, a protozoa that is transmitted by sand
flies. According to WHO, there are 12 million people infected with leishmania
worldwide; while approximately 350 million people who live in risk areas. Up to
2 million new infections occur every year, with two-thirds of these infections in the
cutaneous form. In Southern Europe, visceral leishmaniasis (kala azar) is common
in HIV infected patients. In Spain, the majority of patients with visceral leishmaniasis are now HIV-infected (Pintado 2001). Although there is much in favor of it,
leishmaniasis is still not an AIDS-defining illness.
A review of 15 cases in Germany showed that all HIV patients were significantly
immunosuppressed (usually less than 100 CD4 T cells/l). A few patients had not
been in endemic areas for several years (Albrecht 1998). Bone marrow involvement
is reflected by the almost obligatory pancytopenia, which may be particularly severe in HIV patients (Pintado 2001). Other symptoms include fever, hepatosplenomegaly, and mucocutaneous lesions. The diagnosis is usually made from
bone marrow aspirate.
Treatment of visceral leishmaniasis is problematic (review: Olliaro 2005). Pentavalent antimony compounds such as sodium stibogluconate (Pentostam) or or meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime) have been used for about 60 years (dosage usually used: 20 mg/kg i.v. or i.m. daily for 28 days). However, these drugs are extremely toxic. Myalgia, arthralgia, cardiotoxicity and chemical pancreatitis often
lead to discontinuation.
The German Association for Tropical Medicine recommends liposomal amphotericin B as the treatment of choice (2-5 mg/kg daily). In a randomized study, amphotericin B and meglumin antimonate were equivalent, with remission rates of
approximately two-thirds each however, in both arms there were severe side effects in almost half the patients, with nephrotoxicity under amphotericin B, and
cardiotoxicity and pancreatitis under meglumin antimonate (Laguna 1999).
The only orally bioavailable leishmaniasis drug and a promising new drug, due to
its good tolerability and efficacy, is miltefosine (Impavido), an alkylphosphocho-
405
line analog that was initially developed for oncology, but showed no efficacy there.
In 2004, Milfetosine was licensed in Germany and in 2005, Zentis obtained the orphan-drug status from the European Health Authority. This means a 10-year exclusive right to marketing permission, less fees, and accelerated processing of the
application for approval. Although, clarity is still needed as to how miltefosine inhibits leishmania metabolism, a Phase III study in India demonstrated it as highly
effective (Sundar 2002). In another randomized study showed that among HIVinfected patients with leishmaniasis, miltefosine administered at a dose of 100 mg
daily is safer but possibly less effective than sodium stibogluconate. We have successfully treated two patients with miltefosine to date.
Another option may be paromomycin, an aminoglycoside. In a randomized, controlled, phase 3 open-label study from India, paromomycin at a dose of 11 mg per
kilogram of body weight intramuscularly daily was shown to be non-inferior to amphotericin B for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (Sundar 2007).
Relapses are frequent and occur in almost half of all cases. ART seems to change
this another argument for inclusion in the AIDS classification (de La Rosa 2002,
Fernandez-Cotarelo 2003).
References
Albrecht H, Sobottka I, Emminger C, et al. Visceral leishmaniasis emerging as an important opportunistic infection in HIV-infected persons living in areas nonendemic
for Leishmania donovani. Arch Pathol Lab Med 1996, 120:189-98.
Albrecht H. Leishmaniosis - new perspectives on an underappreciated opportunistic infection. AIDS 1998, 12:2225-6.
de La Rosa R, Pineda JA, Delgado J, et al. Incidence of and risk factors for symptomatic visceral leishmaniasis among HIV type 1-infected patients from Spain in the
era of HAART. J Clin Microbiol 2002, 40:762-7.
Fernandez-Cotarelo MJ, Abellan Martinez J, Guerra Vales JM, et al. Effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy on the incidence and clinical manifestations of visceral
leishmaniasis in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. Clin Infect Dis 2003, 37: 973-7.
Laguna F, Lopez-Velez R, Pulido F, et al. Treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in HIV-infected patients: a randomized trial comparing meglumine antimoniate with
amphotericin B. AIDS 1999, 13:1063-9.
Olliaro PL, Guerin PJ, Gerstl S, Haaskjold AA, Rottingen JA, Sundar S. Treatment options for visceral leishmaniasis: a systematic review of clinical studies done in
India, 1980-2004. Lancet Infect Dis 2005, 5:763-74.
Pintado V, Martin-Rabadan P, Rivera ML, Moreno S, Bouza E. Visceral leishmaniasis in HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected patients. A comparative study. Medicine
(Baltimore) 2001, 80:54-73.
Ritmeijer K, Dejenie A, Assefa Y, et al. A comparison of miltefosine and sodium stibogluconate for treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in an Ethiopian population with
high prevalence of HIV infection. Clin Infect Dis 2006, 43:357-64.
Sundar S, Jha TK, Thakur CP, et al. Oral miltefosine for Indian visceral leishmaniasis. N Engl J Med 2002, 347:1739-46.
Sundar S, Jha TK, Thakur CP, Sinha PK, Bhattacharya SK. Injectable paromomycin for Visceral leishmaniasis in India. N Engl J Med 2007;356:2571-81.
Microsporidiosis
Microsporidiosis is an important cause of diarrhea in HIV patients. Microsporidia
are obligate intracellular protozoa. At least four genera, with Enterocytozoon bieneusi considered the most noteworthy, are are described as pathogenic in humans.
Even in Germany, microsporidia were previously among the most recurrent diarrhea-causing microbes. Furthermore, in the pre-HAART era, microsporidia could
be found in approximately one-third of all patients. Some studies documented up to
two-thirds of all HIV-infected patients with chronic diarrhea (Sobottka 1998). The
incidence of microsporidiosis has been reduced significantly due to ART; consequently, it is now only diagnosed occasionally. Although microsporidiosis is not
AIDS-defining, chronic microsporidiosis almost always occurs in severely immunocompromised patients with CD4 T cell counts of less than 50 cells/l.
Diarrhea may be very severe; watery, though not bloody; and accompanied by abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Fever is almost always absent. While myositis,
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keratoconjunctivitis and sinusitis have rarely been described, infections of the biliary ducts are considered as common.
In light of the fact that microsporidia, like cryptosporidia, are very small, an experienced laboratory is desirable for detection. Those who have never seen them or
who are not asked to explicitly test for them will probably not detect them. Culture
has not generally been established. Direct detection is most successful with specialized staining methods. Special transport or preparation is not necessary.
Although effective, Albendazole (1-2 tbl. at 400 mg bid for 4 weeks) is not most
advantageous in every case. For example, Enterocytozoon bieneusi is often resistant
to albendazole. Repeated positive reports in such cases, especially from France,
give an account of treatment with fumagillin (watch for thrombocytopenia), but
these case numbers remain low (Molina 2002). Case reports (Bicart-See 2000) are
also available for niazoxanide (see cryptosporidiosis). There have also been positive
reports of symptomatic treatment with thalidomide. ART-induced immune reconstitution, however, seems to have the greatest effect (Carr 1998+2002, Maggi 2000).
References
Bicart-See A, Massip P, Linas MD, Datry A. Successful treatment with nitazoxanide of Enterocytozoon bieneusi microsporidiosis in a patient with AIDS. Antimicrob
Agents Chemother 2000, 44:167-8.
Carr A, Cooper DA. Fumagillin for intestinal microsporidiosis. N Engl J Med 2002, 347:1381.
Carr A, Marriott D, Field A, Vasak E, Cooper DA. Treatment of HIV-1 associated microsporidiosis and cryptosporidiosis with combination antiretroviral therapy. Lancet
1998, 351:256-61.
Leder K, Ryan N, Spelman D, Crowe SM. Microsporidial disease in HIV-infected patients: a report of 42 patients and review of the literature. Scand J Infect Dis 1998,
30:331-8.
Maggi P, Larocca AM, Quarto M, et al. Effect of antiretroviral therapy on cryptosporidiosis and microsporidiosis in patients infected with HIV virus type 1. Eur J Clin
Microbiol Infect Dis 2000, 19:213-7.
Molina JM, Tourneur M, Sarfati C, et al. Fumagillin treatment of intestinal microsporidiosis. N Engl J Med 2002, 346:1963-9.
Sobottka I, Schwartz DA, Schottelius J, et al. Prevalence and clinical significance of intestinal microsporidiosis in HIV-infected patients with and without diarrhea in
Germany: a prospective coprodiagnostic study. Clin Infect Dis 1998, 26:475-80.
Nocardia
Nocardia are aerobic bacteria or actinomycetes that occur worldwide. Several species exist that cause pneumonia as well as systemic disease. In a survey of 30 cases
of HIV patients with nocardiosis, pulmonary manifestation occurred in 21 cases
(Uttamchandani 1994). Pulmonary manifestation of nocardiosis is often confused
with tuberculosis. Extrapulmonary manifestation may occur in the skin, brain,
nerves, muscle and bone. The immune response to Nocardia is cellular. As a result,
there is generally an increased risk of pulmonary or systemic disease in immunosuppressed patients. In HIV infected patients, however, opportunistic infections
with Nocardia are rare. Patients are usually significantly immunocompromised
(Javaly 1992, Uttamchandani 1994). Nocardia respond well to sulfonamides such as
sulfadiazine even in HIV infected patients (Pintado 2003). In cases of suspected
nocardiosis, an experienced laboratory should be consulted.
References
Javaly K, Horowitz HW, Wormser GP. Nocardiosis in patients with hiv infection. Report of 2 cases and review of the literature. Medicine 1992,71:128-38.
Pintado V, Gomez-Mampaso E, Cobo J, et al. Nocardial infection in patients infected with the HIV. Clin Microbiol Infect 2003, 9:716-20.
Uttamchandani RB, Daikos GL, Reyes RR, et al. Nocardiosis in 30 patients with advanced HIV infection: clinical features and outcome. Clin Infect Dis 1994, 18:348-53.
Penicillium marneffei
Most fungi belonging to the Penicillium species are not pathogenic. One exception
is Penicillium marneffei, which is a problem mainly for HIV patients in Southeast
Asia, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan (Cooper 2000). In these areas, it is the most
407
frequent fungal infection in AIDS beside cryptococcosis, and is considered AIDSdefining by many clinicians (but is not included in the CDC classification).
The clinical symptoms consist of prolonged high fever, lymphadenopathy, weight
loss, malaise, cough and hemoptysis, diverse cutaneous and mucocutaneous lesions
(reminiscent of molluscum contagiosum) and abnormal liver enzymes. There is
often hepatosplenomegaly. Disseminated cases also occur (Ma 2005).
Definitive diagnosis relies upon the identification or isolation of P. marneffei in
clinical specimens (blood, bone marrow, sputum). However, conventional culture
usually takes at least three days. The use of the Galaktomannan antigen assay may
facilitate earlier diagnosis of Penicillium marneffei infection for HIV-infected patients in areas of endemicity (Huang 2007).
There are no randomized studies which have evaluated different treatment options
for P. marneffei infections. Amphotericin B, voriconazole and itraconazole are effective treatments (Supparatpinyo 2007, Ustianowski 2008). To prevent relapses,
however, patients who have had the disease should take itraconazole as a permanent
prophylaxis (Supparatpinyo 1998). Primary prophylaxis is not recommended even
with longer stays in endemic areas (Chariyalertsak 2002). The only patient we have
seen with Penicillium marneffei had spent several months on vacation in Thailand
(Sobottka 1996).
References
Chariyalertsak S, Supparatpinyo K, Sirisanthana T, et al. A controlled trial of itraconazole as primary prophylaxis for systemic fungal infections in patients with advanced
HIV infection in Thailand. Clin Infect Dis 2002, 34:277-84.
Huang YT, Hung CC, Liao CH, et al. Detection of circulating galactomannan in serum samples for diagnosis of Penicillium marneffei infection and cryptococcosis
among patients infected with HIV. J Clin Microbiol 2007;45:2858-62.
Ma ES, Ho PL. Disseminated Penicillium marneffei infection. Br J Haematol 2005, 130:2.
Sobottka I, Albrecht H, Mack D, et al. Systemic Penicillium marneffei infection in a German AIDS patient. Eur J Clin Mic Inf Dis 1996,15:256-9.
Supparatpinyo K, Perriens J, Nelson KE, Sirisanthana T. A controlled trial of itraconazole to prevent relapse of Penicillium marneffei infection in patients infected with
the HIV. N Engl J Med 1998, 339:1739-43.
Supparatpinyo K, Schlamm HT. Voriconazole as therapy for systemic Penicillium marneffei infections in AIDS patients. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2007;77:350-3.
Ustianowski AP, Sieu TP, Day JN. Penicillium marneffei infection in HIV. Curr Opin Infect Dis 2008;21:31-6.
Rhodococcus
Rhodococcus equi (previously Corynebacterium equi) is a sporeless, gram-positive
intracellular pathogen, which is ubiquitous in air, water and soil. R. equi has been
found on all continents, and was first identified as a pathogen in young horses. For
half a century, only veterinarians were interested in this microorganism, but in the
last two decades, it has been found more and more frequently in humans, primarily
in significantly immunocompromised patients. In these patients, it causes severe
granulomatous or abscess forming pneumonia, and sometimes also disseminated
infection. The coryneform bacteria seen in sputum cultures are often confused with
normal diphtheroid flora found in the mouth and therefore not diagnosed.
In 1986, the first case with respect to an AIDS patient was described (Samies 1986).
In a collection of 78 cases, mostly AIDS patients with less than 50 CD4 T cells/l
were affected. The main symptoms were fever, dyspnea and unproductive cough
(Capdevila 1997). Cavitation, mainly in the upper lobes, is frequently seen radiologically (Capdevila 1997, Marchiori 2005). Rhodococci are best detected in
sputum and blood cultures (Torres-Tortosa 2003).
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Erythromycin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, rifampin and vancomycin are effective,

and some of these drugs can also be combined. However, treatment is difficult and
complete recovery is rare (Plum 1997, Sanz-Moreno 2002), so that surgical measures may also be necessary if there is extensive cavitation.
Survival of patients treated with ART is much higher than that of patients who did
not receive ART (Torres-Tortosa 2003).
References
Capdevila JA, Bujan S, Gavalda J, Ferrer A, Pahissa A. Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in patients infected with the HIV. Report of 2 cases and review of the literature.
Scand J Infect Dis 1997, 9:535-41.
Marchiori E, Muller NL, de Mendonca RG, et al. Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in AIDS: high-resolution CT findings in five patients. Br J Radiol 2005, 78:783-6.
Plum G, Ftkenheuer G, Hartmann P, et al. Secondary prophylaxis of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in HIV infection: breakthrough despite rifampicin/erythromycin
suppressive therapy. Clin Microbiol Infect 1997, 3:141-143.
Samies JH, Hathaway BN, Echols RM, et al. Lung abscess due to Corynebacterium equi: report of the first case in a patient with AIDS. Am J Med 1986, 80:685688.
Sanz-Moreno J, Flores-Segovia J, Olmedilla-Arregui G, et al. Rhodococcus equi pneumonia: HAART helps but does not cure lung infection. AIDS 2002, 16:509-11.
Torres-Tortosa M, Arrizabalaga J, Villanueva JL, et al. Prognosis and clinical evaluation of infection caused by Rhodococcus equi in HIV-infected patients: a multicenter
study of 67 cases. Chest 2003, 123:1970-6.
Trypanosoma cruzi
Trypanosoma cruzi is a protozoan that is transmitted via contaminated feces of triatomid bugs (assassin bugs), found almost exclusively on the American continent.
It causes Chagas disease, one of the most frequent causes of cardiomyopathy in
South America.
HIV patients are more frequently affected and have higher levels of parasitemia
(Sartori 2002), probably due to the fact that the Trypanosoma-specific immune response is mainly cellular in nature. In addition, a more frequent occurrence in HIV
infected patients is meningoencephalitis, which is usually severe and radiologically
not distinguishable from cerebral toxoplasmosis or primary cerebral lymphoma. In
HIV patients from South America, Trypanosoma infection should therefore be considered in the differential diagnosis (Silva 1999, Cordova 2008). Whenever possible, lumbar puncture should be performed because of the high accuracy for early
diagnosis. However, treatment (for example benznidazole) is rarely successful and
mortality is high (Sartori 2007, Cordova 2008).
References
Cordova E, Boschi A, Ambrosioni J, Cudos C, Corti M. Reactivation of Chagas disease with central nervous system involvement in HIV-infected patients in Argentina,
1992-2007. Int J Infect Dis 2008
Silva N, O'Bryan L, Medeiros E, et al. Trypanosoma cruzi meningoencephalitis in HIV-infected patients. J AIDS Hum Retrovirol 1999, 20:342-9.
Sartori AM, Neto JE, Nunes EV, et al. Trypanosoma cruzi parasitemia in chronic Chagas disease: comparison between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients. J Infect
Dis 2002, 186:872-5.
Sartori AM, Ibrahim KY, Nunes Westphalen EV, et al. Manifestations of Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) in patients with HIV/AIDS. Ann Trop Med
Parasitol 2007;101:31-50.
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12. Kaposis Sarcoma

Christian Hoffmann, Stefan Esser
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most common malignancy in patients with HIV infection. In 1981, the simultaneous occurrence of KS with Pneumocystis pneumonias in
young MSM led to the first description of AIDS. This entity is designated after the
Hungarian dermatologist Moritz Kaposi who had described well 100 years before
for the first time the classical KS. Classical KS predominantly occurs in elderly,
but otherwise healthy people from the Eastern Mediterranean area. It affects often
only the skin at the lower extremities and thereby, clearly differs from HIVassociated KS which will be the focus of the following chapter.
In contrast to classical KS, HIV-associated KS may affect all skin and mucous
membranes. Lymph nodes and internal organs such as stomach, gut, lung or liver
may also be involved. The progression of HIV-associated KS is very variable and
reaches from small lesions, remaining stable for years, to extremely aggressive
courses, in which rapid progression may lead to death within a few months.
Compared to the 1980s and early 1990's, when KS was one of the most common
AIDS illnesses, prevalence of KS today is relatively low (Francesci 2008). In
France, the incidence fell between 1994 and 1999 significantly, and thus within
only five years, to less than a tenth (Grabar 2006). In addition, the clinical course of
KS has changed with the introduction of antiretroviral therapy. The refractory variants with an aggressive, devastating and often fatal course which were seen in the
pre-HAART era have became a rarity today.
Pathogenesis
The cellular origin of the spindle cells (considered as the KS tumor cells) is still
controversially discussed. Newer investigations suggested lymphatic, endothelial
cells (Dupin 2006). Since 1994, it is well known that KS is induced by an infection
with the human Herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) or Kaposi sarcoma associated herpesvirus
(KSHV). HHV-8 can be always detected in the tumor tissue, and the level of HHV8-plasma viremia correlates quite well with KS progression (Laney 2007). Transmission of HHV-8 occurs predominantly by saliva (swot 2000), but also sexually,
vertically and via blood products (Pica 2008). In some regions, particularly in Italy
and Central Africa, HHV-8 can be found in up to 50% of the general population.
The exact role of HHV-8 in the KS pathogenesis is not clear. Infection with HHV-8
does not lead inevitably to KS. Interactions particularly with HIV-1 (Aoki 2004),
possibly also with other viruses such as HHV-6 and HSV-1, changed signal transduction chains, an increased production of growth factors as well as cytokine dysregulations may play a role (McCormack 2005).
Among the HIV population, MSM are almost exclusively affected by KS; in HIVinfected women, children or hemophiliacs KS is a rare disease. An immune defect
and/or low CD4 T cells promote emergence and growth of KS. However, severe
immunodeficiency is not a prerequisite for the development of KS which is one of
the few AIDS illnesses occurring in patients with a relatively preserved immune
status. Approximately 29% of all patients, who participated in the US in the years
1996-2007 in KS studies, had more than 300 CD4 T cells/l and a HIV plasma
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AIDS
viremia below the detection limit (Krown 2008). In one study, the activation of the
CD8 T cells correlated more strongly with the progression than the number of CD4
T cells (Stebbing 2006). There is also a variant of KS occurring only few weeks or
months after introduction of antiretroviral therapy. This IRIS associated KS gives
evidence that the reconstitution of HHV-8 specific cellular immune responses, the
decrease in HIV and HHV-8 plasma viremia following ART may not be sufficient
to prevent KS in all cases.
Signs, symptoms and diagnosis

HIV-associated KS does not have a preferential pattern of localization. It can begin
on any area of the skin, but may also appear on oral, genital, or ocular mucous
membranes. Typical findings at manifestation are a few asymptomatic purple
macules or nodules. These lesions have a predilection for distribution along relaxed
skin tension lines. As mentioned above, the disease progression is very variable: the
tumors can remain unchanged for months to years, or grow rapidly within a few
weeks and disseminate. Rapid growth can lead to localized pain and a yellow-green
discoloration of the area around the tumor as a result of hemorrhage. Further progression of the tumor can lead to central necrosis and ulceration. The tumors may
bleed easily. Plaque-like and nodular KS lesions, often become confluent and can
be accompanied by massive lymphoedema. In the oral cavity, the hard palate is
frequently affected. Lesions begin with purplish erythema and progress to plaques
and nodules that ulcerate easily. KS lesions may also involve the external genitalia
including the foreskin and glans penis.
Regression of KS during is not only indicated by size reduction of the lesions but
also by colour changes from dark to bright red. However, some lesions may persist
even lifelong. These often dirty-grey-brown to light brown hyperpigmentations are
caused by hemosiderin deposits and, possibly, increased stimulation of melanocytes
due to the inflammation. Lymphoedema can also persist over years.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of cutaneous KS is usually made based on clinical findings. However, in
all inconclusive or questionable cases a histologic diagnosis (excision or incision) is
recommended. Differential diagnosis includes other neoplasia such as cutaneous
lymphomas or angiosarcoma, but also infectious diseases such as syphilis and bacillary angiomatosis. Histological findings include spindle-shaped cells with vascular
channels lined by abnormal endothelial cells. Extravasated erythrocytes, hemosiderin, and fibrosis can often be seen.
In every case of KS, clinical staging procedures are recommended, including:
1. Complete inspection (oral and genital mucous membranes!)
2. Abdominal ultrasound
3. Gastroduodenoscopy and coloscopy (both procedures obligatory when mucous
membranes are involved)
4. Chest radiography (exclusion of a pulmonary KS)
Kaposis Sarcoma
411
Treatment
If KS is newly diagnosed in an HIV-infected patient who is nave to antiretroviral
therapy, ART should be initiated. In all patients on ART but without sufficient suppression of HIV plasma viremia, ART should be optimized. Treatment interruptions
should be avoided (Silverberg 2007). With decreasing HIV plasma viremia and
immune reconstitution, many KS lesions stabilize or even resolve completely without any specific treatment. In one Italian study on 22 consecutive, ART-nave KS
patients, the overall clinical response rate to ART only was 91%: 18 complete and 2
partial responses were achieved, and only two patients experienced disease progression. CR was sustained in all 18 patients (Cattelan 2005).
The clinical observation that KS may resolve under PI based ART, even in the absence of a significant improvement in the immunological status, has been confirmed
with the discovery of the direct anti-proliferative effects of the PIs indinavir and
saquinavir (Sgadari 2002). However, there is no ART combination of choice as
NNRTI-based regimens are also effective with regard to KS regression (Grabar
2006, Martinez 2006).
ART as the only therapy is not recommended in all cases. In patients with rapidly
progressive disease, with KS-related symptoms, or with visceral disease, ART
should be combined with cytotoxic chemotherapy. There are different options
which will be discussed in the following.
Chemotherapy: should be considered in all patients with rapid progression of KS,
with visceral involvement, lymphoedema or with persistant lesions during ART,
especially in those with IRIS associated KS. Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride (Caelyx) at a dosage of 20 mg/m body surface is the treatment of
choice (Di Trolio 2006). It has replaced older therapies such as the ABV regimen, a
combination of adriamycine, bleomycine and vincristine. With Caelyx complete
remission rates of up to 80% are possible (Lichterfeld 2005). The infusions over 3060 min every 2-3 weeks are ambulatory feasiblly and usually well tolerated. An
antiemetic therapy is not necessary. Usually 6-8 cycles are required to achieve a
good clinical response. Relapses during Caelyx therapy occur rarely and particularly during the first year (Martin Carbonero 2008). During treatment, myelotoxicity and cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin should be considered. Although the latter is
rare and occurs only above cumulative doses of 450 mg, echocardiography (ejection
fraction?) is recommend at the beginning of therapy as well as controls after six
cycles. Another important side effect of Caelyx is palmo-plantar erythrodysesthesia (PPE, hand-foot-syndrome), which becomes apparent as painful erythemas at
hands and feet (Lorusso 2007). The incidence of PPE is increased in patients receiving Caelyx compared with conventional doxorubicin.
Beside doxorubicine, paclitaxel (Taxol) is also effective in KS (Tulpule 2002,
Dhillon 2005, Stebbing 2006). However, palcitaxel is more myelotoxic and leads
almost always to complete alopecia, often already during the first cycle (patient
must be informed!). Paclitaxel should be used only, if KS lesions show progression
during therapy with Caelyx or when Caelyx is not available. Beside Palcitaxel
also Docetaxel (Taxotere) seems to be effective according to some uncontrolled
studies (Autier 2005, Lim 2005). It should be mentioned that there may exist significant interactions between the taxanes and ART (Bundow 2004).
412
AIDS
For the treatment of doxorubicin refractory cases, beside taxanes, oral etoposide
(Evans 2002), irinotecan (Vaccher 2005) and the ABV regimen mentioned above
may be considered.
Immunotherapy: With interferons (IFN) acceptable remission rates are reached.
However, CR rates seem to be somewhat lower than with pegylated liposomal
doxorubicin (Kreuter 2005). The effect mechanism of IFN is KS is not fully clarified. Apart from an immunemodulating effect, IFN probably induce the apoptosis in
KS-cells. It is important to note that the effectiveness depends on the immune
status. In patients with more than 400 CD4 T cells/l, remission rates during IFN
are at least 45%, compared with only 7% in patients with less than 200 CD4 T
cells/l. There may be some other factors predicting response to IFN such as endogenous IFN levels, which are increased in the advanced stage of the HIV infection.
There are currently no standardized IFN treatment regimens. Due to the considerable side effects, a high dose treatment (up to 30 million IU/day) is not commonly
administered. Daily doses of 3-6 million IU subcutaneously are usually given. After
remission (tumor growth stopped, tumors flattened, loss of purple color, change to
brownish color), interferon dosing can be reduced to 3x/week. Complete remission
can be expected after 6-8 weeks of treatment (often significantly later). There is no
sufficient data on the use of the pegylated IFN for HIV-associated KS. Pegylated
IFN has been used successfully for the treatment of classical KS (Thoma-Greber
2002) in a dose of 50g/week subcutaneously. Whether higher doses or shorter
treatment intervals are necessary for HIV-associated KS still remains to be investigated. However, there are some promising case report in AIDS patients (Van der
Ende 2007, Ueno 2007, Di Lorenzo 2008).
Table 1: Specific therapies for KS when ART is not sufficient
Therapy
Pegylated liposomal
doxorubicin (Caelyx )
Dosage
2
20 mg/m i.v. every 2
weeks
6
3-6 x 10 I.E. s.c. or
i.m.
3 x / week
Comment
Treatment of choice, cave myelotoxicity,
cardiotoxicity, hand-foot-syndrome
Considerable side effects, less efficacy
than with doxorubicin. Use only when CD4cells are >200/l and limited disease
Pegylated Interferon-
2b (PegIntron )
50 g s.c. weekly
Paclitaxel
(Taxol )
100 mg/m i.v. every

2 weeks or
2
135 mg/m i.v. every
3 weeks
Tolerability improved compared to conventional IFN- (2a,b), but lack of data in

AIDS-KS, off Lable-Use!
Cave neutropenia, peripheral neuropathy,
allergic reactions, alopecia
Off Lable-Use! Caution with ARTinteractions
Interferon- 2a (Rofe
ron )
Local therapy: has the advantage of being well-tolerated and less costly. Many
different methods are used depending on the size and location of tumors: cosmetic
camouflage, cryosurgery, intralesional injections of vinca alkaloids, bleomycin or
interferons, soft x-ray radiation, electron beam therapy, cobalt radiation (fractionated) or Imiquimod (Celestin Schartz 2008). Compressive therapy with elastic
stockings is an important strategy for the treatment of KS associated lymphoedema
(Brambilla 2006).
Kaposis Sarcoma
413
KS is a strikingly radiosensitive tumor (Becker 2006). Superficial macular or

plaque-like KS lesions respond well to daily doses of 4-5 Gy (total dose 20-30 Gy,
fractionated 3x/week) of soft x-ray radiation.
As KS is a multifocal systemic disease, surgical treatment is limited to excisional
biopsies for diagnosis and palliative removal of small tumors in cosmetically disturbing areas. Since tumors often extend further into the surroundings than is clinically visible and local trauma can lead to new tumors (Koebner phenomenon), local
and regional recurrences can be expected. These can be prevented by radiation therapy: in order to reach the tumor cells spreading along the vascular channels, the
field of radiation should be extended 0.5-1.0 cm beyond the edges of the tumor.
New therapeutic approaches: With regards to the KS pathogenesis, several new
therapies have been suggested such as virustatic agents, cytokines and inhibitors of
angiogenesis.
Valganciclovir - promising approach as this antiviral agent significantly reduces
the frequency and quantity of HHV-8 replication. This was recently shown by a
randomized trial (Casper 2008). Better tolerability than foscarnet which had been
discussed in the 90s. However, there are no data on clinical efficacy in AIDS-KS
published to date.
Interleukin-12 - high response rates in a phase II study, in which this cytokine
was combined with liposomal doxorubicin (Little 2007). No randomized studies.
Sirolimus (and everolimus) - new immunosuppressive agents used in the transplantation setting. Good response rates in uncontrolled studies on HIV negative
renal transplant recipients with KS (Stallone 2005, Campistol 2007). It is postulated that these drugs inhibit tumour angiogenesis through impaired vascular endothelium growth factor production.
Imatinib (Glivec) - activation of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and
c-kit receptors has been proposed as important in mediating the growth of AIDSKS. Treatment with the PDGF receptor/c-kit inhibitor, imatinib mesylate, resulted
in clinical and histologic regression of cutaneous KS lesions in 5/10 patients
within 4 weeks (Koon 2005).
Sorafenib (Nexavar) - is an oral Raf kinase inhibitor, approved for the treatment
of advanced renal cancer. Case reports on KS (Ardavanis 2008). Phase I studies
are underway.
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) - are involved in tumor metastasis and are
overexpressed in Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) cells. MMP inhibitors such as COL-3
have shown activity in a phase II study on patients with advanced KS (Dezube
2006). However, clinical response rates were at best moderate with 41%. The
most common adverse events were photosensitivity and rash.
Retinoid compounds (tretinoin, isotretinoin, acitretin) - may inhibit the proliferation of KS cells. Many studies on different formulations have been conducted
(Corbeil 1994, Duvic 2000, Bodsworth 2001, Bernstein 2002, Aboulafia 2003).
However, efficacy is only moderate. Thus, retinoids will face a difficult path attaining approval for treatment of KS.
414
AIDS
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416
13. Malignant Lymphomas

Christian Hoffmann
Malignant lymphomas are neoplastic diseases of the lymphatic system that grow
rapidly and aggressively, and lead to death within a few weeks or months if left
untreated. Hodgkins disease (HD) is distinguished from the large group of nonHodgkins lymphomas (NHL). In comparison to the general population, HIV infected patients are affected significantly more frequently by all types of lymphoma
(see Table 1). Aggressive non-Hodgkins lymphomas of B-cell origin are particularly frequent.
The incidence of lymphomas has been markedly reduced by the introduction of
antiretroviral therapy. The decline of the incidence seems to be greater for lymphoma subtypes that mainly occur in severe immunodeficiency (Kirk 2001, Polesel
2008). However, there is evidence that this reduction overall was not as impressive
as with KS or most opportunistic infections (Clarke 2001, Little 2001, Polesel
2008). Thus, the relative proportion of lymphoma among all AIDS-associated illnesses is increasing. In some HIV cohorts, malignant lymphomas have already
overtaken KS as the most frequent malignancy. In the EuroSIDA study, the proportion of AIDS-defined illnesses that were malignant lymphomas increased from less
than 4% in 1994 to 16% in 1998 (Mocroft 2000). In France, lymphomas accounted
for 11% and 10% of all deaths in HIV patients in 2000 and 2005, respectively
(Bonnet 2004+2009). Therefore, malignant lymphomas will be a significant morbidity and mortality factor in HIV patients in the future.
Table 1. Relative risk of different lymphomas in HIV patients in comparison to the normal
population (adapted from Goedert 2000)
Malignant NHL total
High-grade malignancy NHL
Immunoblastic NHL
Burkitts NHL
Not classifiable
Primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL)
Low-grade malignancy NHL
Plasmocytoma
Hodgkins disease
165
348
652
261
580
> 1,000
14
5
8
Malignant lymphomas in HIV-infected patients are also biologically very heterogenous and differ in several aspects. The frequency and extent of oncogenic mutations
or cytokine dysregulation differ, as does the histogenetic origin of the malignant
cells (Porcu 2000). In addition, the association with EBV and other oncogenic viruses such as HHV-8 or SV40 is very variable. The extent of immunodeficiency
also varies significantly. Burkitts lymphoma and Hodgkins disease frequently
occur even when the immune status is good. In contrast, immunoblastic and especially primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) are almost always associated with severe
immunodeficiency. There is now some evidence that some subtypes of malignant
lymphoma can be considered as to be opportunistic as severe immunodeficiency
Malignant Lymphomas
417
is required for the development of these entities. For other lymphoma subtypes,
chronic B-cell activation, possibly induced by HIV viremia, is a prerequisite
(Epeldegui 2007, Zoufaly 2008). However, HIV-associated lymphomas both
NHL and HD have numerous common clinical features. Characteristics include
the usually aggressive growth, diagnosis in the advanced stages with frequent extranodal manifestations, poorer response to treatment, high relapse rates and an
overall poor prognosis (Levine 2000).
The treatment of malignant lymphoma remains problematic. Although aggressive
chemotherapy is possible in many patients with existing immunodeficiency, it is
complicated and requires a close cooperation between HIV clinicians and physicians with experience in hematology/oncology.
The following discusses systemic NHL, PCNSL and Hodgkins lymphoma separately. Multicentric Castlemans disease will also be mentioned as a distinct entity,
although it is not considered a malignant lymphoma. Low-grade (indolent) NHLs
are very rare in HIV patients, and will therefore not be discussed here. As there are
no data or even recommendations available, the treatment of such cases should follow the recommendations for HIV-negative patients.
Systemic Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL)

A close association between systemic NHL and AIDS has been described for a long
time the first cases were published only about a year after the first description of
AIDS and even before the discovery of HIV (Ziegler 1982). High-grade B-NHLs
have been AIDS-defining since 1985.
More than 90% of HIV-associated NHLs are of B-cell origin. They are almost always of high-grade malignancy. Two main histological types dominate: according
to the WHO classification these are Burkitts lymphomas, which comprise 30-40%
of cases, and diffuse large-cell B cell lymphomas, comprising 40-60%. However, a
relatively large proportion of HIV-associated lymphomas (up to 30%) cannot be
classified even by reference laboratories. A small proportion of NHLs (1-3%) are
primary effusion or body cavity-based lymphomas and are considered as a distinct
entity (see below).
The prognosis of patients with NHL was poor in the pre-HAART era, being between 6 and 9 months (Levine 2000). Due to the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy this has changed dramatically (Hoffmann 2003). However, in a
recent analysis of the ART Collaboration Cohort, which compared the variable impact on mortality of AIDS-defining events diagnosed during combination antiretroviral therapy, NHL was the AIDS-defining event with the greatest mortality hazard
ratio.
Whether the clinical and pathological spectrum of lymphoma subtypes is also
changing, is still unclear. It seems possible that the relative proportion of Burkitt
lymphoma is increasing.
Prevention, early detection

Antiretroviral therapy seems to be the best protection against lymphoma. ART does
not only improve the immune status but it also reduces the chronic B-cell stimulation, which is another risk factor for the development of lymphoma (Grulich 2008).
HIV plasma viremia should be as low as possible as cumulative HIV viremia is an
418
AIDS
independent and strong predictor of AIDS-related lymphoma among patients receiving ART (Zoufaly 2008).
Besides ART, there is no data supporting specific therapies or diagnostic procedures (such as periodical ultrasound controls etc.) for prevention or for early detection of malignant lymphomas.
There have been numerous studies evaluating factors (so called biomarkers)
which may precede the development of AIDS-associated lymphoma. For example,
it has been shown that the levels of serum globulins (Grulich 2000), interleukin 6
(Breen 2003), soluble CD44 or CD30 (Breen 2005+2006), activity of activation
induced cytidine deaminase (Epeldegui 2007) or circulating immunoglobulin-free
light chains (Landgren 2009) may predict the risk of NHL. These activation markers were markedly elevated in those patients who developed AIDS-NHL, when
compared to AIDS patients and HIV-negative controls. These findings may help us
to understand the pathogenesis of lymphomas in HIV infected patients. However,
they found so far no entrance into the routine diagnostics.
Signs and symptoms

The main symptom is lymph node enlargement. Lymphomas are firm, immobile or
barely mobile and painless. A large proportion of patients have advanced-stage
lymphoma at the time of diagnosis. Ann Arbor stages III-IV are almost always the
rule, and B symptoms with fever, night sweats and/or weight loss are found in the
majority of cases (60-80%). General asthenia, significant malaise and rapid physical
deterioration are also frequently seen. Extranodal involvement is common, and may
be to a grotesque extent. In our own cohort of 203 patients, 81% had at least one
extranodal focus (Hoffmann 2003). Every conceivable region of the body can be
affectedthe orbital cavity, testes, heart, breasts, bladder, kidneys, muscles, or
bones, etc. However, the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and bone marrow are affected
particularly frequently. Secondary CNS involvement can also occur. With extranodal disease, additional symptoms arise depending on the localization. These include, for example, abdominal pain from hepatosplenomegaly, hemorrhage or ileus
symptoms due to intestinal involvement, bone pain with skeletal infiltration, or
headache caused by brain disease.
Diagnosis
Rapid histological diagnosis is essential. If bone marrow biopsy cannot secure the
diagnosis, then a lymph node (e.g. cervical, axillary or inguinal) should be extirpated. Mere puncture biopsy of a lymph node is often not sufficient to secure a representative specimen. It is imperative to send the material to a specialized pathology
laboratory with extensive experience in lymph node morphology. Every case should
be discussed with the pathologist and caution taken to avoid a misdiagnosis. A typical yet mostly wrong diagnosis is that of a high- or low-grade T cell lymphoma in
an AIDS patient. T cell lymphoma are very rare in AIDS patients and in most cases,
T cell infiltrates indicate several infectious diseases like malignant syphilis rather
than lymphoma.
The basic pathological diagnosis should include information about the subtype of
lymphoma (Burkitt?), the proliferation rate and the expression profile (definitely:
CD20, and desirably: CD10, CD138, MUM-1) as these can influence the therapeutic consequences (see below).
Malignant Lymphomas
419
All patients with suspected NHL should be staged according to the Ann-Arbor classification (Tables 2a, b).
Table 2a: Staging according to the updated Ann-Arbor classification
I
II
III
IV
Involvement of a single lymph node region (I) or involvement of a single extralymphatic

organ or site (IE)
Involvement of 2 or more lymph node regions on the same side of the diaphragm (II) or
localized involvement of an extralymphatic organ or site plus its regional lymph nodes,
with or without involvement of other lymph node regions on the same side of the diaphragm (IIE)
Involvement of lymph nodes regions on both sides of the diaphragm (III), can be accompanied by localized extralymphatic organ involvement (IIIE) or spleen involvement
(IIIS) or both (IIIE+S)
Diffuse or disseminated involvement of one or more extralymphatic organs with or
without associated lymph node involvement; or isolated involvement of an extralymphatic organ with involvement of distal (non-regional) lymph nodes.
Table 2b: Every stage is divided into categories A and B

A
Asymptomatic
General symptoms:
a) unexplained weight loss of more than 10% in the last six months, and/or
b) unexplained persistent or recurring fever with temperatures above 38 C, and/or
c) drenching night sweats
Basic diagnostic tests for staging include chest radiography; abdominal ultrasound;
CT scans of the neck, thorax and abdomen; and bone marrow biopsy; aspiration
alone is not enough. In addition to an updated immune status and viral load, the
following should be determined at the very least: blood count, ESR, CRP, uric acid,
LDH, liver and kidney parameters and electrolytes. ECG and echocardiography are
also important beforehand. The possible cardiotoxicity of chemotherapy (anthracyclines) during the course of treatment can only be evaluated if these tests have been
performed at the start. Pulmonary function should be tested before treatment with
regimens containing bleomycin is initiated.
After two cycles of chemotherapy, a restaging should be performed to evaluate
treatment success. This restaging should be oriented according to the original localization of lymphoma. After completion of the protocol, a complete restaging with
bone marrow biopsy (if there was initial involvement) and all CT scans are necessary. With a complete remission, restaging is recommended initially at threemonthly intervals. These intervals can be prolonged to six months after one year
and to twelve months after two years. Relapses after more than three years are rare.
In advanced stages of the disease (Ann Arbor III-IV), and particularly with ENT
involvement, a diagnostic lumbar puncture is necessary before initiating systemic
chemotherapy to exclude meningeal involvement. In such cases, 15 mg of methotrexate can be administered intrathecally as prophylaxis. Whether this action, generally accepted by oncologists, actually has any benefit or not, has never been
shown in controlled studies.
420
AIDS
Therapy
Due to extremely rapid generalization, even early stages are rarely limited. The
real stage of the disease is often underestimated every aggressive HIV-associated
lymphoma should therefore be treated primarily with systemic chemotherapy with
curative intent. Surgery or radiation therapy alone are not sufficient. Treatment
must be started rapidly due to the aggressive nature of these lymphomas. In particular, time should not be wasted on staging. The necessary tests should be completed
within a week.
In Europe, diffuse large-cell NHLs have been treated for many years with CHOPbased regimens (usually 4-6 cycles, see table). CHOP is the abbreviation used for
the combination chemotherapy with the cytostatics cyclophosphamide, adriamycin
(hydroxydoxorubicin), vincristine (Oncovin) and prednisolone. To date, no other
chemotherapy regimen has been shown to have better efficacy. CHOP can be administered in ambulatory care and is fairly well tolerated. At least 4 cycles should
be administered, and as far as possible 2 cycles after reaching complete remission (CR).
The standard three-week CHOP regimen (CHOP-21) is shown in Table 3. Following the success of CHOP-14 (one cycle every two weeks) in older HIV-negative
patients (Pfreundschuh 2004), CHOP-21 can also be condensed: in CHOP-14 the
use of the growth hormone G-CSF (e.g. Filgastrim 30-48 million units or Neupogen 300/480 g s.c. daily on days 4 to 13) reduces the duration of neutropenia.
This approach not only decreases the phase of increased susceptibility to infections,
but also increases the dose intensity of chemotherapy. However, there is no comparative data on this yet for HIV patients. So far, we have had fairly positive experiences with this approach in most HIV patients, it is possible to shorten the
interval.
We recommend the administration of co-trimoxazole as an adjuvant therapy, up
until one month after completion of the chemotherapy (960 mg three times weekly),
independent of the CD4 T cell count. Oral mucous membranes should be treated
with mouthwashes and topical antimycotics such as amphotericin. Good compliance from the patients is an important factor. During chemotherapy, at least twice
weekly monitoring of the patients condition, blood count, liver and kidney parameters is necessary. Treatment is usually continued with the full dose according to
protocol if leukocytes are above 3,000/mm3 again after nadir and platelets more
than 80,000/mm3 on the planned day of treatment. Patients should be advised to
carry out daily temperature monitoring and be told to present immediately in case
of fever.
Malignant Lymphomas
421
Table 3: CHOP regimen (4-6 cycles of 3 weeks each, repeat on Day 22) *
Cyclophosphamide
Doxorubicin
Vincristine
Prednisolone
Mesna
Endoxan
Doxo-Cell , Adriblastin
Vincristin
Decortin H
Uromitexan
750 mg/m i.v. Day 1

2
50 mg/m i.v. Day 1
2
1.4 mg/m (maximum 2 mg) i.v. Day 1

2 tbl. at 50 mg qd p.o., Day 1-5
20% of cyclophosphamide dose at hours
0, 4, 8 (with reference to cyclophosphamide i.v. given as a short infusion or
orally)
* Standard CHOP regimen ("CHOP 21)
Rituximab in HIV infection

The introduction of the monoclonal CD20-antibody rituximab (MabThera or Rituxan) was one of the biggest advances in oncology in recent years. In numerous
lymphomas, this antibody, which binds highly specifically to CD20-positive B cells
(CD20 is expressed by most lymphoma cells), has markedly improved the effectiveness and length of response of conventional chemotherapy. A combination of
CHOP and rituximab (R-CHOP) is now standard in many lymphomas. Rituximab is
usually well tolerated, but often leads to a longer lasting B cell depletion, and occasionally to severe neutropenia (Voog 2003).
It is not clear whether rituximab has a similarly large clinical benefit for HIV infected patients as it has for HIV negative patients with B cell lymphoma. The results from AMC 010, a multicenter prospective and randomized US study, have at
least raised doubts (Kaplan 2005). In this study, 143 patients with CD20-positive
AIDS-NHL were randomized (1:2) to CHOP or R-CHOP (rituximab in the usual
dose of 375 mg/m on day 1 with a monthly maintenance therapy for 3 months following chemotherapy). In addition to the chemotherapy, all patients also received
G-CSF, a co-trimoxazole prophylaxis and an AZT-free antiretroviral therapy. Both
groups were well matched. In the rituximab group, the CD4 T cell counts were
slightly, but not significantly lower (128 vs 158 CD4 T cells/l). With regard to
other parameters, such as histology, stage of disease, etc., there were no significant
differences. Even the planned CHOP cycles were carried out at the same intensity
in both groups, and in both groups only slight dose reductions were necessary.
Essentially, with regard to the results: There was only a trend towards a better response in the R-CHOP arm (complete response rate 58% versus 47%, p=0.15). No
differences were found with respect to the length of response, disease-free or total
survival. However, neutropenia and incidence of (especially severe) infection were
significantly higher in the rituximab group. Out of a total of 15 patients who died
from an infection during the study, 14 had received rituximab (14% versus 2%,
p=0.035). The cause of death was usually septicemia from various bacteria both
gram-negative and gram-positive were identified. Death occurred in the majority
(8/15) during the first two cycles, although six cases happened during the rituximab
treatment at the end of the chemotherapy. Fatalities occurred in all centers and were
therefore not due to a possible lack of expertise in any one location. A further risk
factor for death from infection was a low baseline CD4 count 8/13 patients had
less than 50 CD4 T cells/l. The cause of the high rate of severe infections is still
unclear. Pathophysiologically, it is at least possible that in pre-existing T cell de-
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fects present in HIV patients, a long-lasting rituximab-induced B cell depletion or

hypoglobulinemia has particularly negative effects (Miles 2005).
In contrast to these somewhat disappointing results, there are numerous mostly uncontrolled studies which did not find an elevated risk for serious infection with the
use of rituximab (Spina 2005, Boue 2006, Ribera 2008). In a cohort study of more
than 160 patients with NHL, treatment with rituximab was not associated with increased mortality from infection. Moreover, rituximab seems to be beneficial even
in severely immunosuppressed patients (Wyen 2008).
Following the data which have to be examined, the use rituximab can be considered
in all HIV infected patients with CD20 positive NHL. Even a severe immune deficiency (less than 200 CD4 T cells/l) does not represent a contraindication. However, intensive monitoring and the prophylactic use of co-trimoxazole (and possibly
quinolones) may be advisable. In addition, it is imperative that more data is obtained. For this reason, a multicentric cohort study has been set up for Germany
starting in 2006, which should incorporate as many patients as possible.
More Intensive Chemotherapy as Standard CHOP

After earlier studies showed that intensive chemotherapy led to a disproportionately
high risk of infection and toxic complications (Kaplan 1997), the tendency for a
long time was to withhold HIV patients from therapy and often to treat them with
reduced-dose regimens. This seems to be changing in the age of combination ART.
Several prospective studies have shown that the tolerability of chemotherapy is improved through ART (Powles 2002, Sparano 2004, Bower 2008).
In the past few years, small pilot studies have been repeatedly published in which
HIV patients have been treated with CHOP regimens. There are also studies in
which doxorubicin has been given as liposomal Caelyx (Levine 2004) or where the
dose of cyclophosphamide was increased (Costello 2004). In addition, CDE, a
regimen which, when given for several days as infusions is supposed to overcome
the potential chemotherapy resistance of lymphoma cells, is propagated again and
again (Sparano 2004). The CR rates in these studies were between 50 and 75%. In
our experience, CR rates up to 70% are also possible with ART and standard
CHOP. Whether these new attempts, which always cause a stir, are really better
than CHOP, remains speculative. In our view, they are not ready for use outside of
clinical trials. Even stem cell transplantations are now possible in HIV patients a
scenario that was still unthinkable a few years ago. Very high doses of myeloablative chemotherapy in combination with ART are well tolerated (Gabarre
2000+2004, Kang 2002, Re 2003, Krishnan 2005). In HIV patients with Burkitts
lymphoma, intensive protocols that were originally developed for HIV negative
patients are also being successfully employed (see below).
Today, the decisive question regarding more intensive chemotherapy in HIV infected patients is, therefore, not whether it can be used, but who actually needs it or
will profit from an increased dose.
What ART When?

In early studies, the effect of combination ART on the prognosis of HIV-associated
NHL was only modest (Levine 2000, Matthews 2000). Over the last years, however, many studies clearly demonstrated that prognosis of patients with NHL is
markedly improved with ART (Antinori 2001, Besson 2001, Ratner 2001, Hoff-
Malignant Lymphomas
423
mann 2003, Navarro 2003, Vaccher 2003). In addition to survival, some studies
also showed improved disease-free survival, response rates and even improved tolerability of chemotherapy. Even cases in which ART alone led to a complete remission of lymphoma have been published (Amengual 2008). There is no doubt that
every patient with AIDS-associated lymphoma should start an antiretroviral therapy, even in the setting of a relatively preserved immune function.
In most cases, an already existing, virologically effective ART can be continued
during chemotherapy. However, a switch from AZT (myelotoxic) and from d4T/ddI
(high risk of polyneuropathy) to other nucleoside analogs or to a nuke-free regimen
should be considered. Before switching to abacavir, an HLA-B*5701 genetic
screening is recommended. When switching to tenofovir, intensive monitoring of
renal function parameters is required.
In nave patients, the first one or two CHOP cycles can be completed before starting
ART. Some clinicians prefer to complete all six cycles out of concern for interactions and cumulative toxicities (Little 2003). In our opinion, this is not necessary,
even though data on possible interactions between ART and chemotherapy is limited (review: Mounier 2008). For example, the effect of PIs and NNRTIs on
doxorubicin levels seems to be only moderate (Toffoli 2004) and in many studies,
the concomitant use of ART and chemotherapy was safe and feasible (Powles 2002,
Weiss 2006, Simcock 2007, Bower 2008).
In ART-nave patients without pre-existing renal damage, a combination of tenofovir, 3TC/FTC and an NNRTI is possible. In highly viremic patients, however, this
may rapidly lead to the development of resistance. Here we recommend the initial
use of PI-containing combinations with regular measurements of PI plasma levels.
Special entities of lymphoma

Burkitts or Burkitt-like lymphomas: the particularly high proliferative capacity
and aggressiveness of Burkitts or Burkitt-like lymphomas is a problem even in
HIV negative patients. In this case, the CHOP regimen is insufficient (Trmper
2001). Although it is still unclear whether this is also true for HIV infected patients
with Burkitts lymphomas, many clinicians have in recent years tended to treat such
patients more intensively. A modified dose-adapted protocol of the German multicenter study group for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (GMALL) is usually
used for the treatment of HIV-negative cases of Burkitt-NHL/B-ALL, and consists
of four to six short, intensive 5-day polychemotherapy cycles, alternating A and B
cycles. A cytoreductive pretreatment with cyclophosphamide and prednisone, each
for 5 days, was given before the first cycle. During cycle A, fractionated doses of
ifosphamide for 5 days, intermediate- or high-dose methotrexate 500-3,000 mg/m2,
VM26, cytarabine (ara-C), vincristine, and dexamethasone are given. During cycle
B, ara-C, VM26 and ifosphamide are replaced by doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (Hoelzer 1996). Preliminary data show better responses than with CHOP
(Hoffmann 2006) and rates comparative to those of HIV-negative patients (Oriol
2008). However, the GMALL protocol is a very intensive chemotherapy, which
cannot be administered on an outpatient basis. Strict monitoring of patients in hospital for several weeks is very important. Centers without experience in this intensive protocol should not administer it to HIV infected patients.
424
AIDS
Other intensive therapies have been also reported (Cortes 2002, Wang 2003). A
significant problem with most of the studies is that there is no control group. There
is no randomized study. However, there is increasing evidence that conventionally
treated patients with Burkitts lymphoma continue to have a worse prognosis even
in the age of combination ART (Conti 2000, Lim 2005, Spina 2005). Although this
has not been confirmed by all study teams (Bower 2005), intensive therapy should
be considered for every patient with Burkitts lymphoma. A poor immune status or
the existence of a concurrent opportunistic infection does not necessarily have to be
an obstruction (Lehmann 2005).
Plasmablastic lymphomas: are a relatively new entity in HIV infected patients.
Plasmablastic lymphomas probably belong to the diffuse large-cell NHLs, but display a completely characteristic immunophenotype, which usually correlates to a
post-germinal center cell markers for the B-cell antigen CD20 are negative,
whereas the plasma-cell reactive antibodies VS38c and CD138 are positive (Brown
1998, Teruya-Feldstein 2004).
The oral cavity is the site of involvement (Gaidano 2002), although extra-oral manifestations do occur (Chetty 2003). There is a close association with an HHV-8 infection but also EBV (Castillo 2008, Riedel 2008). Like Burkitts lymphoma, plasmablastic lymphomas have a very high rate of proliferation and are extremely aggressive. More recent data shows that the earlier very poor prognosis is markedly
improved by ART (Teruya-Feldstein 2004, Lester 2004, Riedel 2008). In a study on
89 NHL, we were able to show that a post germinal center profile, as often occurs
in plasmablastic lymphomas, is independently associated with a worse prognosis
(Hoffmann 2005). It is our opinion that patients should therefore receive a more
intensive treatment than CHOP-21.
Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL): a further therapeutic problem is the relatively
rare entity of the so-called primary effusion lymphoma which is also termed body
cavity lymphoma (Carbone 1997+2000). These lymphomas are often very difficult
to diagnose histologically. A visible tumor mass is usually absent, so that malignant
cells can only be found in body cavities (e.g. pleural, pericardial, peritoneal). There
are histological similarities to immunoblastic and anaplastic cells with a non-B-,
non-T phenotype. Every pleural or pericardial effusion occurring in an HIV patient
and containing malignant cells, is suspicious of PEL. The involved pathologist
should always be informed about this suspicion. There is a characteristic close association with the herpes virus HHV-8, which can be detected in the malignant
cells, and which provides a relatively typical gene expression profile (Simonelli
2005, Fan 2005). Recently, a solitary variant has been reported, which is neither
morphologically nor immunophenotypically distinguishable from the classical PEL
types (Chadburn 2004).
The response to the CHOP regimen is usually poor and poorer than that of centroblastic NHL (Simonelli 2003). Case studies with complete remission on ART alone
have been described (Boulanger 2001, Hocqueloux 2001). We have, however, seen
two PEL patients who have also died of progression despite CHOP and ART after
only a few months. A small study reported encouraging results with a combined
chemotherapy with high dose methotrexate. In at least 3/7 patients a lasting complete remission could be achieved a notable achievement in view of the otherwise
poor prognosis, and an approach that should be followed up (Boulanger 2003). On
Malignant Lymphomas
425
the other hand, there are reports in which even intensive treatment regimens were
unsuccessful (Waddington 2004).
Relapse Therapy, Stem Cell Transplantation

At the moment, no general recommendations for relapse therapy of NHL can be
given. The prognosis of NHL relapse is poor overall, anyway. A team from the
USA reported their positive experiences using the ESHAP protocol (etoposide,
methylprednisolone, ara-C and cisplatin) DHAP appears to have no effect in this
case (Bi 2001). The EPOCH-regimen may also be effective. Other salvage monotherapies with mitoguazon or liposomal daunorubicin are well tolerated, but purely
palliative (Levine 1997, Tulpule 2001).
It should always be checked whether the affected patient with a relapse of lymphoma qualifies in principle for an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). In
ASCT, the intensity of the chemotherapy can be markedly increased by the preceding gain of pluripotential stem cells (own cells: autologous; foreign cells: allogenic). Following the myeloablative chemotherapy, the patients are re-infused
with the stem cells.
Over 100 cases of SCT have been described so far worldwide (Gabarre 2000+2004,
Re 2003, Krishnan 2005, Serrano 2005, Spitzer 2008), including even a few allogeneic SCT (Kang 2002, Bryant 2008). In 2009, a case of allogeneic SCT attracted
much intention. German researchers from Berlin transplanted stem cells from a donor who was homozygous for CCR5 delta32 in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia and HIV-1 infection. The patient remained without viral rebound 20 months
after transplantation and discontinuation of ART (Htter 2009). There is now doubt
that this case offers great hope for potential gene therapies. However, given the
high mortality of patients undergoing allogeneic SCT, this treatment would be too
risky as a routine treatment for HIV and too difficult to find donors with the right
genetic make-up.
The critical problem of autologous SCT in many hematological centers is above all
a logistical one, namely the complicated storage of stem cells, which has to conform to strict safety regulations. The storage of potentially infectious HIV material
together with stem cells from non-infected patients in the normal cooling tanks is
not allowed an extra (expensive) tank is required.
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Waddington TW, Aboulafia DM. Failure to eradicate AIDS-associated primary effusion lymphoma with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell reinfusion:
case report and literature review. AIDS Patient Care STDS 2004, 18:67-73.
Wang ES, Straus DJ, Teruya-Feldstein J, et al. Intensive chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, high-dose methotrexate/ifosfamide, etoposide, and highdose cytarabine (CODOX-M/IVAC) for HIV-associated Burkitt lymphoma. Cancer 2003, 98: 1196-205.
Weiss R, Mitrou P, Arasteh K, et al. AIDS-related lymphoma: simultaneous treatment with combined cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone
chemotherapy and HAART is safe and improves survival--results of the German Multicenter Trial. Cancer 2006;106:1560-8.
Wyen C, Faetkenheuer G, Oette M, et al. Treatment of AIDS-related lymphoma: rituximab may be beneficial even in severely immunosuppressed patients. Abstract
Ziegler JL, Drew WL, Miner RC, et al. Outbreak of Burkitt's-like lymphoma in homosexual men. Lancet 1982, 2:631-3.
Zoufaly A, Stellbrink HJ, an der Heiden M. Insufficient virus suppression during HAART is a strong predictor for the development of AIDS-related lymphoma. Abstract
Primary CNS lymphoma

Primary CNS lymphomas (PCNSL) are a late complication of HIV infection and
used to occur in up to 10% of AIDS patients. Large autopsy series in the 1990s
showed even higher prevalence rates. The incidence of PCNSL seems to have decreased significantly in the last years in comparison to systemic lymphomas (Polesel 2008). PCNSL are EBV-associated in almost 100% of cases (Camilleri-Broet
1997). Histologically, findings are almost always consistent with diffuse large-cell
non-Hodgkins lymphomas. In these patients, the CD4 T cells are almost always
below 50/l at the time of diagnosis. In the pre-HAART era, PCNSL had the poorest prognosis of all the AIDS-defining illnesses, with a median survival of less than
three months (Fine 1993). In the last years, this bleak picture, often characterized by
therapeutic nihilism, has changed significantly. In the HAART-era, survival may be
several years and even complete remission has become possible (Hoffmann 2001).
428
AIDS
Signs and symptoms

Different neurological deficits occur depending on the localization. Epileptic seizures may be the first manifestation of disease. Personality changes, changes in
vigilance, headache and focal deficits such as paresis are also frequent. Fever is
usually absent. As patients are almost always severely immunocompromised, constitutional symptoms may mask the actual problem.
Diagnosis
Cranial CT or (better) MRT scan should be performed rapidly. The most important
differential diagnosis is cerebral toxoplasmosis. A solitary mass is usually more
indicative of PCNSL. However, 2-4 lesions may be present, which are usually fairly
large (more than 2 cm in diameter). More than four lesions of a PCNSL are rarely
found.
In addition to an updated toxoplasmosis serology, which if negative makes
toxoplasmosis very unlikely, a recent CD4 T cell count should be available. The
better the immune status, the less likely the diagnosis of PCNSL. In our own cohort,
less than 20% of patients had more than 50 CD4 T cells/l at the time of diagnosis.
At over 100 CD4 T cells/l, however, cerebral toxoplasmosis is also less likely.
In addition to the physical examination, a minimal diagnostic program (chest radiography, abdominal ultrasound) should clarify whether the CNS involvement is
secondary to systemic lymphoma. This should always include fundoscopy to exclude ocular involvement (up to 20%).
Besides cerebral toxoplasmosis, differential diagnoses include abscesses, glioblastoma and cerebral metastasis of solid tumors. In the absence of increased intracranial pressure, lumbar puncture is advised. If steroids have already been administered, however, the probability of finding malignant cells is diminished. EBV DNA
is commonly detected in CSF of HIV-infected patients. Quantitative EBV PCR in
the CSF improves the diagnostic specificity, however, the predictive value remains
too low for it to be used as an isolated marker for PCNSL (Corcoran 2008).
In most cases, a treatment attempt for toxoplasmosis can be made initially. If this is
unsuccessful, PCNSL is more likely. In such cases, stereotactic brain biopsy is essential to secure the diagnosis.
Treatment
For many years, cranial radiation therapy has been the only option for patients with
PCNSL, independent of the HIV status. In HIV-negative patients, using the combination of radiation therapy and steroids, a remission of 12-18 months duration is
usually achieved. In HIV patients in the pre-HAART era, radiation only improved
survival from 0.9 to 3.0 months (Fine 1993). Survival of more than one year was
rare.
The prognosis for HIV-negative patients has improved in the last years due to the
combination of methotrexate-based (MTX) chemotherapies and radiation. Smaller
studies have indicated that monotherapy with high doses of MTX could be effective, thereby reserving radiation therapy for relapses (De Angelis 2001). Whether
these results will be applicable in HIV patients is not clear. In addition, the incidence of PCNSL is now diminishing to such an extent that convincing data on ther-
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429
apy efficacy can hardly be expected in the near future. A clear recommendation for
treatment can therefore not be made at this time.
Some clinicians still favor cranial radiation therapy alone in HIV-infected patients
(fractionated, 40 Gy total dose). In our experience, before radiation a treatment attempt with intravenous MTX is justified (3 g/m2 every 14 days with leucovorin
rescue) also in order to avoid possible neurological damage from radiation. A
small study in HIV patients has shown that this approach is practical (Jacomet
1997).
However, the decisive factor in all cases independent of the specific therapy chosen is the best possible immune reconstitution. Under ART, survival of several
years has become realistic. Complete remissions have even been described after
treatment with ART alone (McGowan 1998, Aboufila 2007). In our own cohort of
29 patients with histologically diagnosed PCNSL, all four patients who experienced
an increase in CD4 T cells survived longer than 18 months. Three out of four patients reached complete remission. One patient has now lived for over six years
without evidence of relapse (Hoffmann 2001). In a multivariate analysis, combination ART was shown to be the only factor associated with a prolonged survival in
addition to cranial radiation therapy. Two of these patients, however, died after
about three years of a progressive neurological syndrome, which was probably a
long-term sequela of radiation therapy in both cases. In view of the better prognosis
for patients today, radiation toxicity should therefore be considered more than in the
past. Three further studies from France, the USA and Australia have since shown a
survival of several years due to ART (Rigolet 2001, Skiest 2003, Newell 2004).
All patients with PCNSL should therefore be treated intensively with antiretroviral
therapy, to achieve the best possible immune reconstitution. If only a moderate immune reconstitution is possible, additional immunomodulatory or antiviral therapies
should be evaluated. The partially very positive reports about ganciclovir and interleukin-2 (Raez 1999, Aboulafia 2002) or hydroxyurea (Slobod 2000) should, however, be interpreted with caution. Between the lines of these publications, in
which either individual or hardly more than 2-4 patients were described, combination ART was almost always a factor.
In all cases with signs of raised intracranial pressure, rapid administration of steroids (e.g. dexamethasone 8 mg tid, decreasing the dose rapidly after resolution of
edema) is indicated, even if diagnostic testing is more difficult as a result.
References
Aboulafia DM. Interleukin-2, ganciclovir, and high-dose zidovudine for the treatment of AIDS-associated primary central nervous system lymphoma. Clin Infect Dis
2002, 34: 1660-2.
Aboulafia DM, Puswella AL. Highly active antiretroviral therapy as the sole treatment for AIDS-related primary central nervous system lymphoma: a case report with
implications for treatment. AIDS Patient Care STDS 2007;21:900-7.
Camilleri-Broet S, Davi F, Feuillard J, et al. AIDS-related primary brain lymphomas: histopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 51 cases. Hum Pathol 1997,
28:367-74.
Corales R, Taege A, Rehm S, Schmitt S. Regression of AIDS-related CNS Lymphoma with HAART. XIII International AIDS-Conference, Durban, South Africa, 2000,
Abstract MoPpB1086.
Corcoran C, Rebe K, van der Plas H, Myer L, Hardie DR. The predictive value of cerebrospinal fluid Epstein-Barr viral load as a marker of primary central nervous
system lymphoma in HIV-infected persons. J Clin Virol 2008, 42:433-6.
DeAngelis LM. Primary central nervous system lymphomas. Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2001, 2:309-18.
Fine HA, Mayer RJ. Primary central nervous lymphoma. Ann Intern Med 1993, 119:1093-1104.
Hoffmann C, Tabrizian S, Wolf E et al. Survival of AIDS patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma is dramatically improved by HAART-induced immune
recovery. AIDS 2001, 15:2119-2127.
Jacomet C, Girard PM, Lebrette MG, Farese VL, Monfort L, Rozenbaum W. Intravenous methotrexate for primary central nervous system non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in
AIDS. AIDS 1997, 11:1725-30.
Levine AM. AIDS-related lymphoma: clinical aspects. Semin Oncol 2000, 27:442-53.
McGowan JP, Shah S. Long-term remission of AIDS-related PCNSL associated with HAART. AIDS 1998, 952-954.
Newell ME, Hoy JF, Cooper SG, et al. Human immunodeficiency virus-related primary central nervous system lymphoma: factors influencing survival in 111 patients.
Cancer 2004, 100:2627-36.
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AIDS
Patsalides AD, Atac G, Hedge U, et al. Lymphomatoid granulomatosis: abnormalities of the brain at MR imaging. Radiology 2005, 237:265-73.
Polesel J, Clifford GM, Rickenbach M, et al. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma incidence in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study before and after highly active antiretroviral therapy. AIDS
2008;22:301-6.
Raez L, Cabral L, Cai JP, et al. Treatment of AIDS-related primary central nervous system lymphoma with zidovudine, ganciclovir, and interleukin 2. AIDS Res Hum
Retroviruses 1999, 15:713-9.
Rigolet A, Bossi P, Caumes E, et al. Epidemiological features and incidence trends of primary cerebral lymphomas observed in 80 HIV-infected patients from 1983 to
1999. Pathol Biol (Paris) 2001, 49:572-5.
Skiest DJ, Crosby C. Survival is prolonged by highly active antiretroviral therapy in AIDS atients with primary central nervous system lymphoma. AIDS 2003, 17:178793.
Slobod KS, Taylor GH, Sandlund JT, Furth P, Helton KJ, Sixbey JW. Epstein-Barr virus-targeted therapy for AIDS-related primary lymphoma of the central nervous
system. Lancet 2000, 356:1493-94.
Wyen C, Stenzel W, Hoffmann C, Lehmann C, Deckert M, Fatkenheuer G. Fatal cerebral lymphomatoid granulomatosis in an HIV-1-infected patient. J Infect. 2006
Dec 11.
Hodgkins disease (HD)

The incidence of HD is elevated in HIV-infected patients by a factor of 5-15 compared to the HIV-negative population. For particular subtypes, such as lymphocytedepleted and mixed-cellularity HD, the relative risk is presumably much higher
(Frisch 2001). Despite this and the growing realization that these subtypes at least
are clearly associated with immunodeficiency, HIV-HD is not included as an AIDSdefining illness.
There is growing evidence that the incidence of HIV-HD is increasing in the setting
of improved immunity. Several studies reported on an increased incidence during
the last years (Clifford 2005, Biggar 2006, Engels 2008). In our own cohort we
found significant differences between NHL and HD (Wyen 2008). Whereas the
majority of NHL cases was diagnosed in ART nave patients, HD mainly occurred
in subjects receiving a virologically effective ART. In 54% of the patients with
HIV-HD, plasma viremia was below the limit of detection at the time of HD diagnosis (NHL: 21%, p <0.001). The reason for this phenomenon is still under debate.
As CD4 T cells usually predominate in the tumor microenvironment of HD, it is
speculated that immune reconstitution induced by antiretroviral therapy provides an
appropriate milieu allowing adequate growth signals for proliferation and survival
of the neoplastic Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells in HD (Gloghini 2007). In addition,
CD40/CD40L interactions and EBV infection may contribute to constitutive activation of NFkB which is an antiapoptotic factor in RS cells.
An advanced stage of disease at diagnosis is typical, as is frequent extranodal involvement and a trend towards prognostically poorer subtypes (Tirelli 1995,
Rapezzi 2001, Thompson 2004). Mediastinal disease is significantly less frequent
than in HIV-negative patients. A further difference to HD in seronegative patients is
the predominance of cases with RS cells, as well as the clear association with EBV
infection, which is 80-100%, depending on the study. EBV infection is therefore
seen as an important etiologic factor for development of HIV-HD.
In comparison to HIV-negative HD, which is a highly treatable tumor, the prognosis of HIV-HD was poor in the pre-HAART era. In nearly all cohorts with more
than 20 patients, the median survival was only between 15-20 months, respectively
(Andrieu 1993, Tirelli 1995, Errante 1999, Levine 2000). The response to chemotherapy was also moderate compared to the normal population. Complete remission
rates were between 40-80%, and hematological and infectious complications were
frequent. This gloomy scenario has clearly changed since the introduction of combination ART. In our own multicenter cohort of 56 patients, the median survival
Malignant Lymphomas
431
was 40 months. In patients with adequate ART, the two-year survival rate was 84%,
which was very encouraging (Hoffmann 2004). In the meantime, other groups have
also reported better prognoses with ART (Ribera 2002, Grard 2003, Berenguer
2008).
Signs and symptoms

B symptoms occur in the majority of cases. Extranodal and advanced stages are
almost always the rule. Lymphomas are firm, immobile or hardly mobile and
painless, and the distinction from HIV lymphadenopathy or tuberculous lymphadenitis is not always possible.
Diagnosis
Staging is necessary as for non-Hodgkin lymphomas (see relevant section). Diagnostic lymph node extirpation is even more important here than with NHL, as puncture only rarely allows diagnosis of Hodgkins disease. Single accurate diagnostics
are better than half-heartedly bothering the patient with repeated punctures and losing time unnecessarily. Surgical extirpation is possible as an outpatient in many
centers. As with NHL, specimens should be sent to reference laboratories if possible. Since bleomycin will be administered, a lung function test should always precede the first chemotherapy.
Treatment
Risk adapted treatment strategy in patients with HIV-HD in accordance with standard treatment procedures established for HIV-negative patients with HD is recommended. The achievement of complete remission (CR) is important. In one larger cohort, the only variable independently associated with overall survival was the
achievement of CR (Berenguer 2008).
In limited (Ann Arbor I-II, no risk factors) and intermediate (I-II with risk factors)
stages, many clinicians still favor the classical ABVD regimen (four double cycles,
see Table 4) for HIV infected patients. ABVD is the abbreviation for the combination chemotherapy with the cytostatics adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine and
DTIC (dacarbazine). Ambulatory treatment is possible.
Table 4: ABVD regimen (4 double cycles, repeat on Day 29)*
Adriamycin (= doxorubicin)
Doxo-Cell, Adriblastin
Bleomycin
Bleomycin Hexal , Bleo-Cell
Vinblastine
Velbe, Vinblastin Hexal
25 mg/m i.v. Day 1 + 15
10 mg/m i.v. Day 1 + 15

2
6 mg/m i.v. Day 1 + 15

2
375 mg/m i.v. Day 1 + 15

Detimedac
* ABVD regimen. Due to strong emetogenicity of dacarbazine, 5HT3-receptor blocker antiemetics should always be administered, e.g. granisetron, tropisetron or ondansetron.
Dacarbazine (DTIC)
In HIV-negative patients with advanced stages (as is almost always the case for
HIV-HD) the BEACOPP regimen of the German Hodgkin Study Group has been
used in the last years, mainly with escalated dosing. This has proven to be significantly more effective, both with regard to response rates and long-term survival.
However, the BEACOPP regimen is more toxic. Whether these positive results can
be seen in HIV-HD is still not clear. However, based on initial reports and our own
432
AIDS
experience, BEACOPP seems to be possible (Hartmann 2003). There is also growing experience to date with the Stanford V protocol, for which there have recently
been promising reports (Spina 2002).
References
Andrieu JM, Roithmann S, Tourani JM, et al. Hodgkin's disease during HIV-1 infection: the French registry experience. French Registry of HIV-associated Tumors. Ann
Oncol 1993, 4:635-41.
Berenguer J, Miralles P, Ribera JM, et al. Characteristics and outcome of AIDS-related Hodgkin lymphoma before and after the introduction of highly active
antiretroviral therapy. J AIDS 2008;47:422-8.
Biggar RJ, Jaffe ES, Goedert JJ, et al. Hodgkin lymphoma and immunodeficiency in persons with HIV/AIDS. Blood 2006, 108:3786-91.
Clifford GM, Polesel J, Rickenbach M, et al. Cancer risk in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study: associations with immunodeficiency, smoking, and HAART. J Natl Cancer Inst
2005;97:425-32.
Engels EA, Biggar RJ, Hall HI, et al. Cancer risk in people infected with human immunodeficiency virus in the United States. Int J Cancer 2008;123:187-94.
Errante D, Gabarre J, Ridolfo AL, et al. Hodgkin's disease in 35 patients with HIV infection: an experience with epirubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine and prednisone
chemotherapy in combination with antiretroviral therapy and primary use of G-CSF. Ann Oncol 1999, 10:189-95.
Frisch M, Biggar R, et al. Association of Cancer with AIDS-related immunosuppression in Adults. JAMA 2001, 1736-1745.
Grard L, Galicier L, Boulanger E, et al. Improved survival in HIV-related Hodgkin's lymphoma since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy. AIDS
2003;17:81-7.
Gloghini A, Carbone A. Why would the incidence of HIV-associated Hodgkin lymphoma increase in the setting of improved immunity? Int J Cancer 2007, 120:2753-4.
Hartmann P, Rehwald U, Salzberger B, Franzen C, Sieber M, Wohrmann A, Diehl V. BEACOPP therapeutic regimen for patients with Hodgkin's disease and HIV
infection. Ann Oncol 2003;14:1562-9.
Hoffmann C, Chow KU, Wolf E, et al. Strong impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy on survival in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated
Hodgkins disease. Br J Haemat 2004, 125: 455-462.
Levine AM, Li P, Cheung T, et al. Chemotherapy consisting of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine with granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor in HIVinfected patients with newly diagnosed Hodgkin's disease: a prospective, multi-institutional AIDS clinical trials group study (ACTG 149). JAIDS 2000, 24:444-50.
Rapezzi D, Ugolini D, Ferraris AM, Racchi O, Gaetani GF. Histological subtypes of Hodgkin's disease in the setting of HIV infection. Ann Hematol 2001, 80:340-4.
Ribera JM, Navarro JT, Oriol A, et al. Prognostic impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV- related Hodgkin's disease. AIDS 2002, 16: 1973-6.
Spina M, Gabarre J, Rossi G, et al. Stanford V regimen and concomitant HAART in 59 patients with Hodgkin disease and HIV infection. Blood 2002, 100:1984-8.
Thompson LD, Fisher SI, Chu WS, Nelson A, Abbondanzo SL. HIV-associated Hodgkin lymphoma: a clinicopathologic and immunophenotypic study of 45 cases. Am
J Clin Pathol. 2004, 121:727-38.
Tirelli U, Errante D, Dolcetti R, et al. Hodgkin's disease and HIV infection: clinicopathologic and virologic features of 114 patients from the Italian Cooperative Group on
AIDS and Tumors. J Clin Oncol 1995, 13:1758-67.
Wyen C, Faetkenheuer G, Oette M, Plettenberg A, Rockstroh J, van Lunzen J, Mayr C, Esser S, Hentrich M, Hoffmann C. Treatment of AIDS-related lymphoma:
rituximab may be beneficial even in severely immunosuppressed patients. Abstract 1026, 14th CROI 2008, Boston.
Multicentric Castleman's Disease (MCD)

Although rare, multicentric Castlemans disease is a highly problematic illness for
the affected patients not only due to the (in HIV infection) poor prognosis, but
also because many clinicians and pathologists are not very familiar with this entity.
The usually severely ill patients are often subjected to diverse diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
In comparison to the benign, localized hyperplasia of lymphatic tissue, first described by Castleman in 1956, HHV-8-associated multicentric Castlemans disease,
as it occurs in HIV infection, is a malignant lymphoproliferative disease (Oksenhendler 1996). Although HIV-MCD is not classified as a lymphoma or AIDSdefining illness, prognosis is poor. In a prospective study, the median survival was
14 months (Oksenhendler 1996). According to a newer review on 84 cases with
HIV-MCD, life expectancy of the patients seems to have significantly improved in
the era of combination ART (mortality rate of only 29% when compared to 75% in
the pre-HAART era). There is evidence that the incidence of HIV-associated MCD
is increasing. It appears to occur more frequently in older HIV-positive individuals
with well-preserved immune function (Powles 2009).
Pathogenesis
The pathogenesis of the disease is not completely understood. There is a close association to HHV-8, and as a result about half of the patients also have KS. Cytokine
dysregulation seems to play an important role. In particular IL-6 and IL-10 are ele-
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433
vated with close association to the HHV-8 viral load (Oksenhendler 2000). HHV-8
encodes a homologue of IL-6 (viral IL-6) that has been shown to be biologically
active in several assays and whose activities mirror those of its mammalian counterparts. Like these proteins, viral IL-6 mediates its effects through the gp130 signal
transducer, but signaling is not dependent on the structurally related IL-6 receptor
subunit of the receptor-signal transducer complex (Moore 1996, Li 2001). It is postulated that viral IL-6 thus has a broader spectrum of potential target cells than human IL-6. This may be reflected by the clinically impressive cytokine storms
which are observed periodically in patients suffering from HIV-MCD. It remains
unclear, however, why only a small proportion of patients with active HIV/HHV-8
coinfection develops HIV-MCD. It should be noted that the extent of immunodeficiency varies significantly in these patients. We and others have seen MCD patients
with a normal immune status and low viral load (Powles 2009). Moreover, ART
does not appear to protect against HIV-MCD. In a systematic review, 64% of the
patients with HIV-MCD were already on ART at the time of diagnosis (Mylona
2008). It is also of note that HIV-MCD, unlike KS, is not associated with a lack of
HHV-8-specific CD8 T cells or limitation of their functional profile (Guihot 2008).
Progression to malignant lymphoma (often HHV-8-associated entities such as PEL
or plasmablastic subtypes) is frequent. In by far the largest prospective study to date
with 60 MCD cases, 14 patients developed malignant lymphoma after a median
observation period of 20 months (Oksenhendler 2002).
Signs and symptoms

The main signs are the often significant lymph node enlargements, which are almost always combined with considerable B symptoms including fever, night sweats
and weight loss. Almost all patients complain of weakness and severe malaise.
There is always massive splenomegaly. Hepatomegaly (70%), respiratory symptoms (65%) and edema with hypoalbuminemia (55%) are also seen in the majority
of cases. Lymph nodes, which may be anything from very soft (as with tuberculosis) to rock hard (as with lymphoma) on palpation, can normalize or relapse within
weeks without any intervention.
The extent of symptoms is very variable and may fluctuate considerably. Many
patients report on Castleman episodes, lasting from a few days to one or two
weeks. Between these episodes, most patients do again relatively well for weeks or
even months. In most patients leaving untreated for HIV-MC, however, the frequency of the episodic flares is increasing over time.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis is made histologically after lymph node extirpation providing that
the pathologist knows what HIV-MCD looks like. The germinal centers of affected
lymph nodes have an onion-skin appearance with vascular proliferation. Hyalinevascular and plasma cell types of Castlemans disease can be distinguished.
Clinicians should explicitly indicate their suspicion. It is possible that a significant
proportion of cases are never correctly diagnosed. In every case of episodic flares of
B-symptoms, splenomegaly, lymphadenopathy and elevated CRP the diagnosis of
HIV-MCD must be considered. HIV alone rarely causes such severe illness! In the
case of the symptoms described above, the pathological diagnosis of HIVassociated lymphadenopathy should thus not be accepted too easily.
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AIDS
Ultrasound reveals hepatosplenomegaly. Laboratory tests show hypoalbuminemia

and hypergammaglobulinemia. There is often significant anemia (may be hemolytic, often reflecting pancytopenia).
In our experience, CRP is a useful parameter for monitoring the activity of HIVMCD and observing the effectiveness of MCD treatment.. During an episodic flare,
CRP levels of more than 100 mg/l can bee seen. Between the episodes, however,
CRP is often reaching normal ranges. In some patients, clinical symptoms are preceeded by elevated CRP levels. Treatment success is reflected by sustained decrease of CRP.
Treatment
At present, there is no widely accepted recommendation for a specific treatment for
MCD. However, something has to be done quickly as the course of disease can be
extremely fulminant. ART should always be given, although it doesnt always help
(Dupin 1997, Lanzafame 2000, Aaron 2002, de Jong 2003, Sprinz 2004). Some
cases have even been described to occur after starting ART, leading to the suspicion
that the inflammatory component of MCD may be increased by immune reconstitution (Zietz 1999).
Apart from ART, there are numerous, very diverse forms of therapy. However, no
option has been tested in randomized, controlled trials. Another problem lies also
within the countless case reports, where a probable positive publication bias has
to be taken into account.
Rituximab: this monoclonal antibody against CD20-expressing cells is also used in
B cell lymphomas (see above). It has been speculated that rituximab is effective in
HIV-MCD by eliminating or reducing the pool of HHV-8 infected B cells which
are localized mainly in the mantle zone of lymph nodes. Rituximab has being tried
with success in several patients with HIV-MCD (Corbellino 2001, Marcelin 2003,
Casquero 2006). More recently, at least two larger studies came to encouraging
results. In a French study, 16/24 patients with HIV-MCD reached a complete remission of clinical symptoms after four cycles of rituximab (Grard 2006). The overall
survival (OS) after one year was 92% and the disease-free survival (DFS) was 74%.
In a British study, 20/21 patients achieved a clinical remission with rituximab, and
14/21 patients showed a radiological response (Bower 2007). After two years, OS
and DFS were 95% and 79%, respectively. CRP, immune globulins and HHV-8viremia decreased after treatment. Rituximab is also effective as retreatment for
rituximab pretreated HIV-MCD (Powles 2007).
Rituximab is usually given at a dose 375 mg per m2 body surface, once weekly over
four weeks. Attention should be paid to a good hydration of the patients. Rituximab
is usually well tolerated. The main adverse event seems to be a reactivation of KS,
which is seen in up to a third of the cases (Bower 2007).
Based on the data published to date and on our own experiences, we would consider
rituximab to be the first option in patients with HIV-MCD. However, there exist
other therapeutical approaches which are to be discussed in the following briefly.
Valganciclovir: promising approach as this antiviral agent may act against HHV-8.
As shown by a randomized trial, valganciclovir significantly reduces the frequency
and quantity of HHV-8 replication (Casper 2008). More recently, preliminary data
suggest that valganciclovir (combined with high-dose AZT) is active in HIV-MCD.
Malignant Lymphomas
435
Of 10 patients, 9 had clinical improvement after the first cycle of valganciclovir

(Uldrich 2009). In contrast, antiviral therapy with foscarnet or cidofovir had no
benefit (Coty 2003, Senanayake 2003, Berezne 2004).
Chemotherapy: well-tolerated chemotherapies such as vincristine (2 mg i.v. as a
bolus at 14-day intervals) or oral etoposide (50 mg daily) have proven effective
according to several reports as well as our own experience (Scott 2001, Kotb 2006).
Even CHOP standard chemotherapy can help, but does not seem to significantly
prolong survival.
Splenectomy: may be appropriate in severe cases. It is speculated that IL-6 production is reduced and that a large reservoir of HHV-8 is removed through the splenectomy. In a series of 40 patients, the median survival following splenectomy was 28
versus 12 months (Oksenhendler 2002). According to a US team, the symptoms
were improved in 10/10 patients following splenectomy (Coty 2003).
Anti-IL-6 receptor antibodies: In HIV-negative patients, very optimistic data from
Japan have been published, in which patients were successfully treated with anti-IL6 receptor antibodies such as tocilizumab (Nishimoto 2005, Matsuyama 2007). In
Europe, tocilizumab has been approved in January 2009 for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. There are no data in patients with HIV-MCD.
Thalidomide: This drug is believed to inhibit cytokine dysregulation as well as the
inflammatory component of MCD. Case reports in HIV-MCD exist (Lee 2003,
Jung 2004). It should be noted that thalidomide has been associated with venous
thrombo-embolic events, including deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary emboli.
Anticoagulation during thalidomide administration is mandatory. We have seen two
patients developing pulmonary emboli despite anticoagulation. Therefore we would
not recommend the use of thalidomide in HIV-MCD.
Other immune therapies: For interferon, there are positive as well as negative
examples (Coty 2003, Nord 2003). Steroids have no effect on MCD.
References
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Oksenhendler E, Boulanger E, Galicier L, et al. High incidence of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma in patients with HIV infection
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Part 4
Women and Children
438
14. HIV and Gynaecology

Ramona Pauli
HIV-positive women have a higher risk of cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer,
genital ulcers, vaginal infections and genital condyloma than HIV-negative women.
The gynaecological examination including a Papanicolaou (Pap) smear is therefore
part of the routine evaluation of female HIV patients at the time of first diagnosis as
well as in the further course of the disease.
Prophylaxis
Guidelines on Pap smear and breast cancer screening for the general population
vary from country to country. In general, Pap smear screening starts at age 20 or 25
and continues until about age 50 or 60. Breast cancer screening starts in Germany at
age 35. Regular gynaecological checkups, including Pap smears, are especially important for HIV-positive women because of their higher risk of cervical dysplasia.
In contrast, the risk of breast cancer in HIV-positive women is not elevated, it
seems to be even lower than in HIV-negative women (Goedert 2006).
Physicians responsible for HIV-positive women should stress the importance of
gynaecological evaluations. It cannot be taken for granted that all women visit the
gynaecologist regularly even when it is paid for by health coverage. In Germany for
example only 50% of women take advantage of regular Pap smear and breast cancer screening. Therefore it is crucial to explain the necessity and the reasons for
prophylactic gynaecological screening.
The frequency of screening HIV-positive women depends on the clinical scenario.
If the initial Pap smear after HIV diagnosis is normal, then a second screening
should be done at approximately 6 months. If both results are normal, then an annual Pap smear is sufficient. Consider more frequent screening among women with
a higher risk of cervical dysplasia, e.g., with abnormal Pap smear results, HPV infection, symptomatic HIV infection, CD4 T cell count <200/l or after treatment
for cervical dysplasia.
Table 1: Gynaecological/Pap smear screening
Screening frequency
Every year
6 months
< 6 months
Clinical scenario
Routine control
First year of HIV diagnosis, then every year
Abnormal Pap smear
HPV infection
After therapy for cervical dysplasia
Symptomatic HIV infection
CD4 T cells < 200/l
Basic Gynaecological Evaluation

A full gynaecological examination consists of inspection of the external genital and
perianal region, bimanual examination of the inner genital area, rectal examination,
colposcopy, microscopic examination of vaginal secretions and a Pap smear. In
HIV and Gynaecology
439
HIV-positive women palpation of inguinal and axillary lymph nodes is important,

since enlarged lymph nodes are often present and may need a rapid mammographic/ultrasound evaluation. At age 35 a basic mammogram should be performed.
Menstrual Cycle/Menopause
Data about the influence of HIV on the menstrual cycle are conflicting. Older studies demonstrate a cycle prolongation (Shah 1994), whereas the WIHS study shows
at the most a slight increase of very short cycles (Harlow 2000). It is also unknown
whether or not HIV accelerates the beginning of menopause. There is only limited
data on small populations (Clark 2000, Greenblatt 2000). In contrast, it is clear that
postmenopause as well as HIV infection and antiretroviral treatment have adverse
effects on bone, lipid and glucose metabolism and may contribute to osteoporosis
and cardiovascular disease.
Contraception
When choosing a contraceptive method be aware of the expectations of your patient. Condoms are the most common form of contraception (and they protect sexual partners from HIV). Nevertheless their contraceptive effectiveness is comparatively limited. Condoms have a Pearl Index (= number of pregnancies per 100 patient years) of 1-12. Contraceptive pills however have a Pearl Index of 0.1-0.9.
Other contraceptive methods are contraceptive pills containing varying hormone
combinations and dosages, depot and transdermal formulations as well as intrauterine devices (IUD). Oral contraceptives interact with PIs and NNRTIs with almost
unpredictable consequences. There are limited reliable studies of such interactions,
and these interactions are agent-specific (El-Ibiary 2008). The same is true of new
parenteral oral contraceptives like the hormone-containing vaginal ring (NuvaRing), the etonogestrel implant (Implanon) and transdermal hormone patches. Oral
contraceptives are not a reliable contraceptive method for HIV-positive females
taking a PI or NNRTI (Heikinheimo 2008). It is essential to inform patients about
this situation when starting antiretroviral therapy. Exceptions are unboosted atazanavir and indinavir, etravirine, maraviroc and raltegravir in combinations without
ritonavir.
Intrauterine devices made of copper as well as the levonogestrel-containing device
(Mirena), which increases cervical mucus viscosity, have proved to be safe and
effective in HIV-positive women (Stringer 2007, Heikinheimo 2006). In an ACTG
study depot formulations containing 150 mg medroxygrogesterone acetate (e.g.,
Depo Provera) proved equally safe and reliable with patients on efavirenz, nevirapie or nelfinavir (Watts 2008).
Infections
In the pre-HAART era genital infections, especially genital herpes, vulvovaginal
candidiasis and bacterial vaginosis, were more common in HIV-positive than in
HIV-negative women. The prevalence and severity of these infections correlate
with the CD4 T cell count and HIV viral load. Today only vaginal candidiasis
seems to be more common, which may be a consequence of a higher rate of antibi-
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Women and Children
otic treatment of HIV patients (Watts 2006). Sexually transmitted infections (STI)
are more common as well, though this depends on the sexual activity of the patient.
Bacterial Vaginosis
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) results from replacement of the normal lactobacillus
dominant vaginal flora by mixed flora, including anaerobic bacteria. This increases
HIV expression in the genital tract and may promote HIV transmission (Olinger
1999, Cu-Uvin 2001). Persistence and severity of bacterial vaginosis increases with
the progression of immune deficiency and antiretroviral treatment lowers the risk of
vaginosis (Warren 2001). Most prevalent symptoms of bacterial vaginosis are a thin
discharge and a fishy odour. In clinical practice BV is diagnosed when three of
the following four criteria are present:
thin, homogeneous discharge
pH of vaginal fluid > 4.5
Fishy odour on adding Alkali-10% potassium hydroxide solution
Clue cells on microscopy.
Treatments of choice are metronidazole or clindamycin, and a topical application is
preferred because of better compliance (DGGG 2008). Clindamycin is contraindicated in pregnant women. Oil-containing clindamycin vaginal cream may erode
latex condoms.
Table 2: Therapy of bacterial vaginosis
Agent
Therapy of choice Metronidazole orally
Metronidazole gel 0,75%
Clindamycin cream* 2%
Alternatives
Clindamycin orally
Clindamycin vaginal tablets
*may erode latex condoms, CDC 2006
Dose
500 mg 2 x daily for 7 days
5 g vaginally 1 x daily for 5 days
5 g vaginally 1 x daily for 7 days
Genital Herpes
In most cases, genital herpes is caused by the human herpes virus type 2 (HSV-2).
The virus remains latent in the body after the first infection. Genital herpes increases the risk of HIV infection and HIV transmission (Heng 1994). Antiretroviral
treatment lowers the frequency and severity of symptomatic episodes, although
there may be asymptomatic viral shedding (CDC 2006).
According to more recent studies reactivation of HSV-2 is associated with higher
HIV replication (Rebbaprada 2007), while suppression of HSV-2 lowers HIV viral
load in genital secretions (Nagot 2008). Whether this lowers the risk of HIV transmission is a matter that continues to be investigated. However, the suppressive
treatment of HSV-2 does not influence the susceptibility to HIV-infection in HSV2-infected individuals (Celum 2008, Watson-Jones 2008).
HSV-2 infections are more common in HIV-positive women and episodes are more
severe and atypical. Typical lesions present as painful vesicles in groups on red
HIV and Gynaecology
441
skin, which ulcerate and heal without scarring. Primary infection may also be associated with signs of systemic viral infection like fever, headache, etc.
Diagnosis by clinical signs alone has low specificity and sensitivity (Sen 2007).
Therefore, a clinical diagnosis should be confirmed by virological and serological
tests, preferably by type-specific assays. Diagnosis should distinguish between
syphilis and a chancroid condition (Haemophilus ducreyi).
Table 3: Therapy of genital herpes in persons infected with HIV (CDC 2006)
Medicament
Dose
Primary infection
Acyclovir
400-800 mg orally 2-3 times a day
Famcyclovir
500 mg orally twice a day
Valacyclovir
500 mg twice a day
Recurrent infection
Acyclovir
400 mg orally 3 times a day for 5-10 days
Famcyclovir
500 mg orally twice a day for 5-10 days
Valacyclovir
1.0 g orally twice a day for 5-10 days
Severe infection
Acyclovir
5-10 mg/kg i.v. every 8 hours
Aciclovir resistance
Foscarnet
40 mg/kg i.v. every 8 hours
Cidofovir
Topical Cidofovir gel 1%* over 5 days
*not available commercially, has to be made up by pharmacist
Vulvovaginal Candidiasis
Vulvovaginal candidiasis is more common and more persistent but not more severe in
HIV-infected patients (Watts 2006). Low CD4 T cell count promotes the disease,
though the more prevalent use of antibiotics in immunodeficient patients may play an
important role. Causative organisms are candida strains in most cases, with candida
albicans being the most prevalent strain, but the incidence of non-albicans strains is
rising. 26-27% of C. non-albicans infections are caused by C. glabrata (Schuman
1998). Typical clinical symptoms are pruritus, vulvar burning, vaginal soreness and
thick white-yellow discharge. Dyspareunia and external dysuria may also be present.
Diagnosis can generally be made on the basis of physical examination and colposcopy. Thrush patches are usually found loosely adhering to the vulva and/or vagina. Bimanual examination is not painful. Budding yeast or pseudohyphae are
documented on a wet mount or KOH preparation or gram stain of vaginal discharge. In case of recurrent disease yeast culture is mandatory. In case of dysuria a
urine test is recommended.
The treatment of choice for uncomplicated acute vulvovaginal candidiasis is a short
course of an azole drug for 1-3 days. Alternatives are triazoles orally, e.g., 150 mg
single dose or itraconazole 2 x 200 mg. In patients with advanced immunodeficiency topical treatment may be extended to 7 days. Treatment of the partner is only
necessary in case of suspected sexual transmission.
In recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis prophylactic treatment with fluconazole 1 x 200
mg/week may be considered (Schuman 1997). Development of resistance against
fluconazole either in its single application or given prophylactically once a week is
rare (Sobel 2001, Vazquez 2001). In contrast, resistance is more common in nonalbicans strains. In this case itraconazole and ketoconazole are a good alternative.
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Women and Children
Table 4: Therapy of acute uncomplicated vulvovaginal candidiasis (CDC 2006)

Agent
Dosage
Butoconazole 2% cream
5 g intravaginally 1 x daily for 3 days
Butoconazole 2% cream
5 g (Sustained Release) single application
Clotrimazole 1% cream
5 g intravaginally 1 x daily for 7-14 days
Clotrimazole vaginal tablet
Clotrimazole vaginal tablet
Miconazole 2% cream
Miconazole vaginal suppository 100 mg 1 x daily for 7 days
Miconazole vaginal suppository 200 mg 1 x daily for 3 days
Miconazole vaginal suppository 1200 mg single application
Nystatin vaginal tablet
100,000 units 1 x daily for 14 days
Tioconazole 6.5% ointment
5 g intravaginally single application
Terconazole 0.4% cream
Terconazole 0.8% cream
Terconazole vaginal tablet
Alternative
Fluconazole orally
150 mg single application
Warning: oil-based intravaginal products may erode latex condoms
HPV-associated diseases
Human papollomavirus (HPV) infections are very common. More then 50% of
sexually active individuals get infected by one or more of the more than 100 HPVsubtypes. Normally the infection resolves within a few months (Evander 1995, Ho
1998). Chronic HPV infection may lead to condylomata acuminata as well as intraepithelial and invasive cancer in the lower female genital tract. Genital warts are
caused mostly by the low-risk subtypes 6 and 11. The high-risk subtypes 16 and 18
play an important role in the development of cervical cancer.
In comparison with their HIV-negative counterparts, HIV-infected women have a
higher prevalence and incidence of HPV (Ahdieh 2001, Branca 2003), a higher
HPV viral load (Jamieson 2002), a longer persistence of HPV (Sun 1997, Ahdieh
2000) and more frequent infections involving multiple subtypes (Levi 2004) and
oncogenic subtypes (Minkoff 1998, Uberti-Foppa 1998). Prevalence and persistence of HPV correlate with HIV viral load and immune status (Palefsky 1999). In
women with advanced HIV disease, oncogenic subtypes are more common (Luque
1999) and HPV reactivation is possible (Strickler 2005). HPV viral load correlates
with persistence and is higher in patients with low CD4 T cell counts (Ahdieh
2001).
Testing for HPV is useful in patients over the age of 30 with a normal Pap smear
since it allows detection of persistant high-risk subtypes for higher grade dysplasia.
Specificity of the Hybrid-Capture-2-Assay (HC 2) is generally higher than of the
HPV-PCR, while the sensitivity is comparable.
HIV and Gynaecology
443
Condylomata acuminata
HPV-associated genital warts are more prevalent in HIV-positive women, and the
manifestation correlates with immune deficiency (Conley 2002, Silverberg 2002).
Diagnosis is possible in most cases by inspection. A biopsy is only necessary if:
diagnosis is uncertain
warts do not respond to treatment
warts progress in spite of therapy
warts are pigmented, indurated, fixed, or ulcerated.
For treatment of condylomata acuminata, see the section on STIs.
Cervical Dysplasia and Cervical Cancer

The risk of development of HPV-associated cancer is significantly higher in HIVinfected women. Most common is cervical dysplasia, but other regions like the
vulva and the perianal area are also affected (Maiman 1998, Massad 1999). In the
pre-ART era 20% of HIV-positive women developed cervical dysplasia within
three years (Ellerbrock 2000). Manifestation and severity correlate with advanced
immunodeficiency and high viral load (Davis 2001, Massad 2001, Schuman 2003).
Reasons for the correlation are the higher prevalence of oncogenic subtypes and the
higher HPV viral load (especially HPV-16) in patients with advanced HIV disease
(Weissenborn 2003, Fontaine 2005, Harris 2005). HIV-positive women have a nine
times higher risk of invasive cervical carcinoma than HIV-negative women (Mbulaiteye 2003). Cervical cancer is an AIDS-defining illness. The incidence of cervical cancer in WIHS and HERS was 1.2 per 1000 person years (Phelps 2001, Massad 2004). Interestingly there seems to be no correlation with CD4 T cell count.
More recent studies demonstrate no decline of cervical cancer as a result of ART
treatment (Dorrucci 2001, Moore 2002, Clifford 2005).
Anal Dysplasia
Multifocal lesions of HPV-infection are more common in HIV patients (Abercombie 1995). Therefore the risk of anal dysplasia in addition to cervical dysplasia is
higher. The prevalence of dysplastic cells in cytological samples is up to 26%
(Rabkin 1992, Holly 2001). Thorough inspection of the anal region plus cytologic/HPV diagnosis in selected cases is recommended.
Diagnostic Evaluation
Gynaecological/cytological screening is indicated every six months in the first year
after HIV diagnosis. In patients with no abnormalities, evaluations should be performed annually. A higher frequency of screening is indicated if:
last Pap smear was abnormal
HPV infection is present
cervical dysplasia has been previously treated
symptomatic HIV infection is present or CD4 T cell count is <200 cells/l
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Women and Children
Therapy
Treatment of cervical dysplasia (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia/CIN) and cervical
cancer is the same in HIV-positive and HIV-negative women. However, HIVpositive women have a higher risk of recurrent disease and should be monitored
closely (Fruchter 1996, Heard 2005). Surgical treatment of cervical dysplasia aims
at complete removal of the transformational zone including all neoplastic lesions.
CIN I: If lesion is restricted to ectocervix (documented by colposcopy), repeat
evaluation in 6 months. In persistent and ectocervical lesions perform CO2 laser
vaporisation. In endocervical lesions, broad indication for conisation.
CIN II: Repeat cytological and coloscopic evaluation in 6 months. Lesions persistent for more than 12 months should be treated like CIN III.
CIN III: Surgical removal by loop excision or conisation, ectocervical lesions where
applicable by laser vaporisation, endocervical curettage. In case of R1 resection
discuss further resection depending on individual situation (e.g., future pregnancy).
Table 5: Management of preinvasive cervical lesions
Stage
Management
Surgical Method
Noninvasive/controls
CIN I
Colposcopic-cytological
evaluation every 6
months
evaluation every 6
months
Therapy
Loop conisation,
laser (in case of
persistence)
Loop conisation,
laser
up to 24 months watch and

wait
CIN II
CIN III
Lesion extends into

deep endocervix
evaluation
Conisation (loop,
laser, needle, knife)
Conisation (loop,
laser or knife)
up to 12 months watch and

wait
Treat always, watch and
wait only in pregnancy (conisation increases risk of
premature delivery)
possible in CIN I
Source: Interdisciplinary guidelines by German Cancer Association (Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft e.V.) and German Gynaecologic and Obstretric Association (Deutsche Gesellschaft fr
Gynkologie und Geburtshilfe), as of 8/2008
In CIN I documented by histology, perform regular screening only. This also applies to CIN II and III in pregnancy. With CIN II or III persistent more than 12
months in patients not pregnant, surgery is indicated.
HPV Vaccination: Public health officials in Australia, Canada, Europe and United
States recommend prophylactic vaccination of young women against HPV to prevent cervical cancer and genital warts. Vaccination of HIV-positive or HPVinfected women is not recommended. Studies in these populations are still ongoing.
HIV and Gynaecology
445
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447
15. HIV and Pregnancy

Therapy for mothers and prevention for neonates
Mechthild Vocks-Hauck
Perinatal (vertical) HIV infection has become rare since the introduction of antiretroviral transmission prophylaxis and elective cesarean section. While the vertical HIV transmission rates hovered around 15% in Europe at the beginning of the
nineties, it now amounts to less than 2% (Connor 1994, European Collaborative
Study 2005 Jasseron 2008, Townsend 2008). Postpartum HIV infections are
avoidable provided that HIV-infected mothers do not breastfeed. At the same
time as transmission prophylaxis was introduced, the treatment of HIV infection
changed too. Nowadays, pregnancy is no longer a general contraindication for
ART (Agangi 2005, CDC 2008a). The following chapter summarizes the recommendations of the German-Austrian guidelines for HIV therapy in pregnancy
(DAIG 2008). Reference is made to the British (de Ruiter: British HIV Association 2008), American (CDC 2008 a) and European (EACS 2008) Guidelines. In
addition, detailed and continuously updated recommendations are to be found on
the internet at www.AIDSinfo.nih.gov or www.eacs.eu/guide/index.htm.
HIV therapy in pregnancy

Starting HIV therapy during pregnancy
It is important to distinguish between women with and without a therapy indication
of their own. In the case of a maternal indication, treatment is generally begun in
week 13 + 0 of pregnancy; if there is no maternal indication, i.e., solely transmission prophylaxis and low viral load, as of week 32 + 0 of pregnancy, and with a
higher viral load or high-risk pregnancy as of week 28 + 0 (DAIG 2008). The assessment of indications for therapy and drug selection is similar to that in nonpregnant patients (see chapter on ART 2009). Since the CD4 T lymphocyte count
decreases physiologically by approximately 10-20% in pregnant patients, the
threshold values should be adjusted upwards accordingly before treatment is
started. Following the recommendations of the German/Austrian guidelines, antiretroviral therapy in symptom-free patients should begin
when CD4 T cell count is below 200350/l (15-20% relative) and/or
with a viral load of > 50,000100,000 copies/ml HIV RNA (by RT PCR or 3.0
version bDNA).
Before initiating therapy, a resistance test, and if necessary, subtyping should be
carried out (see chapter on Resistance).
When setting up a treatment plan, it is important that:
AZT (Retrovir) should be part of the combination if the result of the resistance
test and the expected toxicity are favorable; and
Efavirenz (Sustiva, Stocrin) should be avoided because of possible teratogenic
effects in the first trimester; and
The combination of ddI+d4T should not be used.
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Women and Children
A maximum suppression of viral activity (< 50 copies/ml) makes HIV transmission

unlikely. In this case it is not certain whether the intrapartum intravenous transmission prophylaxis with AZT generally recommended to date is actually beneficial
(EACS 2008) (see below).
Table 1: Special features of anti-HIV therapy in pregnancy
Explanation of risk: Only AZT is approved for perinatal transmission prophylaxis
HIV resistance testing, and if necessary HIV subtyping
No efavirenz (Sustiva ) in the first trimester (teratogenicity)
No d4T+ddI (Zerit +Videx ) because of mitochondriopathies

Nevirapine related hepatotoxicity in women with CD4 T cell counts > 250/l
Raised toxicity with combination therapy, therefore monthly controls of lactate, hepatic
transaminase levels, viral load, CD4 T cell count
Therapeutic plasma drug level measurement (TDM) and possible dose adaptation
Continuation of ART during pregnancy

More and more HIV-infected women, in whom pregnancy has been diagnosed,
have been pretreated with antiretroviral agents. As a rule, if pregnancy is diagnosed
after the first trimester, ART should be continued. Embryonic toxicity seems to be
low overall (Watts 2004). Interruption of treatment might give rise to an increase in
viral load and a possible deterioration of immune function causing the danger of
disease progression and ultimately of reduction of the immune status of mother and
fetus. AZT should be administered as a component of a combination regimen starting at 32 weeks of gestation at the latest.
Women in whom pregnancy is diagnosed during the first trimester should be informed about the benefits and risks of treatment in this period. In cases of reduced
immune status in particular, ART could be continued in the first trimester under
careful laboratory and ultrasonic controls. However, agents with a toxic effect on
the embryo should not be administered during early pregnancy (Table 1).
Interruption of treatment in the first trimester

Women who have to discontinue ART during pregnancy, e.g., because of hyperemesis, should only restart ART when drug tolerance can be expected. In this
case, as in all others, the rule is to withdraw all drugs (NRTIs and PIs) simultaneously and re-administer them simultaneously, with the exception of NNRTIs. Due
to their long half-lives, NNRTIs should be withdrawn up to three weeks before
NRTIs in order to prevent development of resistance. Alternatively, the NNRTI can
be replaced beforehand by a boosted PI. In other cases especially if pregnancy is
diagnosed very early the fear of possible embryotoxic effects may also lead to an
ART interruption until the end of the first trimester. Neural tube defects due to
efavirenz can occur in the first 6 embryonic weeks.
However, there are reports that after interruption of treatment in pregnancy, complete viral suppression is much more difficult later (Liuzzi 2006). As it is usually
not possible to determine pregnancy duration exactly, restarting is mostly initiated
at the gestational age of 13 + 0 weeks. A continuously updated summary of the current state of knowledge about antiretroviral drugs in pregnancy can be found at
www.AIDSinfo.nih.gov.
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449
Combination therapy for the duration of pregnancy

It is becoming more and more common to offer a combination therapy to pregnant
patients with a plasma HIV RNA level of only 1,000 10,000 copies/ml from the
second trimester (CDC 2008a) onward or 32 + 0 weeks of gestation. This approach
is based on the assumption that any decrease in viral load translates into a lowering
of the transmission risk. With a viral load of less than 1,000 HIV RNA copies/ml,
the advantage of cesarean section compared with vaginal delivery can no longer be
verified (Shapiro 2004). For this reason, in the USA as well as in some European
countries vaginal delivery is considered an option for women on antiretroviral combination therapy whose HIV status at the time of delivery is less than 1,000 copies/ml and/or undetectable and in whom no obstetric complications are expected.
These cases are increasing in Europe, and the rates have now reached over 30%
(Rodrigues 2006, Boer 2007, Townsend 2008).
Treatment monitoring
In addition to measuring the hemoglobin concentration to exclude an AZTassociated anemia, transaminases for potential hepatic toxicity, and lactate level to
detect lactic acidosis early, the CD4 T cell number and viral load should be monitored at monthly intervals. If PIs are given, it is of particular importance to monitor
the blood glucose level closely (El Betuine 2006). Resistance and plasma level are
determined at the beginning and, if appropriate, at failure of treatment.
Special aspects of HIV therapy in pregnancy

Because embryotoxicity cannot be excluded and hepatic metabolism is altered in
pregnancy, and in some cases plasma levels are reduced, some basic rules must be
taken into consideration (CDC 2008a) (Table 1).
It is important to understand that a detectable plasma viral load always necessitates
a resistance test. AZT resistance was verified in approx. 17% of the women who
receive AZT monoprophylaxis between 1991 and 1997 (Palumbo 2001). In the year
2006, resistance mutations were diagnosed in up to 23% of perinatally HIV-infected
children, mutations which limited future therapeutic options and thus potentially
worsened the prognosis (Vignoles 2007).
Table 2: Antiretroviral agents in pregnancy
Preferred NRTIs
(full plac. transfer)
Alternative NRTIs
(full placental transfer)
NNRTIs
(full placental transfer)
AZT + 3TC
AZT + ddI
d4T + 3TC
AZT is metabolized in the placenta; mitochondriopathy risk: ddI>d4T>AZT>3TC>ABC>TDF

No side effects for PACTG 332
Abacavir
Some experience (HLA B*5701-Test)
Tenofovir
No published data in humans
FTC*
Alternative to 3TC, barely any experience
Nevirapine
General use in perinatal prophylaxis;

Hepatic toxicity especially in > 250 CD4 T
cells; enzyme induction, rapid resistance
No data
Etravirine
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Women and Children
PIs
(minimal placental
transfer)
Entry and fusion

Inhibitors
Integrase inhibitor
Nelfinavir
Indinavir
Ritonavir
Lopinavir/r
Saquinavir SGC
Amprenavir
Fosamprenavir
Atazanavir
Tipranavir
Darunavir
T-20
Maraviroc
Raltegravir
Once-frequent use; but unboosted

Hyperbilirubinemia, nephrotoxicity
Only as booster
Some experience, plasma level low
Low plasma levels, only boosted
Some experience, solution contraindicated
Little experience
Initial experience; indir. hyperbilirubinemia,
also with neonates
Case reports
Case reports
Some experience
No data
No data
Antiretroviral agents in pregnancy

NRTIs
NRTIs cross the placenta and can cause toxic damage not only to the mother but
also to the child. According to experience to date, the main problems are anemia
and, when using combination therapy, lactic acidosis.
On the basis of pregnancies observed to date, it can be maintained that frequently
used nucleoside analogs such as AZT, 3TC and d4T do not increase teratogenicity
by more than twofold (Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry 2009). Most of our experience is related to AZT administration. Follow-ups of more than 20,000 children
who received AZT prophylaxis did not show any serious side effects. An analysis
of the causes of death of 223 children, who died within the first five years of life,
ruled out drug-related causes (The Perinatal Safety Review Working Group 2000).
In other studies no damage to mitochondrial DNA or neurological development
dysfunction in HIV-exposed children after ART was detected (Alimenti 2006).
In contrast to these findings, in a prospective study by Barret (2003) with 2,644
ART-exposed non-infected children, neurological symptoms with persistent mitochondrial dysfunction were reported in 0.26%. Retardation of auditory evoked potentials (Poblano 2004), as well as nonspecific changes in cerebral MRTs in children perinatally exposed to AZT (plus 3TC) (Tardieu 2005) have been interpreted
as a sign of neurotoxicity. 24 months after combined nucleoside exposure, raised
lactate values as well as impairment of hematopoeiesis can still be demonstrated in
children. Even after eight years, neutrophil granulocytes were reduced in perinatally
NRTI-exposed children (ECS 2004). Severe mitochondriopathies have been observed during combination therapy of d4T+ddI. Tenofovir and FTC proved to cross
the placenta easily (Bonora 2007, Hirt 2008a and b).
NNRTIs
In perinatal prevention, nevirapine has been employed successfully, particularly in
combination with AZT. Because of enhanced risk of liver toxicity during the first
18 weeks of treatment in women with a CD4 T cell count more than 250/ l, treat-
HIV and Pregnancy
451
ment should be monitored closely and at short intervals, especially during the dose
escalation (Boehringer 2004). Nevirapine in pregnant women with over 250 CD4 T
cells/l is only recommended following very careful assessment of the benefit-risk
ratio (CDC 2008a). In a retrospective study of 197 pregnant women, toxic side effects were observed in 5.6%, which led to stopping the treatment in 3.6% (Joao
2006).
Perinatal single- and two-dose nevapirine prophylaxis has resulted in the development
of resistance mutations in more than 20% of cases (Flys 2005). These can be reduced
by at least 50% by the additional administration of, for example, tenofovir and FTC
(Chi 2007), but the intrapartum single-dose administration of nevrapiine is NOT recommended by the CDC (2008b) or EACS (2008). If a mother gives birth less than
two hours following nevirapine administration, or has not received any prior nevirapine at all, the newborn should receive a dose of nevirapine immediately after birth and
a further dose 48-72 hours later (Stringer 2003). Because of embryonic toxicity in the
rhesus monkey and also in humans (neural tube impairment, Bristol-Myers Squibb
2004) efavirenz is not used during the first trimester of pregnancy and only after the
second in cases with no alternative treatment option providing reliable contraception
is practiced after delivery (CDC 2008b). Following isolated cases of neural tube defects, which caused the FDA to allocate efavirenz to category D, no further cases of
EFV teratogenicity have been reported (Beckermann 2006).
PIs
The use of protease inhibitors must be monitored carefully, especially in the later
stages of pregnancy (monthly in the third trimester), due to possible diabetogenic
effects (Beitune 2005) and hepatic toxicity. In a more recent study, however, no
increased rate of gestational diabetes was discovered (Hitti 2007). Hyperlipidemia
occured more frequently according to Floridia (2006).
Presently, most experience relates to nelfinavir (Timmermans 2005). Since nelfinavir is less potent than boosted PIs, it is used less frequently than it used to be.
Indinavir can lead to hyperbilirubinemia and nephrolithiasis; the plasma levels can
be lowered (Kosel 2003). As with indinavir, saquinavir should also be boosted with
ritonavir in pregnancy (Zorilla 2007), a single dose of saquinavir is useful (LopezCortez 2007). Lopinavir/r plasma levels are also lowered during pregnancy, especially during the third trimester (Mirocknick 2006, Manawi 2007). With atazanivir/r, mild hyperbilirubinemia in neonates (Morris 2005b, Ferreira 2008) with low
placenta transfer (Ripamonti 2007) were described. Fosamprenavir/r also was described as safe and effective (Martorelli 2007).
Previous speculation on increased rates of deformity when using PIs was refuted,
especially as PIs can barely cross the placenta due to their molecule size. An increase in premature births when using ART with a PI (ECS 2006, Cotter 2006,
Grosch-Wrner 2008) has also failed to be confirmed in other studies to date (Morris 2005a, Tuomala 2005, Kourtis 2007). According to another study, there may be
an increased risk of eclampsia (Suy 2006).
Alfa-fetoprotein levels are thought to be reduced on a PI regimen (Brossard 2006)
although not the serum level of unconjugated estriol and human choriongonadotropin (Einstein 2004, Le Meaux 2008).
The efficacy of prepartum monoprophylaxes with boosted PIs, e.g., indinavir/r
(Ghosn 2008), lopinavir/r (ANRS135 Primeva), is being investigated.
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Women and Children
Entry, fusion and integrase inhibitors

T-20 was administered with some success to women with multiresistant viruses,
also in combination with tipranavir (Wensing 2006). Therapy failures with perinatal
HIV transmission have been described. There is no placental transfer (BrennanBenson 2006). Like T-20, maraviroc is assigned to FDA category B (see below),
there is no experience in pregnancy to date. This also applies to the integrase inhibitor raltegravir (FDA category C).
FDA pregnancy classification for drugs
The FDA has classified the potential toxicity of drugs in pregnancy into the categories A-D. All HIV virustatic agents belong to categories B-D, since "harmlessness
through studies on the human being" (category A) does not apply to any of these
drugs.
FDA category B is defined as follows, Animal studies have revealed no evidence of harm to the fetus; however, there are no adequate and well-controlled
studies in pregnant women. FDA category B includes ddI, emtricitabine, tenofovir, atazanavir, saquinavir, ritonavir, nelfinavir, T-20 and maraviroc.
FDA category C is defined as follows, Animal studies have shown an adverse
effect and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women.
Use in pregnancy should occur only after careful benefit/risk appraisal. All other
drugs that were not mentioned in category B fall into the FDA category C.
FDA category D is defined as follows, Adequate well-controlled or observational studies in pregnant women have demonstrated a risk for the fetus. Nevertheless, the benefits of therapy may outweigh the potential risk. For example, the
drug may be acceptable if it is needed in a life-threatening situation or serious
disease for which safer drugs cannot be used or are ineffective. Efavirenz falls
into category D because of neural tube defects in humans after first trimester exposure.
Prevention of perinatal HIV infection
In approximately 75% of cases, HIV is transmitted prior to, or during the last weeks
prior to birth. About 10% of vertical HIV infections occur before the third trimester,
and 10-15% are caused by breastfeeding.
The probability of HIV transmission to a neonate correlates with the viral load
(Warszawski 2008). This also seems to apply to women receiving ART (Table 3). If
the viral load is undetectable using currently available tests, the probability of
transmission is indeed extremely low. Likewise, premature births and premature
rupture of membranes are associated with an increased HIV risk for the child.
HIV and Pregnancy
453
Table 3: Known risk factors for perinatal HIV transmission

High maternal viral load
Low CD4 T cell count
AIDS in the mother
Vaginal delivery at a viral load > 1000 copies without ART
Premature rupture of membranes of > 4 h
Pre-term infants (< 37 weeks of gestation)
Breastfeeding
For this reason, reduction in the level of plasma viremia and improvement in the
immune status of pregnant women are vital prophylactic measures. If a mother is
treated with antiretrovirals, these drugs should continue to be taken, if possible,
during delivery at the usual scheduled intervals in order to achieve the maximum
effect and to minimize the risk of resistance.
For the general prevention of vertical transmission of HIV, pregnant women should
be warned not to use intravenous drugs or to have unprotected sex because of the
increased risk of HIV transfer.
In addition to the indicated or optional antiretroviral therapy of the mother, the following rules should be observed regarding chemoprophylaxis
Antiretroviral prophylaxis before and during delivery
Elective cesarean section before onset of labor, because vaginal delivery with a
viral load of > 1,000 HIV RNA copies/ml increases the transmission risk
Postnatal chemoprophylaxis of the infants (post-exposure prophylaxis)
No breastfeeding
Antiretroviral transmission prophylaxis

Combination prophylaxis
If the viral load is > 10,000 copies/ml, then a combination therapy should be integrated starting at 28 + 0 weeks gestation until shortly after birth (Table 4). In the
case of high-risk pregnancies (e.g., multiples) prophylaxis is begun in week 29 + 0.
A monoprophylaxis with AZT or the combination of AZT+3TC is problematic because of the possible development of resistance (Mandelbrot 2001). Therefore, a
triple combination with a boosted PI is increasingly being used as prophylaxis. Due
to increased toxicity with a CD4 T cell count above 250/l, combinations containing nevirapine are only implemented after careful assessment of the benefit-risk
ratio.
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Women and Children
Table 4: Combination prophylaxis with combination therapy containing AZT in cases with a
viral load > 10,000 RNA copies/ml, but otherwise only standard risk
After resistance testing starting at 32 + 0 weeks gestation:
2 x 250-300 mg AZT (rarely as a "mono"prophylaxis at VL < 3,000 copies/ml (CDC < 1,000
copies/ml)
+ a second NRTI
+ plus PI/r
During delivery (elective cesarean section from 37+0 weeks gestation to week 37 + 6 or
vaginal delivery at VL < 50 copies/ml): IV infusions of AZT as standard prophylaxis*:
2 mg/kg i.v. as a loading dose for 1 h to approx. 3 h preoperatively (prepartum)
1 mg/kg i.v. intraoperatively until delivery of the infant
In neonates AZT monoprophylaxis within 6 hours post partum:
2 (4) mg/kg orally every 6 (12) hours for 2-4** weeks or
1.5 mg/kg i.v. every 6 hours for 10 days
* The advantage of intravenous AZT in a combination therapy and viral load < 50 copies/ml is
not certain (EACS 2008) ** 4-6 weeks at VL of 3000-10,000 copies/ml
Prophylaxis in ART-pretreated pregnant women

About half of all HIV-positive pregnant women have received pretreatment with
ART. These women should integrate AZT into the combination therapy starting at
32+0 weeks gestation. With anaemia or AZT resistances, other NRTIs are utilised,
such as 3TC/FTC, ddI, abacavir (after HLA B*5701 testing) or tenofovir. In the
case of efficient ART with fixed combination agents, it can also make sense to
leave this as is and not replace any of the NRTIs with AZT.
Procedure in cases of additional pregnancy risks
The pregnancy risks mentioned in Table 5 require an intensified prophylaxis. Here
too, the risk of transmission drops in the case of sufficient HIV therapy. In premature
births, for example, perinatal HIV transmission only occurred when the mother had
received no propylaxis or only AZT monoprophylaxis (Aagaard-Tillery 2006).
Intrapartum prophylaxis without antepartum regimens
If the diagnosis of HIV infection is only established at the time of delivery, mother
and newborn receive a dual or triple combination prophylaxis with AZT (plus 3TC
and/or nevirapine) in cases of highly increased risk (high viral load and/or medical
complications during delivery). Due to rapid resistance, nevirapine should only be
administered in combination with other drugs.
Single (mono-)prophylaxis
Pregnant women from week 32 onwards whose immune status does not call for therapy, who have a low viral load (considerably lower than 10,000, as per CDC below
1000 copies/ml) and have experienced an unremarkable pregnancy, now only rarely
receive an AZT monoprophylaxis. In accordance with the guidelines of the CDC and
EACS (2008), a triple combination is recommended as of the second trimester, week
28 at the latest, as this is superior to a monotherapy and an earlier date is preferable to
a later one. AZT monotherapy is not recommended, but can remain a valid choice at a
viral load < 3000 (CDC: <1000) copies/ml in combination with an elective cesarian
section from a teratogenic point of view. With a short-term therapy of less than two
months, the development of resistance remains low (Read 2008).
HIV and Pregnancy
455
Treatment during delivery

Elective cesarean section in cases of uncomplicated course of pregnancy
Cesarean section is carried out swiftly by experienced obstetricians prior to the onset of labor from 37+0 up to 37+6 weeks of gestation using the Misgav-Ladach
technique, which reduces bleeding. Blunt preparation and the delivery of the child
within the intact amniotic sac are considered ideal (Schfer 2001). In the case of
undetectable viral load along with long-term ART, the advantage of elective ceaarean over vaginal delivery can no longer be verified. For this reason, it is becoming more common in Germany to dispense with a C-section in favour of a later
vaginal delivery.
High-risk pregnancy
Cesarean section in cases of multigravidity should be carried out using the same
technique as for a cesarean section in a single pregnancy. In this context, the skill
and experience of the operating surgeon are especially important. Cesarean sections
in cases of premature infants are also important to avoid hypoxia in the neonate; the
special aspects of chemoprophylaxis have been described above.
In cases with a premature rupture of membranes of less than four hours duration, a
section is expedient for prophylactic reasons, providing the clinical situation at that
stage of delivery still allows this. If the rupture of membranes has lasted more than
four hours, there is no longer an advantage of cesarean section compared to vaginal
delivery. Nevertheless, vaginal delivery should occur as swiftly as possible, since
the HIV transmission risk increases by about 2% per hour. The extension of the
prophylactic scheme (Table 5 and 6) is important.
Table 5: Prophylaxis in the case of increased transmission risk
Increased risk
Multigravidity
Early onset of labor
Mother
AZT monoprophylaxis
possible; combination
therapy, e.g.,
AZT + 3TC + PI/r from
29+0 weeks gestation
Combination therapy,
e.g., AZT + 3TC + PI/r
Child
Within 6h postpartum AZT 4 x 2 (2x4)*mg
orally for 4 weeks (if necessary, change to
oral administration after 10 days
Within 6h postpartum
AZT 4 x 2 (2x4)*mg orally for 4-6 weeks
Plus
AZT dosage with premature birth < 36 + 0
wks/gestation: 2x2 mg/kg orally or 2x1,5
mg/kg i.v. from day 15: 3x2 mg/kg orally
(for premature < 30 + 0 wks/gestation
from day 29)
As above
Premature infants <

In addition to AZT or
33+0.36+6 weeks of
combination therapy:
gestation***
nevirapine
Maternal AZT prophylaxis < 4 weeks
* For neonates > 36 + 0 wks/gestation due to better adherence, also 2 x 4 mg/kg KG AZT
** See chapter NNRTIs
*** For prematures, also triple prophylaxis (see below): 3TC, but cautiously with prematures
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Women and Children
Unknown HIV status in cases of known risk

If, at the time of delivery, the HIV status is unknown and the existence of risk is
known, an HIV test can be offered to the mother (Bulterys 2004). Although specificity is high, it is still considered inadequate. The combined use of two rapid tests
from different manufacturers is ideal. If one of the two tests is negative, there is
probably no infection.
Table 6: Prophylaxis in the case of highly increased transmission risk
Highly increased risk
Premature infants < 33+0 weeks of
gestation
Premature rupture of membranes > 4
h
Mother
In addition to
AZT or combination therapy:
nevirapine*
Amniotic infection syndrome

Rise of the viral load towards the end
of pregnancy
Incision injury of the child

Ingestion of hemorrhagic amniotic
fluid
HIV diagnosed only post partum
Child
AZT (dosage, see above)
over 4-6 weeks plus
3TC** 2 x 2 mg/kg over 4-6
weeks plus
nevirapine* 2 mg/kg within 248 h + 2nd dose 48-72 h
postpartum (if no NVP prepartum or < 2h between ingestion and delivery)
(If prepartum nevirapine, then
only 1x after 48-72 h)
As above
* See chapter NNRTIs

** Premature babies: use 3TC cautiously.
Therapy of neonates
Postnatal standard prophylaxis
The postnatal transmission prophylaxis should begin, if possible, within the first
6 hours following birth with oral or in the case of gastrointestinal symptoms
intravenous AZT prophylaxis. In Germany, the duration of the oral standard prophylaxis has been shortened from six to two (to four) weeks (Vocks-Hauck 2001).
Prophylaxis in cases of increased risk (multiple neonates, premature
infants)
In multiple-birth neonates without further risk, a four-week AZT prophylaxis is
recommended. In addition, premature infants receive nevirapine, given either once
to the mother before delivery and once to the premature infant, or twice postnatally.
If maternal nevirapine administration occurs less than an hour before delivery, then
the newborn receives its first dose within the first 48 hours (Stringer 2003). If nevirapine was a part of the combination therapy for the mother, the dose is doubled to
4 mg/kg in newborns because of possible enzyme induction. In addition, newborns
receive an extended AZT prophylaxis according to the regimen proposed for premature infants (see below) for four (Ferguson 2008) to six weeks (CDC 2008a).
HIV and Pregnancy
457
Prophylaxis in cases of highly increased transmission risk

In neonates with additional transmission risks, a combination prophylaxis with
AZT+3TC is recommended. A strongly increased risk exists, for example, after
premature rupture of membranes, in cases of amniotic infection syndrome, high
viral load prior to delivery, lacking transmission prophylaxis and incision injury of
the child during cesarean section, as well as in cases where the amniotic fluid
sucked from the gastrointestinal or respiratory tract of the newborn is hemorrhagic.
In the case of children with additional transmission risks, a combination prophylaxis of AZT + 3TC, as well as two doses of nevirapine are recommended. The
pharmacokinetic data on ART in neonates are, however, extremely limited.
Table 7: Studies on antiretroviral prophylaxis in neonates
Abbreviated
name
Average
Most frequent
daily dose
side effects
AZT
4 x 2 mg/kg, 2 x 2 mg/kg
in PI* < 35 GW, from
th
15 day: 3 x 2 mg/kg*, in
th
PI < 30 GW from 29
day
Anemia, neutropenia
2 x 2mg/kg in neonates
(< 30 days)
GI SE, vomiting, mitochondriopathy in combination, incompatibility in

premature infants
PACTG 358
GI symptoms
ANRS 12109
Retrovir
3TC
Epivir
FTC
1 mg/kg postnatally
(p.n.) or 2 mg/kg 12h
p.n.; 3 mg/kg with NN <
3 mo.
Emtriva
DDI
2 x 50mg/m from 14
day
Videx
d4T
Zerit
(P)ACTG 076, 316,

321, 353, 354, 358;
HIVNET 012 III
PACTG 331(PI)
Mitochondriopathy
Gilead PK study
Diarrhea, pancreatitis,
mitochondriopathy in
combination
PACTG 239, 249;

HIV-NAT
2 x 0,5mg/kg f (< 30
days)
Mitochondriopathy in
combination
1 x 2-4 mg/kg > 1 month

2 x 8 mg/kg
Hypersensitivity reaction, mitochondriopathy,

lactic acidosis
PACTG 321
4 mg/kg p.n. and on

days 3 and 5
Osteopenia, nephrotoxicity
NCT00120471,
HPTN 057; ANRS
12109
1 x 2-4 mg/kg for

14 days or 1 x 120
2
mg/m , thereafter 2 x
3.5-4 mg/kg or 2 x 120
2
mg/m , (maximum 2 x
200 mg)
Rash, hepatotoxicity,
hyperbilrubinemia
PACTG 316, 356,
2 x 40-60 mg/kg (Study),

in infants < 6 weeks
GI SE: particularly diarrhea
ABC
Ziagen
TDF
Viread
th
Mitochondriopathy in
combination with 3TC
Studies
13 mg/kg p.n. (study)
NVP
Viramune
NFV
Viracept
PACTG 332, 356;

HIV-NAT
HIVNET 012
PACTG 353, 356

PENTA 7
458
Women and Children
RTV
Norvir
Lopinavir/r
Kaletra
Ritonavir 2x3502
450mg/m in NN <
4 weeks (Study)
Hyperbilirubinemia,
gastrointestinal SE,
especially nausea
2x300/75 mg/m2 in infants < 6 weeks
GI SE, especially diarrhea
PACTG 345, 354
PACTG P 1030
IMPAACTG P1060
I=infant; PI = premature infant; MI = mature born infant; NN = neonates; SD = single dose;

(P)ACTG = (Pediatric) AIDS Clinical Trials Group; HIV-NAT = HIV-Netherlands Australia
Thailand Research Collaboration; GI SE = Gastrointestinal side effect; GW = gestation week
Reference: Except for AZT in mature born infants, the dosage is taken from the studies. Antiretroviral agents that are not approved, should be used in neonates only in the context of
studies, if possible.
Procedure in cases of no pre- or intranatal prophylaxis

Combination prophylaxis of AZT+3TC should start within the first 6 to 12 hours
after delivery. In addition, a perinatal nevirapine prophylaxis is recommended.
If HIV infection is discovered only after birth, a combination prophylaxis, begun
within 48 hours, seems to be far more effective than a monoprophylaxis, which is
initiated only after 3 days (transmission rates 9.2% vs. 18.4%, Wade 1998). However, even then, a certain positive effect of AZT prophylaxis as opposed to no prophylaxis can still be verified (18.4% vs. 26.6%) (Table 6). Even a late initiation of
postnatal prophylaxis (> 3 days) can still make sense.
Further studies for HIV prevention in neonates
A survey of studies of the pharmacokinetics in pregnancy and neonates is listed in
Table 7 (Ronkavilit 2001 & 2002, Mirochnik 2005, Blum 2006, Chadwick 2008,
Hirt 2008).
In order to continuously improve ART during pregnancy and the prophylaxis of
perinatal HIV infection, a thorough documentation of clinical data is necessary. In
the US, the Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry is an extensive therapy register that
helps to evaluate the potential teratogenicity of antiretrovirals on the basis of case
reports of HIV-exposed neonates:
Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry, Research Park, 1011 Ashes Drive, Wilmington
NC 28405. Phone 1-800-258-4263, Fax 1-800-800-1052. For UK, Germany, France
0800-5913-1359, Fax 00800-5812-1658. Contact: www.apregistry.com/contact.htm
General references: the British (British HIV Association 2008), US (CDC 2008a)
and European (EACS 2008) Guidelines. In addition, detailed and continuously updated recommendations are to be found on the internet at www.AIDSinfo.nih.gov
or www.eacs.eu/guide/index.htm.
HIV and Pregnancy
459
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16. HIV and Wish for Parenthood

Ulrike Sonnenberg-Schwan, Carole Gilling-Smith, Michael Weigel
Introduction
The optimization of antiretroviral therapy has led to great improvements in both the
quality of life and life expectancy of people living with HIV/AIDS, at least in countries where ART is widely available. A growing number of men and women living
with HIV feel encouraged to include parenthood in the planning of their lives. Procreation without risk, or at very low risk of infection for the uninfected partner or
prospective child, is now an option for couples in which one or both partners are
HIV-infected. The low materno-fetal transmission rate that can be achieved today
has added to the acceptance of planned motherhood in seropositive women. Ethical
and legal controversies have also been overcome in many countries.
Procreative options for HIV-affected couples vary from unprotected intercourse to
several techniques of assisted reproduction, donor insemination or adoption. Usually, couples are advised against unprotected intercourse as the priority is to prevent
infection in the uninfected partner or child.
The discussion around HIV and the wish for parenthood has been greatly influenced
by the EKAF Statement (Vernazza 2008, see also ART chapter) regarding the
unlikeliness of HIV transmission while on effective ART. In January 2008, the
EKAF (Swiss Commission on AIDS-related issues) stated that physicians could
inform their patients about a negligible sexual transmission risk if three conditions
are met:
The HIV-infected patient is on a physician-monitored ART and is adherent
Plasma viral load has consistently been undetectable for more than 6 months
No sexually transmitted diseases are present in either of the partners
The statement also emphasized that only the HIV-negative partner can decide for
themselves whether they want to stop using condoms with their seropositive partner. The background of the statement includes some longitudinal studies on serodiscordant couples. No infection occurred when the partners were on ART or the
viral load in untreated partners was below 1,000 copies/ml (see chapter on Prevention). In a retrospective Spanish study (Barreiro 2006) no infections occurred in a
cohort of 74 HIV discordant couples (76 pregnancies) who conceived via scheduled
intercourse. All HIV-infected partners had a viral load below detection. However,
data from couples who did not conceive were not available.
With a view to reproductive aspects the Swiss statement puts on record that insemination with processed sperm is no longer indicated as a measure to prevent HIV
transmission, if the viral load is below detection.
There has been some criticism regarding the limited-data basis for the statement.
Studies on the association between viral load in sperm and blood show high correlations, but data there are limited as well (Kalichman 2008). HIV can sometimes be
detected in semen or genital secretions even when viral load in blood plasma is below the limit of detection. Viral load in semen or genital secretions does not always
462
Women and Children
correlate with that in plasma and HIV can be detected in semen even when viral
load in blood plasma is below the limit of detection.
However, the majority of HIV specialists and patient representatives in Germany
agree in principle that the transmission of HIV is unlikely under the conditions of
the Swiss statement.
As far as our experience goes the Swiss statement nowadays is a topic in most
counselling situations in HIV-discordant couples. The statement itself and the couples options should be discussed in detail. Usually, there are significant differences
in individual risk estimation and the need for safety between couples. In any case,
couples who want to exclude even a minimal risk or who are facing fertility disorders are those who seek counselling. Furthermore it has to be considered that in
some seropositive partners the viral load is not effectively suppressed, or that they
have not started treatment because of a low viral load and an intact immune system.
In these cases we see insemination with processed sperm in case of unimpaired
fertility as the method of choice. Recently, the start of HAART in patients with
low viral load in order to open the option for natural conception has also been increasingly discussed. The German recommendations for diagnostics and treatment
of HIV-affected couples (Tandler-Schneider 2008) now suggest the following options:
Self-insemination or assisted reproduction if the female partner is infected, depending on the fertility status of both partner
Assisted reproduction with processed sperm, if the male partner is infected. The
option of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) was put on record, but a recommendation has not been given yet due to limited data.
The German recommendations are currently in revision and will include the option
of natural conception in the case of the female or male partners infection, based on
the Swiss statement.
Donor insemination is an alternative safe option for a small number of couples, but
due to legal restrictions it is only offered in a minority of centers. In the UK, for
example, there are no restrictions on donor insemination, whereas in Germany access is limited. In addition, most couples wish for a child that is the biological offspring of both parents. Adoption is merely a theoretical option: HIV infection of a
partner usually renders this procedure very difficult or even impossible in most
countries (e.g., in Germany).
To minimize the risk of HIV transmission, the following options are recommended:
In many European countries, as well as in the US and Japan (Kato 2006), reproductive assistance for couples affected by HIV has been set up in the past few years.
Equal access for HIV-positive women and men is granted in most, but not all of
these countries.
Pre-conception counselling
The initial counseling of the couple should not only consider extensive information
on all reproductive options available, diagnostics and prerequisites for reproductive
treatment, but also the psychosocial situation of the couple. Important issues to discuss are the couples finances, any current psychosocial problems, the importance
HIV and Wish for Parenthood
463
of a network of social support from family or friends, and planning and perspectives
about the future as a family, including possible disability or death of one of the
partners (Nakhuda 2005). A supporting, empathic and accepting mode of counseling is advisable, as many couples feel distressed if their motives for, or entitlement
to, parenthood are questioned. The risk estimation of unprotected intercourse or
improper condom use should be discussed as well as the individual risk perception
and risk management strategies of the couple. In cases where professional psychosocial services are not integrated, co-operation with community organizations concerning HIV counseling or self-help groups is advisable.
Possible stress occurring during the work-up and treatment of the couple should be
discussed as well as all doubts or fears. Many couples for example are afraid that
their test results might indicate that parenthood is impossible.
If the male partner is HIV-infected, the couple need to know that the risk of HIV
infection can be minimized, but not excluded completely. HIV-positive women
have to be informed about the risks of vertical transmission and the necessary steps
to avoid it. In any case, couples should know that even using state-of-the-art reproductive techniques, achieving a pregnancy cannot be guaranteed.
Table 1 shows the investigations as provided in the German recommendations Diagnostics and treatment of HIV-affected Couples Who Wish to Have Children
(Tandler-Schneider 2008). For the UK recommendations see Gilling-Smith 2003.
Table 1: Pre-treatment investigations
General
Comprehensive medical and psycho-social history
Female examination
Gynecological examination, sonography, tubal patency test (hysterocontrast sonography, if necessary laparascopy),
Endocrinological diagnostics (E2, LH, P, DHEAS, FSH, Testosterone, SHBG, TSH Prolactin)
Cervical smear (PAP, Chlamydia PCR))
(UK: 2-5 FSH/LH and mid-luteal progesterone to evaluate female
fertility)
Serology (rubella,varicella, TPHA, CMV, HBV, HCV)
HIV-specific assessments HIV-associated and accompanying symptoms
Blood glucose, GOT, GPT, GGT, complete blood count
Ultra-sensitive HIV PCR, CD4, CD8 cell counts and, if necessary,
resistance testing
HIV antibody test of the seronegative partner
Male examination
Spermiogram, semen culture
Serology (HBV, HCV)
Male HIV infection

Following the decision to conceive with reproductive assistance, the couple should
undergo a thorough sexual health and infection screen, including information about
the male partners HIV status. The possibility of HIV infection in the female partner
also has to be excluded. In some cases, it might be necessary to treat genital infections before starting reproductive treatment.
464
Women and Children
After sperm washing and testing for HIV, spermatozoa can be utilized in three different reproductive techniques depending on whether the couples have any additional fertility issues: intra-uterine insemination (IUI), extracorporal fertilization by
conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection followed by embryonic transfer. According to the German recommendations, the
choice of method depends on the results of gynecological and andrological investigations and the couples preference. The success rate using IUI has been shown to
be reduced if the sperm is washed and then cryopreserved before use. This is necessary in some centers where PCR testing of the washed sample for HIV cannot be
done on the day of insemination. This, together with the fact that semen quality can
be impaired in some HIV-infected men (Dulioust 2002, Mller 2003, Pena 2003,
Nicopoullos 2004), results in a number of couples being advised to have IVF or
ICSI.
Couples should be informed about further important aspects:
Sperm-washing and testing can greatly reduce the risk of infection, but cannot
exclude it completely. Following recent study results, this risk seems to be only
theoretical and cannot be expressed in percentages.
During treatment, consistent condom use is important, especially when the partners viral load is not effectively suppressed. HIV infection of the woman in the
early stages of pregnancy can increase the risk of transmission to the child.
Most couples attending European centers have to pay for treatment costs themselves. These are dependent on the technique applied and range from about 500
to 5,000 per cycle. An exception is France, where couples have cost-free access
to treatment. In Germany, health insurance sometimes covers a part of the costs,
but they are not obliged to.
Even the most sophisticated techniques cannot guarantee successful treatment.
Following successful reproductive treatment, couples are usually monitored for
HIV status for 6-12 months after childbirth, depending on the center.
The safety of sperm washing

The technique of processing sperm from HIV-positive men prior to the insemination of their HIV-negative partners was first published by Semprini in 1992. The
first inseminations with sperm, washed free of HIV, were carried out in Italy and
Germany as early as 1989 and 1991, respectively. Up to mid-2003, more than 1,800
couples had been treated in about 4,500 cycles, applying various techniques of assisted reproduction. More than 500 children have been born with no single seroconversion reported in the centers closely following the protocol of washing and testing
the sperm prior to assisted reproductive techniques.
Native ejaculate mainly consists of three fractions: spermatozoa, seminal plasma
and nuclear concomitant cells. The HIV progenome and virus have so far been detected in the seminal plasma, the concomitant cells, and occasionally in immobile
spermatozoa. Several studies have indicated that viable, motile spermatozoa are not
likely to be a target for HIV infection (Pena 2003, Gilling-Smith 2003).
Motile spermatozoa can be isolated by standardized preparation techniques. After
separation of the spermatozoa from plasma fractions and NSC (non-spermatozoa
465
cells), the spermatozoa are washed twice with culture medium and re-suspended in
fresh culture medium. Incubation for 2060 minutes allows motile sperm to swimup to the supernatant. To be more certain that it is not contaminated with viral particles, an aliquot of the sample should be tested for HIV nucleic acid using highly
sensitive detection methods (Weigel 2001, Gilling-Smith 2003, Pasquier 2006).
Depending on the method, the lowest limit of detection is 10 copies/ml. After having studied the effectiveness of several methods of sperm processing, Anderson
(2005) concluded that the combination of gradient density centrifugation and swimup allows a 10,000-fold decrease of HIV-1 concentration in sperm. Since HIV
could theoretically remain undetected, sperm washing is currently regarded as a
very effective risk reduction, but not a risk-free method.
Most of the European centers that offer assisted reproduction to HIV-discordant
couples are part of the CREATHE-network, which aims to optimize treatment and
safety of the methods as well as to compile an extensive database. Compiled data
from several centers hint to the safety and reliability of sperm washing (Bujan
2007).
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)

PrEP might emerge as a new further option for couples where the male partner is
seropositive. A first project was initiated in Switzerland in 2004 (Vernazza 2007). It
is assumed that the transmission risks can be reduced by having the seronegative
female partner take an antiretroviral prophylaxis twice before periovulatory sexual
intercourse. Couples abstain from condom use only during the womans fertile
days. Preconditions are an effectively suppressed viral load, the exclusion of sexually transmitted disease, and unimpaired fertility status of both partners. The Swiss
project reported a high acceptance in couples. From 20042007 15 out of 21
women got pregnant, 11 of them after three cycles. No case of HIV transmission
has been reported. The positive experiences from Switzerland were the basis for a
German project initiated in 2007 in Munich. To date, case numbers are very low.
On the whole, PrEP study data have to be valued as preliminary.
Female HIV infection

For many seropositive women having a child now is an important part of their planning for the future (Fiore 2008). In France 32% of the seropositive women of reproductive age want to become mothers (Heard 2007).
In some European countries reproductive options for women with unimpaired fertility include natural conception on the basis of the Swiss statement and selfinsemination. Should the couple experience problems with self-insemination, intrauterine insemination (IUI) can be considered. HIV-specific and infective diagnostics are recommended. If no pregnancy has occurred over a period of 612
months (or earlier, if the couple so wishes) fertility diagnostics should be carried
out (Table 1). If there are indicators of reduced fertility in one or both partners, fertility diagnostics might be carried out at an earlier stage in the counselling process.
HIV-positive women with unimpaired fertility can conceive by self-insemination.
In some cases, ovarian stimulation may be advisable. Ovarian stimulation, however,
requires highly qualified supervision to avoid multiple gestations.
466
Women and Children
It is important to time ovulation accurately (i.e., by use of computer-based ovulation kits or urine sticks). A simple inexpensive way of determining whether the cycles are ovulatory, helpful in women who have regular cycles, is a basal temperature chart beginning about three months before the first self-insemination.
At the time of ovulation, couples can either have protected intercourse with a
spermicide-free condom and introduce the ejaculate into the vaginal cavity afterwards, or the ejaculate can be vaginally injected using a syringe or applied with a
portio cap after masturbation. Thus, the conception remains within the private
sphere of the couple.
More than two inseminations per cycle are not advisable, as the fraction of motile
sperm in the ejaculate decreases on additional tries. Furthermore, the couple might
experience psychological strain.
After 612 months of unsuccessful self-insemination, the couple should have further fertility investigations with a view to assisted conception.
Fertility disorders
In some cases, women will only be able to conceive by assisted reproduction. Dependent on the fertility status of both partners, IVF and ICSI can be considered as
methods of choice.
Fertility disorders in HIV-positive women seem to have a higher prevalence than in
an age-matched HIV-negative population (Ohl 2005) and might lead to a lower success rate of assisted reproduction (Coll 2006) although data show some conflicting
results. Reasons might be infection of the upper genital tract (Sobel 2000), surgery
due to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (Gilles 2005) or a depletion of mitochondrial DNA in the oocytes (Garrabou 2006, Lopez 2008).
Recent data reported from a program in Strasbourg indicated infertility problems in
most HIV-positive women. IVF and ICSI were far more effective than IUI (Ohl
2005). In the Barcelona program, Coll (2006) observed a decreased pregnancy rate
in HIV-positive women after IVF compared to age-matched HIV-negative controls
and HIV-positive women who received donated oocytes. Results indicated a decreased ovarian response to hyperstimulation in HIV-positive women. A slightly
impaired ovarian response to stimulation during 66 ICSI cycles in 29 HIV-positive
women was also described by Terriou (2005). Martinet (2006) found no difference
in ovarian response between HIV-positive and HIV-negative women in Brussels.
Data concerning a possible association between ART and fertility disorders in
women is limited (van Leeuwen 2006).
Although assisted reproduction for seropositive women with fertility disorders is
offered in centers in various European countries as well as the US, access is still
more limited for women than for men.
HIV infection of both partners

A growing number of HIV-concordant couples are now seeking reproductive counseling. In some centers, these couples are also accepted for reproductive treatment.
One option for couples without fertility disorders might be timed unprotected intercourse. The discussion pertaining to the transmission of mutated drug-resistant vi-
467
rus between partners is still ongoing. Up until now, only a very small number of
superinfections have been published, and they have only occurred in individuals not
on a HAART regimen.
Couples should be offered the same range of fertility counseling and screening as
HIV-discordant couples. The current health of each partner should be carefully
evaluated with a full report from their HIV physician.
Psychosocial aspects
Experiences from more than a decade of counseling show the importance of offering professional psychosocial support to couples before, during, and after reproductive treatment.
Accepting the desire to become parents and dealing with the underlying motives
as well as the psychosocial situation in an empathic way enables couples to see
obstacles as well as to develop alternative perspectives if this wish cannot be realized.
Frustration, strains and disappointment may accompany unsuccessful treatment
cycles or premature termination of pregnancy. Psychiatric co-morbidities in one
or both partners (i.e., substance abuse, psychoses) can be reasons to at least postpone treatment. Professional diagnosis and support will be necessary in these
cases.
Often, the central importance of the wish for parenthood of many migrant couples
is overlooked in the medical and psychosocial counseling system. Language or
communication difficulties on both sides, ignorance of different cultural backgrounds and lack of acceptance of other life-styles can lead to feelings of discrimination, isolation, helplessness or despair in couples.
Issues concerning the welfare of the child should be openly discussed during reproductive counseling (Frodsham 2004). Many couples are concerned about a potential negative effect of antiretroviral drugs on their offspring. Severe impairment of the health of the prospective parents might lead to concerns for the future
well-being of the child.
The future
Following improvements in morbidity and mortality of men and women living with
HIV/AIDS, healthcare professionals are encountering a growing number of couples
or individuals who are contemplating parenthood. Having a child is an expression
of a fulfilled partnership and an important perspective of life. This is no less true in
couples with HIV/AIDS. In the medical and psychosocial care of patients, it is important to create an environment where reproductive aspects and parenting can be
discussed on an open and non-judgemental basis.
Future priorities include continued reporting of data pertaining to the applied methodologies as well as to the outcomes, reporting of adverse results and the follow-up of
couples (Giles 2005). The first steps towards optimizing semen-processing procedures, namely quality control of virus detection in processed sperm and laboratory
safety, have already been taken (Politch 2004, Pasquier 2006, Gilling-Smith 2005).
468
Women and Children
Meikle (2006) criticizes the current state of fragmented knowledge regarding infertility service practices for HIV-positive patients. Long-term outcomes in couples
that received reproductive assistance, health outcomes among children, both in
medical as well as in psychosocial terms, and consensus regarding best practice or
surveillance of care provided by clinics have received little notice up till now.
A great number of couples cannot afford to pay for the high costs of treatment, or
travel long distances, sometimes even to other countries, to reach specialized units.
There is an urgent need to develop strategies for the counseling and financial support of these couples.
The use of donated oocytes in reproductive services for HIV-positive women (Coll
2006) is limited in several countries due to legal and ethical considerations. It even
enables treatment of women who have reached an age where reproductive assistance is not usually offered anymore due to the high risk of miscarriages and malformation and the low success rate of assisted reproduction techniques.
Medical and technical progress has opened a wider range of options, but aside from
comparing higher or lower success rates, there is an urgent need to discuss psychological and psychosocial issues pertaining to the welfare of parents and child.
References
Barreiro P, del Romero J, Leal M et al. Natural pregnancies in HIV-serodiscordant couples receiving successful antiretroviral therapy. J AIDS 2006; 43:324-6.
Bujan L, Hollander L, Coudert M, et al. Safety and Efficacy of sperm washing in HIV-1-serodiscordant couples where the male is infected: results from the European
CREAThE network. AIDS 2007, 21:1909-1914.
Coll O, Suy A, Figueras F, et al. Decreased pregnancy rate after in-vitro fertilization in HIV-infected women receiving HAART. AIDS 2006; 20:121-3.
Dulioust E, Du AL, Costagliola D, et al. Semen alterations in HIV-1 infected men. Hum Reprod 2002; 17: 2112-8.
Fiore S, Heard I, Thorne C et al. Reproductive experience of HIV-infected women living in Europe. Hum Reprod. 2008 Sep;23(9):2140-4.
Frodsham LC, Smith JR, Gilling-Smith C. Assessment of welfare of the child in HIV positive couples. Human Reproduction 2004, 19: 2420-3.
Gilling-Smith C. Fertility management of HIV-discordant couples. Current Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2003; 13: 307-13.
Gilling-Smith C, Emiliani S, Almeida P et al. Laboratory safety during assisted reroduction in patients with bllod-borne viruses. Hum Reprod 2005, Jun; 20 (6): 1433-8.
Heard I, Sitta R, Lert F et al. Reproductive choice in men and women living with HIV: evidence from a large representative sample of outpatients attending Franech
hospitals (ANRS-EN12-VESPA Stusy). AIDS 2007, 21 (suppl 1): 77-82.
Lpez S, Coll O, Durban M. Mitochondrial DNA depletion in oocytes of HIV-infected antiretroviral-treated infertile women. Antivir Ther 2008, 13:833-8.
Mandelbrot L, Heard I, Henrion-Gant E, Henrion R. Natural conception in HIV-negative women with HIV-infected partners. Lancet 1997, 349: 850-1.
Kalichman SC, Di Berto G, Eaton L. HIV viral load in blood plasma and semen: review and implication of empirical findings. Sex Transmit Dis 2008, 35: 55-60.
Nicopoullos JD, Almeida PA, Ramsay JW, Gilling-Smith C. The effects of HIV on sperm parameters and the outcome of intrauterine insemination following sperm
washing. Human Reproduction 2004, 19: 2289-97.
Ohl J, Partisani M, Wittemer C, et al. Encouraging results despite complexity of multidisciplinary care of HIV-infected women with assisted reproduction. Human
Reproduction 2005, 20:3136-40.
Pena JE, Thornton MH, Sauer MV. Assessing the clinical utility of in vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmatic sperm injection in HIV type 1 serodiscordant couples: report
of 113 consecutive cycles. Fertil Steril 2003; 80: 356-62.
Sauer MV. Sperm washing techniques address the fertility needs of HIV-seropositive men: a clinical review. Reprod BioMed Online 2005; 10: 135-140.
Savasi V, Ferrazzi E, Lanzani C, Oneta M, Parrilla B, Persico T. Safety of sperm washing and ART outcome in 741 HIV-1-serodiscordant couples. Human Reproduction 2007, 22:772-77732.
Semprini AE, Vucetich A, Morandi E, et al. Removal of p18 immunoreactive cells from the semen of HTLV-III/LAV seropositive men. Colloque INSERM 1987; 154:462.
Semprini AE. European clinical experience with assisted reproductive technology in HIV-discordant couples. Annual WHIN Meeting & Symposium 2005, San Juan,
PuertoRico.
Sobel JD. Gynecologic infections in HIV-infected women. Clin Infect Dis 2000, 31:1225-33.
Tandler-Schneider A, Sonnenberg-Schwan U, Gingelmaier A et al. Diagnostics and treatment of HIV-affected couples who wish to have children. Eur J Med Res
2008, 13, 12, 5546-551.
van Leeuwen E, Prins JM, Jurriaans S, et al. Reproduction and fertility in HIV type-1 infection. Hum Reprod 2007, 13, 197-206.
Vernazza PL, Hollander L, Semprini AE, et al. HIV-discordant couples and parenthood: how are we dealing with the risk of transmission? AIDS 2006, 20: 635-6.
Vernazza P, Brenner I, Graf I. Pre-exposure prophylaxis and timed intercourse for HIV-discordant couples willing to conceive a child. Abstract MoPDC01, IAC 2007,
Sydney.
Vernazza P, Hirschel B, Bernasconi E, Flepp M. HIV-infizierte Menschen one andere STD sind unter wirksamer antiretroviraler Therapie sexuell nicht infektis.
Schweizerische rztezeitung 2008; 89:5, 165-169.
Weigel MM, Kremer H, Sonnenberg-Schwan U, Glz J et al. Diagnostics and treatment of HIV-discordant couples who wish to have children. Eur J Med Res 2001; 6:
317-21.
469
17. Antiretroviral Therapy in Children

Tim Niehues
Characteristics of HIV infection in childhood

More than 95% of children are infected with the virus through perinatal transmission (vertical infection). Transmission by transfusion, sexual transmission and drug
abuse are much less prevalent. In most cases (75-90%) HIV is transmitted peri- or
intrapartum. Only a small proportion of children are infected in utero (10-25%).
Transmission by breastfeeding is more common in resource-limited settings, but
plays aminor role in developed countries, where breastfeeding by HIV-infected
mothers is strongly discouraged. The increasing knowledge about how HIV is vertically transmitted has led to highly effective interventions to prevent transmission
and a significant reduction of the transmission rate to less than 2%. However, new
infections in HIV-exposed children still occur
if the HIV status of the mother is unknown;
if prevention of transmission prophylaxis is incomplete;
if the mother does not have access to transmission prophylaxis during pregnancy.
Without antiretroviral therapy there is a bimodal presentation of vertical HIV infection: in 10-25% of the children, rapid progression with AIDS-defining symptoms
and lethal complications is observed within the first year of life. In 75-90% there is
a much slower disease course with a mean duration of more than 8 years until
AIDS-defining symptoms occur. At present, disease progression is mainly influenced by the efficacy of antiretroviral therapy.
At birth, viral load is usually low (< 10,000 copies/ml) and then rises rapidly within
the first 2 weeks of life to values above 100,000 copies/ml and only slowly decreases after the age of 4-5 years. These viral dynamics are significantly different
from the rapid increase and decrease of the viral load seen in untreated adults within
a few months following acute HIV infection (Figure 1).
In children, the higher viral load is associated with the somatic growth of the lymphatic system and the inability of the immature immune system to mount an HIVspecific response. When assessing the immune system in infants and children, it is
very important to compare the childs CD4 count with the age-appropriate values
(e.g., the mean CD4 count for a 6-month-old baby is 3.0 x 109/l). Lymphocyte
counts are very high in infancy and decline to adult levels after the age of 6 (Table
1).
470
Women and Children
Figure 1: Differences in the natural course of viral load and HIV immunity between adults and
infants/toddlers.
In adults typical manifestations of the acute HIV seroconversion illness include

fever, sore throat, lymphadenopathy and a mononucleosis-like disease. HIV seroconversion illness has not been described in perinatally-infected children. Symptomatic disease presenting in childhood has been classified according to severity of
symptoms (Table 2) and at www.who.int/hiv/pub/guidelines/en/index.html.
If antiretroviral therapy in children is effective, opportunistic infections (OIs) become a rarity. However, in children who newly present with HIV (e.g., if HIV
status in the mother is unknown and there was no transmission prophylaxis) opportunistic infections are observed.
Antiretroviral Therapy in Children
471
Table 1: 2006 WHO HIV Pediatric Classification System: Immune Categories Based on AgeSpecific CD4 values.
Classification of
Age-related CD4 Values
HIV-associated
< 11 months
1235
immunodeficiency
months
(% CD4)
None or not significant
Mild
Advanced
Severe
3659
months
(% CD4)
> 35
> 30
> 25
> 5 years
(absolute
number/l
or % CD4)
> 500
3035
2529
2530
2024
2025
15-19
350-499
200-349
< 25
< 20
< 15
< 200 or < 15%
Table 2: WHO clinical staging for children with confirmed HIV infection.
Clinical stage 1
Asymptomatic
Persistent generalized lymphadenopathy

Clinical stage 2
Unexplained persistent hepatosplenomegaly

Papular pruritic eruptions
Fungal nail infection
Angular cheilitis
Lineal gingival erythema
Extensive wart virus infection
Extensive molluscum contagiosum
Recurrent oral ulcerations
Unexplained persistent parotid enlargement
Herpes zoster
Recurrent or chronic upper resp. tract infections (otitis, otorrhea, sinusitis or tonsillitis)
Clinical stage 3
Unexplained moderate malnutrition or wasting not adequately responding to stand. therapy

Unexplained persistent diarrhea (14 days or more)
Unexplained persistent fever (above 37.5C intermittent or constant,
for longer than one month)
Persistent oral candidiasis (after first 68 weeks of life)
Oral hairy leukoplakia
Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis or periodontitis
Lymph node tuberculosis
Pulmonary tuberculosis
Severe recurrent bacterial pneumonia
Symptomatic lymphoid interstitial pneumonitis
Chronic HIV-associated lung disease including bronchiectasis
Unexplained anemia (< 8 g/dl), neutropenia (< 1,000/l) and or chronic thrombocytopenia
(< 50,000/l)
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Women and Children
Clinical stage 4
Unexplained severe wasting, stunting or severe malnutrition not responding

to standard therapy
Pneumocystis pneumonia
Recurrent severe bacterial infections (such as empyema, pyomyositis,
bone or joint infection or meningitis but excluding pneumonia)
Chronic herpes simplex infection (orolabial or cutaneous of more than one months
duration or visceral at any site)
Oesophageal candidiasis (or candidiasis of trachea, bronchi or lungs)
Extrapulmonary tuberculosis
Kaposi sarcoma
Cytomegalovirus infection: retinitis or cytomegalovirus infection affecting another organ,
with onset at age older than one month
Central nervous system toxoplasmosis (after one month of life)
Extrapulmonary cryptococcosis (including meningitis)
HIV encephalopathy
Disseminated endemic mycosis (coccidiomycosis or histoplasmosis)
Disseminated non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection
Chronic cryptosporidiosis (with diarrhea)
Chronic isosporiasis
Cerebral or B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
Symptomatic HIV-associated nephropathy or HIV-associated cardiomyopathy
Diagnosis of HIV infection in children

The detection of HIV antibodies does not prove infection in infants. High titers of
HIV IgG are transferred transplacentally from mother to child. Maternal antibodies
can be detected in children up to the age of 18 months. Therefore a direct method of
detecting HIV is necessary. Identification by PCR is highly sensitive and specific.
Cord blood is not useful for the diagnosis because maternal cells may be present
and may cause a false positive test result. Detection of HIV can be achieved within
the first 48 hours after birth in 38% of infected children, and within the first
2 weeks in 93% of children (Dunn 1995).
Once a positive HIV PCR is found a second independent blood sample should soon
be taken for repeat analysis. As diverse subtypes exist, it is advised to test paired
samples from mother and infant by HIV PCR. If the mothers virus is not amplified
by the primer set used then another set or another test can be used to avoid a false
negative result in the infant. The disappearance of maternal IgG antibodies to HIV
needs to be documented before HIV infection can be definitely excluded in the
child. Tests with an increased sensitivity to detect HIV antibodies are not useful as
they may detect maternal antibodies up to 28 months of age leading to anxiety and
confusion in the affected families (Nastouli 2007).
In children older than 18 months, HIV infection is diagnosed in an analogous way
to adults (see chapter on HIV Testing).
473
When to initiate ART

Keep the following facts in mind before starting ART in children:
Treatment of HIV-infected children is usually not an emergency
Take as much time as needed to decide whether to start with ART or not.
A randomized study in 377 infants under the age of 3 in the South African CHER
study (Children with HIV Early Antiretroviral Therapy) examined whether to start
directly after diagnosis (AZT+3TC plus lopinavir/r) or defer treatment until symptoms occur or CD4 T cells fall below 25% (Violari 2008). Deferred treatment is
associated with a higher mortality (16% versus 4%). These data are of fundamental
importance as clinical practice and guidelines before this study did not advise to
treat all infants. In children who are diagnosed beyond infancy many experts defer
treatment in asymptomatic children (i.e., with a low viral load and without immunodeficiency). Commencing antiretroviral therapy too early risks possible longterm side effects and early exhaustion of the limited supply of antiretroviral drugs
that can be safely used in children. Therefore, the indication for treatment is based
on CD4 T cell count, viral load and clinical criteria.
In a meta-analysis of 17 studies with 3,941 children who received no therapy or
AZT monotherapy, viral load and CD4 T cell counts proved to be independent
prognostic markers for end stage, AIDS or death (Dunn 2003). From this large cohort of children, a computer program has been generated which can be used to give
the risk of progression to AIDS or death within 6 or 12 months according to the age
and either CD4 T cell count or viral load in the child (PENTA Calculator,
http://www.hppmcs.org/). Updated guidelines:
European guidelines: www.pentatrials.org/guidelines.htm
US guidelines: www.aidsinfo.nih.gov/guidelines
WHO guidelines for resource-poor settings:
www.who.int/hiv/pub/guidelines/art/en/index.html
Table 3: 2009 PENTA Recommended CD4 T cells and viral load thresholds for initiating
ART (http://www.pentatrials.org/guidelines.htm)
Marker
Age-specific recommendation to initiate ART
< 12
1 to < 3 years
3 to < 5 years
5 years
months
Clinical
Start all
CDC B & C or WHO CDC B & C or WHO
CDC B & C or
Stage
stage 3/4
stage 3/4
WHO stage 3/4
CD4 %
Start all
< 25% or
< 20% or
350 cells/
*
*
and CD4
< 1000 cells/l
< 500 cells/l
count
Viral load
Start all
HIV RNA <100,000 copies/mL
*It is recommended that ART be started as soon as CD4 % or the CD4 count threshold is
reached. CDC classification: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00032890.htm
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Women and Children
General considerations for treatment of HIVinfected children

The treatment of children with antiretroviral drugs is becoming increasingly complex. Successful treatment requires an interdisciplinary approach to the children and
their families.
Gynaecologist
primary care
Obestetrician/Gynaecologist
HIV centre
Internist
HIV centre
Paediatrician
HIV centre
Virologist
Immunologist
Pharmacologist
Nurse
Social worker
Psychologist
Paediatrician
General Practitioner
Internist
HIV centre
Figure 2: Interdisciplinary care for children and families who are affected by HIV.
Antiretroviral therapy cannot be successful without good adherence to treatment. In

the prospective PACTG 377 adherence was defined as having not missed a single
medication dose over the previous 3 days. According to this definition, only 70% of
children were found to be adherent (125 children within an observation period of
48 weeks) (Van Dyke 2002). These data show that continuous motivation of children and their care providers is of high importance. The modalities of the daily intake of the medication need to be discussed in detail and adjusted to the daily and
weekly routines of the family. Clear treatment goals need to be set, e.g., 90% of the
prescribed doses. Education of the patient and the family regarding the antiretroviral drugs is necessary. Sometimes a brief period of hospitalization at the start of
antiretroviral therapy is useful to educate the child and family and gauge the tolerability of the regimen. Adherence is particularly problematic in adolescence. In this
age group, adherence often needs a close follow up including other health care professions such as psychologists and social workers. Peer support may also be helpful
for young people. Sometimes periods off ART, despite the risk of ill health, have to
be accepted in this group of patients. A promising approach to increasing adherence
in children and adolescents is the availability of once-daily regimens: In the
PACTG Study P1021 a once-daily regimen with ddI+FTC and efavirenz was studied over > 96 weeks in 37 treatment-nave children (age 3 to 21 years) (McKinney
2007). This regimen resulted in a relatively high percentage of children having VL
below detection (70% after 2 years), but unfortunately the study lacked a compara-
475
tor arm, e.g., a twice-daily regimen. Underdosing has been shown to be a problem
in day-to-day practice (Menson 2006). Dosing by weight instead of body surface
area (given as an alternative in some older guidelines) may result in underdosing
and ongoing growth may not be adjusted for. This underlines the importance of
frequent follow-up especially for infants and toddlers on therapy when they are
growing very fast and will need recalculation of their doses every 4-6 weeks. Particular genotypes are associated with hypermetabolism of NNRTIs and PIs. Plasma
levels of NNRTIs and PIs can be measured (pharmacologic drug monitoring) to
detect interindividal differences in drug metabolism and lack of adherence to check
on dosage that might be too low or to prevent toxicities from too high a dosage.
Before medication is initiated or changed, the decision should always be based on at
least 2 independent blood samples. Infections and vaccinations may influence viral
load and CD4 T cell count. Therefore, it is not recommended to base decisions on
data that have been gathered within 14 days of an infection or vaccination.
Strategy
At present, eradication of HIV cannot be achieved. In some children viral load remains below detection for years and subsequently there are no HIV-specific antibodies detectable. Ultra-sensitive assays can detect HIV (Persaud 2004). Therefore
risks and benefits of antiretroviral therapy have to be balanced in each child. Interruption or incomplete adherence may cause more harm than deferring the therapy.
The decision to start antiretroviral therapy has fundamental consequences for the
children and families. From this point on it usually means that children need to take
the medication for life. Structured treatment interruptions have not been tested in
childhood and adolescents in controlled studies. A retrospective analysis of unplanned treatment interruptions in children demonstrated a significant decline of
CD4 percentages by 6.6% per year (Gibb 2004). PENTA (Pediatric European Network for Treatment of AIDS) did a randomized pediatric study of CD4 guided,
planned treatment interruptions (PTIs). There were no serious negative clinical outcomes. Younger children had better CD4 recovery after PTIs (PENTA 11).
Table 5 shows the current treatment concept for choosing antiretroviral drug combinations. It appears useful to start with a combination that includes two classes
(2NRTIs + PI or 2 NRTIs + NNRTI) in order to spare one or two classes for any
future change of antiretroviral therapy. If there is not full viral suppression on
treatment development of cross-resistance to NNRTIs and PIs is very likely. Therefore, sparing classes may be useful for long-term efficacy.
As there are only small numbers of children and adolescents with HIV in Europe it
is highly recommended to include all children who receive antiretroviral therapy in
multicenter clinical trials (e.g., PENTA (Pediatric European Network for Treatment
of AIDS), http://www.pentatrials.org, Dr. Diana Gibb, Phone: + 44 20 7670 4709;
Lynda Harper Phone: + 44 20 7670 4791). The PENPACT 1 study with participation both of the PENTA and the PACTG group has now completed recruitment and
results will be available soon. This trial aims to answer the question of whether initial therapy in children is more effective with 2 NRTI+PI or with 2 NRTI + NNRTI.
476
Women and Children
Table 4: Treatment in HIV-infected children.

Regime
Recommendation
NRTI* 1 + NRTI 2 + PI**
Include children in multicenter clinical trials
or
NRTI 1 + NRTI 2 +NNRTI***
*AZT, ddI, 3TC, d4T, abacavir, FTC, tenofovir. Preferred combination: ABC+3TC, which has
superior long-term efficacy to AZT+3TC and can be given OD to children over 3 years
**Preferred PI: lopinavir/r. For teenagers, atazanavir/r may be preferable because it has the
advantage of OD dosing. Unboosted PIs are no longer recommended. Atazanavir/r, fosamprenavir/r, darunavir/r and saquinavir/r have comparable efficacy with lopinavir/r in adults.
Fosamprenavir/r is licensed for children from age 6 in Europe. Atazanavir/r and darunavir/r
have pediatric licenses in the US, and may be licensed for children in Europe in 2009.
*** Preferred NNRTI: Efavirenz age 3 years, nevirapine in combination with 2 NRTIs at an
age < 3 years or in children who require a liquid formulation.
In the placebo-controlled US CNAA3006 study on children who had already received antiretroviral therapy, a triple NRTI therapy was shown to be more effective
than a therapy of 2 NRTIs (Saez-Llorens 2001). However, this study was carried
out on children who were already on antiretroviral therapy and were not treatment
naive. Data in adults suggest that a triple NRTI strategy is less effective than a therapy combination including PI or NNRTI. At present there are no data on triple
NRTI therapy as initial therapy for children.
Classes of Antiretrovirals
The different antiretroviral classes that are currently used in children are outlined
with emphasis on pediatric issues. All drugs can lead to nausea, vomiting, fever,
headache, diarrhea, rash and anorexia.
NRTIs
The combination of 2 NRTIs as part of ART is effective and well-tolerated. Severe
side effects are rare but potentially life-threatening, such as lactic acidosis and hepatic steatosis. Other side effects are neuromuscular dysfunction, cardiomyopathy,
pancytopenia, pancreatitis and neuropathy. All of these effects are probably related
to mitochondrial toxicity caused by NRTIs. Due to pharmacologic and antiviral
antagonism as well as synergistic neurotoxicity, the following combinations are not
recommended: AZT+d4T and FTC+3TC. The prevalence of lipoatrophy in children
is unknown, diagnostic criteria are not established. Whenever possible, d4T should
be replaced by ABC or TDF.
Zidovudine (ZDV, AZT, Retrovir) is available as syrup, capsules, tablets and
concentrate for injection or intravenous infusion. Dosage is 180 mg/m2 orally
every 12 hours. Maximum dosage is 300 mg every 12 hours.
Lamivudine (3TC, Epivir) is available as oral solution and tablets. Dosage is
4 mg/kg every 12 hours, maximum dosage is 150 mg every 12 hours. In older children and adolescents (> 35 kg body weight) combination with AZT (Combivir) or
abacavir (Kivexa/Epzicom) can be used and daily pill burden reduced. In adults,
3TC has antiviral activity against hepatitis B virus. In HIV negative children with
chronic hepatitis B early initiation of 3TC appears to achieve a high HBe and HBs
477
conversion rate (Choe 2007). There are no data in HBV-coinfected children. In the
PENTA 15 study the pharmacokinetics, feasibility and acceptability of dosing ABC
or ABC + 3TC QD in children aged 3 months to < 36 months was studied. The
AUC for QD dosing of both ABC and 3TC was bioequivalent to BID.
Didanosine (ddI, Videx) is available as oral solution and tablets. Dosage is 200
mg/m2 once daily. Maximum dosage is 400 mg (body weight > 60 kg) or 250 mg
(body weight < 60 kg). DDI is not recommended for use in combination with tenofovir. Powder for oral solution is reconstituted with water and Mylanta Extra strength
or MaaloxPlus antacid suspensions. It should be taken on an empty stomach (2 hrs
after and 1 hr before food or milk). Caps can be opened and sprinkled on a spoonful
of food, e.g., yogurt, but there is a decrease in AUC (see Packet Information).
Abacavir (ABC, Ziagen) is available as oral solution and tablets. Dosage is 8 mg/kg
every 12 hours, maximum dosage is 300 mg twice daily or 600 mg once daily. A
once-daily regimen in combination with 3TC has been shown to be as effective as
twice daily (see PENTA 15 Trial above). In the PENTA 5 trial, the NRTI back bone
of ABC+3TC showed better efficacy regarding viral load suppression than
AZT+ABC and AZT+3TC. There is a potential risk of a hypersensitivity reaction
(HSR). If ABC HSR occurs and the drug is stopped, it should never be restarted as,
rarely, deaths have occurred in adults upon rechallenge. HLA B*5701 is associated
with HSR. An alternative NRTI is used in HLA B*5701 positive children.
Emtricitabine (FTC, Emtriva) is available as capsules and oral solution. Dosage
is 6 mg/kg once daily. The administration of capsules results in a 20% higher
plasma level. Maximum dosage is 200 mg QD, reduction in dosage is necessary in
patients with renal impairment. There are no controlled trials regarding the efficacy
in children.
Tenofovir (TDF, Viread) is currently only available as tablets (300 mg). Dosage
is in children 8 mg/kg once-daily; > 8 yrs of age: 210 mg/m2 once-daily. Maximum
dose is 300 mg once-daily. It should be taken with meals. There are no controlled
trials on the efficacy of tenofovir in children. Tenofovir has been shown to have
metabolic renal and bone side effects that may be significant for children and
should be monitored closely. Tenofovir is also effective for treatment against HBV.
In coinfected children who require treatment for HIV, a backbone of TDF+FTC
(Truvada) should be considered as this will be effective against both viruses.
Stavudine (d4T, Zerit) is available as oral solution and capsules. Dosage is 1
mg/kg every 12 hours. Maximum dosage is 40 mg every 12 hours. It should be
taken on an empty stomach. d4T is not recommended for first-line therapy as it has
a high risk of causing lipoatrophy.
NNRTIs
NNRTIs have a low genetic barrier to resistance. Suboptimal dosing or adherence
can lead to cross-class resistance mutations. Within a few weeks, affecting all available NNRTIs. NNRTIs exist in palatable liquid preparations that are easier for children to tolerate than the liquid PI solutions. It has to be kept in mind that single
dose nevirapine exposure as part of the perinatal transmission prophylaxis may affect subsequent treatment response, if NNRTIs are used in an initial regimen for
infants (Lockman 2007).
478
Women and Children
Efavirenz (EFV, Sustiva, Stocrin) is available as capsules and oral solution.

Dosage is 200 mg (body weight 10-15 kg), 250 mg (15-20 kg), 300 mg (20-25 kg),
350 mg (25-33 kg), 400 mg (33-40 kg), 600 mg (> 40 kg) once daily. Maximum
dosage is 600 mg once daily. It should be taken on an empty stomach. High fat
meals should be avoided. When using the solution, a 20% higher dosage than for
capsules is necessary. Central nervous system symptoms (somnolence, insomnia,
abnormal dreams, confusion, abnormal thinking, lack of concentration, amnesia,
agitation, depersonalization, hallucinations, euphoria) appear to be more common in
adults than in children. Skin rash is observed in < 10%. It is rarely severe and usually disappears within days despite continuation of efavirenz. Efavirenz may cause
raised lipids in some patients.
Nevirapine (NVP, Viramune) is available as tablets and suspension. Dosage is
150 mg/m2 once daily for 14 days, followed by 150 mg/m2 every 12 hours, if liver
function tests are normal. In a retrospective analysis, once-daily application
300 mg/m2 after week 2 was as effective as twice-daily (Verweel 2003). The most
common side effect of NVP is a skin rash. It occurs in up to 16% of children during
the first weeks of treatment, may be quite severe (8%) and require hospitalization.
Life-threatening complications (Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis) are rare. Hepatotoxicity may also occur, and fatal cases have been reported in
adults, but this appears to be less common in children.
Etravirine (ETV, Intelence) is available as 100 mg tablets and 25 mg tablets
through compassionate use. The tablets are dispersed in water. ETR is taken with
food. The AUC is decreased by 50% if it is taken on an empty stomach. Dosage is
5.2 mg/kg in children (currently under investigation), versus in adults at 200 mg
BD. Side effects are pruritis and rash. The rash usually resolves in 1-2 weeks. Etravirine is not used broadly due to the lack of a pediatric formulation, lack of pediatric pharmacokinetic data, lack of efficacy or safety data in children, and lack of
data in antiretroviral-nave patients.
PIs
All PIs can be used in combination with 2 NRTIs. PIs differ from each other in respect to their tolerability and side effects. As with adults, dyslipidemia is associated
with the use of PIs (Lainka 2002). It includes elevated total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and decreases in high
density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c). In lipodystrophy, there is a loss of subcutaneous fat (lipoatrophy) and/or a deposition of fat tissue subcutaneously or in visceral stores (lipohypertrophy) including the presence of dorsocervical fat accumulation (buffalo hump) and increased waist-to-hip ratio. Lipoatrophy is marked by a
thinning of the subcutaneous fat in the face, buttocks, and extremities associated
with a prominent appearance of peripheral veins. The body habitus changes usually
occur gradually over months to years. The exact prevalence of lipodystrophy in
children is unknown and there are no clear diagnostic criteria. Lipodystrophy and
dyslipidemia coexist, and their interconnection is unclear. Other classes such as
NRTIs (e.g., d4T) and NNRTIs (efavirenz, not nevirapine) may also play a role in
the pathogenesis of lipodystrophy. Insulin resistance is another side effect that may
present with or without fasting hyperglycemia, with new onset diabetes mellitus and
479
exacerbations of pre-existing diabetes. Moreover, PIs may influence bone mineral

density and metabolism (Mora 2004). Taken together, the long-term consequences of
PI-containing ART for growth and development of the child are currently not known.
Lopinavir/R (LPV/r, Kaletra) is a co-formulation of lopinavir and ritonavir, in
which ritonavir acts as a pharmacokinetic enhancer (booster). It is available as 200
mg LPV/50mg RTV tablets or 100 mg LPV/25mg RTV tablets or 133.3 mg
LPV/33.3mg RTV capsules in some countries. There is a liquid preparation with an
unpleasant taste (5ml = 400mg LPV/100mg RTV), which has to be kept in the
fridge. In therapy-naive and -experienced children, the combination of LPV/r and
NRTI or NNRTI shows a high efficacy (Saez-Llorens 2003, Fraaij 2004). The dosage in neonates/infants (14 days6 months) is 300 mg/m2 BID; in older children
230-300mg/m2 (most centers use the higher dose) or 13 mg/kg lopinavir/3.25 mg/kg
ritonavir twice daily (bodyweight 7- < 15 kg), 11 mg/2.75 mg (15-50 kg),
533 mg/133 mg (> 50 kg). It should be taken with meals. The dosage of LPV/r may
need to be increased by up to 30% when combined with an NNRTI. Therapeutic
drug monitoring is useful in this situation. Cautious use is advised in patients with
hepatic insufficiency.
Fosamprenavir (FPV, Telzir) is available as 700 mg tablets and 50 mg/ml liquid.
Liquid is given with or after food to aid palatability. Tablets are taken without food.
Dosage in a child is 30 mg/kg BID (2-5 years); > 6 years (25-32 kg) is 18mg/kg
BID with ritonavir 3mg/kg BID; in the weight range 33-38 kg, 18 mg/kg BID with
100 mg ritonavir BID with food; > 39 kg: 700 mg fosamprenavir BID with 100 mg
ritonavir BID. Maximum dose is 700 mg BID.
Nelfinavir (NFV, Viracept) is available as tablets and powder. It is well-tolerated
in most children. The dosage is 55 mg/kg every 12 hours, but in infants < 3 months
75 mg/kg every 12 hours is required. Maximum dosage is 1,250 mg every 12 hours.
Some older children require 1,500 mg every 12 hours, more than the adult dose.
Therapeutic drug monitoring is useful. In the PENTA 7 trial in newborns and infants below the age of 3 months, combination of nelfinavir with d4T+ddI was
poorly absorbed with poor plasma levels and consequently poor viral load suppression (Aboulker 2004). It should be taken with meals. The most common side effect
is diarrhea, which rarely causes discontinuation of the drug. To facilitate the administration of nelfinavir, the tablets can be crushed or readily dissolved in water.
In the PENTA 5 study, nelfinavir powder was poorly tolerated. In May 2007 a contamination of NFV with a genotoxic/carcinogenic agent ethyl mesylate (also known
as methane sulfonic acid ethylester) occurred, which is a by-product of manufacture
and was found in some batches of nelfinavir manufactured in Europe. Children
were either switched to another agent or NFV from the manufacturer in the US.
International registries of children in Europe treated with nelfinavir, or exposed to
nelfinavir in utero are going to be set up to follow children for any side effects of
possible exposure.
Ritonavir (RTV, Norvir) is available as oral solution or capsules. However, most
children do not tolerate the taste of the oral solution. The dosage is 350-400 mg/m2
every 12 hours, maximum dosage 600 mg every 12 hours. It should be taken with
meals. Today, ritonavir should be exclusively used as a drug to boost other PIs, and
for this purpose, the dosage is 75 mg/m2 every 12 hours.
480
Women and Children
Indinavir (IDV, Crixivan) is available as capsules. Dosage is 500 mg/m2 every

12 hours in combination with ritonavir 750 mg/m2 every 12 hours. It should be
taken on an empty stomach. Side effects include nephrolithiasis, especially at high
plasma levels.
Saquinavir (SQV, Invirase) is available as tablets. Dosage in children is unknown. There is very limited experience with 50 mg/kg every 12 hours. Saquinavir
should only be used in combination with ritonavir because of poor bioavailability. It
should be taken with meals.
Atazanavir (ATV, Reyataz) is available as capsules. It should be taken with
meals. Omeprazole and all other PPIs are contraindicated. Avoid indigestion remedies. ATV is interesting in children, because of its once-daily application and lower
incidence of dyslipidemia. Dosage for children is (15-25kg) 150 mg QD with RTV
80 mg QD; (25-32kg) 200 mg QD with RTV 100 mg QD; (32 -39kg) 250 mg QD
with RTV 100 mg QD; (> 39 kg) 300 mg QD with RTV 100 mg QD. Some patients
develop jaundice. Better levels of ATV are obtained with ritonivir boosting.
Tipranavir (TPV, Aptivus) is available as 250mg soft gel capsules given with or
after food. Dosage from 2 yrs on is 14mg/kg BID with RTV 6mg/kg BID or
375mg/m2 BID with RTV 150mg/m2 BID: It has been associated with significant
hepatotoxicity in adults. There are complex interactions with ABC and AZT leading
to reduced TPV levels.
Darunavir (DRV, TMC114, Prezista) is available as 300 mg, 400 mg and 600mg
given with or after food. A liquid formulation is under investigation. Dosage in a
child > 6 years (20-30 kg) is 375mg darunavir BID plus 50 mg ritonavir BID; in 3040 kg it is 450 mg darunavir BID plus 60 mg ritonavir BID; in > 40kg it is 600 mg
darunavir BID plus 100 mg ritonavir BID.
Entry and integrase inhibitors

Enfuvirtide (T-20, Fuzeon) can be used in children older than 6 years of age. The
drug is injected subcutaneously at a dosage of 2 mg/kg every 12 hours. A study
with 14 children showed no severe side effects, but after a two-year treatment duration only 6 of 14 children stayed on this therapy (Church 2004). Reasons for treatment discontinuations were aversion to injections, local injection site reactions,
inefficient viral load suppression, thrombocytopenia and edema. There are no controlled studies on the use of T-20 in children.
Maraviroc (MVC, Celsentri) is available as 150 and 300 mg tablets. In adult
patients, efficacy and safety have been proven. A tropism test is required prior to
the use of CCR5 antagonists. There are no data on the use of maraviroc in children.
Raltegravir (RAL, Isentress) is available as 400 mg tablets. There are no data on
the use of raltegravir in children. However, a clinical trial is underway.
Drug interactions
There are a great number of interactions, which may complicate antiretroviral therapy when it is co-administered with other drugs. In particular, tuberculosis and
atypical mycobacterial treatment may interact with ART so close monitoring and
expert advice should be sought.
481
Monitoring efficacy and watching out for failure

Not all children achieve complete viral suppression, and development of resistance
is not uncommon due to the selection pressure of the HIV immune response as well
as antiretroviral therapy. There is no commonly used definition of treatment failure
in children treated with antiretroviral drugs. Therefore, it is also not well-defined
when to change antiretroviral therapy. In the PENPACT 1 study, this important
question is being addressed. Children are randomized to change a failing treatment
at either low or high viral rebound (> 1,000 or > 30,000 copies/ml) Alternatively,
therapy failure can be defined by a decrease in CD4 T cell counts, e.g., a decrease
by at least a third of the absolute CD4 cell number in less than 6 months. In children
with relatively low CD4 T cell percentage (of less than 15%), a decrease by more
than 5% may be significant enough to consider therapy failure. The use of clinical
criteria such as toxicity of the drugs, a progression within the CDC classification,
an increased susceptibility to infections, encephalopathy and failure to thrive may
all indicate treatment failure.
Many children with multi-disciplinary support now manage to maintain long-term
(> 5 years) viral suppression on first-line therapy, and the longer this can be maintained the better. Indeed over the last few years as more treatments have become
available for children they have shown increasing success with treatment. The most
common cause of treatment failure is insufficient adherence, which can be found in
up to 25-30% of children. Assessment of adherence may be difficult as questionnaires may not be reliable. Determination of plasma levels and resistance tests (e.g.,
reccurrence of wild type) are other options to assess adherence and monitor antiretroviral therapy more effectively.
Change of therapy
There is no systematic data on how and when to change therapy in HIV-infected
children. The suppression of viral load that can be reached by a second or third
regimen depends on the preceding therapy and the resistance status. The longer and
more intensive treatment is, the lower the viral load reduction to be expected. When
a new antiretroviral drug combination is introduced, the age of the child, the availability of appropriate formulations (e.g., solution for infants), side effects and interactions with other drugs all need to be taken into account. At present it is unclear
whether dyslipidemia and lipodystrophy can be influenced by a change from a PIcontaining regimen to an NNRTI-containing ART (McComsey 2003). In adults,
randomized and prospective trials have shown that a change of antiretroviral therapy guided by resistance tests leads to better treatment response. In children there is
a smaller prospective study (Englund 2004). Usually, the initial treatment regimen
contains a double NRTI backbone (e.g., AZT+3TC or ABC+3TC). When changing
therapy, it appears useful to introduce a backbone with two new NRTIs and a new
class. A mega-ART therapy combining five to six antiretroviral drugs has not been
systematically investigated in children. In single cases, it may be useful to introduce
up to five drugs if treatment failure has occurred despite multiple drug regimens.
482
Women and Children
Supportive therapy and prophylaxis

OIs have become rare in perinatally infected children who experience immune reconstitution with ART. In most of these children respiratory and other infections are
not more common than in healthy children. HIV-infected children who are treated
with ART and who are clinically stable can even be given live varicella virus vaccine and show a specific response, which is an impressive sign of successful immune reconstitution (Armeninan 2006). In the vast majority of stable treated children treatment with IV immunoglobulins and PCP prophylaxis is no longer required
(Nachman 2005b).
However, there are still life-threatening infections and deaths from HIV if perinatal
HIV infection is unrecognized or ART has not led to immune reconstitution. A
description of such infections in adults is given in other chapters of this book. An
excellent and detailed guide for treatment of children with OIs can be found at
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/
Conclusion
In many aspects HIV infection in children is different from HIV infection in adults.
The ongoing growth and development of children, their viral dynamics and immaturity of the immune system result in a different response to HIV compared to
adults. This has important consequences for diagnosis and treatment of HIV in children. The aim of the therapy is to reach maximum efficacy while avoiding longterm side effects. Sustained success in the treatment of children with HIV infection
can be achieved by:
a multidisciplinary approach;
standardized treatment protocols;
participation in multicenter trials;
development of new drugs and strategies for children.
In developed countries the clinical picture of HIV infection in children has now
changed from an often fatal to a treatable chronic infection. This picture is entirely
different in developing countries, where the majority of children do not have access
to ART (Prendergast 2007). In the year 2006 according to WHO 380,000 children
died from HIV infection or its sequelae, a disease that can be treated and more importantly prevented.
483
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Mora S, Zamproni I, Beccio S, et al. Longitudinal changes of bone mineral density and metabolism in antiretroviral-treated human immunodeficiency virus-infected
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Women and Children
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Part 5
Special Issues
486
18. HIV and HBV/HCV Coinfections

Jan-Christian Wasmuth and Jrgen Rockstroh
HIV and HCV Coinfection

Epidemiology and Transmission
Coinfection with HIV and HCV occurs frequently, due to the fact that both are
transmitted via the same pathways (parenteral, sexual, vertical). 240,000 people
(30% of HIV-infected individuals) are estimated to be infected with both viruses in
the USA.
Several European countries have even higher rates of coinfection. In Spain, about
50% of the 130,000 HIV-infected patients are also HCV-positive as a result of the
high incidence of IV drug users. More than 90% of coinfected individuals are positive for HCV RNA, i.e., have chronic hepatitis C.
As HCV is ten times more infectious than HIV via blood-to-blood contact, intravenous drug users and recipients of blood products are particularly susceptible to
coinfection. Nevertheless, the probability of transmission from occupational needle
stick injuries after exposure to HCV-contaminated blood is less than 2% (0.3% after
exposure to HIV-contaminated blood).
In contrast, sexual transmission of HCV occurs significantly less frequently than
HBV or HIV (risk of transmission via heterosexual intercourse < 1%). However,
clusters of cases of acute hepatitis C among homosexual HIV-infected men have
been observed in Amsterdam, Berlin, London, and Paris clearly indicating that
HCV can be sexually transmitted via anal intercourse. The risk of transmission
probably depends on the number of sexual partners and the performance of sexual
practices that are prone to injuries (Vogel 2005). In total, about 48% of all HIVinfected men who have sex with men are also infected with HCV.
Perinatal transmission of hepatitis C is rare in immunocompetent individuals
(<1%). The transmission rate rises with increasing immunosuppression in HIVinfected mothers, and is estimated to be as high as 20%. On the other hand, HIVinfected mothers treated effectively with antiretroviral therapy do not appear to
have an increased risk for materno-fetal transmission of the hepatitis C virus (< 3%
in combination with cesarean section; Pembrey 2005).
Clinical course and pathogenesis

Course of hepatitis C in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients
The clinical course of hepatitis C and HIV coinfection is determined by HIVassociated immunosuppression. Progression of immunosuppression accelerates the
course of hepatitis C. The latent period until liver failure or hepatocellular carcinoma in coinfected patients develop is estimated to be 1020 years, whereas it is
30-40 years in HCV-monoinfected patients. Improved treatment options for HIV
infection have increased the likelihood of patients actually living to experience the
development of liver failure. In some centers, liver failure is now the most frequent
HIV and HBV/HCV Coinfections
487
cause of death in HIV-infected patients. Conversely, there is no significant influence of hepatitis C on the course of HIV infection (Rockstroh 2005).
Antiretroviral therapy can improve the unfavorable course of hepatitis C and delay
the development of liver failure. This is particularly true for patients who achieve a
good immune recovery.
On the other hand, hepatitis C infection can aggravate the potential hepatotoxicity
of several ART regimens. Up to 10% of patients have to discontinue ART due to
severe hepatotoxicity. This risk is associated especially with the so-called dnucleosides (ddI, ddC, d4T). These agents should be avoided in coinfected patients. Nevirapine and tipranavir should be used with caution.
In some coinfected patients, a temporary increase in transaminases is observed after
initiation of ART. This most likely corresponds to an increased inflammatory activity of hepatitis C as a result of improved immune status. Nevertheless, long-term
follow-up has shown that ART improves the course of hepatitis C. Indications for
ART, according to current treatment guidelines, should be carefully checked in all
coinfected patients.
Diagnosis
Diagnostic tests used in coinfected patients are no different from those used in patients with HCV monoinfection (see Table 1). Detection of HCV antibodies (antiHCV) proves exposure to HCV, but does not distinguish between resolved and
chronic hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis C is diagnosed by the detection of HCV viremia (i.e., HCV RNA). It should be noted that HCV antibodies might be lost during
the course of HIV infection as a result of the underlying immunosuppression, although nowadays this phenomenon has become rare, probably due to improved test
kits. It may therefore be useful to determine HCV RNA levels, even if the antiHCV test is negative, if there is clinical suspicion or advanced immunodeficiency
(as it can occur in patients undergoing chemotherapy also). Similarly, determination
of HCV RNA levels is indicated in cases of suspected acute (primary) HCV infection, as HCV antibodies usually only become detectable one to five months after
infection.
Patients with HIV/HCV coinfection have significantly higher levels of HCV viremia than patients with HCV monoinfection (about 1 log). Based on current knowledge the level of viremia does not have a prognostic value for the course of hepatitis C. However, data from the EuroSIDA cohort indicate that there may be a correlation between the level of viremia and endpoints such as liver-associated death
(Rockstroh 2009). Regular testing of HCV RNA as a routine clinical procedure is
not necessary. However, it should be noted that some patients might lose HCV
RNA in parallel with progression of immune deficiency, but experience a flare up
of hepatitis C together with clinical symptoms following immune reconstitution
under ART (Kim 2006). Therefore, regular testing around the initiation of ART
seems prudent.
It is possible to predict a response to treatment from the level of the HCV viremia:
if the concentration of HCV RNA is below 400,000 500,000 IU /ml, the probability of treatment success is significantly higher than at levels above 400,000 IU /ml
(400,000 IU/ml equals about 1 million copies/ml; depending on the test used the
conversion factor varies from 1 to 5).
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Special Issues
When considering the treatment of hepatitis C, genotyping is necessary before starting. Six genotypes with numerous subtypes are known, and are seen to have different regional distributions: genotypes 1 and 3 are predominantly found in Europe,
whereas genotypes 4 and 5 are found in Africa, and genotype 6 in Asia. Genotypes
2 and 3 in particular are associated with significantly better responses to interferon
therapy. Coinfection with several genotypes is possible.
Assessment of liver fibrosis is very important to guide treatment indication. Among
several non-invasive methods available the Fibroscan device is of special interest.
This device measures liver stiffness directly correlated to the degree of fibrosis with
a special technique (transient elastography). The role of liver biopsy has to be
newly defined: if a liver biopsy is not an option, current consensus recommendations suggest treatment of hepatitis in case of genotypes 2+3, or genotype 1 and low
HCV viremia. If a liver biopsy has been performed that shows no significant fibrosis, immediate treatment is usually not required regardless of the underlying genotype.
There are several histological classifications used. In Europe the METAVIR score
is most often used. It distinguishes five stages of fibrosis (0 = no fibrosis, 1 = portal
fibrosis without septa, 2 = little septa, 3 = significant septa without cirrhosis, 4 =
cirrhosis). Hepatitis activity is graded according to the intensity of necroinflammatory lesions (A0 = no activity, A1 = mild activity, A2 = moderate activity, A3 =
severe activity). Treatment is recommended for grades F2-F4; it may be deferred
for grades F0+F1 (see below).
Several tests to predict liver fibrosis based on serum markers have been developed.
These include APRI, FIB-4, hyaluronic acid, Fibrometer, Fibrotest, Forns, and others. More complex tests (e.g., Fibrometer, Fibrotest) have shown to more accurately
predict liver fibrosis than simple biochemical tests (e.g., APRI, FIB-4 or Forns).
However, the relevance in clinical routine is not clear for many settings.
If there is clinical suspicion requiring the detection or exclusion of extrahepatic
manifestations (vasculitis, glomerulonephritis, systemic cryoglobulinemia), appropriate investigations may be necessary (skin biopsy, urine tests, kidney biopsy, detection of serum cryoglobulins).
The recommendations for autoantibody testing to exclude autoimmune disease vary
and test results are difficult to interpret: up to 60% of all patients with hepatitis C
have autoantibodies such as ANA, RF, anticardiolipin, SMA, and LKM1 antibodies
as an accompanying autoimmune phenomenon without any clinical relevance. If the
titers of these autoantibodies increase or appear for the first time during interferon
therapy, treatment does not usually have to be discontinued, and so the need for
routine testing of autoantibodies is arguable. In order to exclude autoimmune hepatitis, however, ANA, SMA, ANCA, and LKM1 antibodies should be determined
before interferon therapy is initiated. Patients with positive results should be monitored closely for deterioration of liver function on interferon therapy as a sign of
active autoimmune hepatitis. If liver function worsens, interferon should be discontinued. The need for immunosuppressive therapy can only be decided on a case-bycase basis.
Before treatment with interferon, TSH levels should always be determined to exclude thyroid disease. With normal thyroid function, it is sufficient to monitor TSH
at quarterly intervals. In cases of hypothyroidism, substitution with levothyroxine is
489
recommended, and thyreostatic treatment is similarly recommended for hyperthyroidism before initiation of interferon therapy. After adequate treatment, interferon
therapy can usually be administered under close monitoring of TSH (every 4
weeks). Approximately 5% of patients develop thyroid dysfunction on interferon
therapy. This generally manifests within the first 3 months of treatment. If hypothyroidism is induced, interferon therapy can usually be continued in combination with
substituted levothyroxine. The first manifestation of hyperthyroidism is enough
cause for most authors to discontinue treatment, although even here it may be possible to continue interferon therapy in certain cases. In the majority of patients, thyroid dysfunction resolves after discontinuation of interferon. However, if it does
persist, cases need to be considered individually.
Up to 12% of patients with hepatitis C have thyroid autoantibodies before treatment
with interferon (antibodies against thyroid peroxidase = anti-TPO, antithyroglobulin antibodies and TSH receptor antibodies). In these patients, the risk of
deterioration in thyroid function on interferon is significantly higher than in patients
without these antibodies. If possible, autoantibodies should be determined in all
patients before beginning treatment, but at the very least in those patients with abnormal TSH levels, in order to have a baseline value to allow subsequent monitoring.
If treatment is deferred alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and sonography of the liver should
be performed every 6-12 months in order to detect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
This is particularly relevant for patients with F3/F4 fibrosis. As the course is accelerated in HIV-coinfected patients and 10-30% of patients will develop HCC without preexisting cirrhosis, screening at regular intervals should be considered for
patients with less advanced liver disease. Some experts recommend even shorter
intervals that are not yet feasible in most circumstances.
Table 1: Diagnostic procedures for hepatitis C in HIV-coinfected patients (Rockstroh 2008)
Diagnosis of hepatitis C
HCV-Ab (positive 1-5 months after infection, may rarely be lost with immunosuppression)
HCV RNA levels (while not prognostic for progression, it is for response to treatment; see
above)
Assessment of liver status
Grading of fibrosis (e.g., Fibroscan, liver biopsy, serum markers)
Hepatic synthetic function (e. g. coagulation, protein, albumin, CHE)
Ultrasound and AFP every 6 months in cirrhotics
Gastroscopy upon diagnosis of cirrhosis (every 1-2 years thereafter)
Before treatment
HCV genotype and serum HCV RNA
Auto-antibodies (ANA, SMA, ANCA, and LKM1)
TSH, thyroid autoantibodies if applicable
During treatment
Differential blood count and liver enzymes every 2-4 weeks
HCV RNA at week 4 (to evaluate rapid virological response), week 12, 24, 48, (72 if applicable) and 24 weeks after stopping HCV therapy
CD4 T cell count every 12 weeks
TSH every 12 weeks
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Special Issues
Therapy
The most important reasons for initiating HCV treatment are: an unfavorable course
of hepatitis C with HIV coinfection, improving life expectancy for HIV infection,
increasing liver-related mortality, and increased risk of hepatotoxicity. Indeed, successful treatment of hepatitis C translates into better survival.
The goal of hepatitis C treatment is to achieve permanently negative HCV RNA
levels. This is generally referred to as a sustained response. It is defined as a negative HCV RNA six months after completion of treatment.
Negative HCV RNA at the end of the treatment period is described as an end of
treatment response. If transaminases have normalized, this is referred to as a biochemical response. However, the latter does not correlate with the further clinical
course of hepatitis C and is therefore no longer used today. Failure to respond to
treatment is referred to as a non-response.
In the following text, response rates always refer to sustained responses. Only sustained responses have been clearly associated with resolution of liver fibrosis and
extrahepatic manifestations, as well as with the prevention of further transmission.
When HCV RNA becomes detectable again after having been negative, it is referred to as a relapse. The probability of a relapse is highest within the first months
following completion of treatment and decreases steadily afterwards. Therefore, the
success of therapy is usually determined and evaluated six months after the end of
treatment. In individual cases, relapses may occur at later time points, sometimes
years later. Regular monitoring is advised even following successful treatment
(monitoring of transaminases; HCV RNA if there is reason to suspect relapse).
Similar to monoinfected patients, the combination of pegylated interferon with ribavirin is regarded as standard therapy for hepatitis C. A sustained response can be
achieved in about 50% of patients (Torriani 2004, Nuez 2006). Genotypes 2 and 3
can be treated more effectively (about 80%) than genotypes 1 and 4 (about 40%). In
general, treatment duration is 48 weeks. This should be prolonged in patients with
genotypes 1 and 4, if the viral response is delayed (Nuez 2006). If the viral load is
undetectable by week 4, shorter treatment periods may be possible (at least in genotypes 2 and 3). Liver transplantation may be an option for patients who have cirrhosis and cannot be treated with interferon therapy.
Concerns that interferon treatment could have a negative effect on HIV infection
have not been confirmed ever. In fact, there is further suppression of detectable
HIV viremia in the majority of patients as a result of the antiviral effect of interferon. Absolute CD4 T cell counts may drop slightly due to temporary leucopenia,
but percentage values usually rise. No treatment study to date has shown a significant deterioration of HIV infection (Soriano 2007).
Treatment options remain inadequate for patients with a non-response or relapse. In
patients treated earlier with interferon monotherapy, an attempt can be made using a
combination of PEG-interferon and ribavirin. There are currently no standard recommendations for treatment of patients after failed PEG-interferon therapy. Besides
re-treatment with PEG-interferon (reasonable for patients with less than adequate
adherence due to adverse events during the first course of treatment), a triple combination of PEG-interferon, ribavirin and amantidine (2 x 100 mg/day) has been
used successfully in individual patients, although reliable data are not available.
491
HCV-specific protease inhibitors and polymerase inhibitors are being evaluated in

clinical trials in HIV-infected patients now. It is expected that the first agents (boceprevir, telaprevir) will be licensed in 2010/11 for monoinfected patients and will
add new options for coinfected patients also.
Practical tips for management of treatment

The following recommendations have been compiled for HIV coinfection:
Indications and contraindications
As HIV coinfection accelerates the course of hepatitis C and increases the risk of
hepatotoxicity after initiation of ART, the indication for treatment should be determined in all patients with diagnosed HIV/HCV coinfection.
In particular, treatment should be discussed for cases with a bioptically confirmed
fibrosis of grade F2-F4. Extra-hepatic manifestations of hepatitis C are also an indication for treatment (vasculitis, glomerulonephritis, systemic cryoglobulinemia).
The following factors are associated with a more favorable response to treatment:
HCV RNA < 400,000 500,000 IU/ml (+ genotype 1)

HCV genotype 2+3
Age < 50 years
Histologically, low grade of fibrosis
Normal -GT
Stable HIV infection
In addition, contraindications should be evaluated. The most important are:

Decompensated liver cirrhosis or history of decompensation (but not compensated
cirrhosis, i.e., CHILD A cirrhosis!)
Leucopenia (<1,500/l)
Thrombocytopenia (< 50,000/l)
Anemia (< 10 g/dl)
Severe, as yet untreated, thyroid dysfunction
CD4 T cell count < 200/l (relative contraindication, see below)
Severe psychiatric illnesses, active drug or alcohol abuse
Symptomatic cardiac disease
Active opportunistic infections
ART with ddI (AZT and d4T should be avoided also)
Use of abacavir is possibly associated with lower response rates
Methadone or polamidone substitution is not a contraindication if good monitoring

can be ensured during the treatment phase. However, patients with active drug or
alcohol abuse should first be introduced to the appropriate detoxification programs.
492
Special Issues
Timing of treatment
If the decision to initiate treatment is made, the immune status of the patient and
current antiretroviral therapy must be considered (see Table 2).
If necessary, antiretroviral treatment should ideally be modified several weeks before HCV therapy is initiated. Didanosine (ddI) is contraindicated with concurrent
HCV therapy (as it can lead to pancreatitis, mitochondrial toxicity, and more cases
of liver decompensation). AZT and d4T should also be avoided, in order to prevent
additive toxicities (AZT: anemia and leucopenia; d4T: mitochondrial toxicity).
The use of abacavir is possibly associated with lower response rates, although reasons for this are not clear. Before modifying ART, it should be insured that the
treatment success of HIV therapy is not going to be compromised. In such cases,
HCV treatment should only be started if the overall clinical situation is stable, i.e.,
viral suppression has been achieved and side effects have been evaluated or treated.
Table 2: Scheme for the relation of ART and HCV treatment
Patients without ART
If possible, HCV should be treated before HIV. Reasons are: increased hepatotoxicity of
ART; possibly impaired immune reconstitution resulting from hepatitis C; better compliance;
and finally, prevention of drug interactions.
CD4 > 350/l
Treatment of hepatitis C can be started without concern. It is unclear
whether a high viral load (i.e., > 50,000/ml) requires initiation of ART
(HIV RNA < 50,000
first.
copies/ml)
CD4 200 - 350/l
Treatment may be successful if HIV RNA is below 5,000 copies/ml. If
it is higher, initiation of ART should be considered.
CD4 < 200/l
Relative contraindication. ART should be initiated first. When there is

an adequate increase in the CD4 count, interferon therapy can be
reconsidered.
Patients already on ART

HIV-RNA should be below the limit of detection (< 50 copies/ml). If this goal is not achieved,
ART should be optimized first.
CD4 > 350/l
Treatment can be started.
CD4 200 - 350/l
Decision depends on the overall situation (with consideration of criteria that include severity of hepatitis, HCV genotype and status of HIV
infection).
CD4 < 200/l
Relative contraindication. It is a judgment call to decide whether to
take the risk of a treatment attempt with interferon (with the likelihood
of a poor response and the danger of a further decline in the CD4 T
cell count as a result of interferon treatment).
Treatment practice
The combination of PEG-interferon with ribavirin over a period of 48 weeks is recommended as the standard therapy. The duration of treatment needs to be adjusted according to genotype and the dynamic of treatment response (Soriano 2007, Rockstroh 2008).
Two interferons are currently available as PEG-interferons: PEG-Intron and
Pegasys. PEG-Intron is administered subcutaneously and the dose is based on
body weight at 1.5 g/kg. Pegasys is injected subcutaneously at a fixed dose of
180 g. Both agents are administered once a week, and must be kept refrigerated.
493
The dosage of ribavirin should be adapted to body weight: patients below 75 kg

should receive 1000 mg daily, patients above 75 kg 1200 mg daily regardless of
genotype. Ribavirin is licensed for twice daily administration. However, due to the
very long half life once daily administration is possible and has been investigated in
several studies.
Patients must be made aware of the fact that both interferon and ribavirin are potentially teratogenic. A reliable method of contraception for at least six months after
treatment is therefore important.
All patients require regular clinical monitoring. This should initially take place
every 2 weeks; later at least every 4 weeks. Laboratory monitoring should include
(see Table 1):
A complete blood count and transaminases every 2-4 weeks
Thyroid function tests every 12 weeks (more frequently with pre-existing dysfunction)
Immune status every 12 weeks
Lactate levels every four weeks in patients on stavudine comedication
HCV RNA is the most important parameter for measuring the treatment response.
It is determined at weeks 4, 12, and 24 to decide on the duration of treatment.
The duration of treatment is determined by the dynamic of treatment response. If a
very early virologic response is achieved (HCV RNA negative at week 4), treatment can be shortened for genotypes 2 and 3 (with low baseline viral load and low
grade fibrosis). If HCV RNA has not dropped more than 2 logs at week 12 in all
other circumstances, treatment should be stopped. Successful treatment is not expected in this case (2 log stopping rule).
W4
HCV-RNA
neg
W12
W24
G2/3
24 weeks
therapy *
G1/4
> 2 log drop

in HCV-RNA
HCV-RNA
pos
HCV-RNA
neg
HCV-RNA
pos
< 2 log drop

in HCV-RNA
W48
G2/3
G1/4
W72
48 weeks
therapy
72 weeks
therapy
Stop
Stop
* In patients with low baseline viral load and minimal liver fibrosis
Figure 1: Algorithm for treatment of hepatitis C in HIV infection (mod. Rockstroh 2008)
494
Special Issues
Management of adverse events

The management of possible side effects is often the decisive factor for the success
of treatment (see Table 2). A high discontinuation rate in numerous (older) clinical
studies of about 30% is likely also to have been due to a lack of experience with
combination therapy. Proper management of side effects probably results in significantly better treatment success rates (about 15%).
Patients should be counseled extensively on the expected side effects before beginning treatment. It is often helpful to indicate to patients that side effects are reversible after stopping therapy. Three main aspects should be explicitly addressed:
Almost all patients experience influenza-like symptoms or malaise when beginning
treatment. As the severity of symptoms cannot be predicted beforehand, treatment
should be initiated at a time when there are no important private or professional
events pending (e.g., before a weekend). The administering physician should be
readily available during the first days of treatment. In addition, paracetamol should
be prescribed (dosage has to be adjusted individually; single dose = 1,000 mg).
Symptoms usually improve within the first two to four weeks. A decision to stop
treatment should therefore not be made before the end of the first month if possible.
Most patients tolerate treatment quite well and can continue their daily activities
normally. However, it is possible that particularly in the initial stages of treatment,
they may be unable to work for several days. In rare cases, the side effects may be
so grave that patients are unable to work for the entire duration of treatment. This
also needs to be discussed with the patient in advance.
Ribavirin causes hemolytic anemia in up to 20% of patients. This can be treated
with epoetin-alpha. Dose recommendations differ: usually approximately 100 IE/kg
body weight are injected subcutaneously three times a week. 40,000 IE once a week
also significantly improve ribavirin-induced anemia (Sulkowski 2005). Alternatively, halving the dose (hemoglobin below 10 g/dl) or discontinuing ribavirin altogether (hemoglobin below 8.5 g/dl) are possible options. However, dose reductions
should only be made if epoetin does not help. Newer studies have shown that the
correct dosing of ribavirin is associated with a better treatment response. A daily 5
mg dose of folic acid is recommended to reduce hematoxicity.
Treatment with granulocyte colony stimulation factor (GCSF) may ameliorate an
interferon-induced leucopenia. Clinical experience is very limited so far. However,
so that the required dose of interferon can be maintained in case of severe leucopenia (neutrophils below 500/l), this recommendation seems to be justified. Doses
have to be adjusted individually. In most instances low doses are adequate, as hematopoiesis itself is not impaired (e.g., Filgrastim 30 Mio IE once a week).
The evaluation of psychological side effects is made at every clinic visit. Observations made by others, such as family members, may be very helpful. Mild depression whilst on interferon can be treated with well-tolerated antidepressants (e.g.,
paroxetin 20 mg daily). In certain cases, prophylactic administration of paroxetin
can be considered. Therapy should be stopped immediately in cases of severe depression or on development of suicidal thoughts.
The frequent occurrence of weight loss can be lessened with dietary counseling. It
is important to ensure a regular diet that is tailored to the patients wishes (e.g., inpatients with drug addiction). NRTIs with a lower risk for development of lipoatrophy (i.e., Truvada) should be considered.
495
Table 3: Most important adverse events with PEG-interferon/ribavirin and their management
Adverse event
Interferon-associated
Flu-like symptoms
Leucopenia, Thrombocytopenia
Psychiatric changes
Weight loss
Autoimmune phenomenons
Ribavirin-associated
Hemolysis
Treatment
Paracetamol
Dose reduction IFN, possibly G-CSF
Antidepressants, discontinuation IFN
Regular diet
Discontinuation IFN
Folic acid, epoetin, dose reduction ribavirin
Treatment discontinuation is not always necessary if thyroid dysfunction develops

(see diagnosis above). In most instances, hyperthyroidism is induced first that can
turn into hypothyroidism if treatment is continued. Manifestation of hyperthyroidism is enough cause for most practitioners to discontinue treatment. In the majority
of patients, thyroid dysfunction resolves after discontinuation of interferon. However, if treatment is continued, irreversible hypothyroidism requiring lifelong hormone replacement therapy may develop.
Recommendations for treatment of hepatitis C are constantly evolving. Therefore
an experienced treatment center should always be contacted if clarifications are
needed.
Due to the complexities of HIV/HCV coinfection, patients should be treated within
clinical studies wherever possible.
Acute hepatitis C
Increasing numbers of acute hepatitis C has been observed in men who have sex
with men. Mainly patients with high-risk sexual contacts are affected (such as unprotected anal intercourse, use of insertive sex toys, fisting). Diagnosis of acute
hepatitis C is made according to anamnesis, elevated liver enzymes (ideally to be
documented normal before) and positive HCV RNA. HCV antibodies will be negative in many instances due to the long latency of the antibody response.
The optimal management of acute hepatitis C remains unclear. Available data show
response rates of about 60% (80% in genotype 2/3) in case of early treatment as
compared to delayed treatment in chronic hepatitis C (Vogel 2005). On the other
hand, spontaneous clearance of HCV seems to be higher than assumed. Therefore,
the following strategy might be adequate: we treat patients with asymptomatic acute
hepatitis C (detected by chance on routine testing) immediately, whereas patients
with symptomatic hepatitis (icterus in particular) are followed for 12 weeks in order
to await possible spontaneous clearance. If not cleared, we recommend treatment
for a period of 24 weeks with PEG-interferon alone for genotypes 2 or 3, and a period of 48 weeks with PEG-interferon plus ribavirin for genotypes 1 or 4. However,
the optimal strategy is unclear at the moment. If possible, patients should be treated
within prospective clinical studies.
496
Special Issues
References
Alberti A, Clumeck N, Collins S, et al. Short statement of the first European Consensus Conference on the treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C in HIV co-infected
patients. J Hepatol 2005; 42:615-624.
Kim AY, zur Wiesch JS, Kuntzen T, et al. Impaired hepatitis C virus-specific T cell responses and recurrent hepatitis C virus in HIV coinfection. PLoS Med 2006;
3:e492.
Nuez M, Miralles C, Berdn MA, et al. Role of weight-based ribavirin dosing and extended duration of therapy in chronic hepatitis C in HIV-infected patients: the
PRESCO trial. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2007, 23:972-82.
Pembrey L, Newell ML, Tovo PA, EPHN Collaborators. The management of HCV infected pregnant women and their children European paediatric HCV network. J
Hepatol 2005; 43:515-25.
Rockstroh JK, Mocroft A, Soriano V, et al. Influence of hepatitis C virus infection on HIV-1 disease progression and response to highly active antiretroviral therapy. J
Infect Dis 2005; 192:992-1002.
Rockstroh JK, Bhagani S, Benhamou Y, et al. European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) guidelines for the clinical management and treatment of chronic hepatitis B and
C coinfection in HIV-infected adults. HIV Med 2008; 9:82-88.
th
Rockstroh J, Peter L, Soriano V, et al. High hepatitis C viremia is associated with an increased risk for mortality in HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals. Abstract 101, 16
CROI 2009, Montral.
Sulkowski MS, Dieterich DT, Bini EJ, et al. Epoetin alfa once weekly improves anemia in HIV/Hepatitis C virus-coinfected patients treated with interferon/ribavirin: a
randomized controled trial. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2005; 39:504-506.
Soriano V, Puoti M, Sulkowski M, et al. Care of patients coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C virus: 2007 updated recommendations from the HCV-HIV International
Panel. AIDS 2007,21:1073-1089.
Torriani FJ, Rodriguez-Torres M, Rockstroh JK, et al. Peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C virus infection in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med
2004; 351:438-50.
Vogel M, Biniek B, Jessen H, et al. Treatment of acute hepatitis C infection in HIV-infected patients: a retrospective analysis of eleven cases. J Viral Hepat 2005;
12:207-211.
HIV and HBV coinfection

Introduction
The hepatitis B virus is one of the most common human pathogens worldwide. Up
to 95% of all HIV-infected patients have been infected with hepatitis B, and approximately 10-15% have chronic hepatitis B, with considerable variation among
geographical regions and risk groups. It is estimated that around 100,000 HIVinfected patients in the USA suffer from chronic hepatitis B. Sexual transmission is
the most frequent route of contraction. Transmission via the bloodstream is more
probable than for HIV: following a needle stick injury contaminated with HBVinfected blood, the risk of infection is around 30% (HCV < 2%; HIV approx. 0.3%).
Primary HBV infection leads to chronic hepatitis in 2-5% of immunocompetent
adults, whereas HIV-infected patients experience chronification about five times
more often. A possible reason for this is the HIV-associated immunodeficiency,
whereas virus-specific factors such as the extent of HBV viremia and genotype do
not contribute significantly.
Hepatitis B and HIV share several features, although hepatitis B is a circular DNA
virus. Hepatitis B is one of a few known non-retroviral viruses which use reverse
transcription as a part of its replication process. Therefore, replication can be inhibited with NRTIs. The virus enters the cell after binding to an unknown receptor by
endocytosis. The viral DNA is found in the nucleus soon after infection of the cell.
There, the virus multiplies via RNA made by a host enzyme.
The so far partially double-stranded viral DNA is then made fully double-stranded
and transformed into a covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) that serves as a
template for transcription viral mRNA. Hepatitis B virus replicates preferably in
hepatocytes. In general, cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) may eliminate HBV either
by killing infected cells or by producing antiviral cytokines capable of purging
HBV from viable hepatocytes. However, this immune response is impaired in patients with HIV infection.
497
The diagnosis of HBV is established as in patients without HIV infection. Table 1

summarizes the interpretation of serological test results. Screening HIV-infected
patients for HBV starts with HBsAg, anti-HBs, and anti-HBc. If a positive HBsAg
is found, testing for HBeAg, anti-HBe, and HBV DNA should follow. There is debate about a so-called occult infection due to immune escape. This means patients
lack HBsAg, but are positive for HBV DNA. Recent studies have not found evidence of such occult infection and the prevalence and impact in coinfection remains
unclear.
In general, patients with chronic hepatitis B should be screened for hepatocellular
carcinoma (HCC) every 6 to 12 months. Serum alpha fetoprotein and an ultrasound of
the liver should be performed. This recommendation is independent of apparent cirrhosis, as 10 to 30% of patients who develop HCC do not have pre-existing cirrhosis.
Patients with chronic hepatitis B should be tested for hepatitis D infection also.
Table 1: Interpretation of serological test results for HBV
Interpretation
HBsAg
anti-HBs anti-HBc HBeAg
No prior contact with HBV
Acute infection
+
Past infection
with immunity
Chronic hepatitis B
+
1
Latent/occult infection
Pre-core mutant
+
Inactive carrier state
+
Immunity after vaccina
tion
1
Controversial. See text above.
antiHBe
HBV
DNA
+ (IgM)
+ (IgG)
+ (IgG)
+ (IgG)
+ (IgG)
+ (IgG)
+
+
+
+
+
Course of hepatitis B with concurrent HIV infection

The course of hepatitis B is negatively influenced by HIV infection. Liverassociated mortality is about 15 times higher than in HIV-negative patients and has
increased significantly since the introduction of ART. In addition, HIV coinfection
accelerates the progression of hepatitis B and increases the risk of cirrhosis. Despite
the worsening described, initially the clinical course is usually more benign in HIVpositive patients, although viral replication is increased. This seems contradictory at
first, but can be explained by the impairment of cellular immunity, which may lead
to an increase in viral replication, but at the same time also reduces hepatocyte
damage. Therefore, transaminases in HBV/HIV-coinfected patients are frequently
only mildly increased. In contrast, HBV DNA, as a marker for viral replication, is
higher than in immunocompetent patients. Accordingly, despite less inflammatory
activity, liver fibrosis and cirrhosis are more common. This phenomenon can be
observed in other groups of patients with immunosuppression also, e.g., organ
transplant patients.
There is a direct correlation between the extent of immunosuppression and the control of viral replication of HBV: patients with apparently resolved hepatitis B (anti-
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Special Issues
HBe positive, HBV DNA negative), increasing deterioration of the immune system
may result in reactivation of the HBV infection. Notably, some cases of reactivation
of hepatitis B have been described following immune reconstitution after initiation
of ART.
HIV/HBV-coinfection seems not to affect the course of HIV infection significantly.
However, the risk for ART-related hepatotoxicity is about three times higher.
Whether or not the prognosis of HBV/HIV-infected patients is changed by ART
and HBV-effective therapies remains to be seen. According to some studies, a reduction in HBV-associated mortality is associated with effective treatment of HBV
(e.g., French GERMIVIC cohort).
Prevention
All patients infected with HIV but with negative hepatitis B serology should be
vaccinated. The vaccine may, however, be less effective due to immunosuppression. Approximately 30% of HIV-infected patients have a primary non-response
(only 2.5% in immunocompetent individuals). This is particularly true for patients
with CD4 T cell counts of less than 500/l whose response rate is only 33%. Therefore, a conventional dose is administered to patients with CD4 T cell counts greater
than 500/l (20 g at months 0, 1, and 12), whereas an intensive schedule is recommended for patients with CD4 T cell counts of less than 500/l (20 g at months
0, 1, 2, and the last dose between month 6 and 12). In case of non-response
(checked 12 weeks after each cycle), vaccination is repeated at double the dose in
four steps (40 g at months 0, 1, 2, and 6-12). Patients with CD4 T cell counts of
less than 200/l who are not on ART should receive ART first and HBV immunization thereafter.
Loss of protective immunity is seen in up to 30% of patients during each year following seroconversion. Therefore, anti-HBs should be monitored once a year and
consideration given to booster doses if anti-HBs-antibody levels are less than 100
IU/l. HIV patients, who are not adequately immunized against HBV, should be
screened yearly to look for newly acquired infection.
HIV/HBV-coinfected patients who are seronegative for hepatitis A should be vaccinated against hepatitis A (months 0, and 6), as there is an increased rate of severe
or fulminant hepatitis in case of acute hepatitis A. Patients who are susceptible to
both hepatitis A and B can be vaccinated with a bivalent vaccine (months 0, 1, and
6).
Following immunization, patients should be counseled about common measures to
prevent further transmission and transmission of other viruses such as hepatitis C
(safer sex practices, avoidance of needle-sharing, etc). They should be educated
about strategies to prevent progression of liver disease such as avoidance of alcohol
consumption, tobacco use (controversial), or herbal supplements, many of which
are hepatotoxic. The application of hepatotoxic drugs (e.g., anti-tuberculous agents)
should be carried out cautiously.
Newborns of mothers with chronic hepatitis B should receive hepatitis Bimmunoglobulin and active immunization.
499
Treatment
Treatment of chronic hepatitis B is problematic in coinfected patients because of
impaired immune function. Loss of HBsAg with development of protective anitHBs-antibodies is difficult to achieve. Realistic treatment goals are seroconversion
from HBeAg to anti-HBe, a complete suppression of HBV DNA, normalization of
transaminases, improvement of liver histology, and prevention of hepatocellular
carcinoma. Other benefits of HBV therapy include the reduction in the risk of
transmission and possibly in the risk of ART-induced hepatotoxicity. As mentioned
above, HBV-associated mortality is likely to improve also.
Drugs with HBV activity
Possible treatment options for hepatitis B are nucleoside analogues, nucleotide analogues, and interferon (see Table 2). As some NRTIs are active not only against
HBV, but HIV also, NRTIs usually are used as part of the HIV combination regimen when HIV treatment is indicated. Drugs with activity against HIV and HBV
are 3TC, FTC, tenofovir and entecavir. Drugs with activity against HBV only are
adefovir and telbivudine. However, a first case report raised the possibility that telbivudine might be active against HIV also (Low 2009). Clinical significance of this
report is unclear at this time, as in vitro studies could not confirm any HIV-activity
(Avila 2009). Interferon regarded as standard in HBV monoinfection does not
play a relevant role in the setting of HIV/HBV coinfection.
Antiviral potency can be graded as follows: entecavir > telbivudine > tenofovir >
3TC > adefovir > FTC. Entecavir can achieve a reduction in HBV replication of 7
logs, tenofovir of 6 logs, 3TC of 5 logs, and FTC of 3 logs. However, these differences were not incorporated into treatment guidelines so far, as the clinical relevance remains elusive.
Development of resistance against HIV active drugs is of major concern. Monotherapy with 3TC selects a mutation in the YMDD motif in the HBV DNA polymerase gene (similar to a pre-core-mutant, HBeAg production may stop in case of
mutations in this motif). The frequency of resistance development has been reported
to be in at least 20% of patients per year. Cross-resistance exists between 3TC,
FTC, entecavir, and telbivudine. This can be overcome at least partially with an
increase in dose (e.g., entecavir has to be administered with a higher dose following
treatment with 3TC). The nucleotide analogues tenofovir and adefovir have a different mechanism of resistance development. Tenofovir seems to be active even
after treatment with adefovir.
It is reasonable to assume that combination of two drugs active against HBV will
enhance antiviral activity and delay the selection of HBV resistance. No resistance
mutation has been observed in small cohorts so far, when a nucleoside and a nucleotide analogue are combined. However, up to now there is no formal proof that
combination therapy is indeed more efficacious. In the light of the lesson learned
from HIV, combination therapy of at least two drugs seems prudent.
The optimal duration of HBV treatment is unclear. As eradication is most unlikely,
continuous suppression of viral replication probably will be necessary as it is in
HIV. Continuous treatment is necessary in the setting of HIV coinfection anyway.
Therefore, drugs are integrated into the ART combination.
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Special Issues
If drugs active against HBV are discontinued, an acute hepatitis may develop clinically. In rare cases even fatal liver failure may occur. Therefore any interruption of
treatment has to be considered thoroughly in HBV/HIV-coinfected patients. In case
of resistance treatment may be discontinued safely without the danger of clinical
deterioration of hepatitis.
Table 2: Current therapeutic options for chronic hepatitis B in HIV/HBV coinfection.
Drug
Dose
Length of therapy
Adefovir
FTC
Entecavir
10 mg QD
200 mg QD
0.5 mg (3TC nave)
1.0 mg (3TC experienced)
300 mg QD
600 mg QD
300 mg QD
5 MU per day or
10 MU 3 days per week
Pegasys 180 g once a week
PEG-Intron 1.5 g/kg body

weight once a week
6 months after seroconversion

3TC
Telbivudin
Tenofovir
Interferon-
PEG-Interferon

4-6 months in HBeAg-positive patients
12 months in HBeAg-negative patients
Only Pegasys is licensed for hepatitis B in monoinfected patients. Here,

length of therapy is 12 months.
All nucleos(t)side analogues have to be dose-adjusted in case of renal insufficiency.

Interferon might be the preferred treatment option in a selected group of patients.
These do not take ART and show prognostic markers for a favorable treatment response to interferon: high CD4 T cell count, positive HBeAg, elevated ALT, and
low HBV DNA. However, treatment with interferon is limited by its side effects.
Interferon is contraindicated in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. It should
only be used with caution in patients with advanced liver disease. Finally, liver
transplantation may be an option for selected patients who have cirrhosis and/or
develop hepatocellular carcinoma.
Treatment guidelines
Due to accelerated progression and increased mortality in coinfection, treatment possibilities should be examined for every patient. According to current treatment guidelines (Alberti 2005, Soriano 2005, Rockstroh 2008) treatment is recommended if:
HBV DNA > 2,000 IU/mL (1 IU/ml corresponds to approximately 5 copies/ml
depending on the assay used): there is a direct correlation between viral load and
risk of progression to cirrhosis and HCC. Therefore, HBV viral load is the most
important parameter for treatment decision.
ALT is consistently > 2-fold above the norm (high pre-treatment ALT values
correlate with better treatment responses to interferon and lamivudine).
Liver biopsy is not mandatory in most cases. Non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis
can be considered (e.g., Fibroscan, see above) and will replace liver biopsy in most
instances in the near future. Liver biopsy is recommended particularly for patients with
the inactive carrier state (positive for HBsAg, but no other marker of replication).
There are several histological classifications used. In Europe the METAVIR score is
used most often. It distinguishes five stages of fibrosis (0 = no fibrosis, 1 = portal fibro-
501
sis without septa, 2 = little septa, 3 = numerous septa without cirrhosis, 4 = cirrhosis).
Hepatitis activity is graded according to the intensity of necroinflammatory lesions (A0
= no activity, A1 = mild activity, A2 = moderate activity, A3 = severe activity). Treatment is recommended for grades F2-F4, it may be deferred for grades F0+F1.
There are distinct recommendations for different situations (Figures 1 and 2). An
effective treatment of HIV infection must not be put at risk. Accordingly, lamivudine (3TC), emtricitabine (FTC) and tenofovir, effective against both HIV and
HBV, have to be combined with other agents effective against HIV in order to ensure an adequate ART. On the other hand, adefovir (and telbivudine, see comment
above) is not effective for treatment of HIV and must not be considered as part of
the ART regimen.
The main consideration is the need for ART:
If there is no need for ART, use of drugs without HIV activity seems the best
choice (i.e., adefovir, telbivudine, or interferon; see Figure 1). Lamivudine, emtricitabine, and tenofovir should be avoided in this case.
If the patient is on ART or needs ART due to low CD4 T cell counts, drugs with
both HIV- and HBV-activity should be included in the ART regimen (see Figure
2). In treatment nave patients who start therapy, the combination of emtricitabine
(or lamivudine) and tenofovir is preferred as the nucleoside backbone.
No immediate
indicationfor HAART
Low HBV-DNA
(< 2000 IU/ml)*
High HBV-DNA
(= 2000 IU/ml)
ALT normal
No treatment
Monitor
(every6-12 months)
Monitor ALT
(every 3-12 months)
Consider biopsy and
treat if Metavir =A2
a./o. F2
ALT elevated
Peg-Interferon**
Telbivudin***
Adefovirplus Telbivudin
Early HAART-initiation
including Tenofovir +
3TC/FTC
* 1 IU/ml corresponds to approximately 5 cop/ml, depending on the assay used

** Favorable factors for treatment are: HBeAg + , genotype A, elevated ALT and low HBV DNA
*** If HBV DNA is positive after 24 weeks, adefovir should be added.
Figure 1: Treatment recommendations for HIV/HBV coinfected patients without indication for
ART (modified after Rockstroh 2008).
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Special Issues
Immediate indication for HIV-treatment
High HBV-DNA
(> 2000 IU/ml)
Patients without
HBV-associated
lamivudine resistance
Patients with
HBV-associated
lamivudine resistance
HAART including
TDF + 3TC or FTC
Substitute on NRTI
by Tenofovir
or add TDF*
Low HBV-DNA
(= 2000 IU/ml)
Patients with
cirrhosis
HAART regimen
of choice
HAART including
TDF + 3TC or FTC
*If compatible with treatment of HIV infection.

Figure 2: Treatment recommendations for HIV/HBV coinfected patients with indication for ART
(modified after Rockstroh 2008)
A transient elevation of transaminases which is usually moderate and soon resolves may be observed after initiation of HBV therapy. It is caused by immunoreconstitution and subsequent increased inflammatory activity. In case of marked
and/or ongoing elevation of transaminases, alternative explanations have to be considered (e.g., increasing HBV replication, resistance of HBV, lactic acidosis, hepatotoxicity of antiretroviral drugs, superinfection with hepatitis viruses other than
hepatitis B).
Initial normalization of ALT and significant reduction of HBV DNA will be
achieved in most cases by any anti-HBV agent. ALT levels do not correlate well
with inflammatory activity and are influenced by many other factors such as hepatotoxicity of ART or other drugs, alcohol consumption, and immune reconstitution.
Therefore, their value for monitoring treatment is limited. HBeAg seroconversion
will occur in as many as 25% of patients. The most desirable endpoint of HBsAg
loss is observed in only 5-10% of patients within one year of the start of treatment
with IFN-, but occurs less frequently with nucleos(t)ide analogs.
As most cases of acute hepatitis B even in HIV-positive patients resolve spontaneously, only supportive treatment is recommended. In addition, data on this situation
are sparse (e.g., danger of resistance in case of early therapy with no options afterwards).
503
References
Alberti A, Clumeck N, Collins S, et al. Short statement of the first European Consensus Conference on the treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C in HIV co-infected
patients. J Hepatol 2005; 42:615-624.
Avila C, Karwowska S, Lai C, Evans T. Telbivudine has no in vitro activity against laboratory and clinical HIV-1, including 5 clades and drug-resistant clinical isolates.
th
Abstract 813b, 16 CROI 2009, Montral.
Konopnicki D, Mocroft A, de Wit S, et al. Hepatitis B and HIV: prevalence, AIDS progression, response to highly active antiretroviral therapy and increased mortality in
the EuroSIDA cohort. AIDS 2005; 19:593-601.
Low E, Cox A, Atkins M, Nelson M. Telbivudine has activity against HIV-1. AIDS 2009, 23:546-7.
Rockstroh JK, Bhagani S, Benhamou Y, et al. European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) guidelines for the clinical management and treatment of chronic hepatitis B and
C coinfection in HIV-infected adults. HIV Med 2008; 9:82-88.
Soriano V, Puoti M, Bonacini M, et al. Care of patients with chronic hepatitis B and HIV co-infection: recommendations from an HIV-HBV international panel. AIDS
2005, 19:221-240.
Thio CL, Seaberg EC, Skolasky R Jr, et al.; Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. HIV-1, hepatitis B virus, and risk of liver-related mortality in the Multicenter Cohort Study
(MACS). Lancet 2002; 360:1921-6.
504
19. GBV-C Infection

Matthias Stoll
Hippocrates (5th century BC) was the first to postulate that signs of inflammation
represent both a symptom of disease and as well as a hint of its cure. Edward Jenner
(18th century) demonstrated that an artificial infection with a harmless cowpox is
able to prevent the dangerous smallpox. William Coley (19th century) prevented
progress of malignancies by bacterial toxins (Coley 1893). In 1927 the Nobel Prize
for Medicine was awarded to the Austrian neurologist Julius Wagner von Jauregg,
who was able to obtain improvement in patients with late stage symptomatic neurosyphilis by infecting them with the malaria parasite. Thus, infectious diseases may
result in harm reduction under certain conditions.
GB virus C (GBV-C) is a flavivirus closely related to hepatitis C virus. The name
GB virus stems from early experiments on the transmission of acute hepatitis from
humans to marmoset monkeys. One of the first source patients had the initials
"G.B." and was a 34-year old colleague of the author of the experiment (Deinhardt
1967). Later on, two hepatotropic viruses, GB virus A (GBV-A) and GB virus B
(GBV-B), were isolated from these monkeys. Two independent research groups
simultaneously discovered the related GBV-C in humans with hepatitis in the mid1990s. Subsequently, GB virus C has promoted a discussion as to whether the natural course of HIV infection might be modulated in a favorable way by this particular coinfection. In addition, because GBV-C was first found in humans with hepatitis, and due to its close relationship to the hepatitic GBV-A and GBV-B viruses,
GBV-C was also called "hepatitis G virus (HGV)" by one research group. This
name should no longer be used, because it has since been shown that GBV-C neither causes hepatitis nor worsens preexisting hepatitis (Berenguer 1996, Tillmann
1998, Rambusch 1998, Stark 1999). In fact, GBV-C is not a hepatotropic but a
lymphotropic virus. Despite intensive research, GBV-C has not been shown to
cause any known disease in humans.
Table 1: Serological markers and stages of GBV-C infection
Marker
GBV-C Viremia (RNA)
Method
PCR / bDNA
GBV-C negative
Negative
Replicative GBV-C Infection
Positive
Past GBV-C Infection
Negative
Anti-E2 Antibodies
ELISA
negative
negative
positive
The virus is not uncommon in healthy individuals: approximately 10% to 30% of

blood donors have specific antibodies against GBV-C and up to 5% of them show
GBV-C virus replication. Assuming that the virus is apathogenic, affected individuals are not excluded from the donation of blood and consequently, serological diagnostics on GBV-C are not routinely performed. Two serological markers for GBVC infection exist: GBV-C viremia is determined using a PCR method; and antibodies to the envelope region E2 (anti-E2) are detected by ELISA (Table 1). As they
are mutually exclusive, either GBV-C viremia or the presence of anti-E2 is detectable in GBV-C infected individuals. In most cases, GBV-C viremia is transient and
ends with seroconversion to anti-E2, resulting in immunity to new infections. How-
GBV-C Infection
505
ever, this does not seem to be a lifelong immunity (Table 1). Transmission of GBVC occurs parenterally and mucosally, similar to HIV, HBV and HCV infections.
Is GBV-C a friendly virus?

The first report of decreased HIV disease progression and mortality in GBV-C coinfected patients was from a German study published in 1998. Initially, these results
did not draw much attention, although they were confirmed by Australian and
American working groups and by the observation of lower HIV plasma RNA levels
in coinfected individuals (Toyoda 1998, Heringlake 1998, Lefrere 1999). In 2001,
two larger studies with a longer follow-up again showed a favorable prognosis for
HIV-infected individuals with GBV-C viremia (Tillmann 2001, Xiang 2001). These
results resonated considerably in the international press. The GBV-C story then
became involuntarily discredited by a couple of unscientific reports in the lay press.
Concomitantly, a controversial discussion of the data started within the scientific
community. In recent years, studies have focused on the influence of GBV-C status
on surrogate markers and clinical progression in HIV infection.
The heterogeneity of the HIV/GBV-C coinfected cohorts is a major methodical
problem when trying to compare results from the different studies published. Some
studies did not follow up the status of the GBV-C viremia longitudinally. The serological status of GBV-C can change over time, and the distinction between the three
possible stages of GBV-C serostatus is crucial for the interpretation of the studies
(see Table 1). Overall, it is agreed that there is no difference between the clinical
course of HIV-infected individuals without GB virus C contact (GBV-C negative)
and those with cleared GBV-C infection (anti-E2-positive). GBV-C viremia (GBVC RNA positivity) is prolonged in HIV infection. Persistent GBV-C RNA positive
patients differ from the non-viremic subgroups by less rapid progression of clinical
disease, lower death rates, smaller reduction in CD4 T cells, lower HIV plasma
viremia, and improved quality of life in comparison with HIV-infected individuals without GBV-C viremia (Toyoda 1998, Heringlake 1998, Yeo 2000, Xiang
2001) in the majority of studies from the pre-HAART era. Confirmatory results
come from several studies in the HAART era (Tillmann 2001+2004+2006, Nunnari
2003, Williams 2004). The effects are more pronounced in studies with longer follow-up periods.
Other studies some with considerable follow-up did not find an effect of GBVC viremia on HIV infection (Sabin 1998, Birk 2002, Bjorkman 2004, van der Bij
2005), including two studies in women (Kaye 2005, Williams 2005). One of these
studies summarized GBV-C viremic and anti-E2-positive patients as GBV-C positive group (Sabin 1998). Another study focused on GBV-C viremia at study entry
(van der Bij 2005). In this study the subgroup with persistant GBV-C RNA over the
whole observation period had a superior clinical outcome.
A less pronounced potential gender-specific modulating effect of GBV-C on HIV in
women may exist (Kaye 2005, Williams 2005). But in a study investigating the
GBV-C status in HIV-infected pregnant women a lower HIV viral load in GBV-C
viremic mothers and less vertical transmission of HIV from mother to child were
described in the HAART era but not in the pre-HAART era (Handelsman 2008). In
addition there is evidence from a multicenter trial, that GBV-C coinfection with
506
Special Issues
genotype 2 was associated with higher CD4 T cell counts (Schwarze-Zander 2006).
This observation may explain regional differences and at least in part the conflicting
results from cohort studies.
A couple of cases with GBV-C seroconversion during follow-up from GBV-C
RNA positive status to anti-E2 positivity have been associated with a particularly
worse prognosis (Williams 2004, Bjorkman 2004, van der Bij 2005). But this observation was not confirmed in a multicenter trial in interferon-treated HIV/HCV
coinfected individuals in GBV-C coinfected individuals who cleared their GBV-C
viremia during the treatment period (Schwarze Zander 2006).
Most studies found more pronounced antiretroviral and immunological effects in
ART-treated GBV-C RNA positive patients. However, other studies did not find
any difference. No study to date describes a negative influence of GBV-C viremia
on the effect of ART. A meta-analysis of studies from the HAART era describe
overall a clinical benefit for HIV/GBV-C coinfected patients on ART that increases
over time (Zhang 2006).
While analyzing cohorts and clinical trials the fundamental chicken or egg dilemma
remains unsolved. To answer the question of whether GBV-C viremia is an epiphenomenon or a cause for the various outcomes of HIV infection, a stronger look
into basic science is essential.
Proposed pathomechanisms
A major drawback of the first descriptions of potential clinical benefits by GBV-C
on the course of HIV disease was the lack of any pathophysiologic concept. There
were many different hypotheses about direct inhibitory effects of GBV-C on HIV
replication, about competition of both viruses at certain steps of action during the
replication cycle, and about immunomodulatory mechanisms in the host hypothetically induced by GBV-C. After a decade of research the answer looks like a varied
bunch of synergistic effects of nearly all potential modes and mechanisms of action.
Modulation of chemokine receptors and their ligands by the envelope
protein E2
GBV-C infected CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes express lower amounts of
chemokine receptors (CCR5 and CXCR4) on their surface. One pathomechanism
for this down-regulation of chemokine receptors is the E2-protein-induced release
of RANTES from T- lymphocytes by its binding to the CD81 receptor (Tillmann
2002, Nattermann 2003, Xiang 2004). Chemokine receptors are targets for HIV.
Therefore, a result of decreased chemokine receptor expression is a decrease in HIV
replication. Surprisingly, anti-E2 antibodies were also able to inhibit HIV replication in vitro (Xiang 2006b), which is in contrast to the observation that anti-E2 seroconversion accelerated clinical HIV progression in some studies. A third mechanism is that the E2-mediated pathway is not mediated by RANTES and thus is able
to inhibit HIV with both R5 and X4 tropism (Jung 2007). The underlying mode of
action happens before the virus enters the host cell and it could be inhibited by antiE2-antibodies (Hanel 2008).
GBV-C Infection
507
Induction of RANTES by the NS5A protein of GBV-C

A subunit of the GBV-C NS5A protein was able to induce RANTES in vitro (Xiang
2006a) and via that mechanism to down-regulate the chemokine receptors on the
surface of the target cells for HIV replication (Chang 2007). Another study found
differential effects of certain genotypes of GBV-C and the authors concluded that
their data (Hattori 2007) conflict with Xiang and coworkers results.
Post-Entry inhibition of HIV by NS3A and NS5A proteins of GBV-C
An additional distinct pathway of inhibition of HIV by GBV-C was described for
the non-structural proteins NS3A to NS5A (Jung 2008). In contrast with the effects
on RANTES (Xiang 2006) it is not restricted to subunits of the NS5A protein.
Modulation of the cytokine profile in HIV infection
Individuals with GBV-C/HIV coinfection had decreased levels of proinflammatory
Th1-cytokines (Nunnari 2003). However it cannot be excluded that these observations are not directly caused by GBV-C but by some other indirect pathway.
Pleiotropic effects of GBV-C on innate immunity and apoptosis
Complex disturbances of the cytokine profile have been described in HIV-infected
individuals in vivo, but are less prominent or less prevalent in individuals with
GBV-C/HIV coinfection (Nunnari 2003). Focusing on innate immunity, normalized
levels of CD69 (Fas-ligand) were demonstrated on NK cells and were less pronounced on lymphocytes in GBV-C viremic HIV-infected individuals, resulting in
down-regulation of apoptosis (Mnkemeyer 2006). In addition, further direct and
indirect mechanisms of GBV-C or its components on HIV replication have been
described. An alteration of NK cell functions has been postulated by an interaction
of the E2 protein with CD81 receptors on NK cells. In addition plasmacytoid dendritic cells increase their -interferon production (Lalle 2008). Both effects are able
to modulate the replication of HIV. Negative effects of GBV-C on HIV in other
cohorts could have been due to different levels of lymphotropism of different GBVC genotypes or to host-related factors (Schwarze-Zander 2006, Hattori 2007).
How to deal with GBV-C in clinical practice?

The microbial zoo of pathogens of infectious diseases is crawling with lots of horrifying micro-monsters, many of which may cause illness. In this frightening environment, the description of the little viral Tamagochi named GBV-C, which does
not hurt its host and perhaps is able to reduce harm caused by another infection
would be a lovely turn. But beyond the tales of a potentially beneficial infection the
impact of GB virus C may be in understanding the pathophysiology of virus to virus- and virus to host-interactions rather than a role in clinical practice:
1. It is neither recommended to test HIV-infected individuals for their GBV-C serostatus nor for GBV-C replication by PCR beyond clinical studies.
2. HIV-positive individuals should be informed that there is no evidence that (an
artificial) GBV-C infection, which happens after HIV seroconversion will be of
508
Special Issues
benefit in the course of HIV infection. It cannot be predicted whether an infection

with GBV-C will remain chronically replicative. Coinfections with GBV-C in an in
vitro model show evidence for an inhibition of HIV replication when GBV-C infection occurs before HIV infection but not later (Xiang 2001).
3. There is no evidence from studies to support the deferral of HCV therapy in
HIV/HCV/GBV-C coinfected patients, although interferon therapy can terminate
chronic GBV-C replication. However, during interferon therapy in controlled studies there is still a need for screening for GBV-C serostatus, individual counseling
and further prospective follow-up.
We are still in the early stages of GBV-C history. Over the last few years we have
accrued some fascinating insights into possible mechanisms of HIV and GBV-C
interaction and the roles that individual host factors may play. At present, GBV-C
gives us the opportunity to obtain insight into clinically relevant regulation pathways of HIV. This may help us develop new therapeutic concepts before, or in addition to, ART. These concepts may be both clinically and therapeutically promising because the benefit of GBV-C remains evident in several studies after the initiation of ART.
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510
20. HIV and Renal Function

Ansgar Rieke
A quarter of our cardiac output is dedicated to renal perfusion even though the
kidneys amount to just 0.5% of total body weight. Approximately every 20 minutes,
i.e., 70 times a day, the entire blood plasma is filtered by the kidneys. Therefore,
kidney glomeruli are target organs for every hematogenous infection. Viral infection can cause primary glomerulonephritis, whereas an immune reaction can lead to
secondary glomerulonephritis. HIV infection, hepatitis B and C as well as bacterial
infections may also cause renal disease. Nephrotoxic agents precipitate renal diseases that affect the interstitium and the tubular apparatus in particular, and we will
increasingly be dealing with this in the era of antiretroviral therapy.
Nephroprotection
Although AIDS-related mortality has fallen with ART, there is a significant increase in organ failure of the heart, liver and kidneys (Selik 2002). Acute kidney
failure occurs twice as often as in non-infected patients, and adjusted hospital mortality is also significantly higher (Wyatt 2006). The following principles should be
followed, along similar lines to diabetes mellitus and other metabolic disorders give up nicotine and keep blood pressure below 130/80 mm Hg. Prevention or
treatment of diabetes mellitus or other metabolic syndromes is likely to have a longterm positive effect on retaining renal function. The HIV-related changes in the
glomerulum and the tubular system should serve as reason to begin and continue
ART, and while keeping a concerned eye out for any potential nephrotoxic effect.
Clinical manifestation/diagnosis of nephropathy

The major symptoms of glomerulonephritis (GN) are proteinuria and nephritic
sediment. Clinically, a difference is made between nephrotic syndrome (loss of
protein), acute nephritic syndrome (acantocytes as a sign of GN), rapid-progressive
GN (loss of renal function within a few days), asymptomatic proteinuria or hematuria and chronic GN. These all need to be treated differently and require the collaboration of a nephrologist. HIV-associated nephropathy (HIV-AN) is a form of
glomerulonephritis and is diagnosed in cases of nephrotic syndrome with edema,
hypoalbuminemia, hyperlipidemia and proteinuria of more than 3.5 g/day. However, even a mild proteinuria is possible. The occurrence of proteinuria and erythrocyturia is pathognomonic for glomerulonephritis and, together with nephritic sediment, usually confirms the diagnosis. Under a polarizing microscope, a trained eye
can easily identify the renal (glomerular) origin of the erythrocytes, on the basis of
glomerularly deformed acanthocytes. More than five acanthocytes per field of vision is a significant sign for GN. Extensive erythrocyturia (bleeding) below the renal pelvis (tumor of the urinary tract collection system) can be excluded by sonography and, if necessary, by cystoscopy.
The clinical symptoms are determined by the extent of proteinuria with loss of protein and an imbalance in, and/or loss of, renal function. The severity of edema,
tiredness, reduced performance, susceptibility to infections, hyperlipidemia, ane-
HIV and Renal Function
511
mia, metabolic acidosis, problems with the calcium-phosphate metabolism, as well

as venous thrombi and newly diagnosed arterial hypertension is limited by the
length and intensity of the renal insufficiency. An increase in serum creatinine is
not to be expected until the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) gets below 50%, and
should be identified early by clearance measurements. As it is hard to organize a
urine collection over two 24-hour periods, three methods are generally used for
estimating the clearance.
1. Formula according to Cockroft and Gault: (140 minus age x kg body weight) divided by (serum creatinine mg/dl x 72). For women, the result is multiplied by 0.85.
2. MDRD formula: this is more precise and requires laboratory data only
(creatinine, urea, age and gender). The formula is as follows:
creatinine clearance (MDRD) = 170 x Krea [mg/dl]-0.999 x age 0.176 x (urea [mg/dl] x
0.46]-0.170 x albumin [g/dl]-0.318 (for women: x 0.762)
3. Cystatin C clearance: cystatin C is a low molecular weight protein which is constantly generated by the organism, filtered freely and regardless of gender, muscle
mass, age with a minor intraindividual variability (< 5%) can serve as a marker for
the creatinine value "blind range". However, determination is by no means inexpensive. The formula is: GFR (ml/min//1.73m2) = 78 x 1/CysC (Mg/l) + 4 or: 87 x
1/CsyC (mg/ml) 6.9
Interstitial nephropathy does not effect the glomerulum. Especially when caused by
indinavir, it can present as a sterile leukocyturia as a sign of interstitial damage, and
can lead to a loss of renal function.
Leukocyturia must be microbiologically clarified (culture of mid-stream urine) in
order to initiate antibiotics according to the resistance profile, whereby a case of
bacterial interstitial nephritis may also be in existence. Tuberculosis of the urogenital tract should be considered as a possible cause of abacterial leukocyturia.
Fanconi's syndrome means damage to the tubular system (tubulotoxic damage).The
symptoms are glucosuria phosphaturia with a normal blood glucose (dropping the
renal glucose limit) and hypophosphatemia. The patient feels tired and peaky, the
symptoms of fatigue and weakness are very uncharacteristic. An increase in serum
creatinine is often noticed late (if at all).
Routine tests for renal impairment

The routine checkup of an HIV-infected person should include tests for sodium,
potassium, calcium, phosphate (every three months) and creatinine (creatinine
clearance). The urine should be tested for glucosuria, proteinuria, erythrocyturia
and leukocyturia every 3 months.
If there is a significant elevation in proteinuria or serum creatinine, a nephrologist
should be consulted (renal biopsy if necessary). There is no time to waste in the
case of a rapid increase of creatinine (to look for rapid-progressive glomerulonephritis), an increase of LDH connected with hyperbilirubinemia and thrombocytopenia (hemolytic uremia syndrome, HUS), or severe electrolyte imbalance (especially hyperkalemia), or acidosis that cannot be controlled, which can also occur
on therapy as lactacidosis.
512 Special Issues

An asymptomatic, slight proteinuria with no rise in creatinine can be observed in up
to one third of untreated patients and should be monitored quarterly. The extent of
the proteinuria can be assessed based on the urine protein / creatinine ratio of spontaneous urine, which when normal is < 1. (e.g., urine protein 120 mg/dl and urine
creatinine 30: proteinuria of 4 gram/day).
Figure 1. Screening Algorithm for HIV-associated disorders
Modified in accordance with the recommendations of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
Quantitative evaluation of the risk of

kidney disease
Family history
Ethnicity
CD4 cell count
Viral load
Previous use of
nephrotoxic drugs
Comorbidity (diabetes mellitus,
hypertension,
HCV infection)
Anomalous
values
Examination at
time of initial HIV
diagnosis
Urine analysis (for
proteinuria)
Serum creatinine
(Determination of
Clearance or
GFR)
Degree 1
proteinuria with
Urine stick
Clearance or
GFR < 60
ml/min per 1.73
m2
Assessment of
proteinuria by
protein/
creatinine ratio
in spontaneous
urine
Ultrasound
scan
Referral to
nephrologist if
necessary
Patients with no
risk factors for
renal disease
should be clinically monitored
No anomalous values
Patients at risk* of
chronic renal
disease should be
examined yearly
*Patients at risk of chronic renal disease: Africans/African-Americans; diabetics, patients with

hypertension or HCV infection; CD4 T-cell counts < 200 cells/l; HIV RNA > 4,000 copies/ml.
According to Gupta 2005.
A decrease in renal function in patients with an HIV infection could be interpreted

as a symptomatic HIV infection, and antiretroviral therapy may be considered.
When employing imaging techniques, the use of a contrast medium (CM) for the
urinary tract should be avoided, especially in cases of renal insufficiency, proteinuria and all forms of low intravasal volume (including cirrhosis of the liver), in order
to avoid causing CM-induced renal failure.
HIV-associated nephropathy (HIV-AN)

HIV-AN is characterized by rapid loss of renal function, especially seen in AfricanAmericans. The risk factors are genetic predisposition (97% African-Americans),
male gender and drug addiction.
Most patients have a poor immune status with < 100 CD4 T-cells/l (only 20%
have normal ranges). Individual cases of sudden renal insufficiency within acute
HIV syndrome have been reported. But there seems to be no correlation with HIV
viral load or duration of HIV infection.
513
Nephrotic proteinuria usually presents clinically as more than 3.5 g/day, but a minor
proteinuria is also possible. Progression is fast and can lead to end-stage renal disease (dialysis) in less than 10 months (Szczech 2001). Blood pressure is normal or
slightly increased; the kidneys are within the normal size range when examined by
ultrasound scan. Despite hemodialysis, the one-year-mortality rate is 50%; on antiretroviral therapy it still reaches around 30%.
The histological findings in biopsies mostly (70%) correspond to a focal segmental
sclerosing glomerulonephritis (FSGN), which is also frequently observed in malignant hypertension in African-Americans. However, other causes of a glomerulonephritis, such as an amyloid kidney are also possible with HIV (Daugas 2005).
Single case descriptions with the histological course of disease have confirmed the
direct infection of the glomerular basal membrane with HIV, and have documented an
impressive positive effect of ART on histological changes (Winston 2001).
Experience with other FSGN-forms has shown that only early intervention with
ART i.e., before scarring of the glomeruli due to the underlying disease has a
chance of success. This calls for a rapid reaction: HIV-AN is independent from
CD4 T-cell count and viral load and the HIV must be treated. There is no specific
recommendation for the selection of specific therapy, but the individual agents of
antiretroviral therapy should take into consideration the different means of renal
elimination (adjustment of dose) as of < 60 ml GFR with NRTIs. ACE inhibitors
should be added (see Table 2). The use of steroids is controversial (1 mg/kg
KG/day for 2 to 11 weeks), but is favoured in the US alongside starting HAART,
particularly in cases with a course similar to lupus (Haas 2005, Gupta 2005).
Post-infectious glomerulonephritis
Many bacteria and viruses are able to trigger or support an acute post-infectious
glomerulonephritis or other chronic GN. Viral infections such as CMV, EBV, VZV,
influenza, adenovirus and parvovirus B19 do this as well as HIV. After malaria,
syphilis and infections with staphylococci, pneumococci, legionella, salmonelli and
other infectious agents, an acute post-infectious glomerulonephritis can also occur.
In addition, there is a risk of circulatory renal failure in the case of profuse diarrhoea in the context of an infectious bowel disorder.
Membranous glomerulonephritis is a special form of secondary glomerulonephritis,
which can appear in malignant tumors and hepatitis (B and C). Chronic hepatitis C
can lead to a membrano-proliferative GN, or through cryoglobulinemia can also
cause vasculitis with renal involvement.
The most common form of renal disease in Germany is IgA nephropathy, which can
also be triggered by HIV, respiratory infections or infection with hepatitis A. Postinfectious GN is treated specifically (see below); the underlying infection is treated
simultaneously.
Irrespective of the liver histology, HCV-associated GN can also be a reason for
therapy with interferon/ribavirin (observe dosing interval adjustments). However,
ribavirin shouldnt be used if the creatinine clearance is less than 50 ml/min/1.73 m
because of the danger of prolonged anemia. In the case of nephritic syndrome as a
result of cryoglobulin anemia in hepatitis C, a low dose interferon maintenance
therapy or other anti-inflammatory anti-lymphocyte therapy should be considered.
514 Special Issues
Principles of therapy of glomerulonephritis

The underlying cause of a post-infectious glomerulonephritis should be treated first,
including hepatitis B, C and HIV infection.
Particular attention should be paid to the adjustment of blood pressure. Target values are < 130/80 mmHg or, in the presence of proteinuria, < 120/80 mmHg. ACE
inhibitors as well as AT-II-receptor antagonists are used to control blood pressure,
usually in combination with diuretics.
Proteinuria should be treated with an ACE inhibitor, at high doses if necessary, irrespective of the blood pressure measurement, and should be combined additionally
with AT-II-receptor antagonists if the proteinuria is more than 0.5 to 1 g/day. The
protein intake is reduced to 0.6-0.8 g/kg/day (low protein diets like the Mediterranean diet may be helpful). High proteinuria > 3.5 g/24 h) calls for anticoagulation if
the serum albumin concentration drops to levels below 25 g/l, as the renal loss of
coagulation factors (AT III and many others) results in hypercoaguability and otherwise deep vein thrombosis must be expected (Marcumar at INR 2-3 or NMH).
Fluids should be restricted to 1.5 to 2 l/day and adapted according to body weight
and amount of edema. Not smoking is of vital importance because nicotine causes
an increase in the risk of progression of glomerulonephritis.
Hyperlipidemia should be treated after dietary arrangements have been exhausted.
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are ideal, provided that they can be combined with
antiretroviral therapy (see chapter on Drug Interactions). Fibrates or fibrates plus
statins may only be used carefully when renal function is reduced. Analgesics
should be avoided as much as possible, especially the small analgesics such as
ASA and paracetamol.
If the creatinine clearance reaches a value of less than 50 ml/min/1.73 m, treatment
should be managed by a nephrologist.
Treatment of hypertension
Antihypertensive drugs offer an array of side effects, including hyperkalemia with
ACE inhibitors. At a creatinine count of 1.4 mg/dl do not use potassium-saving
diuretics; at a creatinine count > 1.8 mg/dl only loop diuretics such as furosemide or
torasemide should be used.
Table 1: Blood pressure adjustments
Category
ACE inhibitors
Beta-blockers
AT II-receptor
antagonists
Diuretics
Ca-antagonists
Drug
Lisinopril, benazepril-HCL, fosinopril sodium, enalapril, etc
Metoprolol, bisoprolol
Valsartan, candesartan, telmisartan, etc.
Hydrochlorothiazide + triamterene
Amlodipine
Dosage (examples)
Fosinorm 5 mg QD, increase slowly

to 20 mg/day
Beloc-Zok (mite) 1x1
Blopress first 2-4 mg/day, increase

carefully to 16 mg/day
Dytide H 1x1
Norvasc 5 mg qd, after > 1 week

increase to BID if necessary
515
Renal safety of antiretroviral therapy

The spectrum of an allergic or autoimmune reaction in the kidney is no different
from the skin or other internal organs. Reactions can be humoral or T-cell-mediated
and can lead to renal insufficiency. The spectrum ranges from the type I immune reaction (acute interstitial nephritis after exposure to medication) to the type IV T-cellmediated reaction (special forms of a chronic interstitial nephritis). It is, therefore,
important to know that even the one-off use of an analgesic (e.g., ibuprofen) can lead
to renal failure. In principle, this is possible with antiretroviral drugs. Any change of
treatment should be followed by a check of renal function, after 14 days in the case of
any noticeable renal changes, otherwise every 4 weeks in the first year.
Acute renal failure or acute tubular necrosis can also occur during treatment with
acyclovir, gancyclovir, adefovir, aminoglycosides or pentamidine. Tubular dysfunction may also occur with ddI, d4T or 3TC. An acute allergic interstitial nephritis can
arise in connection with a hypersentitivity reaction when taking abacavir. In patients taking atazanavir and T-20, membranoproliferative GN has been observed.
Typical side effects of antiretroviral therapy

Crystal-associated nephropathy
Renal problems due to crystalluria and nephrolithiasis have become rarer with the
boosted doses used today versus the days of broad application of indinavir TID. On
abdominal x-ray, symptomatic crystalluria or stones are not necessarily apparent.
Not until a mixed concrement occurs in combination with calcium, however, does it
become radio-opaque, which means it can be confused with a calcium oxalate
stone. Urate stones are transparent on x-rays.
Many medications can cause crystalluria and it is often a combination of agents that
leads to nephrolithiasis. These agents include ampicillin, acyclovir, aspirin, ciprofloxacin, methotrexate, vitamin C, sulfonamide and other drugs that lead to an increase in
uric acid. Forced fluid intake, Buscopan and analgesics often lead to resolving acute
renal colic without the need for hospitalization. Should it become necessary to consult
a urologist, the risks involved in using contrast medium must be clarified.
Elevation of creatinine under long-term indinavir therapy was often observed at the
end of the 1990s (Fellay 2001, Boubaker 2001). Typical signs of indinavir nephropathy include sterile leukocyturia and an echogenic transformation of the renal
parenchyma in otherwise normal kidneys. Discontinuing indinavir leads to normal
function in most cases. One should pay heed to the possibility of tuberculosis in the
urinary tract with sterile leukocyturia.
Hypophosphatemia and tubulotoxic damage, Fanconis

syndrome
When the agents filtered from the glomerulum in primary urine exceed the transport
capacity of the reabsorbing tubular cells they are excreted with the urine. The most
prominent example is the glucose threshold of the kidneys (180 mg/dl). However, a
transport dysfunction in the tubular system can also be caused by drugs such as cidofovir, tenofovir and adefovir. This is known as secondary (drug-induced) Fan-
516 Special Issues

coni's syndrome and is distinguished by a malfunction of the tubular system without
there necessarily being any impairment of the GFR. There is an increased amount
of phosphate, amino acids and glucose in the urine, whereas phosphate in the blood
is reduced. The loss of amino acids, phosphate, glucose, bicarbonate and other organic and inorganic substances, as well as water, can become clinically manifest in
the form of increased urination, thirst, tiredness, bone pain or weakness, and lead to
secondary changes in the bone metabolism.
Not every hypophosphatemia (< 0.8 mmol/l) is Fanconi's syndrome. Hypophosphatemia also occurs under the influence of alcohol, with diabetes, cachexia, diarrhea or a disorder of vitamin D metabolism or hyperparathyroidism. About 10% of
cases are found in untreated HIV-positive patients, 23% in people on ART and up
to 31% in those taking tenofovir. The reasons are many and varied, including a low
phosphate absorption (normal: 1200 mg/day). Unusual levels (< 0.8 or 0.6 mmol/L)
should be monitored and the patient examined for other symptoms of Fanconi's
syndrome. The determination of intact parathormone, vitamin D or an anamnesis
with diuretics, vomiting or a tumor may indicate other causes of hypophosphatemia.
If the consumption of milk products proves to be ineffective, vitamin D can be carefully administered (e.g., Rocaltrol 0.25 mcg every other day), but care should be
taken not to cause hypercalcaemia.
In case reports, renal failure has above all been described in patients with other reasons for renal insufficiency, mostly in ART combinations that include boosted PI
regimens and tenofovir as well as secondary disorders and cirrhosis of the liver or
hepatitis. Nephrologists advise caution in selecting antiretroviral therapy for patients with proteinuria, nephritic syndrome, cirrhosis of the liver, and/or dyslipoproteinemia. Nephrotoxic agents such as cidofovir, adefovir and tenofovir should be
avoided in these patients. In principle, it is possible to administer NRTIs, but in
individual cases, the patient's resistence profile permitting, a combination of two
boosted PIs, a combination of NNRTI plus a PI or a combination of raltegravir and
maraviroc can be considered a kidney-neutral solution in individual cases. Careful
monitoring of serum creatinine, proteinuria, erythrocyturia and serum phosphate is
recommended.
Tenofovir and the kidney

In view of the broad use of tenofovir, more attention must be devoted to long-term
renal toxicity in the future. Based on 455,392 patient years the incidence of unwanted renal occurrences in the Gilead database since drug approval amounts to
29.2 renal events per 100,000 patient years (Nelson 2006). However, the unreliable
passive notification system means that this is not a realistic reflection of the situation. In the prospective studies GS 903E and GS 934, a worsening of renal function
(creatinine increase to > 1.5 mg/ml) was observed during an observation period of
144 weeks in less than 1% of patients, and proteinuria of more than 100 mg/dl in
less than 5%. However, patients suffering from renal insufficiency were excluded
from these studies (Gallant 2008).
The leading renal event when taking tenofovir is Fanconi's syndrome (22.4/100,000
patient years). This is almost always diagnosed in conjunction with hypophosphatemia, glucosuria (renal diabetes mellitus with normal blood sugar) and a mild
proteinuria. It occurs on average seven months after starting therapy and disappears
517
some four to six weeks after discontinuation (Izzedine 2004). An isolated case of
hypophosphatemia without glucosuria in HIV cannot be defined as Fanconi's syndrome and can just as well be due to malnutrition, vitamin D deficiency, diuretics or
alcohol, and doesn't necessarily mean tenofovir must be discontinued.
In the registration studies the incidence of renal events (changes in creatinine clearance, glucosuria, proteinuria, hypokalemia and acidosis) when taking tenofovir was
no higher than in the control groups. With patients treated previously, however,
hypophosphatemia was observed in 13% after 24 weeks (113 weeks: 22%). This
was more often than in the placebo arm, but not associated with other tubulotoxic
symptoms (Gallant 2004, Gallant2006). The median time to occurrence of renal
side effects amounted to nine months in one study (Izzedine 2004). The risk is increased through the combination with nephrotoxic agents, kidney disease or renal
insufficiency in the patient history, sepsis, dehydration, extremely advanced HIV
disease or severe hypertension (Nelson 2006). Cohort analyses show CD4 T cells <
50/l, age > 45 years, diabetes mellitus and long-term previous treatment with ART
as risk factors (Moore 2007).
Like the other NRTIs, tenofovir is eliminated renally and must be dose-adjusted in
cases of renal insufficiency. Contrary to earlier case studies and the fact that ritonavir increases the Cmax and the AUC of tenofovir by about 30%, combination
with boosted PIs is possible. This is also confirmed by in vitro studies (Izzedine
2005, Ray 2005). Cohort studies showing an apparently faster drop in GFR when
TDF is combined with PIs instead of NNRTIs (Goicoechea 2008) need to be reviewed and their value should not be overestimated at this time.
In the first year of treatment with tenofovir patients with healthy kidneys should be
monitored monthly, followed by quarterly monitoring. The determination of
creatinine, (calculated) GFR, phosphate and glucose in serum and urinstix with a
check for proteinuria, glucosuria and erythrocyturia are sufficient. Patients with
kidney dysfunction are monitored more often. In the case of additional nephrotoxic
agents or drugs which are also excreted via the renal transporter (aminoglycosides,
amphotericin B, famcyclovir, gancyclovir, pentamidine, vancomycine, cidofovir,
IL-2), the renal function is monitored weekly.
Dosage of antiretrovirals in renal insufficiency

In each case, the technical information of the individual agents must be taken into
consideration. Because NNRTIs and PIs are almost exclusively hepatically eliminated, a dose rate adjustment is normally only necessary for NRTIs, unless an insufficiency of the liver is also present.
In the case of hepatitis C therapy, ribavirin should be omitted in patients with renal
insufficiency (prolonged anemia) if the creatinine clearance is less than
50 ml/min/1.73 m. T-20 can be used up to an endogenous creatinine clearance of
30 ml/min/1.73 m without dose reduction; no data is available for more severe renal insufficiency.
518 Special Issues

Table 2: Dosage of antiretroviral medications in presence of renal insufficiency (in each case
diurnal dosages, if not otherwise stated), HD=Hemodialysis
Category
AZT (Retrovir )
3TC (Epivir )
Standard dose
CrCl (ml/ min)
Dose in renal insufficiency
2 x 250 mg
> 10
< 10
> 50
30 49
< 30
> 50
< 50
> 50
< 50
> 50
< 50
> 50
30 - 49
< 30
> 60
30 - 59
10 - 29
< 10
2 x 250 mg
300 400 mg
Standard dose
1 x 150 mg
150 mg (15 ml) on day 1; 100
mg (10 ml)/day thereafter
50 mg ( 5 ml) on day 1; 25 mg
(2.5 ml)/day thereafter
Standard dose
Not recommended
Standard dose
Contraindicated
Standard dose
Not recommended
Standard dose
half standard dose
quarter standard dose
Standard dose
half standard dose
1 x 150 or 100 mg
1 x 100 or 75 mg
>50
30 - 49
10 - 29
HD patients
> 50
30 - 49
15 - 29
< 15 (incl. HD)
> 50
30 49
y 30 and HD
Standard dose
300 mg every 2 days
300 mg every 72-96 h
300 mg every 7 days past HD
Standard dose
200 mg every 2 days
200 mg every 72 h
200 mg every 96 h
Standard dose every 24 h
1 tabl. Every 48 h
Not recommended
1 x 300 mg or
2 x 150 mg
<5
AZT+3TC
(Combivir )
ABC (Ziagen )
2 x 1 Tabl.
AZT+3TC+ABC
(Trizivir )
d4T (Zerit )
2 x 1 Tabl.
ddI (Videx )
TDF (Viread )
2 x 300 mg
2 x 40 mg (> 60 kg)
2 x 30 mg (< 60 kg)
1 x 400 mg (> 60 kg)
1 x 250 mg (< 60 kg)
(combined with TDF
never exceed
1 x 250 mg)
1 x 300 mg
(TDF disoxoproxil
fumarat)
FTC (Emtriva )
1 x 200 mg
TDF
(Truvada)
1 x 1 tablet
OIs and renal insufficiency

Pneumocystis pneumonia
As cotrimoxazole is nephrotoxic at high dose, its use must be carefully weighed.
Systemic administration of pentamidine should also be avoided in patients with
renal insufficiency.
519
Table 3: PCP treatment in renal insufficiency
*Cotrimoxazole
Dapsone
Atovaquone
Pentamidine
GFR
normal
GFR >50
ml/min
GFR 1050 ml/min
GFR <10
ml/min
Dose adaptation for

HD/CAPD/cont. NET
160/800
mg
3 x 3/die
(100%
every
12 h)
(100%
every
12-24 h)
(50%
every
24 h)
HD: + half dose after dialysis

CAPD: no adaptation
CAVH: GFR 10-50
CVVHD: GFR < 10
50-100%
50%
Avoid
Avoid
100%**
100%**
100%**
100%
100%
every
24-36 h
(total of
120 mg/
kg daily)
100 mg
every
24 h
750 mg
every
12 h
4 mg/kg
every
24 h
HD: no adaptation
CAPD: no adaptation*
CAVH: (GFR < 10)**
100%
HD: (GFR < 10)***
every 48 h CAPD: (GFR < 10)**
Please see CAVH: (GFR < 10)**
text
* no studies available, normal dosage recommended,

** no studies available, dosage as for GFR < 10ml/min recommended.
(cont. NET = continuous dialysis, HD = intermittent hemodialysis, CAPD = continuous ambulant
peritoneal dialysis; CAVH = continuous arterio-venous hemofiltration, CVVHD = continuous
veno-veno hemodiafiltration).
Toxoplasmosis encephalitis
Table 4: Treatment of cerebral toxoplasmosis with renal insufficiency
GFR
normal
GFR > 50
ml/min
GFR 10-50
ml/min
Pyrimethamine
50-75 mg
every
24 h
100%
100%
GFR
Dose adaptation for
< 10 ml HD/CAPD/cont. NET
/min
100%
HD: no adaptation
CAPD: no adaptation
CAVH: no adaptation
Clindamycin
150300 mg
every 6 h
100%
100%
100%
Sulfadiazine
2 g every
6h
Avoid
Avoid
Avoid
HD: no adaptation
CAPD: (GFR < 10)*
CAVH: (GFR < 10)*
CVVHD: GFR normal
Avoid
*= no studies available, dosage as for GFR < 10 ml/min recommended.

520 Special Issues
CMV, HSV, VZV infection

Table 5: Treatment of CMV, HSV, VZV in renal insufficiency
Drug
GFR
normal
GFR > 50 GFR 10-50

ml/min
ml/min
GFR < 10
ml/min
Dose adaptation for

HD/CAPD/cont. NET
Acyclovir
5-10
mg/kg
every
8h
5 mg/kg
every
8-12 h
5 mg/kg
every
12-24 h
2.5 mg/kg
every 24 h
Gancyclovir
5 mg/kg
every
12 h
3 mg/kg
every
12 h
if GFR
25-50 ml
3 mg/kg
every 24 h
if GFR
10-25 ml
15 mg/kg
every 24 h
Valgancyclovir
900 mg
every
12 h
unknown
Foscavir
90
mg/kg
every
12 h
GFR 40-59 ml/min

450 mg every 12 h
GFR 25-39 ml/min
450 mg every 24 h
GFR 10-24 ml/min
450 mg every 48 h
for induction
50-100% 10-50%
HD: Dose after dialysis

CAPD: GFR < 10
CAVH: 3.5 mg/kg every
24 h
CVVHD: 6.5-15 mg/kg every
24 h
CAPD: GFR < 10
CAVH: 3.5 mg/kg every
24 h
CVVHD: 2.5 mg/kg every
24 h
Unknown
avoid

CAPD: 60 mg/kg every 4872 h
CAVH: GFR 10-50
Cidofovir
5 mg/kg
every
7 days
100%
0.5-2 mg/
kg every
7 days
avoid
HD: GFR 10-50

CAPD: GFR 10-50
CAVH: avoid
Famcyclovir
250 mg
every
8 h p.o.
Every
12 h
Every
48 h
50% every HD: Dose after dialysis

48 h
CAPD: ?
CAVH: GFR 10-50

521
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522
21. HIV and Cardiac Diseases

Peter Krings und Till Neumann
Metabolic abnormalities are common side effects of ART. With increasing age
and a growing cardiovascular risk, diagnosis and therapy of HIV-associated cardiovascular diseases are becoming more and more important (Neumann 2002a,
Dakin 2006).
Coronary artery (heart) disease (CHD)

In the most extensive prospective study including more than 23,000 patients, a 26%
increase in the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) was found with each year of
ART exposure (Friis-Moller 2003, Law 2006). However, the event rate was small,
with 3.5 MIs per 1,000 patient-years. Antiretroviral therapy was an independent risk
factor for CHD along with the classic cardiovascular risk factors like age, gender
and in particular smoking (Law 2006). Recent publications from Lundgrens group
report that known CAD and diabetes exhibit an especially high risk for subsequent
cardiovascular events (CAD: 7.5-fold; diabetes: 2.4-fold) (Worm 2009). Therefore
patients with known CAD or diabetes plus ART should be monitored closely for
new symptoms of CAD.
Prevention and early diagnosis of CAD in HIV-infected patients older than 45 years
and with an elevated cardiovascular risk profile should be routine in current therapeutic management of HIV infection. Primary and secondary prevention aims at
modifying known risk factors (Lundgren 2008a). Hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia are common side effects of PIs. However, there are also some antiretroviral therapies that reduce lipid values (Colafigli 2008).
Of interest is the effect of NRTIs on the occurrence of myocardial infarction. For
abacavir and ddI an elevated MI rate is based on the results of the D:A:D trial (Sabin 2008). An elevated incidence of cardiovascular events was also found in a retrospective analysis of the SMART study. Inflammation may be the cause of this increased cardiovascular event rate (Lundgren 2008b).
Recent analysis of data from the D:A:D trial indicate that some PIs (lopinavir, indinavir) and NRTIs (ddI, abacavir) exhibit an elevated cardiovascular event rate.
When using PIs the increased event rate was accompanied by an increase in classic
risk factors such as diabetes and hyperlipidemia which may explain some the
events. Patients undergoing therapy with abacavir also had an increased rate of risk
factors like male gender, increased age, diabetes and pre-existing cardiovascular
disease. Further investigation is needed to clarify how much classical risk factors
contribute to the increased event rate in the D:A:D trial. When looking at NNRTIs
and some PIs (nelfinavir, saquinavir) and NRTIs (AZT, d4T, 3TC, tenofovir) there
was no hint of an increased cardiovascular event rate.
Even without ART it has been shown that HIV-infected patients exhibit a marked
cardiovascular risk profile (Neumann 2004a+b). Most notably, in some countries
cigarette consumption is two- to three-fold higher than in the non-HIV-infected
population. Prevention of coronary heart disease is based on the guidelines for nonHIV-infected patients (Smith 2006, Graham 2007) (Table 1) and the EACS guidelines (Lundgren 2008).
HIV and Cardiac Diseases
523
Cessation of smoking and healthy food choices are the first steps in the therapy of
hypercholesterolemia. The consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grain bread and
low fat dairy products as part of a balanced diet should be encouraged. The second
step relies on lipid lowering drugs (Dube 2003). Statin therapy might interact with
the metabolism of common antiretroviral drugs. In particular, several PIs act as substrates for isoenzyme 3A4, a subgroup of the cytochrome p450 system. Inhibition of
isoenzyme 3A4 by antiretroviral drugs can increase the blood concentration of statins and induce side effects. In contrast to most other statins, pravastatin and fluvastatin are not modulated by isoenzyme 3A4. Therefore, these two drugs are particularly preferred by some for HIV-infected patients who are being treated with antiretroviral drugs (see the chapter on Lipodystrophy). Certain prevention programs
have been able to reduce the cardiovascular risk profile of HIV-infected patients
(Lima 2008).
Table 1: Prevention of coronary heart disease
1)
Stop Smoking
2)
Make healthy food choices
3)
Normalization of lipids
a.
4)
LDL Cholesterol:
- Low risk (0-1 risk factors):
< 160 mg/dl (4.14 mmol/l)
- Intermediate risk (2 or more risk factors):
< 130 mg/dl (3.36 mmol/l)
- High risk (i.e. CHD or diabetes mellitus):
< 100 mg/dl (2.59 mmol/l)
b.
HDL Cholesterol:
> 35 mg/dl (0.90 mmol/l) (increased risk > 40 mg/dl)
c.
Triglycerides:
< 200 mg/dl (5.17 mmol/l) (increased risk < 150 mg/dl)
Optimize blood glucose value (HbA1c < 6.5%)
5)
Reduce alcohol consumption (< 15 g/d)
6)
Regular exercise training (1-2 h per week)
7)
Normalization of weight (BMI of 21-25 kg/m)
8)
Optimize blood pressure (systolic: < 130 mmHg, diastolic < 85 mmHg)
HIV-infected patients with cardiovascular risk factors or those who are older should
undergo an annual cardiac checkups, including a resting ECG and estimation of the
cardiovascular disease risk. Symptomatic patients also need further detailed cardiovascular examinations (exercise ECG, stress echocardiography, laboratory work-up
and, in some cases, scintigraphy of myocardium or coronary angiography). Clinical
symptoms of coronary heart disease mostly occur due to a critical stenosis of more
than 75%.
In randomized clinical trials low-dose aspirin (100 mg/d), or in some cases clopidogrel (75 mg/d), -blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and
statins decrease the risk of mortality and re-infarction. A calcium antagonist and/or
nitrate can be supplemented for symptomatic treatment.
The indication for vascular intervention (coronary angiography, including percutaneous transluminal catheter angioplasty and stent implantation) depends on current
524 Special Issues

guidelines (http://www.escardio.org/knowledge/guidelines). Clear indications for
coronary angiography are a documented exercise-induced ischemia, typical clinical
symptoms together with ST-alterations in the ECG, increases in cardiac enzymes
and/or a marked cardiovascular risk profile. It is worth emphasizing that HIV infection is not an exclusion criteria for invasive procedures. Successful cardiac interventions have been performed on HIV-infected patients, including catheter procedures and coronary artery bypass operations (Glazier 2006, Saporito 2005, Filsoufi
2006).
Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure includes a variety of myocardial alterations. In HIVinfected patients, HIV-associated dilated cardiomyopathy is of major interest. It
corresponds to a dilated and less contractile left ventricle (Dakin 2006). Myocarditis
is still the most thoroughly studied cause of dilated cardiomyopathy in HIV disease.
Until now, a variety of pathogens has been found in the myocardial tissue of HIVinfected patients (Patel 1996, Wu 1992). Furthermore, HIV itself appears to infect
myocardial cells in a patchy distribution. Myocardial damage by gp120 and cytokine-mediated apoptosis is presumed (Fiala 2004).
In addition to a direct impact of HIV or other pathogens, dilated cardiomyopathy
was reported in association with an autoimmune reaction. Cardiac-specific autoantibodies (anti--myosin antibodies) have been reported in up to 30% of HIVinfected patients with cardiomyopathy. However, several studies indicate that in
HIV-infected patients dilated cardiomyopathy is associated with cardiotoxic agents
(e.g., pentamidine, interleukin-2, doxorubicin) or as an effect of malnutrition (Nosanchuk 2002). Furthermore, it is under discussion whether antiretroviral drugs may
induce cardiac dysfunction due to mitochondrial toxicity (Lewis 2006, Purevjav
2007) and also a direct fatal impact of HIV proteins (Pruznak 2008).
Sadly, heart failure is often not recognized. In a prospective study which included
416 HIV patients with known heart disease the frequency of cardiac dysfunction
was 17.7% (Twagirumukza 2007). Especially diastolic dysfunction was common
(Schuster 2008). Besides left ventricular dysfunction cardiomyopathy often includes dilatation and reduced contraction of the right ventricle. However, a Danish
study that enrolled 90 HIV-infected patients did not find an increased rate of right
ventricular dysfunction (Kjaer 2006). If there is right ventricular dysfunction it can
be dissolved by antiretroviral therapy (Rangasetty 2006).
A diagnosis of chronic heart failure is based on clinical findings and symptoms. In
addition to exercise intolerance, patients often exhibit dyspnea and edema. Nocturia, night cough (cardiac asthma), peripheral cyanosis and an increase of weight
may also occur. In these cases, ECG, x-ray and echocardiography may lead to the
diagnosis of heart failure.
Of proven value for diagnosis and follow-up is the serum parameter b-type natriuretic peptide (BNP or NTproBNP). Exercise intolerance can be determined by a 6minute walk test, exercise ECG or spiroergometry. In some cases, further diagnosis
can be performed with MRI or CT revealing scar tissue or coronary artery calcification (Breuckmann 2007). Invasive diagnosis including myocardial biopsies is often
recommended in unknown cases of chronic heart failure. Stable chronic heart fail-
525
ure patients in an early stage should be controlled annually. At a later stage, the
monitoring should include ECG, echocardiography and occasional BNP measurements (every 6 months).
Therapy of congestive heart failure depends on current guidelines
(www.escardio.org/knowledge/) and begins with moderate and regular exercise in
combination with a healthy diet, including a reduced fluid and salt intake. Nonsteroidal anti-rheumatics (NSAR), class I antiarrhythmics and calcium antagonists
(verapamil, diltiazem and short-acting dihydropyridine derivatives) should be used
carefully.
Contemporary treatment of congestive heart failure includes:
NYHA I (asymptomatic heart failure): ACE inhibitor (control blood pressure and
renal function), beta-blocker for patients after MI (beginning with low dose therapy under regular control of blood pressure and heart rate. If a low dose therapy is
tolerated, the beta-blocker can be increased slowly).
NYHA II (slight limitation of physical activity): beta-blockers for all patients and
diuretics.
NYHA III (marked limitation of physical activity): spironolactone (low dose with
controlled potassium).
NYHA IV (unable to carry out any physical activity) reinforce medical treatment
(combination of diuretics), consider heart transplantation, reconsider any surgical
improvement and device implantation
NYHA III and NYHA IV require cooperation with a cardiologist. In the presence of
ventricular arrhythmia, the indications for an implantable cardioverter defibrillator
(ICD) have to be considered.
Therapeutic options that could eliminate the causes of heart failure (such as operative valve replacement in the case of a primary vitium or intensive antibiotic therapy for bacterial myocarditis) have priority. In these cases, cooperation with a specialized center is recommended.
Chronic heart failure is associated with a reduced life expectancy. In cases of
NYHA III-IV, the annual mortality rate rises to 30%. While in some cases a total
recovery is described (Fingerhood 2001, Tayal 2001), the majority of patients with
HIV-associated dilated cardiomyopathy still have a progression of left ventricular
dysfunction (Felker 2000). It is unclear whether ART has an influence on the recovery of ventricular function. Early diagnosis and conventional therapy seem to be
the most promising ways to reduce disease progression .
Pericardial Effusion
Before effective antiretroviral drugs were available, pericardial effusion was the
most frequent cardiac manifestation. In clinical trials, the incidence of pericardial
effusion was recognized to be as high as 11% per year (Heidenreich 1995). However, the majority of HIV-associated pericardial manifestations are described as
asymptomatic. Nevertheless, the spectrum ranges from acute or chronic pericarditis
to an acute pericardial tamponade (Silva-Cardoso 1999). Causes may include HIV
itself, opportunistic pathogens, immune reconstitution syndrome or neoplasms
(Stotka 1989). The most frequent cause by far of pericardial effusion in African
526 Special Issues

cohorts is tuberculous pericarditis (Reuter 2005). However, non-HIV-associated
causes of pericardial effusion, such as uremia, trauma, irradiation, and drugs, have
to be considered. In some cases of lipodystrophy an increase in the cardiac lipid
tissue could simulate an extensive pericardial effusion (Neumann 2002b).
Echocardiography is referred to as the standard method for diagnosis and control of
pericardial diseases. Nevertheless, further diagnosis should be performed by computer tomography and/or magnetic resonance tomography when a neoplasm or an
increase in the cardiac lipid tissue is suspected. Pericardial puncture has to be considered for symptomatic patients. If possible, a causative therapy should be applied.
Pericardiotomy might be an option in palliative care.
Cardiac Arrhythmias
Cardiac arrhythmias can depend on medication. Antiretroviral drugs, e.g.,
efavirenz, foscarnet, pentamidine, or therapy with methadone, are expected to prolong the QT interval, an alteration in ECG that may cause Torsade de pointes
tachycardia (Castillo 2002). Further drug combinations such as a macrolide and a
chinolone may have the same effect on the QT interval.
Initiation or change of medication that might influence the QT interval should be
controlled daily by ECG. In case of arrhythmias, electrolyte and glucose concentrations have to be determined and corrected if necessary. Magnesium may be used for
termination of Torsades de pointes tachycardia. Furthermore, heart rhythm disorders may occur together with myocardial infection. Dilatation of the ventricles carries an increased risk of life-threatening arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death
(Lanjewar 2006). Finally, autonomous dysfunction in HIV-infected patients can be
diagnosed by reduced heart frequency variability (Lebech 2007).
Valvular Heart Disease

Valvular heart disease of HIV-infected patients occurs as a bacterial or mycotic
endocarditis. In fact, the hypothesis that HIV infection alone makes a subject more
susceptible to infective endocarditis has not been validated. However, intravenous
drug users have a ten- to twelve-fold increased risk for infective endocarditis than
non-intravenous drug users. The most frequent germ is staphylococcus aureus, being detected in more than 40% of HIV-infected patients with bacterial endocarditis.
Further pathogens include Streptococcus pneumoniae and Hemophilus influenzae
(Currie 1995). Mycotic forms of endocarditis, which may also occur in patients who
are not intravenous drug users, mostly belong to Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida
species or Cryptococcus neoformans and are associated with a worse outcome.
Even if non-drug-using HIV-positive patients are not more susceptible to infective
endocarditis, the clinical course of the infection is more severe and the outcome
worse than in a non-HIV-infected population.
Signs of infective endocarditis include fever (90%), fatigue and lack of appetite. An
additional heart murmur may also be present (30%). In these cases, repeated blood
cultures should be taken and transesophageal echocardiography is mandatory
(Bayer 1998). Due to the fact that the detection of the infectious agent is often diffi-
527
cult, antibiotic therapy should be started early when endocarditis is presumed (Duke
criteria), even without the microbiology results.
Antibiotic prophylaxis of endocarditis is not generally recommended for HIVpositive patients. According to current guidelines for infectious endocarditis, antibiotic prophylaxis is only recommended for a very small patient population. For
detailed information go to http://www.escardio.org/.
Further Cardiac Manifestations

Heart neoplasms are rarely found in HIV-infected patients. These manifestations
occur predominantly in the advanced stages of the disease. On autopsy, the rates of
cardiac-localized Kaposis sarcoma and lymphoma are less than one percent.
Some infections of the heart in HIV-positive subjects may not only result in myocarditis but in abscesses. Several opportunistic pathogens including Toxoplasma
gondii and trypanosomes have been reported to causes abscesses in the heart. These
manifestations are believed to decrease with ART.
As well as neoplasms and abscesses, vascular alterations including vasculitis and
perivasculitis have been described as further cardiovascular manifestations in HIVinfected patients. In particular, the function of the pulmonary vessels can deteriorate, resulting in pulmonary arterial hypertension and, consequently, right heart
failure.
Table 2. Cardiac diseases in HIV-infected patients
Pericardial diseases
Pericardial effusion
Pericarditis (viral, bacterial, mycotic)
Neoplasm (Kaposis sarcoma, lymphoma)
Myocardial diseases
HIV-associated dilated cardiomyopathy
Myocarditis (acute or chronic)
Neoplasm (Kaposis sarcoma, lymphoma)
Drug side-effects (especially by antiretroviral therapy)
Endocardial diseases
Infective endocarditis (bacterial, mycotic)
Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis
Vascular diseases
Atherosclerosis
Vasculitis, perivasculitis
Pulmonary arterial hypertension
Creation of the present chapter is supported by the German Heart Failure Network
(www.knhi.de).
528 Special Issues
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529
22. Sexual Dysfunction in HIV/AIDS

Christoph Mayr, U. Fritz Bredeek
Introduction
Sexual dysfunction (SD) is a common symptom of HIV infection. A recent review
of relevant literature estimates the overall prevalence at 51%, with 46% of HIV
infected men suffering from erectile dysfunction, 44% from reduced libido, and
39% reporting problems ejaculating (Collazos 2007).
Various factors affect sexual function and overall satisfaction not at least age. HIV
infection may lead to SD because of well known interactions between the immune
system and the reproductive, endocrine and the neuroendocrine systems. The impact of the knowledge of HIV infection on the psyche cannot be underestimated,
and furthermore long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) might additionally have
negative psychological effects on sexual health. ART can cause lipodystrophy syndrome which shares characteristics of the classic metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by an increased insulin resistance, excess weight (waist circumference > 94 cm according to the new definition of the International Diabetes
Federation), dyslipidemia or hypertension (>130/85 mmHg). The clear association
between metabolic syndrome and erectile dysfunction (ED) makes ED a predictive
marker for the metabolic syndrome (Shabsigh 2005, Tikkanen 2007).
Definitions
Erectile dysfunction (ED) or impotentia coeundi is defined as the constant or repeated appearance of an inability to attain or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual intercourse (NIH 1993). The diagnosis requires a minimum of
6 months of ongoing problems with 70% or more of the attempts for sexual intercourse unsuccessful. Important is the differentiation between ED and libido disturbance, defined as a decreased or entirely absent sexual drive or desire, and ejaculation disturbance, with its main signs of ejaculatio praecox or tarda.
Etiology of SD in HIV/AIDS
Causes of sexual dysfunction are plentifold. A paradigm shift has taken place since
1980: Improved diagnostic tests and increasing knowledge of the aging processes in
men have led to the conclusion that 80% of ED cases have some organic component
and 50% are exclusively organic in nature. A truely only psychological cause is
responsible for just 20% of cases (NIH 1993). A disease-specific peculiarity of HIV
is the fact that over the years the probability of a SD has increased not only because
of the chronicity of infection but also because of other factors seen in the aging HIV
population, like increased rates of comorbidities, psychosocial stressors and the
need for polypharmacy (Crum 2005).
Age: The most important biological cause of ED is age. ED exists in variable degrees, from light (17%) to moderate (17-34%) to complete (5-15%) in 52% of all
530 Special Issues

men aged 40 to 70 years (Feldman 1994). The overall prevalence of ED in men age
30 to 80 in Germany is estimated at 19% (Braun 2000).
Incidence in HIV infected men is likely to increase because of the increasing age of
the HIV population. But besides age both HIV and ART contribute to declining
testosterone production, decreasing sensitivity of the erectile tissues secondary to
decreasing neural or hormonal activity and vascular problems and thus further increase probability of ED.
Diseases and comorbidities: Important ED risk factors coexist frequently in HIV
infected patients, including excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and other recreational drug use; metabolic disorders (hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus); and
cardiovascular disease, with hypertension being of particular importance. Pathophysiologically, most cases of ED are caused by neuronal (polyneuropathy) and
vascular (micro- and macroangiopathy) changes. However, ED can also be an early
sign of a metabolic syndrome.
Other possible risk factors are endocrine disorders, various neurological problems
(i.e. disc prolapse) or infectious diseases. Frequent causes of ED in young men are
chronic kidney or liver dysfunction (hepatitis, cirrhosis). Psychosocial problems,
relationship conflicts and psychiatric illnesses (e.g., depression) are frequently related to SD. As a consequence, HIV infected patients have an increased risk for ED.
Riding bicycle over a period of three or more hours per week on a classic bike seat
is seen as another risk factor for moderate to severe ED. Special bike seats can reduce the ED risk (Huang 2005, Schrader 2008).
Medications: Many drugs have a negative impact on sexual function, mainly on
libido and the arousability. Table 1 lists an overview of relevant drug classes in this
context. Antiretroviral drugs are also associated with SD; and both duration and
combination of therapies have an accelerating effect. In a standardized survey on 78
HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM), conducted by Cove in London
in 2004, 69% reported on at least one occasion dysfunction and 38% indicated ED.
All antiretroviral drugs can potentially decrease sexual function. In particular PIs
have been reported in this context, but published data remain controversial
(Schrooten 2001, Colson 2002, Lallemand 2002, Asboe 2007). Even further the
overall effect of ART on ED is controversial with one study (Guaraldi 2007) not
finding such an association and another (Asboe 2007) reporting a strong relationship between duration of ART and prevalence of ED.
Ongoing research
An increased prevalence of SD of up to 50% was observed in HIV-infected men in
the early 1990s (Tindall 1994). Similar results were seen in HIV-infected women
(Goggin 1998). A clear increase in prevalence of both libido loss (48%) and ED
(25%) was seen by Lamba in 2004 in HIV positive MSM on ART, compared to
HIV positive MSM not on ART (both at 26%) or HIV negative MSM (2% and
10%, respectively).
A European study (Schrooten 2001) on 904 HIV-infected men and women showed
that libido loss and ED is significantly more common in patients on a PI containing
ART regimen compared to patients not taking PIs (40% vs. 16% for LL and 34%
vs. 12% for ED, respectively). In a multivariate analysis, the following factors were
Sexual Dysfunction in HIV/AIDS
531
identified for libido loss: Current or past use of a PI, symptomatic HIV infection,
age, and MSM. Additionally, taking tranquilizers was found to be an independent
risk factor for ED.
The impact of PIs in SD was also seen in a prospective study of 189 patients (Collazos 2002). No correlation could be found between sex hormone levels and incidence of SD. Interestingly, in subjects taking a PI-containing regimen, testosterone
levels were significantly higher compared to NNRTI-containing regimens in which
17-estradiol levels were significantly elevated.
In a standardized questionnaire of 156 MSM, no role for PIs as the cause of SD
could be ascertained (Lallemand 2002). 71% of the participants indicated signs of
SD since initiation of ART; however, in therapy stratified groups (PI: 71%, without
PI: 65%, no PI in the last 4 weeks: 74%) there were no significant differences seen
between patients taking or not taking a PI. 18% of the participants had already suffered from SD before the diagnosis of HIV infection, and 33% before the initiation
of ART. The impact of psychological factors is highlighted by one study, in which
the rate of HIV-positive MSM with ED rose from 38 to 51% with the use of condoms (Cove in 2004).
More recent research impressively underscores the positive effect of testosterone
substitution in HIV-infected hypogonadotropic men (Rabkin 2000, Grinspoon
1998). Testosterone deficiency can cause weight loss, loss of muscle mass, osteopenia, and depression (Grinspoon 1996, Huang 2001, Rietschel 2000)).
Diagnosis of sexual dysfunction

A diagnostic work-up for the causes of SD is required before therapy. This includes
a complete anamnesis with emphasis on sexual, social and family history as well as
social (recreational drug use) and familiar risk factors (i.e. diabetes mellitus), and a
complete medication history. A thorough physical examination is obligatory. A
diagnostic test of the morning blood level of testosterone is of central importance to
determine the testicular endocrine function. The calculated index of free testosterone is the recommended parameter to follow, since this index reflects the real biological activity of testosterone. The direct determination of free testosterone by the
lab has been identified as being unreliable (www.issam.ch).
Table 1: Laboratory diagnostics for erectile dysfunction
Special hormone diagnostics
General work-up
Testosterone (free circulating testosterone)

Luteotropic hormone
Follicular stimulating hormone
Poss. LHRH
Poss. HCG
Poss. Prolactin, PSA
CBC
Glucose, HbA1c
Lipid panel
possible: TSH
Urine analysis
Low testosterone level requires measurement of LH and FSH. Further work-up may
require an LH or FSH stimulating test, usually handled by an endocrinologist, to
exclude secondary hypogonadism. NPT (nocturne penile tumescence measurement)
532 Special Issues

is considered minimally invasive and measures nocturnal erections. 3-6 erections
per night of at least 70% rigidity, lasting 10 minutes, are considered normal values.
The question of morning erections can serve as critical criterion for the sexual anamnesis.
Further andrological diagnostics include sonography of the scrotum. If the mammary glands are enlarged or involvement of the hypophysis is suspected (i.e. by an
increased prolactin or estrogen level), an MRI of the sella turcica is indicated. Other
diagnostic tests used for the vascular work-up include Doppler sonography of the
penis and pharmacocavernosography; and for the neuro-physiological work-up a
cavernosum EMG, vibrometry, sphincter- and N. pudendus-EMG. These are rarely
necessary and left to the urologist.
Therapy for sexual dysfunction

Phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE-5 inhibitors: sildenafil, vardenafil, tadalafil)
have substantially improved the therapy of ED. They are simple to take, effective
and, in general, relatively well tolerated (Waldkirch 2005). In many countries, however, PDE-5 inhibitors are not covered by insurance plans and so must be paid for
by the patients themselves. With the introduction of PDE-5 inhibitors, intracavernous erectile tissue injection or the intra-urethral application of vasoactive
prostaglandins has clearly receded into the background. Today, surgical interventions, such as penile vein surgery, revascularization surgery or prosthodontics, also
no longer play a role.
For HIV physicians knowledge on the interactions between PDE-5 inhibitors and
ART (particularly PIs) is important. Through the inhibition of the cytochrome p450
enzyme system (CYP3A4) plasma levels of PDE-5 inhibitors are increased. This
needs to be discussed with the patient. In particular, for patients on a boosted PI
regimen PDE-5 inhibitors need to be started at a lower dose. We specifically recommend a mini test dose at the beginning (e.g., 1/4 of a tablet of sildenafil 50 mg)
and increase according to the success and side effects. Our experience indicates that
a significant proportion of patients have the desired success with such a low dose.
However, some patients do not achieve any effect with these low dosages (HIV
infection of several years, multimorbidity, and psychological overlap). In these patients, the approved maximum dose should not be exceeded. Simultaneous administration of nitrate containing medications or agents containing nitrites (molsidomin;
poppers) is contraindicated since it may cause severe dysfunctions of the circulatory system including therapy-resistant hypotension.
Sexual activity is physically tiring and can be a strain on the cardiovascular system.
If it is not clear whether a patient has an underlying cardiovascular problem, it is
advised to screen for it before prescribing ED drugs. This is particular true if unstable angina is suspected.
Apomorphine is a centrally effective dopamine receptor agonist. It is less effective
and so less important in the treatment of ED, but should be considered in patients
with contraindications to PDE-5 inhibitors (APO-go ampullae, max. 100 mg s.c.).
Apomorphine seems to be particularly helpful in psychogenic ED and light organic
ED. Miscellaneous herbal agents (Yohimbine, Maca, Turnera diffusa) might have a
positive effect on sexual function. However, systematic studies have not been per-
533
formed. These agents have few side effects, but monitoring for possible interactions
with ART is advisable. For psychosocial problems, relationship conflicts or depressive disorders, psychotherapeutic support and if necessary a sexual-medical discussion are advised. A review of studies looking into the relationship of psychosocial
interventions and ED found that group therapy with or without Sildefanil could significantly reduce the symptoms of ED (Melnik 2007).
PDE-5 inhibitors
Sildenafil (Viagra) was the first licensed PDE-5 inhibitor. Sildenafil is available
in dosages of 25, 50 and 100 mg. The first effects are seen between 12 and 40 mins
(mean 25 mins) after taking the medication. This can be delayed if a fatty meal or
alcohol is consumed simultaneously. The maximum plasma concentration is
reached after approx. one hour, the clinical time of effectivity lies within 812 hours. The response rate depends on the etiology of ED, but varies between 43
and 83%. The most frequent side effects seen are headaches (11%), flushes (11%),
dyspepsia (3%), dizziness (3%), rhinitis (2%) and color blindness (1%).
Epidemiologic studies have so far not shown a statistically increased likelihood of
angina pectoris, myocardial infarction or deaths under sildenafil use.
Vardenafil (Levitra) was licensed in 2003. Phosphodiesterase 5 or the hydrolysis
from cGMP is restrained approximately tenfold greater than by sildenafil, but the
bioavailability, at 15%, is low. Vardenafil is available in a dosage of 10 and 20 mg.
First effects are seen 15 to 30 mins after taking the medication; maximum plasma
concentrations are reached after 60 mins. The clinical effect can last up to 12 hours.
Randomized, placebo-controlled studies, evaluating satisfaction with the amount of
erection, showed a response rate of between 48 and 80%. The response rate for successful sexual intercourse with ejaculation was approx. 75%. Vardenafil is well
tolerated by patients on antihypertensive therapy and is effective in these patients.
The same contraindication for the combination with nitrates and NO-donators exists. Adverse events include headache (10-21%), erythema (5-13%), dyspepsia (16%) and rhinitis (9-17%). A study comparing vardenafil to sildenafil (RubioAurioles 2007) showed a small incease in effectiveness for vardenafil with a good
safety profile.
Tadalafil (Cialis) was licensed in 2003. Dosages of 10 and 20 mg are available.
Compared to other PDE-5 inhibitors the maximum plasma concentration is reached
at 2 hours, the first effect is noticeable after 15 to 20 minutes. Since the plasma
half-life is approximately 17.5 hours, tadalafil is effective up to 36 hours after intake. Personal observations point to the fact that these circumstances promote the
popularity of tadalafil in the gay scene (weekend pill).
Headache (7-21%), dyspepsia and heartburn (1-17%), myalgia (3-7%), back pains
(4-9%), rhinitis (5%) and flushes (1-5%) are the most frequently observed side effects. Clinical influences on the cardiovascular system could not be observed; an
increased incidence of myocardial infarction was not seen in any study.
Udenafil, a new selective PDE-5-Inhibitor shows a good safety profile with high
effectiveness in a phase III sudy (Paick 2008)
534 Special Issues

Recent studies with MSM suggest a connection between the intake of drugs, the
intake of PDE-5 inhibitors and sexual risk behavior (Swearingen 2005, Jackson
2005, Spindler 2006).
Testosterone
Substitution therapy is indicated for a deficiency of testosterone with clinical symptoms. Options include intramuscular injections (testosterone depot 250 mg i.m. with
an interval of 14 to 21 days) and application in the form of a gel (e.g., testogel
25 mg/50 mg daily). Oral substitution is possible (e.g., andriol testocaps), but has
not proved itself in clinical everyday life. The depot injection of 1,000 mg testosteroneundecanoat (Nebido) has recently been recommended in intervals of
3 months with an increasing dose 6 weeks after the initial one. Advantages of the
depot injection lies in the more even serum concentrations of testosterone. In times
of limited recourses, it is advisable to document the testosterone deficit and the appropriate clinical symptoms precisely.
It has been pointed out that testosterone injections may promote growth of a carcinoma in situ of the prostate. Yearly PSA measurement during therapy, and a baseline physical examination before starting substitution is recommended, although
this may not be covered by health insurance plans. Moreover, with a positive family
anamnesis, a urological consultation is advisable before the beginning of the substitution.
Hair loss, skin irritation (with the gel!), increase in serum liver enzymes, the lipid
panel and the e-phoresis, as well as water retention in tissues, have been described
as relevant side effects.
References
Asboe D, Catalan J, Mandalia S, et al. Sexual dysfunction in HIV-positive men is multi-factorial: a study of prevalence and associated factors. AIDS Care 2007;19:95565.
Braun M, Wassmer G, Klotz T, et al. Epidemiology of erectile dysfunction: results of the Cologne Male Survey. International Journal of Impotence Research 2000; 12:
305-11.
Collazos J, Martinez E, Mayo J et al. Sexual Dysfunction in HIV-infected Patients Treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy. JAIDS 2002; 31:322-26.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/449091
Collazos J. Sexual dysfunction in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era. AIDS Rev 2007;9:237-45.
Colson AE, Keller MJ, Sax PE, et al. Male sexual dysfunction associated with antiretroviral therapy. J AIDS 2002; 30:27-32.
Cove J, Petrak J. Factors associated with sexual problems in HIV-positive gay men. Int J STD AIDS 2004; 15: 732-6.
Crum NF, Furtek KJ, Olson PE, et al. A review of hypogonadism and erektile dysfunction among HIV-infected men during the pre- and post-HAART eras: Diagnosis,
pathogenesis, and management. AIDS Patient Care STDS 2005; 19:655-71.
Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Urologie. Leitlinien: Diagnostik und Therapie von Libido- und Erektionsstrungen 2001. http://www.uni-duesseldorf.de/WWW/AWMF/ll/043031.htm
Feldman HA, Goldstein I, Hatzichritou DG, et al. Impotence and its medical and psychosocial correlates: results of the Massachusetts Male Aging Study. J Urol 1994;
151: 54-61.
Guaraldi G, Luzi K, Murri R, et al. Sexual dysfunction in HIV-infected men: role of antiretroviral therapy, hypogonadism and lipodystrophy. Antivir Ther 2007;12:1059-65.
Goggin K, et al. The relationship of mood, endocrine, and sexual disorders in HIV+ women: an exploratory study. Psychosom Med 1998; 60:11-6.
Grinspoon S, Corcoran C, Askari H, et al. Effects of androgen administration in men with the AIDS wasting syndrome. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled
trial. Ann Intern Med 1998; 129:18-26.
Huang JS, Wilkie SJ, Sullivan MP, et al. Reduced bone density in androgen-deficient women with acquired immune deficiency syndrome wasting. J Clin Endocrinol
Metab 2001; 86:3533-9.
Huang V, Munarriz R, Goldstein I. Bicycle riding and erectile dysfunction: an increase in interest (and concern). J Sex Med 2005, 2:594-5.
Lallemand F, Salhi Y, Linard F, et al. Sexual dysfunction in 156 ambulatory HIV-infected men receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy combinations with and without
protease inhibitors. JAIDS 2002; 30:187-90.
Lamba H, Goldmeier D, Mackie NE, Scullard G, et al. Antiretroviral therapy is associated with sexual dysfunction and with increased serum oestradiol levels in men. Int
J STD AIDS 2004; 15:234-7.
Melnik T, Soares BG, Nasselo AG. Psychosocial interventions for erectile dysfunction. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2007, 18:CD004825.
NIH Consensus Conference. Impotence. NIH Consensus Development Panel on Impotence. JAMA 1993;270:83-90.
Paick JS, Kim SW, Yang DY, et al. The efficacy and safety of udenafil, a new selective phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, in patients with erectile dysfunction. Eur.Urol
2008, 54: 946-7
Purcell DW, Wolitski RJ, Hoff CC, et al. Predictors of the use of viagra, testosterone, and antidepressants among HIV-seropositive gay and bisexual men. AIDS 2005;
19 Suppl 1: S57-66..
Rubio-Aurioles E, Porst H, Eardley I, et al. Comparing vardenafil and sildenafil in the treatment of men with erectile dysfunction and risk factors for cardiovascular
disease: a randomized, doubleblind, pooled crossover study. J Sex Med 2006, 3:1037-49.
535
Schrader SM, Breitenstein MJ, Lowe BD. Cutting off the nose to save the penis. J Sex Med 2008, 5:1932-40.
Schrooten W, Colebunders R, Youle M, et al. Sexual dysfunction associated with protease inhibitor containing highly active antiretroviral treatment. AIDS 2004;
15:1019-23.
Shabsigh R, et al. Erectile dysfunction as a predictor for metabolic syndrome. Abstract 1236, 100. Annual meeting of the Am. Urol. Association 2005, San Antonio
Spindler H, et al. Use of viagra and crystal methamphetamin and high risk sexual behaviour. XVI IAC, Toronto 2006, #MOPE0342
Swearingen SG, Klausner JD. Sildenafil use, sexual risk behavior, and risk for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection. Am J Med 2005; 118:569-70
Tikkanen MJ, Jackson G, Tammela T, et al. Erectile dysfunction as a risk factor for coronary heart disease: Implications for prevention. Int J Clin Pract 2007, 61:265268.
Tindall B, Forde S, Goldstein D, et al. Sexual dysfunction in advanced HIV disease. Aids Care 1994;6:105-7.
Waldkirch E, Schultheiss D, ckert S, et al. Therapie der erektilen Dysfunktion. In: Tru MC, Stief CG, Machtens S et al. (Hrsg.): Pharmakotherapie in der Urologie.
Berlin Heidelberg: Springer Verlag 2005: 342-52
536
23. HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Stefan Esser
Epidemiology
A sexually transmitted disease (STD) seldom occurs without other diseases. Every
STD can contribute to the transmission of an HIV infection or other venereal diseases. In case of an STD, the sexual partners of the patient should be informed, examined, and, if necessary, treated.
Since the end of the 90s, the incidence of syphilis has been increasing alarmingly in
Western Europe and the US. In patients with newly diagnosed syphilis infections in
Germany, prevalence of HIV infection is approximately 45% (RKI 2008). In recent
years, there are also reports of regional epidemics of lymphogranuloma venereum
(LGV) in Europe, which was regarded as an STD epidemic mainly in the tropics and
subtropics. Homosexual men are particularly affected (in more than 90% of cases of
LGV, and more than 60% of the cases of syphilis).
Women as well as men are infected with the human papilloma virus (HPV). HPV is
among the most frequently sexually transmitted pathogens. Usually self-limiting in
otherwise healthy people, HPV infections may persist in HIV-infected patients and
often cause condylomata acuminata. Consequently, precancerous and intraepithelial
neoplasia can develop that could result in malignancies such as cervical or anal carcinoma.
Following is a detailed description of the most important STDs. Sexually transmitted
diseases like hepatitis B, as well as herpes simplex or bacterial vaginoses will be
described in other sections of this book.
Syphilis (Lues
Syphilis is caused by Treponema pallidum, a bacterium belonging to the Spirochaetaceae family. The bacteria are mainly transmitted by direct sexual contact with
infected persons, and penetrate into the organism through micro-lesions in the mucosa or the skin. Even kissing can cause an infection. In case of unprotected sexual
contact, the risk of transmission is about 30 to 60%. Hematogenous or congenital
transmissions very seldom occur in Western countries.
Clinical course
The incubation period is usually 14 to 24 days. Approximately 40 to 50% of the infections show no symptoms or are self-limiting. Persistent infections may affect
various organic systems, going through stages of the course of the disease. However,
these stages may be skipped or repeated. The highest risk of transmission is during
the clinical symptomatic stages of early syphilis (primary and secondary syphilis) as
well as the early latency period (< 12 years after infection), especially in case of a
primary lesion in stage I. During the late latency period (> 1-2 years after infection)
syphilis is less infectious. The clinically symptomatic late stages (tertiary syphilis: 2
50 years post infection) are considered non-infectious.
HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases
537
Primary syphilis: 23 weeks after infection the primary lesion with ulcus durum
(hard chancre, erosive chancre) appears at the site of inoculation. This indolent,
sturdy ulcer with infiltrated edges usually yields a clear treponema-rich exudate
when compressed or squeezed. The chancre is accompanied by a usually strong onesided lymphadenitis, swelling of the lymph nodes. This primary complex will spontaneously resolve after 4 to 6 weeks without treatment.
Secondary syphilis: Variable general symptoms occur in intervals after 4 weeks up
to 6 months, among these generalized swelling of the lymph nodes and symptoms in
various organs. Even an ocular involvement manifesting as episcleritis or iritis can
be seen in secondary syphilis. The clinical variety of the frequent syphilids on the
skin or the mucous membranes varies from exanthema (usually with palmoplantar
participation) to roseola, alopecia syphilitica, plaques muqueuses, angina specifica,
up to condylomata lata (genital and perianal) as well as pigment changes (leucoderma specificum) and lues maligna. Headaches at night are a sign of an early
syphilitic meningitis cerebrospinalis. As the risk for neurosyphilis is markedly increased in HIV-infected patients a lumbar puncture is recommended especially when
the patient shows symptoms or the time of infection is not certain.
Latent syphilis: When the infection is brought under control by the immune system
the clinical features usually disappear entirely. However, during this latency period,
syphilis remains serologically detectable and a relapse or progression is possible.
Tertiary syphilis: Years after primary infection, the so-called gummata may appear.
These can affect any organ, showing tuberous or granulomatous changes with a tendency to ulceration and cicatricial healing. Major cardiovascular features of tertiary
syphilis are asymptomatic aortitis, aortic insufficiency, coronary ostial stenosis and
aortic aneurysm. Tertiary syphilis of the central nervous system (CNS) has many
manifestations, which involve the meninges and the arteries and parenchyma of the
cerebral cortex. Meningovascular syphilis is characterized by an obliterative endarteritis of the meningeal vessels with subsequent arterial thrombosis and ischemic
necrosis in the brain and spinal cord.
Quarternary syphilis: In untreated patients, a late neurosyphilis occurs in various
forms after some years. In case of tabes dorsalis, a shooting and burning pain, sensory ataxia, reflective pupilloplegia (signs of Argyll-Robertson disease) and optic
atrophy are observed. Regarding syphilitic meningitis, cranial nerve pareses, increase
of intracranial pressure and other neurological symptoms are seen. In case of progressive paralysis symptoms like headache and a change in personality prevail followed by dysplasia (a speech disorder), cramps, dementia and apoplectic attacks. An
untreated progressive paralysis will lead to death in 4 to 5 years.
Connatal/Congenital Syphilis: Diaplacental transmission usually happens in the 4th
to 5th month of pregnancy. Depending on the stage of lues in a pregnant woman, it
will lead to an abortion or a lues connata of the infant, progressing in the following
ways: Lues connata praecox, the rhinitis syphilitica (coryza syphilitica), interstitial
hepatitis, encephalo-meniningitis with hydrocephalus communicans hypersecretorius
as well as Parrots pseudoparalysis (ulnar epiphysiolysis by an osteochondritis syphilitica). The typical stigmata of lues connata tarda (from the age of 3) are saddle
nose, Parrots ulcer and Hutchinsons triad: Hutchinsons teeth, keratitis parenchymatosa and labyrinthine deafness.
538 Special Issues

In HIV-infected patients, unusual manifestations of syphilis are often observed:
foudroyant progress (Gregory 1990). Reactivation of earlier infections as well as
shorter latency periods compared to the later stages including neurosyphilis occur in
addition to symptoms of the coexistant stages. Syphilis can temporarily lead to an
increase of HIV viral load and to an additional deterioration of the immune status in
patients on an effective antiretroviral treatment.
Diagnostics
The diagnosis of HIV-positive patients is not only complicated because of difficult
diagnosis and a nonspecific clinical course of the disease, but also due to unreliable
screening tests and atypical lues serologies like an IgM descent followed by a fluctuating VDRL titer (Veneral-Disease-Research-Laboratory-test, detection of phosphatide antibodies). Silvery-shining, spiral treponema are noticed by their typical
rotating and bending movements when applying large-scale dark-field microscopy
obtained from the stimulus secretion, a method which is a clinical daily routine.
A direct microscopic viral detection should be done when an ulcus durum is suspected, particularly in case of an initially prevailing seronegativity. As a first reaction, IgM antibodies will appear (diagnostic test and lipoid antibody detection will
still be negative.).
Due to a possible overlap of disease stages, each patient should be neurologically
examined serologically. If possible, cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) should be collected
as the results may have therapeutic consequences (see below). Interpretation of CSF
results in HIV patients should be done by experts on the basis of the ITPA index
(intrathecal-produced Treponema pallidum antibodies; TPHA titer in cerebrospinal
fluid: TPHA titer in serum x IgG in cerebrospinal fluid: IgG in serum), parameters of
a barrierdisorder and the detection of lymphomonocytic pleocytosis.
Interpretation of syphilis serology in HIV-infected patients
Lues (syphilis) serology is based in principle on treponema-specific diagnostic tests.
These are TPHA (Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay), TPPA (Treponema
pallidum particle agglutination test), or EIA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay).
If positive, treponema-specific tests to confirm will follow, like IgM ELISA, IgM
and IgG Western blot or 19-S-IgM-FTA-ABS (treponemal antibody-absorption test).
In a reactive 19-s-IgM-FTA-ABS test in untreated patients or a reactivation of the
test in treated patients (Lues non satis curate), there is always need for treatment.
False-negative test results can be explained by inadequate production of antibodies
or by suppression of IgM production due to high IgG levels. In case of doubt, specific tests such as FTA-ABS or cardiolipin tests should be carried out, even though
false-negative results may result again. Should a syphilis infection be serologically
confirmed, a quantitative evaluation of the non-treponema specific activity parameters (lipoid antibodies, e.g., VDRL test or KBR) is required. The longer a patient has
an untreated syphilis the longer it will take to return to normal standard serological
results after therapy. The IgM test may remain reactive for years even after a successful syphilis therapy in HIV-infected patients. A successful therapy during this
period is only indicated by a clear titer decrease of the non-treponema-specific activity parameters (reduction of VDRL by at least 2 titer levels within 3 months). Due to
an increase of the previously decreased activity parameters, a re-infection or a re-
539
activation may be discovered during this time. A re-infection or re-activation is assumed when the serological titers increase by more than two levels by the end of
therapy compared to the initial value. A serological differentiation between reinfection and re-activation is not possible. As the activity parameters are not treponema-specific they often vary in HIV-infected patients, mainly when contracting
additional infections.
Diagnostic algorithm assuming a syphilis (Lues) infection
On clinical suspicion or as screening of probands
Syphilis screentest
(TPHA,VDRL)
positive or
doubtful positive
negative
differential diagnostic
considerations
confirming test
(IgG-FTA-Test, FTA-abs-Test)
in case of persistent clinical course

repeated testing after 2 weeks
positive
again negative
specific IgM AK-test

(19S-IgM-FTA, IgM-Westernblot
differential diagnostic considerations
pres. CNS involvement

lumbar puncture
(VDRL,TPHA,ITpA-Index)
follow-up after therapy by
TPHA,VDRL after 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 months
Repeated increase of titer > 2 levels VDRL

or insuff. TPHA decrease
Re-puncture and/or
further treatment, if necessary
Therapy
The generation period of Treponema pallidum amounts to 30 to 33 hours. Therefore,
the therapy period should not be less than 10 to 11 days. A parenteral dose of penicillin is the therapy of choice at all stages. Resistance to penicillin have not been seen
for Treponema pallidum. Recommendations for the early stages of syphilis include
intramuscular injections of benzathine penicillin 2.4 Mio IE (e.g., 1 ampule
Pendysin or Tardocillin of 1.2 Mio i.m. in each buttock) in weekly intervals for at
least 2 weeks (in later stages of syphilis for at least 3 weeks). Should the infection
date be uncertain, Lues should be treated like late-stage syphilis.
In cases of penicillin intolerance, doxycycline 100 mg BID orally, erythromycin
2g/day orally for at least 2 weeks, azithromycin or ceftriaxone (intramuscular, intravenous) is recommended. These alternatives are considered to be less effective than
the intramuscular injection with penicillin.
540 Special Issues

Neurosyphilis is usually treated with 3 x 10 Mio IE or 6 x 5 Mio IE penicillin G,
administered intravenously for 21 days. Current guidelines recommend an initial
dose of 4 g ceftriaxone (Deutsche STD-Gesellschaft 2005).
Cross-reacting allergies (< 10%) between penicillin and cephalosporin are possible.
Alternative treatment options are doxycycline 100 mg BID or erythromycin 500 mg
QID for at least 3 weeks. When treating with macrolides the possible development of
resistance to Treponema pallidum should be considered (Lukehart 2004). Therefore,
despite suspecting a penicillin allergy a controlled penicillin hardening under stationary conditions in reanimation readiness until the required full therapeutic dosage
is administered is performed in specialized centers.
When starting syphilis therapy irrespective of the stage a Jarisch-Herxheimer
reaction should be differentiated from a penicillin allergy. Depending on the stage of
syphilis, the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction is observed in just 20% of patients within
48 hours after the first dose of antibiotics is given. It is caused by a release of pyrogenic, vasoactive endotoxin, the result of a fast decomposition of bacteria, showing
exanthema and influenza-like symptoms like shivering, fever, arthralgia or myalgia.
The Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction should be avoided or at least reduced by administering a single dose of 1 mg/kg prednisolone orally or intravenously prior to the first
dose of antibiotics.
A successful therapy should have a clinical and serological follow-up 3, 6, 12, 18
and 24 months after treatment. A successful therapy is reflected by the disappearance
of clinical symptoms and a clear titer decrease of the non-treponema-specific activity
parameters (reduction of VDRL by at least 2 titer-levels within 3 months). A repeated increase of the previously decreased activity parameters may mean a reinfection or a re-activation requiring treatment. This is assumed if the serological
titer increases by more than two titer levels after the end of the therapy in comparison to the initial result. Even in HIV-infected patients, the IgM test should not be
reactive 2 years after a sufficiently administered syphilis therapy. In case the IgM
test is no longer reactive, a repeated reactivity means a re-infection or re-activation,
requiring further treatment (see above, Interpretation of Lues serology).
References
Blocker ME, Levine WC, St Louis ME. HIV prevalence in patients with syphilis, United States. Sex Transm Dis 2000, 27:53-9.
Brown TJ, Yen-Moore A, Tyring SK. An overview of sexually transmitted diseases. Part I. J Am Acad Dermatol 1999, 41:511-29.
CDC: Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines, 2006. MMWR 2006, 55, RR-11: 22-33.
Czelusta A, Yen-Moore A, Van der Staten M, Carrasco D, Tyring SK. An overview of sexually transmitted diseases. Part III. Sexually transmitted diseases in HIVinfected patients. J Am Acad Dermatol 2000, 43: 409-32.
Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Neurologie: Leitlinien fr Diagnostik und Therapie in der Neurologie: Neurosyphilis; 2. berarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage 2003.
http://www.uni-duesseldorf.de/AWMF/ll/030-101.htm
Deutsche STD-Gesellschaft: Diagnostik und Therapie der Syphilis., 2005. http://www.uni-duesseldorf.de/AWMF/ll/059-002.htm
Gregory N, Sanchez M, Buchness MR. The spectrum of syphilis in patients with HIV infection. J Am Acad Derm 1990, 6:1061-67.
Lukehart SA, Godornes C, Molini BJ et al. Macrolide resistance in Treponema pallidum in the United States and Ireland. N Engl J Med 2004, 351:154-8.
Marra CM, Boutin P, McArthur JC et al. A pilot study evaluating ceftriaxone and penicillin G as treatment agents for neurosyphilis in human immunodeficiency virusinfected individuals. Clin Infect Dis 2000; 30:540-4.
Medical Society for the Study of Venereal Diseases (MSSVD). Clinical standards for the screening and management of acquired syphilis in HIV-positive adults.
London, 2002. http://www.guideline.gov/summary/summary. aspx?doc_id=3440
Peterman TA, Heffelfinger JD, Swint EB, Groseclose SL. The changing epidemiology of syphilis. Sex Transm Dis 2005, 32: S4-S10.
Plettenberg A, Bahlmann W, Stoehr A, Meigel W. Klinische und serologische Befunde der Lues bei HIV-infizierten Patienten. DMW 1991, 116: 968-72.
Robert Koch Institut. Syphilis in Deutschland im Jahr 2007. Epid Bull 33/2008 S277-83
Schfer H. Behandlung der Syphilis. Deutsche und internationale Leitlinien ein Vergleich. Hautarzt 2005, 56: 141-50.
Sellati TJ, Wilkinson DA, Sheffield JS, et al. Virulent Treponema pallidum, lipoprotein, and synthetic lipopeptides induce CCR5 on human monocytes and enhance their
susceptibility to infection by HIV type1. J Inf Dis 2000, 181: 283-93.
541
Gonorrhea (the clap)

Gonorrhea, also called the clap, is caused by the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria.
The virus can be found worldwide and depending on the region shows a varying
and changing resistance profile. Gonorrhea is typically localized in the genitourinary mucosa and transmission is almost exclusively through sexual activity (exception: neonatal conjunctivitis); the incubation period lasts from 2 to 10 days.
Clinical Course
In men primary symptoms are urethritis, a burning pain when urinating, and urethral pain. A typical symptom is the bonjour drop, a purulent secretion from the
urethra after several hours of restricted micturition. Smears can easily be taken from
the urethra. It is often accompanied by a balanitis. Without treatment, gonorrhea
can cause prostatitis. Symptoms may be a burning after miction, pain in the intestinal area and an enlargement of the prostate. Furthermore, it will cause an epididymitis with pain and swelling.
In women, the course of gonorrhea is often asymptomatic, although urethritis may
occur. Only in pre-pubescent girls is a vaginal colonization possible. Involvement
of the cervix and adnexa may cause complications like peritonitis and pelvic inflammatory disease.
Extragenital manifestations of gonorrhea occasionally cause pharyngitis or proctitis.
Perinatal transmission of gonococcal conjunctiva is rare. Which is why Creds
prophylaxis for newborns (temporary treatment with eydrops: originally 1% silver
nitrate solution; later on erythromycin-containing eyedrops or ointments) was
stopped in Germany. Systemic infections with general symptoms like fever, arthritis
and endocarditis even including gonococcal sepsis are rare (Rompalo 1987).
Diagnosis
Microscopic preparations are taken urethrally, anally, pharyngeally and in women
also endocervically. For four hours before the urethral smear, the patient should not
urinate. The diagnosis will be confirmed by microscopy of preparations from intracellular, gram-negative diplococci using methylene-blue or gram stain. It is almost
never necessary to do serological tests or immuno-fluorescence microscopy. Laboratory culture is mainly performed to confirm resistance. Neisseria gonorrhoeae was
found in sex workers in Indonesia (Joesef 1994), 89% of whom were penicillinaseproducing and in 98% resistant to tetracycline, but responded well to cephalosporin
and fluoroquinolone. At the same time, a reduced response to quinolone by up to
24% was detected in the US (CDC 1998).
Therapy
Therapy should depend on geographical resistance profiles. Despite travelers who
have acquired gonorrhea abroad resistance to antibiotics typically administered in
Germany are rather rare. Penicillinase-producing gonococcal stains are seen in the
US in 25%, in Asia 30%, and in Africa up to 90%, while in Germany only 3-6% of
patients.
Isolated gonorrhea may be traced with a single dose ciprofloxacine 500 mg (e.g.,
Ciprobay), alternatively with levofloxacine 250 mg (Tavanic). With respect to
542 Special Issues

fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria strains, the one-time dose intramuscular of
250 mg ceftriaxone (Rocephin) (CEDC 2004) is a sound alternative. At present,
the most effective treatment seems to be the one-time dose of 1000 mg azithromycin (Zithromax) or doxycycline 200 mg daily for seven days, often used to treat
chlamydia coinfections.
References
CDC: Increases in Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae Among Men Who Have Sex with Men -United States, 2003, and Revised Recommendations for
Gonorrhea Treatment, 2004. MMWR 2004 ; 53: 335-8 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5316a1.htm
Handsfield HH, Dalu ZA, Martin DH, et al. Multicenter trial of single-dose azithromycin vs. ceftriaxone in the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea. Azithromycin
Gonorrhea Study Group. Sex Transm Dis 1994, 21:107-11.
Moodley P, Sturm AW. Ciprofloxacin-resistant gonorrhoea in South Africa. Lancet 2005, 366: 1159.
Rompalo AM, Hook EW 3rd, Roberts PL, et al. The acute arthritis-dermatitis syndrome. The changing importance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis.
Arch Intern Med 1987, 147: 281-3.
Roy K, Wang SA, Meltzer MI. Optimizing treatment of antimicrobial-resistant neisseria gonorrhoeae. Emerg Infect Dis 2005, 11: 1265-73.
Chlamydia Infection, lymphogranuloma venereum

Genital infections with Chlamydia trachomatis are nearly twice as prevalent as
gonococcal infections. There are several serotypes that can cause different diseases.
Serotypes D-K are broadly distributed in Europe and cause urogenital infections,
which can be sexually transmitted as well as conjunctivitis or pneumonia after perinatal transmission. Serotypes L1, L2 and L3 cause lymphogranuloma venereum
(LGV). LGV used to be known as a tropical disease only but has undergone a renaissance in Europe and the US (Gotz 2004, Krosigk 2004) lately.
Clinical Course
In men, symptomatic genital chlamydia, serotypes D-K, may be present as urethritis.
As in gonorrhea, epididymitis, prostatitis or proctitis may occur. Reiters syndrome
with reactive arthritis is also possible.
A chlamydial infection in about 20% of the female patients may manifest as urethritis, cervicitis, salpingitis, endometritis, proctitis and arthritis. The cervicitis mainly
contains purulent fluorine. Possible consequences of a salpingitis are sterility by
tubal occlusion or extra-uterine pregnancy.
In lymphogranuloma venereum caused by serotypes L1-3, a primary lesion occurs at
the entry location. Some weeks later a painful swelling of the regional lymph nodes
develop that tends to ex-ulcerate. After healing this may lead to scars, which may
cause discharge disorders and fistula due to a blocking in the lymphatic vessels. Especially in HIV-infected MSM, extremely painful and therapy refractory proctitis as
well as prenatal and intra-anal ulcerations by chlamydial infections with serotypes
L1-3 will occur (Peerenboom 2006).
Diagnostics
The best method to confirm the diagnosis of infection with Chlamydia trachomatis
are amplification tests (PCR). This is more sensitive, and at least as specific as the
results obtained by cell cultures (Morre 2005) used in the past. Using dry cotton
wool, apply with pressure for a few seconds to collect epithelioid cells, which should
be sent in dry storage to the laboratory (routine in most labs). The samples should be
tested for serotypes D-K. PCR tests of serotypes L1, L2 and L3 are only done on
543
request in specialized labs. A positive test result for all chlamydial serotypes described above leads to a therapy indication.
Antigenic tests by ELISA or direct immuno-fluorescence tests are possible as well,
but there is a lack of sensitivity in 75% and a lack of specificity in 97-99% in patients with low chlamydial prevalence resulting in a high number of false-positive
test results.
Therapy
The therapy of choice is doxycycline (eSupracyclin), 100 mg BID for 7 to 10 days.
Alternatively, ofloxacin (Tarivid), 200 mg BID or erythromycin (e.g., Erythrocin), 500 mg QID for 7 days can be given. Even a one-time dose of 1000 mg
azithromycin (Zithromax) has proven an effective treatment in uncomplicated
cases. The treatment of lymphogranuloma venereum requires a longer-term therapy.
Doxycycline should be administered for at least 3 weeks.
References
CDC: Chlamydia CDC Fact Sheet. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Chlamydia/STDFact-Chlamydia.htm
European Guideline for the management of chlamydial infection. Int J STD AIDS 2001 ; 12: S30-3 http://www.iusti.org/Guidelines.pdf
Gotz HM, Ossewaarde JM, Nieuwenhuis RF, et al.. A cluster of lymphogranuloma venereum among homosexual men in Rotterdam with implications for other
countries in Western Europe. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2004, 148: 441-2.
Jebbari H, Alexander S, Ward H, et al. Update on lymphogranuloma venereum in the United Kingdom. Sex Transm Infect 2007, 83:324-6.
Krosigk A, Meyer T, Jordan S, et al. Auffllige Zunahme des Lymphogranuloma venereum unter homosexuellen Mnnern in Hamburg. JDDG 2004, 8: 676-80.
Martin DH, Mroczkowski TF, Dalu ZA, et al. A controlled trial of a single dose of azithromycin for the treatment of chlamydial urethritis and cervicitis. N Engl J Med 1992,
327: 921-5.
Morre SA, Spaargaren J, Fennema JS, de Vries HJ, Coutinho RA, Pena AS. Real-time polymerase chain reaction to diagnose lymphogranuloma venereum. Emerg
Infect Dis 2005, 11: 1311-2.
Nieuwenhuis RF, Ossewaarde JM, van der Meijden WI, Neumann HA. Unusual presentation of early lymphogranuloma venereum in an HIV-1 infected patient:
effective treatment with 1 g azithromycin. Sex Transm Infect 2003, 79: 453-5.
Paavonen J. Pelvic inflammatory disease. From diagnosis to prevention. Dermatol Clin 1998, 16: 747-56.
Perenboom RM. Lymphogranuloma venereum proctitis: An emerging sexually transmitted disease in HIV-positive men in the Netherlands. Drugs Today (Barc) 2006;
42: Suppl : 43-5.
RKI: Infektionen durch Chlamydien - Stand des Wissens. Epid Bull 1997, 18: 121-2.
Schachter J, Grossman M, Sweet RL, Holt J, Jordan C, Bishop E. Prospective study of perinatal transmission of Chlamydia trachomatis. JAMA 1986, 255: 3374-7.
Genital ulcers (Ulcus molle, soft chancre,

chancroid)
Genital ulcers are caused by an infection by Haemophilus ducreyi. It is an endemic
infection found primarily in tropical or subtropical regions. Officially, less than 100
cases per year were diagnosed in Germany in the years 1999 to 2004 (Health Report
of the Federal Government in 2006). However, the estimated number of unknown
cases is presumably higher.
Clinical Course
Usually, the incubation period is 2 to 7 days causing one or more frayed-looking
ulcers at the entry location, mostly in genitourinary or perianal locations. These ulcers are not indurated (soft chancre) but characteristically cause severe pain. In about
half of the patients the regional lymph nodes are swollen resembling the
lymphogranuloma venereum, mainly unilateral and very painful. Balanitis, phimosis
or paraphimosis occur less frequently.
544 Special Issues
Diagnosis
Due to the manifold symptoms partly resembling other ulcer-causing genital infections such as syphilis or even herpes simplex, a clinical diagnosis is difficult. Microscopy of ulcer smears may demonstrate gram-negative bacteria. But a purulent
punctate from affected inguinal lymph nodes offer more reliable results. Sometimes
a biopsy from the ulcer is necessary to distinguish it from a malignancy.
Therapy
It is recommended to give a single dose of 1000 mg azithromycin (Zithromax)
(Martin 1995). Alternative therapies are erythromycin (e.g., Erythrocin) 500 mg
QID for 4 to 7 days, or ciprofloxacin (e.g., Ciprobay) 500 mg BID for 3 days.
Lymph nodes that are severely swollen or in danger to burst open should not be split
but punctured for relief.
References
Gesundheitsberichterstattung des Bundes. http://www.gbe-bund.de/
Hammond GW, Slutchuk M, Scatliff J, et al. Epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory, and therapeutic features of an urban outbreak of chancroid in North America. Rev Infect
Dis 1980, 2: 867-79.
King R, Choudhri SH, Nasio J, et al. Clinical and in situ cellular responses to Haemophilus ducreyi in the presence or absence of HIV infection. Int J STD AIDS 1998, 9:
531-6.
King R, Gough J, Ronald A, et al. An immunohistochemical analysis of naturally occurring chancroid. J Infect Dis 1996, 174: 427-30.
Lewis DA. Chancroid: clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and management. Sex Transm Infect 2003, 79: 68-71.
Martin DH, Sargent SJ, Wendel GD Jr, et al. Comparison of azithromycin and ceftriaxone for the treatment of chancroid. Clin Inf Dis 1995, 21: 409-14.
Ronald AR, Plummer FA. Chancroid and Haemophilus ducreyi. Ann Intern Med 1985, 102: 705-7.
Condylomata acuminate (fig warts)

Human papillomavirus (HPV) exclusively infects epithelium cells and are one of the
most frequently transmitted viral infections in men as well as in women. It takes at
least 3 weeks from the incubation period to the clinical manifestation, but may also
take months or years. Even a transmission via smear infection or contaminated objects is possible. Besides sex and smoking, immune deficiency and other diseases in
the genito-anal region are the main risk factors for a HPV infection. In general HPV
infections are seen more often in HIV infected patients. The numerous different HPV
subtypes may cause infections in the anogenital region in patients older than 20. HIV
patients suffer very often from genito-anal coinfections with various oncogene highrisk HPV subtypes. In recent years an increase of HPV-caused benign fig warts is
observed despite ART as well as intraepithelial neoplasms and carcinoma, both cervical and anal (www.uni-duesseldorf.de /AWMF/II/059-001.htm).
Clinical Course
Most HPV infections are asymptomatic or subclinical. Even symptomatic HPV infections may end with a spontaneous remission. The most frequently diagnosed
manifestation of sexually transmitted HPV infections are genito-anal warts as well as
giant condyloma or carcinoma. In HIV infected patients, the risk for persistent HPV
infections is seven times higher and correlates inversely with the CD4 T cell count
(Piketty 2003). In HIV infected patients, HPV infections are more often symptomatic
and chronic. In addition, the risk of relapse is considerably higher than in noninfected patients, even after treatment. Malignant degeneration is the most important
complication involving the high-risk HPV subtypes.
545
Condylomata acuminata is usually caused by HPV 6 or HPV 11, so-called low-risk

HPV types, which do not tend to degenerate malignantly: genito-anal carcinoma
rarely develops.
Therefore, fig warts are not inevitably the beginning of genito-anal intraepithelial
neoplasms and carcinoma but it is difficult to differentiate between them. Besides the
preferred localization in genital as well as peri- and intra-anal regions, fig warts may
also occur enorally and in the urethra. Most asymptomatic condyloma affect the sexual life of patients and may cause hygiene and psychogenic problems. Pruritus, burning or bleeding are rare and are generally caused by mechanical stress.
Diagnosis
Condylomata acuminata is a clinical diagnosis. An exploratory biopsy is recommended before therapy starts to differentiate it from any malignancy. In case of therapy resistance, early relapse or a fast or infiltrating growth an exploratory biopsy is
imperative. Meanwhile, cytologic examination of microscopic preparations (smear
tests)are done in order to differentiate it from preliminary cervical or anal carcinoma.
However, the sensitivity and specificity of these tests are still not sufficient. Specialized centers offer the High Resolution Anoscopy as a gold standard, which improves the test results of peri- and intra-anal inspections with regard to necessary
exploratory biopsies, especially after the application of acetic acid (3 per cent mucosa, 5 per cent skin) and an additional staining with Lygols solution. This method
is also appropriate to determine the HPV subtype in order to differentiate between
high- and low-risk types. Today this procedure is instrumental in gynecology with
regard to controversial histologies. The determination of subtypes is still not a routine diagnostic method and only plays a subordinate role in therapy decisions
(Ledger 2000).
Just like women, HIV-infected men, mainly those suffering from condyloma anamnesis, should have a proctological follow-up at least once a year (Chiao 2006, Scott
2008, Wexler 2008, Jamieson 2006). To avoid fatal tumor growth and mutilating
operations (rectum amputation, anus praeter, etc) it is recommended to do thorough
genito-anal inspections and regular proctological exams by means of high resolution
anoscopy with cytological smears and exploratory excision, which are timely and
specific (Kreuter 2003, Pindea 2008). Rectal palpation and external inspection of the
anogenital regions are not sufficient as a preventive medical checkup for HIVinfected patients. Should an anal carcinoma be palpable, it has, in general, already
extensively progressed. Until today, there are no good reports on how often intraanal, HPV-associated lesions are isolated without involving the external genito-anal
regions. Nowadays there are surveys trying to find out how often colcoscopic and
proctoscopic exams should be offered in addition to the routine genito-anal palpations and inspections, and exactly which patients should be examined.
Therapy
Until now there is no satisfying therapy for Condylomata acuminata. Relapses still
occur frequently even after adequate treatment in immune competent HIV-negative
patients (40-60%). However, therapy delays (watch & wait) should be avoided and
all clinically striking findings should be removed at an early stage even at the risk of
operating multiple times. Therapy includes the most complete operative removal
546 Special Issues

possible with histological follow-up of the nature of the tumor and its invasive depth.
Besides surgical excision, electrosurgery, the condyloma may be removed by means
of laser surgery, infrared coagulation, caustica (trichloracetic or podophyllo-toxin) or
cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen (high healing effect initially high relapse risk). In
clinical practice, attending physicians often try to reduce the high relapse risk by an
adjuvant local immune therapy with Imiquimod (Aldara) cream or Interferon-beta.
Both agents are expensive and a local therapy takes time (at least 3 months). Imiquimod is licensed for the topical treatment of HPV-associated lesions, and may be
successfully used as the sole therapy for flat, less hyperkeratotic condyloma (Kreuter
2008). There are formulas for Imiquimod-containing suppositories (off-label). However, the treatment period takes several weeks without surgical intervention, often
complicated by compliance-reducing side effects such as inflammation, pruritus and
burning. Condyloma may also be systemically treated with interferon (There are often problems with health insurance due to a low success rate at the intial stage - 31%,
although there are reports of a significantly lower relapse rate in comparison to destructive therapies). While various vaccines have been successfully used as prophylaxis for infections caused by certain HPV-subtypes (HPV 6, 11, 16, 18), there is still
no progress in the development of an effective therapeutic vaccination against symptomatic HPV infections.
References
Chiao EY, Giordano TP, Palefsky JM, Tyring S, El Serag H. Screening HIV-infected individuals for anal cancer precursor lesions: a systematic review. Clin Infect Dis
2006; 43: 223-33.
Cusini M, Salmaso F, Zerboni R et al. 5% Imiquimod cream for external anogenital warts in HIV-infected patients under HAART therapy. Int J STD AIDS 2004; 15:1720.
Gross G, Von Krogh G. Human Papillomavirus Infections in Dermatovenereology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, New York, London, Tokyo (1997).
Hagensee ME, Cameron JE, Leigh JE et al. Human papillomavirus infection and disease in HIV-infected individuals. Am J Med Sci 2004; 328: 57-63.
Jamieson DJ, Paramsothy P, Cu-Uvin S, Duerr A, HIV Epidemiology Research Study Group. Vulvar, vaginal, and perianal intraepithelial neoplasia in women with or at
risk for human immunodeficiency virus. Obstet Gynecol 2006; 107: 1023-8.
Karlsson R, Jonsson M, Edlund K, et al: Lifetime number of partners as the only independent risk factor for human papillomavirus-infection: a population based study.
Sex Transm Dis 1995, 22: 119-26.
Koutsky L. Epidemiology of genital human papillomavirus infection Am J Med 1997; 102: 3-8.
Kovach BT, Stasko T. Use of topical immunomodulators in organ transplant recipients. Dermatol Ther 2005; 18:19-27.
Kreuter A, Reimann G, Esser S, et al. Screening and therapy of anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) and anal carcinoma in patients with HIV-infection. DMW 2003,
128:1957-62.
Kreuter A, Potthoff A, Brockmeyer NH, et al. Imiquimod leads to a decrease of human papillomavirus DNA and to a sustained clearance of anal intraepithelial neoplasia
in HIV-infected men. J Invest Dermatol 2008, 128:2078-83.
Ledger WJ, Jeremias J, Witkin SS. Testing for high-risk human papillomavirus types will become a standard of clinical care. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2000; 182: 860-65.
Leitlinien fr Diagnostik und Therapie, Deutsche STD-Gesellschaft (DSTDG). Condylomata acuminata und andere HPV-assoziierte Krankheitsbilder des Genitale und
der Harnrhre; 2000. http://www.uni-duesseldorf.de/AWMF/ll/059-001.htm
Manzione CR, Nadal SR, Calore EE. Postoperative follow-up of anal condylomata acuminata in HIV-positive patients. Dis Col Rect 2003; 46:1358-65.
Maw R. Comparing Guidelines for the management of anogenital warts. Sex Transm Infect 2000; 76: 153.
Palefsky JM, Holly EA, Efirdc JT, et al. Anal intraepithelial neoplasia in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era among HIV-positive men who have sex with men.
AIDS 2005, 19:1407-14.
Pineda CE, Berry JM, Jay N, Palefsky JM, Welton ML. High-resolution anoscopy targeted surgical destruction of anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions: a
ten-year experience. Dis Colon Rectum 2008, 51:829-35; discussion 835-7.
Scott H, Khoury J, Moore BA, Weissman S. Routine anal cytology screening for anal squamous intraepithelial lesions in an urban HIV Clinic. Sex Transm Dis 2008,
35:197-202.
Von Krogh G, Lacey CJN, Gross G, Barrasso R, Schneider A. European Course on HPV-Associated Pathology: Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of
anogenital warts. Sex Transm Inf 2000, 76: 162-8.
Wexler A, Berson AM, Goldstone SE, et al. Invasive anal squamous-cell carcinoma in the HIV-positive patient: outcome in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy.
Dis Colon Rectum 2008;51:73-81.
547
24. HIV-associated Skin and

Mucocutaneous Diseases
Stefan Esser, Helmut Schoefer, Falk Ochsendorf
Introduction
In comparison to the general population HIV-infected patients develop skin diseases more often. Skin and mucocutaneous diseases are important at the first diagnosis of HIV-infection and in determining the clinical stage of the patient. In 10%
of the cases, the first diagnosis of HIV infection is based on diseases of the skin and
the mucous membranes.
The spectrum of HIV-associated dermatoses has dramatically changed with ART in
recent years. KS (Friedman-Kien 1981), OIs of the skin (e.g., the rodent ulcer herpes simplex infections) and the mucous membranes (e.g., Candida infections) have
been observed as marker diseases of acquired immunodeficiency. Almost any HIVassociated or AIDS-defined disease can be manifested on the skin and mucous
membranes before other symptoms appear. The broad spectrum comprises infections from viruses, fungi and bacteria as well as protozoa and parasites (Gottlieb
1981, Siegal 1981, Schfer 1991, Schfer 1999). KS and OIs have been reduced by
the increasing application of ART in industrial countries, whereas the side effects
and incompatibilities with drugs, virus- and UV-associated epithelial tumors as well
as other STDs in HIV infected patients are rising (Costner 1998, Sepkowitz 1998,
Kreuter 2002, Calista 2002). HIV infected patients should, therefore, have regular
dermatologic screening tests and treatment.
Skin and the mucous membranes are independent organs of the immune system. An
immunodeficiency allows even harmless saprophytes on the body surface and follicle openings to penetrate into deeper tissue layers, and thus develop life-threatening
infections. An increase in wound infections and pyodermia, as well as in clinically
relevant methicilline-resistant infections have been seen in HIV-positive patients
(Burkey 2008). In addition to common dermatoses (e.g., oral candidosis, herpes
zoster, seborrheic dermatitis) other diseases that rarely or never have been reported
have been diagnosed in progressive immunodeficiency (cutaneous cryptococcosis,
bacterial angiomatosis, oral hairy leukoplakia, Penicillium marneffei infections).
In tropical and subtropical regions, STDs like herpes genitalis, chancroid (ulcus
molle) and other ulcerating diseases occurring on the genitals play a decisive role in
spreading HIV. Syphilis and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) are experiencing a
renaissance in Europe. Homosexual men are the main carriers in this epidemic.
Since 2000, the number of male syphilis patients in big cities has grown tremendously. In Germany, in 45% of newly registered syphilis infections, an HIV infection is diagnosed at the same time (RKI 2008). Every syphilis patient should also be
tested for HIV (be aware of the varying incubation periods). In addition, there
should be regular monitoring of the syphilis serology in HIV patients (reinfections/re-activations). Safer sex today seems to be less important and in a lot of
cases the persons concerned have no knowledge of infection and transmission risks
with regard to syphilis and other classic STDs. Circumcisions decrease the risk of
548 Special Issues

sexual transmission of HIV infections (Warner 2009) and genital HIV infections
(Giuliano 2009) for men but the best protection is the use of condoms.
The immune system protects the skin and the mucous membranes against the development of various malignant tumors (Schfer 1998). Oncogen viruses plus immunodeficiency increase the ratio of a lot of neoplasias in HIV-infected patients.
Some of these are KS (HHV-8), NHL (EBV, HHV-8) as well as cervical and anal
carcinoma (HPV types, especially HPV-16 and -18) (Esser 1998). In HIV patients,
younger people appear more at risk from cancer (Mitsuyasu 2008). The longer a
cellular immunodeficiency exists, the more likely epithelial tumors will develop
that affect the skin and the mucous membrane (basal cell carcinomas, cutaneous
and mucocutaneous squamous cell carcinomas). This is also true for malignant
melanomas. Despite ART, the high incidence of HPV-associated diseases is increasing. Due to an increasing incidence of anal carcinomas, regular proctological
examinations are recommended in addition to the existing colposcopic controls,
especially for HIV-infected MSM with known condylomata acuminata (Kreuter
2003). Avoiding risk factors and going for regular checkups may help to prevent the
above infections. Precancer of the skin and the mucous membranes are easily accessible and should be removed at an early stage.
Knowledge of diagnosis and therapy of HIV-associated dermatoses is interdisciplinary and indispensable for an efficient treatment of HIV-infected patients.
Dermatological examination and therapy in HIVinfected patients

Inspection of the whole skin surface, the mucous membranes of the mouth, the
genitals, the anal region as well as palpation of the lymph nodes can be done without any special efforts or expense. But even for an experienced physician, diagnostic and therapeutic problems might arise when examining HIV-infected patients
because the clinical picture may differ from textbook knowledge. Skin and mucocutaneous diseases often show an unusual, more serious, faster and therapy-refractory
clinical course. The spectrum of causes of an infection may vary considerably from
HIV-negative patients. The coexistence of several infections is distinctive of a serious immunodeficiency. Therefore, it is important to do multiple exams before starting therapy. In case of inconclusive test results punch biopsies should be done to
obtain histological reports.
Standard treatment of the skin and the mucous membranes might come back negative in HIV-positive patients. The main reasons for this are an advanced immunodeficiency as well as resistance. In such cases, a higher dose over a longer period of
time should be given, keeping in mind possible toxic side effects (Osborne 2003).
Interactions, e.g., with azole-antimycotica or aromatic retinoids, should be considered regarding patients on ART. Immunosuppressive therapies should be applied
cautiously, and only for a short period of time. UV treatment (e.g., PUVA therapy
for psoriasis) should be considered carefully and closely supervised when used as
viral infections may potentially be provoked, malignant tumors induced and the
HIV viral load increased. On the other hand, good therapy results of the UVB
311nm photo therapy in therapy-refractory itching papular dermatoses has been
observed without showing a deterioration of the immunological situation in individual cases. Diagnostics and therapy can require the whole repertoire of a clinical
HIV-associated Skin and Mucocutaneous Diseases
549
center primarily specialized in infectious diseases as well as the interdisciplinary

cooperation of different expert groups.
ART: Influence on skin and mucocutaneous diseases

Approximately 25 antiretroviral agents have been licensed. Against the background
of a life-long treatment, ART-associated side effects are of decisive importance for
prognosis, in particular regarding the skin and the mucosa. Regarding exanthemas,
the differentiation of a drug reaction from other causes, e.g., an immune reconstitution syndrome, syphilis or viral exanthema presents a big challenge. The identification of the agent as the cause of exanthemas is often difficult in patients on multiple
treatments.
The typical side effects of NNRTIs are drug exanthema. Lipoatrophy can develop
on with the NRTIs, whereas lipohypertrophies are observed with PIs (Carr 1998,
Carr 2000). These disorders of adipose tissue are often stigmatizing. But before
considering a different medication or operative measure for treatment, a different
ART regimen may be a possibility. The resistance level, comorbidities and possible
interactions should all be taken into consideration.
550 Special Issues
Appendix: Frequent HIV-associated skin diseases

Acute HIV exanthema: In 40-90% of all patients infected with the HIV-1 virus, an
acute, febrile, mononucleosis-like disease with constitutional symptoms and an exanthema occurs (see chapter on Acute HIV-1 Infection). This nonspecific eruption
starts 1 to 3 weeks after HIV transmission, and several weeks before HIV seroconversion. The macular exanthema favors the upper trunk and is characterized as
fairly non-pruritic with erythematous macules from 0.5 to 1 cm in diameter. Morbilliform or rubella-like eruptions and palmoplantar hyperkeratotic eczema occur less
frequently. Histopathology reveals a non-specific perivascular and interstitial infiltrate in the upper- and mid-dermis (Barnadas 1997). Oral aphthous ulcers frequently
in combination with shallow genital ulcers (bipolar aphthosis) are another important
clinical symptom (Hulsebosch 1990, Porras-Luque 1998). Differential diagnosis
includes viral infections (EBV, CMV), Mediterranean spotted fever (Segura 2002),
secondary syphilis, drug eruptions (Hecht 2002, Daar 2001) and Behcets disease.
Aphthous ulcers: At least three different kinds of aphthous ulcers occur in the oral
cavity of HIV-infected patients. The most frequent diagnosis is recurrent aphthous
stomatitis (canker sores) (1) with single or few painful lesions usually localized in
the vestibule of the mouth. The ulcers occur at sites of mechanical injuries, are 3 to
10 mm in diameter and heal spontaneously after a few days. Single or multiple
large aphthae (2) which are > 1 cm in diameter and usually persist for several weeks
are less common. Both variants are of unknown origin (Rogers 1997). In a few
cases, especially when multiple small lesions occur, herpes simplex viruses can be
involved. Large ulcers in combination with severe immunodeficiency can be caused
by cytomegaloviruses, which are usually part of a generalized CMV infection. Bipolar aphthosis (3) involving the oral and genital mucosal membranes is an important clinical symptom of acute HIV infection or Behcets disease. In addition to
these clinical variants of aphthous ulcers several authors have discussed the direct
role of HIV retroviruses in aphthous stomatitis (Kerr 2003). The treatment of recurrent aphthosis is based upon topical anesthetics, and corticosteroids. Large persistent aphthae can require intralesional corticosteroids or systemic prednisone. Immunomodulators such as thalidomide are suggested for use as prophylaxis in patients with frequent and painful recurrences.
Folliculitis: pustular, papular or edematous-papular follicular lesions, involving the
proximal limbs and the upper trunk. Possible causes include Staphylococcus,
Malassezia furfur, Demodex folliculorum and drugs such as indinavir. Treatment
depends on the etiologic agent detected by bacterial swabs and histopathology if
needed. Antimicrobials against staphylococcus, and malassezia or changing the
antiretroviral drug regimen may be required. DADPS, a 10% crotamiton or polidocanol ointment or low-dose UV-311nm radiation are effective against severe pruritus in these patients (Holmes 2001, Simpson-Dent 1999). Today, it is wellestablished that HAART-naive patients with pruritic eosinophilic folliculitis significantly improve after starting ARVs.
551
Genital warts (condylomata acuminata): Genital warts are hyperkeratotic and

verrucous papules of the anogenital region caused by human papilloma viruses
(HPV 6, 11, 16, 18, etc.) and are sexually transmitted. HIV-infected patients have a
high prevalence of these lesions (17%), which depends on the number of sexual
partners. Genital warts located in the perianal or intra-anal region are characteristic
of receptive anal intercourse. Patients who have anogenital warts, should be offered
HIV testing, especially if they have other HIV risk factors.
In general, the clinical manifestations of common genital warts in immunodeficient
patients do not differ from those in immunocompetent patients. They are diagnosed
by their typical clinical features as condyloma acuminata, condyloma plana, bowenoid papulosis, Bowens disease and giant condyloma (Buschke-Loewenstein tumor). In contrast to the findings in the immunocompetent population, HPV 16associated lesions, such as bowenoid papulosis and Bowens disease, which are
now classified as anal intraepithelial neoplasias (AIN I-III including the erythroplasia of Queyrat), are more prevalent in immunodeficient patients. These premalignant conditions have a low rate of spontaneous remission and are very resistant to
therapy (frequent relapses). It is now accepted that genitoanal lesions due to oncogenic HPV types, especially HPV 16 and 18, are substantial risk factors for malignant cervical, penile, and anal carcinomas (Palefsky 1998). HPV 16 and 18 are able
to immortalize human keratinocytes by down-regulating the tumor suppressor genes
p53 and pRB. The transformation rate to malignant carcinomas is low in bowenoid
papulosis, but almost 30% in Bowens disease, which is rated as a carcinoma in
situ. In contrast to the beneficial effects of ART on the incidence and the clinical
course of Kaposi sarcoma and NHL, there is no clear impact on cervical or anal
carcinoma. The incidence of these tumors is still increasing. Analogous to cervical
intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer in women, regular screening
(every 2 to 3 years) for AIN and anal carcinoma is advised for all HIV-infected
patients on HAART (Papathanasiou 2003). Screening should include clinical inspection, aceto-white-stain, colposcopy, proctoscopy, cytology (Pap smear) and, if
necessary, histopathology (Horster 2003). Clear margins should be the goal of
treatment.
The typical treatment for anogenital warts is destruction by cryosurgery, electrocautery, carbon dioxide, Nd-YAG laser, trichloroacetic acid, or podophyllotoxin. CIN,
PIN and AIN are treated surgically with histological control of the excision edges to
ensure complete removal of the lesion.
All the destructive treatments have disadvantages. Since virus-harboring keratinocytes can remain in the clinically normal surrounding tissue, relapses are as frequent as 50% in immunocompetent patients and in up to 70% in immunodeficient
patients within 4 months. Alternative immunomodulatory therapies such as systemic and topical interferons, have shown some efficacy but the outcomes of the
studies were closely related to the different treatment regimens and the cost of therapy was extremely high. Topical interferon (IFN-gel with 0.15 Mio IU/g) was only
effective in very small warts and as an adjuvant after surgery. The relapse rate
could be reduced by almost 50%.
The immune response modifier imiquimod has been approved for the treatment of
genital warts since 1998. As demonstrated in several controlled studies (Edwards
1998, Gollnik 2001, Cusini 2004) imiquimod treatment is safe and effective and has
the lowest relapse rate of all treatments (6-13% in immunocompetent patients).
552 Special Issues

Imiquimod is not approved for the treatment of anogenital warts in immunodeficient patients and intraepithelial neoplasias but results of several successful treatments of genital warts (Cusini 2004), bowenoid papulosis and Bowens disease in
HIV-infected patients have been published (Kreuter 2004, Klencke 2003, Cooley
2003). The only antiviral agent active against HPV is cidofovir but there is little
experience in HIV-infected patients (Snoeck 2001).
Tinea (dermatophytosis, ringworm infections): Infections of the skin, hair or nails
with dermatophytes (in Western Europe predominantly Trichophyton, Microsporum
and Epidermophyton species). Tinea has a high prevalence in the general population. There is no significant difference between HIV-negative and HIV-infected
adults. The prevalence is dependent upon climate, profession, clothing, and participation in team sports. Typical clinical findings are superficial, scaling, round or
oval erythematous plaques that expand centrifugally with an inflammatory edge and
central clearance. Deep infections with tissue destruction and abscess formation are
rare in Europe and North America but common in tropical regions. According to
Torssander (1988) onychomycosis due to dermatophytes is frequent in ART-naive
patients and difficult to treat. Nails are discolored (white, yellow, green, black),
thickened and show growth disturbances (onychodystrophy). Subungual hyperkeratosis and onycholysis are common.
Psoriasis, yeast infections and trauma can imitate onychomycosis so it is necessary
to identify the causative organisms on KOH and fungal culture. Direct microscopic
examination with addition of 10-15% KOH solution shows translucent, septated
hyphae (mycelium) and arthrospores. Culture on Sabourauds or Kimmigs medium
identifies different fungi by their growth characteristics.
Treatment of superficial fungal infections of the skin is best achieved with topical
broad spectrum antifungals such as ciclopirox or -azoles applied twice daily. In
severe inflammatory disease it is helpful to start with combination therapy including topical corticosteroids for 3 or 4 days to achieve quick relief. Deep infections
and infections involving terminal hairs (tinea capitis, tinea barbae) require systemic
treatment with griseofulvin (500-1000 mg/day), terbinafine (250 mg/day), fluconazole (50 mg/day), or itraconazole (100-400 mg/day) (Elewski 2001, Millikan 2001).
There are different regimens to treat onychomycosis. Itraconazole and terbinafine
are typically used for two months for fingernails and three months for toenails.
Griseofulvin may be used for up to 9 months or longer, until the infection clears
(Aly 1996, Myskowski 1997, Torssander 1988). If only the distal part of the nail
plate is infected topical treatment with nail varnish containing antifungals, which
are able to penetrate the nail plate, are advised to avoid drug interactions between
systemic antifungals and antiretroviral medications (see chapter on Drug Profiles).
If systemic therapy is necessary, fluconazole has less drug interactions in HIVinfected patients than the other antifungals mentioned.
Herpes simplex virus / Herpes zoster infections: see AIDS chapter.
Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS)-related skin reactions:
ART recovers the TH-1 immune response and the tuberculin test reactivity (Girardi
2002). In association with this immune reconstitution clinical manifestations of
herpes zoster, mucocutaneous herpes simplex infections, mycobacterial infections,
553
eosinophilic folliculitis, foreign-body granulomas and cutaneous sarcoidosis have

been reported (Handa 2001, Hirsch 2004). These infectious, as well as some noninfectious inflammatory skin diseases, occur within a few days to 3 months after the
initiation of ART. The therapy depends on the severity of clinical manifestations
and consists of specific antibiotics, steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (see chapter on IRIS).
Kaposi sarcoma: the most frequent malignant tumor of the skin and mucosal
membranes associated with HIV infection (see chapter on Kaposi sarcoma).
Lipodystrophy: See chapter on Lipodystrophy syndrome.
Malignant cutaneous lymphomas: Malignant B and T cell lymphomas are rare in
HIV-infected patients (Beylot-Barry 1999, Biggar 2001). Cutaneous B cell lymphomas usually grow as red to violaceous nodules and are easily mistaken for Kaposi sarcoma. They can also look like persistent hematoma or non-specific asymptomatic papules. A biopsy should be performed on any clinically unclear tumor of
the skin. Cutaneous T cell lymphomas are rare malignancies in HIV-infected patients. The prevalence among 2,149 HIV patients in Frankfurt was 0.06%. The
clinical course starts with non-specific eczematous patches (Stage I), which are
usually not diagnosed as cutaneous lymphoma even after several biopsies because
of the paucity of findings such as cellular atypia. These lesions are usually diagnosed as eczematous dermatitis. A linear pattern of patchy or slightly infiltrated
lesions in the relaxed skin tension lines can be an early clinical indication of cutaneous T cell lymphoma known as parapsoriasis (Munoz-Peres 1999). Histopathology becomes more evident during the plaque stage (Stage II), and is striking when
in Stage III multiple tumors of the mycosis fungoides present. Biggar (2001) calculated a relative risk for cutaneous T cell lymphomas in HIV infected patients of
15.0 in comparison to the general population. The leukemic phase (Szary syndrome) is characterized by erythroderma involving the palms and soles. In patients
with erythroderma who have darker skin types and lack the histopathological signs
of cutaneous T cell lymphoma the so-called pseudo-Szary syndrome has to be considered in the differential diagnosis (Picard-Dahan 1996). Therapy with potent topical steroids (e.g., clobetasol) is effective in the patch and plaque stages. Solitary
tumors can be controlled by radiotherapy (20-24 Gy) or photodynamic therapy
(Paech 2002). Widespread, multiple tumors, and Szary syndrome are treated with a
combination of retinoids and interferons or chemotherapy. Recently, remission of a
CD8-positive pseudolymphoma treated solely with ART was reported (Schartz
2003).
Molluscum contagiosum: This is a benign viral infection of the skin usually seen
in children and often in association with atopic dermatitis. The pox virus causes
multiple papular skin-colored lesions with a typical central umbilication. The diagnosis is usually made on clinical grounds. After several weeks or months, an inflammatory reaction indicates the onset of spontaneous healing. In adults, mollusca
are detected in the anogenital area and regarded as a sexually transmitted disease
(Agromajor 2002). In HIV-infected patients, the clinical manifestations can differ
significantly from those seen in the normal host. Spontaneous healing is rare; most
patients have high numbers of lesions, typically occurring in the face and neck re-
554 Special Issues

gion, which otherwise is a rare location. The presence of multiple mollusca on the
face is a typical disease marker indicating advanced cell-mediated immunodeficiency (CD4 T cell count < 100/l) (Schfer 1991, Schwartz 1992). The growth of
mollusca in the immunocompromised host is not always exophytic, sometimes
endophytic lesions occur. Multiple mollusca have to be differentiated from hematogenous dissemination of cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis and coccidioidomycosis,
which are usually associated with fever, headache and sometimes pulmonary infiltrates. In such cases, skin biopsies (and tissue culture) and chest x-rays are indicated. Single molluscum can exceed 1 cm in diameter and grow exophytically,
which can cause confusion with keratoacanthoma, squamous cell carcinoma, basal
cell carcinoma or common warts.
Mollusca are treated surgically with a special type of forceps, electrocautery, curettage or with liquid nitrogen. Recently, photodynamic therapy with 5-aminolevulinic
acid (Moiin 2003) and imiquimod 5% cream were effective as well (Hengge 2000,
Calista 1999, Calista 2000, Liota 2000, Smith 2002). Imiquimod is applied by the
patient 3x/week (off-label). An inflammatory reaction (erythema) occurring after 3
to 4 weeks of topical treatment indicates the beginning of the immune reaction,
which leads to complete resolution of the mollusca after 6-8 weeks.
Oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL): is a clinical manifestation of Epstein-Barr virus
infection, which is almost exclusively found in patients with untreated advanced
HIV disease. Non-cytolytic viral replication in the glossal epithelium, especially in
the lateral parts of the tongue, leads to asymptomatic white verrucous plaques that
do not rub off. OHL is diagnosed on clinical findings; initially parallel white or
grayish hyperkeratotic rows arranged vertically on the lateral aspects of the tongue
are characteristic. Unilateral lesions are possible, but bilateral occurrence of several
plaques is more typical. Important differential diagnoses include other leukoplakias,
lichen planus mucosae and oral candidiasis (Patton 2002, Cherry-Peppers 2003). If
the diagnosis is in doubt, a biopsy or cytology can confirm the diagnosis. As the
lesions will respond to antiviral drugs such as acyclovir, gancyclovir, or foscarnet
(Walling 2003) but not antifungals, treatment can be used as a diagnostic tool to
distinguish OHL from candidiasis. Both diseases however respond well on ART,
which has led to a significant decrease of these oral diseases since ART was introduced (Triantos 1997, Ramirez-Amador 2003).
Pruritus: Chronic, often unremitting pruritus is one of the most frequent clinical
symptoms of HIV infection. One in three patients is affected. Etiology remains unclear in most patients, and therefore only symptomatic treatment can be offered
which may be unsatisfying (Moses 2003, Singh 2003). Pruritus in HIV-infected
patients can be a complication of infectious diseases. Viral, bacterial, and fungal
infections (e.g., Malassezia furfur folliculitis) and scabies can cause severe itching.
Also, dry eczematous skin (xerosis), papulosquamous skin diseases, systemic lymphomas, renal insufficiency and hepatic disease are causative conditions. Finally,
many antiretroviral and other drugs given to the HIV-infected patient can cause
pruritus (with or without rash).
To diagnose idiopathic pruritus it is necessary to exclude all skin and systemic diseases mentioned above. In patients on ART it can be useful to change the treatment
regimen. Systemic antihistamines and topical corticosteroids are symptomatic
555
treatment standards. If they are ineffective, or a prolonged systemic treatment is

necessary, phototherapy (UVA-1, UVB-311nm) or photochemotherapy (PUVA) is
an alternative or adjuvant therapy (Smith 1997, Gelfand 2001, Zirwas 2001, Singh
2003). Concerning the immunosuppressive effects of ultraviolet light, it seems that
patients on HAART are at less risk.
Papular dermatoses: Patients can present either with monomorphic skin colored to
red papules (size 25 mm) or with combined eruptions consisting of papules and
pustules (sterile eosinophilic pustulosis, Ofujis disease). There is no special predilection for any site. The etiology of papular eruptions is heterogeneous. According
to the clinical presentation and laboratory findings (elevation of IgE, eosinophilia in
peripheral blood and affected skin) they resemble the prurigo of atopic dermatitis
found in adults. Autoimmune reactions against follicular antigens have also been
discussed (eosinophilic folliculicits) (Fearfield 1999). These papules can be due to a
hypersensitivity reaction to drugs, microbiological agents (viruses, bacteria, fungi),
parasites or saprophytes (Sarcoptes scabiei, Demodex folliculorum, Pityrosporum
ovale and others). A thorough history of drugs, microbiological and histological
examinations (including special stains such as PAS) are required for a correct diagnosis.
If possible, specific infectious agents are treated. In case of sterile eosinophilic pustulosis (Ojufis disease) or papular dermatosis of unknown origin therapy is symptomatic. Depending on the clinical situation, antihistamines, itraconazole (200 mg/d
for 2 weeks), isotretinoin, dapsone, mild PUVA or UVB (311= narrowband UVB is
the most effective therapy) or 5% permethrin cream can be tried (Ellis 2004). Topical tacrolimus (0.1%) has also been shown to be effective (Kawaguchi 2004).
Paronychia and ingrown nails: Ingrown toenails and inflammatory reactions of
the proximal nailfold are a well known complication in diabetics, but also in patients on beta-blockers, or retinoid therapy. A few cases might be due to local pressure (wrong shoes) or occur spontaneously. Patients on ART are the latest group of
patients to regularly develop ingrown nails. These are ascribed to retinoid-like side
effects of several antiretrovirals, especially indinavir, but also 3TC. Usually, the
great toenails are involved, but all other toenails and fingernails can be affected.
The therapy of choice in these patients is to replace indinavir or lamivudine with
other antiretrovirals. This has led to complete remission in several of our patients.
Surgical measures such as Emmert plasty or its modification after Hanneke, should
only be performed on patients in whom the exchange of ART medications has not
led to remission after 3 to 6 months (Tosti 1999, Alam 1999, Garcia-Silva 2002).
Psoriasis vulgaris: Today, psoriasis is regarded as an autoimmune disease and affects approximately 1% of the general population. It has multifactorial inheritance
with variable penetrance. Physical stimuli such as friction and UV light or endogenous factors such as infections, drugs, and stress may trigger psoriatic flares. When
HIV-infected persons are exposed to such factors, psoriasis may appear for the first
time or can be aggravated. The incidence of psoriasis has been reported to be between 2.5% (Braun-Falco 1988) and 4.9% (Schfer 1990). The use of antiretrovirals improves psoriasis.
556 Special Issues

Typical psoriatic plaques can be eruptive, guttate or chronic and stationary. Atypical findings include inverse localization on the palms or soles and in the genital
region and axillae, exudative, pustular or erythrodermic manifestations. In general,
the severity of psoriasis parallels the impairment of the immune system. Besides
infection, drugs have to be considered as possible triggers. In the final stages of
HIV infection, psoriasis can be generalized and extremely resistant to therapy. Alternatively, the disease may disappear completely.
The typical psoriatic plaque is a sharply demarcated, erythematous plaque covered
with silvery scales. Clinically and histologically, it may be difficult to differentiate
it from seborrheic dermatitis.
Triggering factors should be eliminated if possible. Treatment is more difficult if
the immune system is impaired. An antiretroviral therapy should be initiated or optimized. Localized lesions can be treated topically with corticosteroids, anthralins,
calcium-agonists (calcipotriol or tacalcitol) or the topical retinoid tazarotene. The
scalp and nails can be treated topically with corticosteroids. Generalized or exudative eruptions are usually treated systemically: acitretin (2575 mg/d) is not immunosuppressive. Methotrexate or cyclosporin are immunosuppressive and should be
avoided. In some cases, however, it is necessary to use them. AZT has a beneficial
effect on psoriasis, probably by improving the immune status. To treat refractory
psoriasis, experimental therapies such as cimetidine (400 mg 4x/d) have been tried
successfully.
The clinical relevance of immunosuppression by UV radiation is unknown. At present it is believed that phototherapy or photochemotherapy have no real detrimental
effect for HIV patients and that they are justifiable (Akarapathanth 1999, Schoppelrey 1999). These treatments are as effective as in patients without HIV infection.
UVB311 (=narrowband UVB) is well tolerated and effective. Broadband UVB is an
alternative. In case of treatment failure, photochemotherapy can be instituted (local
= bath or cream PUVA, or systemic PUVA). Interactions of the mentioned antipsoriatics with antiretroviral agents are unknown. Recently, several biologics have
been introduced for the therapy of psoriasis. These compounds specifically interact
with certain elements of the inflammatory cascade in psoriasis such as TNFalpha.
Up until now, only case reports can be found in the literature regarding treatment in
HIV-infected patients (Bartke 2004).
Reiters syndrome: Reiters syndrome is regarded as a variant of psoriasis in patients who carry HLA-B*27. This rare chronic-relapsing disease mainly affects
young men, the incidence being higher in HIV-infected men than in the general
population (0.6% to 6%) (Kaye 1989).
The classical triad consists of urethritis (sterile yellow urethral discharge), conjunctivitis (serous or purulent) and arthritis (mainly knee-, foot- or sacroiliac joints,
causing pain and leading to immobility). The triad can be found in about 30% of
patients. Furthermore, constitutional symptoms (attacks of fever, malaise, leukocytosis, elevated ESR) and skin lesions can be found. The skin lesions are characterized by erythema with sterile pustules on the palms and soles and later, hyperkeratotic, scaling, exudative lesions known as keratoderma blenorrhagicum. Psoriatic
plaques can be seen as well as the typical circinate balanitis presenting as crusting,
dessicated plaques in circumcised men and shallow, moist, serpiginous, painless
ulcers with slightly raised borders in uncircumcised men.
557
The diagnosis depends on the typical pattern of arthritis plus one or more of the
mentioned clinical symptoms. Gonorrhea or Chlamydia urethritis have to be excluded by microbiological methods. Psoriatic arthritis should have other clinical
signs of psoriasis (nail changes) and lacks fever.
Initially symptomatic therapy with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, or possibly corticosteroids (short-term, high-dose pulse-therapy) should be given.
Acitretin (25-75mg/d) in combination with topical fluorinated corticosteroids have
also shown to be effective. Alternatively, sulfasalazine has been used successfully.
Arthritis is also treated with oral gold. There is one report on the successful use of
infliximab in a patient with Reiters syndrome without negative effects on the HIV
viral load (Gaylis 2003).
Scabies: Scabies can be found worldwide; the prevalence varies from < 1% to 30%
depending on the socio-economic circumstances. Scabies is characterized by extreme pruritus, especially at night. In general, the clinical presentation does not differ from that seen in HIV-negative persons. In the interdigital areas volar sides of
the joints of the hands, breasts, axillae, periumbilical region, or penile shaft, fine red
burrows (S-shaped or straight lines) may be found. There may be a small papule or
vesicle at one end. Excoriations and/or secondary infections make the identification
of burrows difficult. Generalized eczematous eruption may be seen. Typically in the
groin or on the genitals red-brown pruritic nodules can be found. These scabies
granulomas can persist for months even after successful therapy.
In the case of severe cellular immunodeficiency crusted scabies or Norwegian scabies can occur. Besides HIV+ patients, persons with general physical or mental debilitation are affected. Over weeks or months, eczematous lesions covered with
asbestos-like crusts extend over large areas and the plaques can be mistaken for
psoriasis. Crusted scabies is extremely infectious and carries many more mites than
regular scabies up to 10,000 mites/g scales. The history of unremitting and intractable itching is suggestive of scabies. The diagnosis is made by the clinical picture
and proven by the demonstration of the mites, their ova, or fecal droppings in the
scales. On histology, the female mite can be seen in the stratum corneum.
A single application of permethrin 5% cream is performed (whole body application
from chin to toes, usually excluding the face; leave on skin for 8 hrs, then shower
off). In cases of crusted scabies, the scales have to be removed over several days
(salicylic ointments) and therapy has to be repeated over 34 days. Alternative
therapies are hexachlorocyclohexane (lindane), benzoylbenzoate, pyrethrumextracts
or allethrin/piperonyl butoxide, all applied for 3 days. It is important to treat all contact persons at the same time.
Linens and bed clothes have to be changed daily. Depending on the clinical presentation another treatment one week later is sometimes recommended (as a safetyday). In cases of severe immunodeficiency the scalp has to be treated too. If more
than 50% of the skin is affected or several recurrences have occurred a combination
of keratolytic/topical therapy against scabies and systemic treatment with ivermectin is recommended. Hygienic measures to prevent contact infections are extremely
critical. A single therapy with 2 tablets (6 mg each; or 200g/kg) is generally sufficient. Ivermectin is not licensed for this indication. There are no reports on complications after this therapy in HIV-infected patients (Dourmishev 1998).
558 Special Issues

Seborrheic dermatitis: The incidence in the general population is estimated to be
35% of all young men. The lipophilic yeast Malassezia furfur (formerly Pityrosporum ovale) is believed to be of pathogenetic relevance. Here the specific subtype
appears to be more important than the density of colonization. In HIV-infection 20
60% of people are affected depending on the immune status. Seborrheic dermatitis
appearing de novo or exacerbation of mild seborrheic dermatitis in a known HIVpositive patient could indicate conversion from a latency state to a symptomatic
state (Ippolito 2000).
Areas rich in sebaceous glands, such as the scalp, forehead, eyebrows, nasolabial
folds, over the sternum, between the shoulder blades, external ear canal and
retroauricular area, develop yellowish oily scales and crusts on mildly erythematous
to very red plaques. The lesions may be pruritic.
The clinical picture is typical in most cases. Differentiation from psoriasis may be
difficult both clinically and histologically. Initially other forms of eczema such as
allergic contact dermatitis and atopic dermatitis may have similar presentations.
Due to the pathogenic role of Pityrosporum ovale, topical antifungals such as ketoconazole cream, other topical imidazoles or triazoles, or alternatively selendisulfide,
metronidazole, and low-dose dithranol or lithium succinate- and zinc-sulfatecreams are used. For the scalp antimycotic shampoos, zinc pyrithione or tarcontaining products are used. In severe cases systemic antimycotics are given like
ketoconazole (200 mg OD), itraconazole (100 mg OD) or terbinafine (250 mg OD).
Syphilis: see chapter on HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
Xerosis/Dry skin: Dry skin is a very frequent complication of any kind of immunodeficiency. In the pre-HAART era, we diagnosed dry skin in one in three HIVinfected patients (Table 1). The patients complain of dry, itchy skin, which is exacerbated by any stimulus. Overall, these skin problems are very much like atopic
dermatitis (Rudikoff 2002) and can culminate in acquired ichthyosis. The prevalence of dry skin in HIV-infected patients decreases after the introduction of ART
but can sometimes be seen in patients on indinavir (Garcia-Silva 2000). Some years
ago, we showed that the lipid film of the skin surface has a different composition in
HIV-infected patients although not diminished in quantity (Semrau unpublished
data).
Dry itchy skin is treated with the application of emollients that contain 5 to 10%
urea, or 3 to 4% lactic acid, and dexpanthenol. Patients should be advised to take
maximum one shower every (other) day. 1 to 2 oil baths per week should be recommended. In cases with severe inflammation and fissures (eczema craquele) topical Class 3 or 4 corticosteroids are very helpful in reducing symptoms. They should
not be used for longer than 3 to 5 days.
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25. HIV-1-associated Encephalopathy and

Myelopathy
Christian Eggers and Thorsten Rosenkranz
HIV Encephalopathy
The primary cause of HIV encephalopathy (HIVE) is an infection of the CNS
caused by HIV. In HIVE there is a high level of replication of HIV in the macrophages and microglial cells of the brain. Neuronal cells have not consistently been
shown to be infected. However, different immunopathological mechanisms lead to
functional and structural damage of these cells. With respect to viral replication and
viral quasispecies the CNS is partially independent from the hematolymphatic compartment (Eggers 2003). Other terms used for this condition with largely the same
significance are AIDS dementia complex, AIDS/HIV dementia, and HIV-associated
cognitive motor complex. In 2007 an international panel on research nosology for
HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders introduced the new category of asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment (Antinori 2007).
In the pre-HAART era, some 15-20% of patients developed HIVE. Since then, the
incidence has decreased, but to a lesser extent than the incidence of extra-cerebral
AIDS manifestations (Dore 2003). As the life expectancy of HIV-infected individuals in the developed world comes close to that of the general population, the prevalence of HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment has risen to some 20 to 50%
(Sacktor 2002). HIVE is associated with a shortened survival (Sevigny 2007).
It is generally accepted that HIVE is a treatable condition. However, the extent and
sustainability of the effects of ART on cerebral function are still unclear. There is
accumulating evidence of chronically progressive and, at times, fluctuating neurocognitive impairment in patients on suppressive ART (Antinori 2007, Brew 2004).
A five-year longitudinal observation of treated patients with no cognitive impairment at baseline yielded stable cognitive function in the majority of patients (Cole
2007). Another study of treated subjects with initially low but increasing CD4 Tcell counts showed some improvement of cognitive function but this remained
worse than that of an HIV-negative control group (McCutchan 2007). Thus, the
severe HIVE manifestations are now rare in HIV infected subjects on ART (Price
2008). However, more subtle but, with regard to working performance, significant
dysfunction may be seen in everyday clinical practice, and it now occurs at earlier
stages of HIV-induced immunosuppression (Dore 2003, Sacktor 2001).
In the pre-HAART era the time course of the plasma viral load and the CD4 T cell
count were predictors of HIVE, but this has now changed. Longitudinal studies in
ART-treated subjects without dementia show low educational status, previous
AIDS, low nadir CD4 T cell counts, older age, and plasma levels of TNF-alpha and
MCP-1 as predictors in the development of HIVE (Robertson 2007, Bhaskaran
2008, Sevigny 2004).
The occurrence and/or persistence of HIVE despite effective suppression of plasma
viral replication might be associated with chronic immune activation, as suggested
by the finding of persistently elevated neopterin levels in the CSF (Eden 2007).
HIV-1-associated Encephalopathy and Myelopathy
563
This observation might suggest some uncoupling of mechanisms within the CNS
from those in the hematolymphatic compartments. Other known risk factors for the
development of HIVE are illicit drug use, certain polymorphisms in the TNF-alpha
and MCP-1 genes, and possibly, HCV coinfection.
More recently the development of severe HIVE with high levels of CSF viral load
was observed in ART-treated patients with well-suppressed plasma viral load.
Histopathologically numerous CD8-positive lymphocytes were found in the
perivascular spaces and the parenchyma, in part in close spatial association with
neurons. This condition may be interpreted as an immune reconstitution phenomenon directed against HIV itself (Venkataramana 2006).
Clinical manifestation
HIVE is considered to be a subcortical dementia. HIVE emerges over the course of
weeks and months. Acutely developing symptoms point to another etiology: fever,
exhaustion, the effects of tranquilizers and reduced physical condition, e.g., with
opportunistic infections present, may all mimic dementia. In these cases, diagnosis
of HIVE can only be made after repeated examinations when the condition mimicking dementia has improved.
Symptoms are occasionally noted earlier by relatives than by the patient. This is
why a history given by these persons is of utmost importance. Typical complaints
are slowing of reasoning, forgetfulness, difficulties concentrating, lack of energy,
mild depressive symptoms and emotional blunting (see Tables 1 and 2). Impairment
of alertness, neck stiffness and focal or lateralizing neurological signs (e.g., hemiparesis, aphasia) are not typical for HIVE. Psychotic symptoms without cognitive
or motor disturbance do not warrant a diagnosis of HIVE. The coincidence of psychosis with HIVE is rare. Focal and generalized epileptic seizures are rare manifestations of HIVE. The severity of HIVE may be functionally categorized according
to the Memorial Sloan Kettering scale (Table 3) (Price 1988).
564 Special Issues

Table 1: Symptoms of HIVE including history given by close relatives or companions
Cognition
Emotional
Motor
Autonomous
Forgetfulnes, difficulties concentrating, mental slowing (apprehension, processing)

Loss of drive and initiative, withdrawal from social activities, failure to manage the financial and administrative aspects of ones life. Depressive mood,
emotional blunting
Slowing and impairment of fine movements (e.g. typing, buttoning up), and
disturbance of gait
Impaired micturition (urgency), loss of sexual libido, erectile dysfunction
Table 2: Signs with HIV encephalopathy

Neurological
findings
Neuropsychological findings
Psychological
findings
Early stages: impaired gait, slowing of rapidly alternating movements,

hypomimia, occasionally tremor and short stepped gait
Later: brisk tendon reflexes, positive Babinski sign, slowing of gaze saccades, sphincter impairment including incontinence. Palmomental, grasp
and glabella reflexes. Occasionally accompanying polyneuropathy
In the terminal stages spastic tetraplegia and dual incontinence
Slowing of psychomotor speed (e.g. naming the months in reverse), impairment of short term memory (recall of verbally presented items, digit
span), and mental flexibility (spelling simple words backwards)
Early stages: emotional blunting, disappearance of strong personality
traits, distractability, loss of initiative
Later: problems with recalling events in the correct time order, disorientation to time, space and situation. Finally mutism
Table 3: Severity of HIVE

Stage 0:
Stage 0,5:
Stage 1:
Stage 2:
Stage 3:
Stage 4:
(normal) normal mental and motor function.

(equivocal/subclinical) no impairment of work or capacity to perform
activities of daily living (ADL); normal gait; slowing of ocular movements
and movements of extremities may be present
(mild) able to perform all but the more demanding aspects of work or
ADL, but with unequivocal signs or symptoms of functional, intellectual
or motor impairment; can walk without assistance
(moderate) able to perform basic activities of self-care, but cannot work
or maintain the more demanding aspects of daily life; able to walk, but
may require a single prop
(severe) major intellectual incapacity (cannot follow news or personal
events, cannot sustain complex conversation, considerable psychomotor slowing); motor disability (cannot walk without assistance, usually
manual slowing and clumsiness
(end stage) almost mutistic. Intellectual and social comprehension and
output are at a rudimentary level; almost or completely mute;
paraparetic or paraplegic with urinary and fecal incontinence
565
Diagnostic workup
Making an HIVE diagnosis requires a synopsis of clinical information and the results of laboratory tests. No laboratory test result on its own can warrant a diagnosis
of HIVE. Rather, the diagnosis requires the exclusion of other conditions (Table 3).
Clinically, the cognitive and psychological signs and symptoms are invariably accompanied by motor signs, although these may be subtle (Table 2). The HIV dementia scale (Morgan 2007) is an easy-to-use bedside instrument for the detection
and quantification of the cognitive impairment of HIVE.
Laboratory tests are mainly employed to exclude differential diagnoses. MRI
should be preferred to CT. The MRI often shows patchy, diffuse, hyperintense and
relatively symmetrical lesions in the white matter. These changes indicate leukoencephalopathy. In addition, atrophy with enlargement of the ventricles and the extraventricular CSF spaces may be seen. However, none of these findings are specific
for HIVE, and the disease may evolve with a normal MRI. Unlike in PML, the
white matter lesions do not affect the cortical U-fibers, i.e., they dont reach the
cortical ribbon. Edema and space occupying lesions are not typical for HIVE and
should raise suspicion of other conditions. There may be some faint, diffuse contrast enhancement symmetrically in the basal ganglia.
CSF analysis shows a normal to even decreased white cell count. In contrast, total
protein and albumin concentrations may be slightly elevated (blood-brain-barrier
disruption). Oligoclonal bands and increased IgG-index indicate autochthonous
immunoglobulin production within the CNS. However, these findings are nonspecific and are frequently present in the asymptomatic stages of HIV infection. In
patients with an at least partially effective antiviral treatment CSF pleocytosis may
be seen, suggesting an immunological response to HIV in the context of immune
reconstitution. While in the pre-HAART era there was a weak but statistically significant correlation of a higher CSF viral load with HIVE this association is no
longer true for individuals on ART (Mc Arthur 2004). The electroencephalogram
(EEG) shows no or only mild signs of generalized slowing. Moderate or severe
slowing or focal arrhythmic delta activity are atypical for HIVE.
Treatment
According to the pathogenesis of HIVE, treatment should aim at suppressing viral
replication in the CNS. This is an achievable goal, as evidenced by the reduction of
the viral load in the parenchyma and the CSF (Eggers 1999) and by the improvement of neurocognitive parameters (Price 1999).
ART may lead to significant clinical improvement of HIVE including restoration of
working ability in patients previously dependent on caregivers. During the first
months of treatment and despite clinical improvement, the radiological signs of
leukoencephalopathy may become more prominent, but eventually will regress over
the following one to two years.
It is largely unknown what antiviral compounds and in what combination these are
best suited for the treatment of HIVE. The extent of penetration into the CSF or the
brain parenchyma is generally assumed to be essential, and this view is supported
by findings of little suppression of the CSF viral load by regimens containing only
PIs (Gisolf 2000). The literature, however, provide conflicting results (Letendre
2008). Our own work showed no association between the CSF viral load and the
566 Special Issues

time course of CSF viral elimination with the measured CSF levels of the antiviral
agents (Eggers 2003). These diverging results are likely due to the differing methodology and the uncertainty of how to measure and define CNS penetration. With
regard to CNS concentration, Letendre (2008) categorized the antiviral agents: 0
(no CNS penetration), 0.5 (moderate penetration), and 1 (good CNS penetration).
Category 1 ARVs are: AZT, abacavir, nevirapine, delavirdine as well PIs
fosamprenavir/r, atazanavir/r, indinavir/r and lopinavir/r.
Category 0.5 ARVs are: d4T, 3TC, FTC, efavirenz and the non-boosted PIs
fosamprenavir, atazanavir and indinavir.
By adding the individual values for each single member of a given antiviral regimen, they arrive at a simple CNS penetration effectiveness score (CPE), and found
better suppression of CSF viral load with a higher CPE-rank score. 3TC reaches
higher concentration in the ventricular as opposed to the lumbar CSF, where antiviral agents are mainly measured (Eggers, unpublished observations). ART-induced
neurocognitive improvement correlates more closely with viral load suppression in
the CSF than in the plasma (Marra 2003). It is therefore recommended that antiviral
regimens contain at least one CNS-penetrating compound, and this is even more
important with symptomatic CNS involvement of HIV.
Further therapeutic principles have been conceived such as modulating the effect
and expression of cytokines. After yielding promising results in the pre-clinical
model of SIV infection in macacques, a clinical trial is being conducted with the
well-known antibiotic minocycline that reduces the expression of the chemokine
MCP-1. Other adjunctive agents have been tested, but none of these has shown any
relevant clinical effect.
While the neurocognitive aspects of HIV infection received, for a long time, little
consideration in therapeutic decisions, recent work has shown a reduced survival of
people with HIV infection with symptomatic CNS disease. In addition, viral resistance mutations have been observed to evolve discordantly in the CNS and the hematolymphatic compartment (Smit 2004) and the CNS is generally viewed a viral
reservoir. Leading authors at IAS now view minor neurocognitive manifestations as
sufficient indication for starting ART (Zirulnik 2008).
We consider a neurocognitive screening of therapy-nave subjects as useful. Infected subjects may regularly be interviewed for neurocognitive symptoms and, if
positive, may undergo further work-up. A useful screening instrument is the HIV
dementia scale (Morgan 2007).
567
Table 4: Differential diagnoses of HIV encephalopathy and diagnostic workup

Condition
Neurosyphilis
CMV encephalitis
Toxoplasmosis
primary CNS lymphoma
VZV encephalitis
Cryptococcal meningitis
Tuberculous meningitis
and other bacterial infections
Progressive multifocal
leukoencephalopathy
(PML), classical form
PML in the context of
immune reconstitution
inflammatory syndrome
Intoxication
Metabolic encephalopathy and impaired general physical condition
Depression with
pseudo dementia
Other forms of subcortical dementia
Adequate diagnostic step (commentary)

Antibody testing and CSF analysis (pleocytosis >15/l)
(serological findings may be atypical for active neurosyphilis)
CSF (pleocytosis, potentially granulocytic; decreased glucose
elevated total protein)
PCR for CMV in CSF, CMV antigen (pp65) in blood
antibody testing in blood and CSF (IgG and antibody index may be
increased)
MRI (potentially subependymal hyperintensity and contrast enhancement)
Occurs mostly in association with manifestation of other organs
(retinitis, colitis, pneumonitis, esophagitis)
CT / MRI (single or multiple lesions found most frequently in basal
ganglia or thalamus, space occupying effect, edema, frequently
with contrast enhancement (patchy or ring-shaped))
Presence of toxoplasma specific IgG in blood and CSF (rarely
total seronegativity)
(may rarely pass as diffuse microglial nodule encephalitis)
CT / MRI (single or multiple lesions most frequently adjacent to
ventricles, space occupying effect, edema, contrast enhancement)
CSF cytology
EBV PCR in CSF (HIV-associated CNS lymphomas EBV induced)
PET or SPECT (tracer enhancement in lesion)
CSF (marked inflammatory signs)
VZV specific IgG in blood and CSF (IgM may be absent)
VZV PCR in CSF
Mostly antecedent or accompanying cutaneous zoster lesions
CSF (opening pressure frequently elevated, cell count and protein
may be normal), India ink stain
Cryptococcal antigen in blood and CSF, fungal culture
CSF, culture, PCR for mycobacteria
appropriate tests
MRI (single or multiple lesions of white matter, no space occupying effect, no edema, no contrast enhancement)
CSF (no signs of inflammation but PCR for JC virus positive)
MRI (white matter lesions with constrast enhancement, space
occupying effect)
CSF (variable signs of inflammation, JCV DNA PCR positive)
Determination of drug levels / screening for illicit drugs
Determination of electrolytes, renal and hepatic markers, hormones (thyroid, cortisol), blood count
Hypoxemia? (blood gas analysis)
Reduced physical state? (bed ridden, wasting, pyrexia)
Psychiatric examination
Normal pressure hydrocephalus, Parkinsonian syndromes, other
neurodegenerative conditions, subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy
568 Special Issues
HIV-associated myelopathy
Clinical characteristics
HIV-infected patients may develop myelopathy without the neuropsychological
signs and symptoms of HIVE, called HIV- associated myelopathy (HIVM). The
histopathological hallmarks are prominent vacuoles in the cervical and thoracic
parts of the spinal cord and lipid-laden macrophages, hence the term vacuolar
myelopathy (Petito 1985). These changes are reminiscent of severe combined degeneration and may occur with HIV-negative patients. As HIV viral products have
only inconsistently been shown to be part of the lesions, the role of the virus in the
disease is uncertain. Pathogenetically, a disturbance of cobalamin-dependent transmethylation has been discussed. Like HIVE, HIVM occurs mainly with advanced
immunosuppression. Not all patients with the autoptic finding of vacuolar myelopathy shows clinically apparent myelopathy during life (dal Pan 1994).
Diagnostic workup
Table 5: Differential diagnoses of HIV myelopathy and diagnostic workup
Condition
Adequate diagnostic step (commentary)
Mechanic compression of the Degenerative changes of the cervical spine
myelon (cervical myelopathy, MRI shows reduced CSF spaces around the spinal cord
disk herniation)
with hyperintense lesions of the cord parenchyma
Neurosyphilis
Antibody testing and CSF analysis (pleocytosis >45/3)

(serological findings may be atypical for active neurosyphilis)
CMV myelopathy
CSF (signs of inflammation)

PCR for CMV in CSF
Antibody testing in blood and CSF (IgG and antibody index
may be increased)
Toxoplasmosis
VZV myelitis
Contrast enhancing cord lesion on MRI

CSF (marked inflammatory signs)
VZV specific IgG in blood and CSF (IgM may be absent)
VZV PCR in CSF
Mostly antecedent or accompanying cutaneous zoster
lesions
HSV myelitis
CSF (inflammatory signs may be absent), HSV PCR in

CSF
HTLV-1
(tropical spastic paraparesis)
Travel to the Caribbean, West Africa or East Asia

Slow evolution of symptoms, bladder dysfunction characteristic, CSF inflammation, HTLV-1 specific antibodies
Severe combined degenera- Vitamin B12 levels, increased erythrocyte volume

tion
Heredo-degenerative diseases Appropriate tests
(hereditary spastic paraparesis,
adrenoleukodystrophy,
Friedreich ataxia, etc.)
A patient may be suspected of having HIVM if he has a spastic-atactic gait, hyperreflexia with positive Babinski sign, disturbance of sphincter control, erectile dys-
569
function, and slight signs of sensory dysfunction in a glove and stocking distribution. The diagnosis of an independent HIVM should only be made when the concomitant cognitive impairment is significantly less prominent than the myelopathy.
Electrophysiological tests that show increased latencies of somatosensory-evoked
potentials (SEP) and the motor-evoked potentials on transcranial magnetic stimulation are compatible with the diagnosis. CSF, microbiological and spinal imaging
studies are inconspicuous or non-specific, and they have their importance in the
exclusion of other diagnoses, as listed in Table 5. Spinal imaging should include
MRI of the cervical and, possibly the thoracic cord.
Treatment
Early observations of significant improvement with AZT monotherapy (Oksenhendler 1990) were later confirmed with ART. Any patient with HIVM should be
offered effective ART. A controlled trial showed L-methionine to bring about improvement on electrophysiological but not clinical parameters.
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570
26. Neuromuscular Diseases

Thorsten Rosenkranz and Christian Eggers
Polyneuropathy and Polyradiculopathy

Peripheral neuropathy is the most common neurologic complication of HIV infection. In later stages of infection, about 30 - 50% of patients are affected.
Neuropathies can be classified as primarily HIV-associated or as secondary diseases
caused by neurotoxic agents or opportunistic infections. Distal symmetrical sensory
polyneuropathies (DSSP) related to HIV infection have been on the decline since
the introduction of ART, but there has been an increase in the prevalence of medication-related toxic neuropathies (Gonzalez-Duarte 2008). Even though the incidence rate of the other types of neuropathies is low, they require a precise and rapid
diagnosis because many of them benefit from specific therapies.
Clinical features
Acute, inflammatory, demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), GuillainBarr syndrome (GBS):
AIDP usually occurs at seroconversion or during asymptomatic stages of HIV infection. In addition, it seems to be rarely associated with immune reconstitution
(Piliero 2003). The typical clinical presentation is that of areflexia, symmetrical
ascending weakness and relative sparing of sensory nerve fibers. Involvement of
cranial nerves and cervical and thoracic spinal nerves leads to respiratory insufficiency, dysarthria and dysphagia. Parasympathetic and sympathetic nerve involvement may cause life threatening cardiac arrhythmias and severe arterial hypo- or
hypertension. CSF typically shows a raised concentration of protein caused by the
dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier. In contrast to HIV-negative patients with
AIDP, a moderate pleocytosis of up to 50 leucocytes/l CSF is found in most HIVpositive patients.
The progressive stage is followed by a few days or weeks of stable disease until recovery begins. If secondary axonal damage has occurred, recovery can last up to two
years. A persistent disability of varying degrees develops in about 30% of people.
Chronic, inflammatory, demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP):
Whereas AIDP is a monophasic, self-limiting disease, the course of CIDP is chronic
progressive or relapsing-remitting. Weakness and sensory disturbances commonly
develop over several months. In some cases, relapses, incomplete remissions and
periods of stable disease alternate with each other.
In CIDP, as in AIDP, the CSF is abnormal with an elevated protein level. A moderate pleocytosis is often found instead of the classical acellularity.
CIDP is a rare complication of seroconversion or the early stages of infection before AIDS.
Neuromuscular Diseases
571
Table 1: Polyneuropathies and polyradiculopathies in HIV infection

Type
HIV infection
Clinical features
Primary HIV-associated polyneuropathies

Acute, inflammatory,
Seroconversion, Symmetrical weakasymptomatic,
demyelinating polyness > sensory loss,
areflexia
neuropathy (Guillain- no or early imBarr syndrome,
munosuppresGBS)
sion
Chronic demyelinatAsymptomatic
Distal and proximal
ing inflammatory
early immunoweakness > sensory
loss, areflexia
polyneuropathy
suppression,
(CIDP)
rarely AIDS
Findings
ENG with demyelinating features, elevated
CSF protein and moderate CSF-pleocytosis
(< 50 c/l)
ENG with demyelinating features, elevated

CSF protein and moderate CSF-pleocytosis
(< 50 c/l)
Vasculitic neuropathy Asymptomatic
Mostly asymmetric,
Elevation of ANA,
no or early imacute loss of function
cryoglobulinemia, hepamunosuppresof single nerves, rarely titis C virus coinfection;
sion, rarely AIDS distal symmetrical
vasculitis in nerve bisensory and motor
opsy but also in musdisturbances
cle, kidney and other
organs
Mostly asymmetrical
Neuropathy in diffuse, Early immunoDisease resembling
suppression
weakness and seninfiltrative leukocytoSjgrens syndrome;
sis syndrome (DILS)
sory loss, rarely distal CD 8 cells > 1200/l
symmetrical disturbances
Distal symmetrical
AIDS or adDistal symmetrical
ENG with axonal feasensory polyneuropa- vanced immuno- sensory loss, parestures predominantly
thy (DSSP)
suppression
thesia and pain of the involving sensory
legs
nerves of the legs
Secondary polyneuropathies
Medicationrelated
Early or adtoxic neuropathy
vanced immunosuppression
Acute neuromuscular
weakness syndrome
Early or advanced immunosuppression
Mononeuritis multiAIDS
plex in CMV-infection
or non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Polyradiculitis in CMV AIDS
or M. tuberculosis
infection or due to
meningeal lymphoma
Distal symmetrical
sensory loss, paresthesia and pain of the
lower legs
Acute progressive
tetraparesis
Asymmetric, acute
loss of function of
single nerves
Flaccid paraparesis,
sensory loss, bladder
dysfunction
Treatment with ddI,

ddC, d4T, vincristine,
dapsone
Lactic acidosis during
NRTI treatment, axonal
nerve damage, additional myopathy
CMV infection of other
organs, CMV DNA
detection in plasma;
non-Hodgkin lymphoma
CMV or mycobacterial
infection at other sites,
detection of mycobacteria in CSF, malignant
cells in CSF
572 Special Issues

Vasculitic neuropathy
Necrotizing vasculitis with involvement of the peripheral nerves is a rare cause of
neuropathy in HIV infection. Most patients develop a mononeuritis multiplex characterized by acute relapsing dysfunction of individual peripheral nerves. The prognosis of the disease is determined by the involvement of other organs such as heart,
kidneys or muscles in the vasculitic process. An immune complex attack associated
with hepatitis C virus infection or cryoglobulins appears to play an essential role in
the pathological mechanism.
Diffuse infiltrative lymphocytosis syndrome (DILS)
DILS is a rare cause of distal symmetrical and often painful neuropathy. It resembles Sjgrens syndrome, but has multivisceral infiltration characterized by CD8
hyperlymphocytosis (CD8 T cell count > 1,000/l). Sicca syndrome with parotidomegaly, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, pneumonitis and renal dysfunction
may occur in association with axonal neuropathy (Gherardi 1998).
Distal symmetrical sensory polyneuropathy (DSSP)
DSSP is still the most common neuropathy in HIV-positive patients and becomes
symptomatic in the later stages of infection when the CD4 cell count is at or below
200/l. The clinical course is predominated by slowly progressive sensory symptoms such as numbness, dys- and paresthesia of the feet and lower legs (Table 2).
Approximately 30 - 50% of patients complain of burning, lacerating or stabbing
pain. It mainly involves toes and soles of the feet and sometimes makes walking
difficult. The most important clinical findings are depressed or absent ankle reflexes, an elevated vibration threshold at toes and ankles and a decreased sensitivity
to pain and temperature in a stocking distribution, whereas proprioception is usually
normal. Weakness and atrophy of intrinsic foot muscles are mild and are not features of the disease. The fingers and hands are rarely involved.
Involvement of the upper legs and trunk, significant weakness of leg muscles or decreasing proprioception are not typical for DSSP and should raise suspicion of other
disorders, for instance a conjoined myelopathy. Loss and dysfunction of small sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve fibers may cause postural hypotension, erectile dysfunction, gastroparesis and alterations of skin or nails in many DSSP patients.
Table 2: Clinical features of distal symmetrical sensory polyneuropathy
Numbness, pain, dys- and paresthesia of the feet and lower legs
Decreased or absent deep ankle tendon reflexes
Decreased or absent vibratory sense of the toes and ankles
No or only minimal motor dysfunction
No or only minimal involvement of the hands and arms
Slowly progressive course
Electrodiagnostic studies with features of axonal nerve damage
Autonomic dysfunction: orthostatic hypotension, erectile dysfunction
573
Medication-related toxic neuropathy

A distal symmetrical sensory peripheral neuropathy occurs in about 10 - 30% of
patients treated with ddI, d4T or ddC. It is indistinguishable from HIV-induced
DSSP on clinical examination or in electrodiagnostic studies. The only difference is
in the exposure to neurotoxic nucleoside antiretroviral medication. Brew (2003)
found an elevation of serum lactate in over 90% of patients with d4T-related neuropathies.
Nucleoside neuropathy develops after a mean of 12 24 weeks of treatment. After
withdrawal, there can be a temporary worsening for 2 4 weeks and improvement
usually begins after 6 12 weeks. In several cases the restitution remains incomplete. In these cases there may have been an additional pre-existent damage to the
peripheral nerves due to HIV infection itself. Subclinical disturbance of peripheral
nerve function confirmed by pathological findings in electrodiagnostic studies elevates the risk of developing NRTI-related neuropathy.
PIs seem to have a very low additional neurotoxicity (Ellis 2008). The instruction
leaflets of many PIs list peripheral neuropathy as a possible side effect, because
neuropathic symptoms were slightly more often reported in the PI arms of clinical
trials. But there are no reports of cases of neuropathy that developed while on PI
treatment that resolved after withdrawal. In clinical experience, the risk of PIinduced neuropathy is very low.
Table 3: Neurotoxic drugs frequently used in HIV medicine
NRTI
Antibiotic
Cytotoxic
ddI, d4T (ddC)

dapsone, metronidazole, isoniazid
vincristine
Acute neuromuscular weakness syndrome

In the course of an NRTI-induced lactic acidosis a life threatening tetraparesis resembling AIDP may occur. In most cases axonal peripheral nerve damage is found,
but in a few patients demyelination is also detected. In addition, muscle biopsy reveals myositis or mitochondrial myopathy in some cases (Simpson 2004).
Polyneuropathy and polyradiculopathy due to other diseases
In patients with advanced HIV disease, mononeuritis multiplex may be caused by
CMV infection or lymphoma. Acute or subacute polyradiculopathies of the cauda
equina with rapidly progressive flaccid paraparesis of the legs, bowel dysfunction
and sensory disturbances occur in the course of opportunistic infections (CMV, M.
tuberculosis) or meningeal Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Other important causes of a
polyneuropathy are alcohol abuse, diabetes mellitus, malnutrition in patients with
long-lasting gastrointestinal diseases, neoplastic diseases or cachexia.
Diagnosis
A diagnosis of neuropathy can usually be made based on medical history and clinical examination. Electrodiagnostic studies may be performed for confirmation and
for differentiation from other diseases such as myelopathy. Cerebrospinal fluid
analysis may be necessary if there is a suspicion of infection with, for example,
574 Special Issues

CMV or syphilis. Sural nerve and muscle biopsy may be necessary only in atypical
cases for instance, painful DSSP with a high CD4 cell count and low viral load
and without neurotoxic medication or other risk factors. Table 4 gives some recommendations for clinical practice.
Table 4: Diagnostic work-up
Procedure
Findings
Condition
Basic examinations (recommended for all cases)

Medical history
Drugs
Medication-related toxic PNP
Opportunistic diseases
Neuropathy associated with CMV
infection or lymphoma
Alcohol abuse
Alcoholic PNP
Neurological exami- Clinical type of PNP (distal Symptoms not due to myelopathy or
nation
symmetrical, mononeuritis myopathy
multiplex, etc.)
Electromyography
Confirmation of neuropaSymptoms not due to myelopathy or
thy
myopathy
Electroneurography
Demyelinating features
AIDP, CIDP
Axonal features
DSSP, Multiplex Neuropathy, DILS
Blood tests
HbA1c, glucose
Diabetic polyneuropathy
Vit B12, B1, B6, Fe, ferritin PNP due to malnutrition or malassimilation
ANA, cryoglobulins, HCV- Vasculitic neuropathy
serology, circulating immune complexes, ANCA
TPHA
Neurosyphilis
CD8 cells > 1200/l
Neuropathy associated with DILS
lactate
NRTI-induced toxic neuropathy
CMV DNA (if CD4 cells
< 100/l)
Mononeuritis multiplex due to CMVinfection
Additional tests (necessary only in particular cases)

CSF
Elevated total protein
AIDP, CIDP
Pleocytosis (granulocytes), Polyradiculitis due to CMV infection
CMV DNA
Lymphoma cells, EBV
Lymphomatous meningitis
DNA
Elevated IgA, acid fast
Tuberculous polyradiculitis
bacilli, mycobacterial DNA
Autonomic tests
(sympathetic skin
reaction, heart rate
variability)
MRI (lumbar spine)
Nerve and
biopsy
Involvement of sympathetic or parasympathetic

nerves
Additional autonomic neuropathy
Compression of the cauda Spinal lymphoma

equina
Spinal toxoplasmosis
muscle Necrotizing vasculitis
Perivascular CD8 infiltraDILS-associated neuropathy
tion without necrosis
575
Occasionally, patients report complaints of burning feet, aches, pain and tingling
but clinical examination and nerve conduction studies are unremarkable. In these
cases symptoms might be due to an isolated small fiber neuropathy exclusively affecting the small unmyelinated vegetative nerve fibers. Diagnosis requires a punch
skin biopsy with histological assessment of intraepidermal nerve fiber density or
pain-related evoked potential conduction testing (Obermann 2007).
Treatment
Causative treatment options only exist for some of the rare neuropathies or polyradiculopathies. Intravenous immunoglobulins and plasmapheresis have proven effective in the therapy of AIDP. Corticosteroids are also effective in CIPD. In clinical
trials on the treatment of CIDP, no difference in the efficacy of immunoglobulins,
plasmapheresis or corticosteroids has been shown. However, an individual patient
may only respond to one out of the three procedures. In patients who only respond to
higher dosages of corticosteroids, other immunosuppressive agents such as azathioprine, low dose weekly methotrexate or cyclosporine may replace long-term steroid
therapy. We have seen CIDP patients who were in partial remission after temporary
steroid therapy and who have remained stable for years with ART alone.
In medication-related neuropathy the offending agent needs to be withdrawn. The
intake of 2 g L-acetyl-carnitine significantly reduced pain in HIV patients with neurotoxic neuropathy (Youle 2007).
A causative treatment for DSSP does not exist. ART might improve the function of
sensory nerves in a few cases, and therefore starting ART or optimizing a current
ART should be considered in newly diagnosed DSSP. In most cases the neuropathic
symptoms still persist.
Symptomatic treatment is directed at irritative symptoms such as pain and paresthesia. It
is not effective against deficits of nerve function including sensory loss or weakness.
The agents listed in Table 6 are recommended because they have proven useful in
daily practice and because they interfere only slightly and in a predictable way with
ART. A controlled study showed that lamotrigine was effective in reducing the
symptoms of neurotoxic neuropathy (Simpson 2003). The drug is well tolerated if
one adheres to the slow dose escalation regimen and stops treatment or reduces the
dose when a skin reaction occurs. In a small study, gabapentin was shown to be
effective in reducing DSSP-induced pain (Hahn 2004). The advantages of this agent
are good tolerability and lack of interference with ART. Pregabalin, an anticonvulsant drug similar to gabapentin, effectively relieves pain in studies of patients with
painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (Rosenstock 2004). Like gabapentin, it does
not interfere with ART and is well tolerated. We are successfully treating an increasing number of patients with DSSP and neurotoxic neuropathy with this agent.
576 Special Issues

Table 5: Causative treatment of polyneuropathies and polyradiculopathies
Condition
AIDP
CIDP
Neuropathy due to DILS
Distal symmetrical sensory
polyneuropathy
Medicationrelated toxic neuropathy
Mononeuritis multiplex or polyradiculitis due to CMVinfection
Treatment
Intravenous immunoglobulins 0.4 g/kg daily for 5 days
or: plasmapheresis (5 x in 7-10 days)
Intravenous immunoglobulins 0.4 g/kg daily for 5 days
or: plasmapheresis (5 x in 7-10 days)
or: prednisone 1-1.5 mg/kg daily for 3-4 weeks with subsequent tapering for 1216 weeks
Prednisone 1-1.5 mg/kg daily for 3-4 weeks with subsequent tapering for 1216 weeks
Starting or adjusting ART plus prednisone 1-1.5 mg/kg
daily for 3-4 weeks with subsequent tapering for 1216
weeks
A causative treatment is not known, ART may improve
nerve function, for symptomatic treatment. See Table 6
Withdrawal of the neurotoxic agents, if possible.
Intravenous foscarnet 2 x 90 mg/kg daily plus intravenous
ganciclovir 2 x 5 mg/kg daily.
Lymphomatous meningitis
Starting or adjusting ART plus intrathecal methotrexate

(intraventricular shunt or lumbar puncture) 12-15 mg
2 x/weekly until CSF is free of malignant cells, subsequently 1 x/week for 4 weeks and subsequently 1 x/month
plus 15 mg oral folinate after each injection plus systemic
treatment of lymphoma (see chapter on Malignant Lymphoma)
Polyradiculitis due to infection Treat tuberculosis (see chapter on OIs)
with M. tuberculosis
The tricyclic antidepressants amitriptyline and nortriptyline both have significant

anticholinergic side effects. The dose necessary for reducing neuropathic pain is in
the same range as for treating depression and many patients do not tolerate these
dosages. However, lower dosages have proved ineffective in DSSP. Nortriptyline
has no sedative side effects. We use this agent with good success rates, although
clinical trials for its use in HIV-associated neuropathy are lacking. The antidepressant duloxetin, a serontonine-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, has recently been
approved for the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy. In our experience it is
also useful in reducing pain in DSSP and toxic neuropathy in HIV patients. The
anticonvulsant carbamazepine is widely used for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
However, it induces some enzymes of the CYP450 system and interferes significantly with ART. Thus its use in HIV medicine is very limited.
A high-concentration capsaicin patch has recently been shown to be effective in the
treatment of pain in DSSP patients (Simpson 2008). The patch is not yet available
in Germany (it is OTC in US).
Potent opioids may be used to manage moderate or severe pain if a slow dose escalation of an antidepressant or anticonvulsant is not possible and an immediate analgesic
effect is desired (Sindrup 1999). Even in cases of substituted or non-substituted drug
abuse, opioids should be used (Breitbart 1997). Sometimes, the dosage of methadone
must only be moderately increased for a sufficient analgesic effect.
577
Table 6: Symptomatic treatment of painful neuropathy

Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Treatment
Physical therapy, supporting measures (wide shoes, etc.),
L-acetyl-carnitine 2 x 24 g
Temporary trial of 3-4 x 1000 mg
paracetamol or 2-3 x 50 mg diclofenac
or 4 x 40 drops novaminsulfone for 1014 days
Gabapentin 300 mg at night, dose
escalation of 300 mg a day every third
day up to a maximum of 1200 mg TID
or
Pregabalin 2x75 mg for 1 week, dose
nd
escalation to 2x150 in the 2 week,
possible escalation up to 2x300 mg
or
Lamotrigine 25 mg at night, dose escalation of 25 mg every 5 days up to
300 mg
or
Amitriptyline 25 mg at night, dose
escalation of 10-25 mg every 2-3 days
up to 3 x 50 mg
or
Nortriptyline 25 mg in the mornings,
dose escalation of 25 mg every 2-3
days up to 2-3 x 50 mg
Step 4:
General
practice
Adverse effects
Rarely allergy
Rarely mild diarrhea
Nausea, vomiting, allergy (rarely)
Sedation, nausea, dizziness, rarely

pancreatitis
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, allergic

drug rash
Allergy, sedation, cephalgia, nausea
Sedation, orthostatic hypotension,
constipation, dizziness, dry mouth,
dysrhythmia, retention of urine,
caveat: glaucoma
Orthostatic hypotension, constipation, dizziness, dry mouth, dysrhythmia, retention of urine, caveat:
glaucoma
or
Nausea, diarrhea, agitation
Duloxetin 1 x 60 120 mg
Flupirtine 3 x 100, dose escalation up Sedation, constipation, nausea
to 3 x 600 mg
or
Retarded morphine 2 x 10 mg gradual Sedation, constipation, nausea
escalation up to 2 x 200 mg
Proceed to the next step if symptoms persist.
Agents within step 3 may be combined (for instance an anticonvulsant and
an antidepressant), agents of step 3 and step 4 may also be combined (for
instance flupirtine and an anticonvulsant).
If a rapid relief of symptoms is necessary, treatment should be started with
step 4 agents and a low dose step 3 drug should simultaneously be started
with slow escalation.
The slower the escalation the greater the possibility of reaching an effective
dosage.
578 Special Issues
Myopathy
Myopathies occur in 1-2% of all HIV-positive patients. They may appear at any
stage of disease.
Table 7: Most important myopathies in HIV infection
Primary HIV-associated
Polymyositis
Nemaline (rod body) myopathy
Vacuolar myopathy
Inclusion body myositis
Secondary
AZT myopathy
Vasculitic myopathy
Lymphomatous muscle infiltration
Infectious myositis
Medication-related toxic rhabdomyolysis
Polymyositis mediated by cytotoxic T cells is the most common HIV-associated

myopathy. AZT-induced myopathy occurs very infrequently with the dosages used
today (500-600 mg/day). Other agents such as ddI, co-trimoxazole, pentamidine,
sulfadiazine, lipid-lowering drugs may rarely cause acute rhabdomyolysis with
tetraparesis and marked elevation of serum CK levels. Notably, PIs raise the serum
concentration of statins, increasing the risk of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis (Hare
2002). An elevated serum CK activity is frequently observed during treatment with
TDF, especially in patients with HBV/HCV coinfection. This is due to a type 2
macroenzyme creatine kinase (Macro CK) and must not lead to suspicion of
ischemic or muscular disease. The accumulation of this liver-derived isoenzyme
seems to be the result of an insufficient Macro CK2 clearance capacity mediated by
TDF (Schmid 2005).
Clinical features
Myopathy in HIV infection usually presents with exercise-induced myalgia of
proximal muscles followed by slowly progressive, symmetrical weakness and atrophy of proximal muscles. Limb girdle muscles are most commonly involved, but
distal muscles and muscles of the trunk, neck, face or throat may also be affected.
Diagnosis
Myalgia, fatigue and elevated serum CK levels are frequently found in HIV infection. But these unspecific symptoms and signs on their own do not warrant the diagnosis of myopathy. The diagnosis of probable myopathy requires weakness, muscle atrophy or myopathic features demonstrated by electromyography. A muscle
biopsy confirms the diagnosis and may give some additional clues to the classification and pathogenesis of the muscle disease.
579
Treatment
Moderate myalgia may respond to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Prednisone (100 mg daily for 3 - 4 weeks, subsequent tapering) or intravenous immunoglobulin (0.4 g/kg for 5 days) have been shown to be effective in treatment of
polymyositis (Espinoza 1991, Viard 1992). The treatment of AZT myopathy is cessation of the drug. Myalgia usually resolves within 1 - 2 weeks. If symptoms persist
for 4 -6 weeks, prednisone as described above may be effective.
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agent abuse. Pain 1997; 72: 235-243.
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Ellis RJ, Marquie-Beck J, Delaney P et al. Human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitors and risk for peripheral neuropathy. Ann Neurol 2008. 64: 566-72.
Espinoza LR, Aguilar JL, Espinoza C, et al. Characteristics and pathogenesis of myositis in HIV infection. Distinction from Azidithymidine-induced myopathy. Rheum
Dis Clin North Am 1991; 17: 117-19.
Gherardi RK, Chrtien F, Delfau-Larue MH, et al. Neuropathy in diffuse infiltrative lymphocytosis syndrome. Neurology 1998; 50:1041-4.
Gonzalez-Duarte A, Robinson-Papp J, Simpson DM Diagnosis and management of HIV-associated neuropathy. Neurol Clin 2008. 26: 821-32.
Hahn K, Arendt G, Braun JS et al. A placebo-controlled trial of gabapentin for painful HIV-associated sensory neuropathies. J Neurol 2004; 251:1260-1266.
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Obermann M, Katsrava Z, Esser S et al. Correlation of epidermal nerve fiber density with pain-related evoked potentials in HIV neuropathy. Pain 2008, 138:79-86.
Osio M, Muscia F, Zampini L et al. Acetyl-l-carnitine in the treatment of painful antiretroviral toxic neuropathy in human immunodeficiency virus patients: an open label
study. J Peripher Nerv Syst 2006, 11:72-76.
Pettersen JA, Jones G, Worthington C et al. Sensory neuropathy in human immunodeficiency virus acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients: protease inhibitormediated neurotoxicity. Ann Neurol 2006, 59: 816-824.
Rosenstock J, Tuchman M, LaMoreaux et al. Pregabalin for the treatment of painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Pain 2004;
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Schmidt H, Mhlbayer D, Bogner JR et al. Macroenzyme Creatine Kinase Type 2 accumulation in sera of HIV-infected patients: Significant association with Tenofovir
DF (TDF) treatment. 12th CROI 2005, Boston. http://www.retroconference.org/2005/cd/PDFs/827.pdf
Simpson DM, McArthur JC, Olney MD et al. Lamotrigine for HIV-associated painful sensory neuropathies. Neurology 2003; 60: 1508-14.
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Simpson DM, Brown S, Tobias J et al. Controlled trial of high-concentration capsaicin patch for treatment of painful HIV neuropathy. Neurology 2008; 70: 2305-13.
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580
27. Traveling with HIV

Thomas Weitzel
HIV-positive patients travel. About 10-15% of European and North American HIVpositive patients travel abroad at least once yearly. Such travel activities frequently
include visits to tropical and developing countries (Kemper 1995, Salit 2005). Because of patients increasing ability to travel, travel-related medical problems are of
growing importance (Mahto 2006) and have been the subject of several reviews
(Schuwerk 2006, Bhadelia 2007, Igreja 2008).
Travel preparations
Especially if CD4 T counts are below 200/l, there is an increased risk of travelassociated infections and furthermore, the effectiveness of vaccinations is reduced.
Therefore, it is advisable that patients plan their trips together with their attending
HIV physician at least 6 to 8 weeks in advance. In case of special health risks (e.g.,
tropical destinations), a travel medicine specialist should be consulted.
A general overview of travel recommendations can be accessed through different
Internet sites (see Links). Long-term travelers should, in advance, clarify the treatment possibilities of HIV-related problems at their destination. A first-aid kit for
HIV-infected travelers should contain, besides the usual (local antihistamines, disinfectants, sun protection, analgesics, antipyretics, antiemetics, and antidiarrheals),
an antibiotic for the empirical treatment of acute diarrhea (see below).
Antiretroviral therapy (ART)

ART nave patients with CD4 T counts < 200/l should postpone travel activities
until their immune status has improved with ART. An ongoing antiretroviral regimen should be proven to be effective and well-tolerated for at least three months
before traveling. Depending on the destination, planned activities, and other individual factors such as compliance, a therapy interruption might be considered. If
ART is continued during traveling, the following aspects should be considered:
A sufficient amount of antiretroviral drugs should be packed, preferably in the
hand luggage (checked suitcases can get lost).
The availability of ART at destination should be checked beforehand. If necessary, prescriptions and a medical letter in English should be taken along.
Due to entry regulations (see below), it may be useful to pack antiretroviral drugs
in neutral packages.
Storage requirements for prescription drugs (e.g., refrigeration) must be checked
in advanced.
Steps to cope with an unplanned therapy interruption during travel should be discussed in advance.
Traveling with HIV
581
General precautions
The HIV-positive patients particular risk of gastrointestinal infections demands
adherence to the principles of good food and water hygiene (Hayes 2003). The following foodstuff and drinks should be avoided:
Raw fruit or vegetables that are not peeled
Raw or undercooked meat or fish dishes
Tap water, ice cubes from tap water, unpasteurized milk or milk products
Food distributed under insecure hygienic circumstances (e.g., street vendors)
Even brushing teeth or swimming carries the risk of swallowing small amounts of
potentially contaminated water. For example, bottled water can be used for brushing teeth. Tap water should be boiled. In areas up to 2,000 meters above sea level, a
boiling time of one minute kills all potential pathogens; at higher altitudes, the boiling time should be prolonged to three minutes. Chemical or filtration methods of
water treatment are less reliable.
HIV-infected patients should also carefully protect themselves against vector-borne
infections (see Links). This includes:
Wearing long-sleeves and bright clothes if outdoors.
Using repellents (e.g., DEET-based with concentrations of 20-50%) on uncovered
skin areas (apply sun protection before repellent).
Avoiding outdoor stays at dawn or night.
Sleeping in mosquito safe areas (mosquito nets are the best repellents).
Treating clothes and mosquito nets with permethrin for additional safety.
Since condoms and lubricants abroad are not always reliable, a sufficient amount of
these products should be brought along to guarantee safe sex during the holiday.
Because of possible Strongyloides stercoralis infection (see below), direct skin contact to fecally contaminated soil should be avoided. It is wise to wear closed shoes
and place a towel underneath when lying on the ground.
Precautions against zoonotic infections such as salmonella or cryptosporidiosis include proper hand washing following animal contact.
Vaccinations
A travel medicine consultation is an opportunity to check and complete routinely
recommended immunizations such as tetanus/diphtheria, pneumococcal disease,
influenza, and hepatitis B vaccinations (see chapter on HIV and Vaccinations). It
has to be kept in mind that the southern hemisphere influenza season is from April
to September, while in the tropics influenza can occur all year long; if possible, the
vaccine should cover the expected influenza types.
Additional immunizations have to be considered according to destination, duration,
and travel style. In general, most travel vaccines are more generously indicated than
in healthy travelers. This affects for example the oral typhoid fever vaccine (since
S. typhi infections in HIV-positive patients are more severe and relapse more often)
582 Special Issues

or the pre-exposure rabies vaccination (Chadwick 2007). Other immunization questions usually require the consultation of a specialized travel medicine institution.
Malaria prophylaxis
Interactions between antiretroviral drugs and drugs available for malaria prophylaxis, such as chloroquine, mefloquine, doxycycline, and Malarone (atovaquone/
proguanil) are under-evaluated, if at all (Khoo 2005).
In healthy volunteers taking mefloquine (Lariam) together with ritonavir, a 30%
reduction of the steady-state plasma level of ritonavir was reported; however, mefloquine did not change the ritonavir level after a single dose of ritonavir (Khaliq
2001). The explanation is probably a reduced bile production caused by mefloquine. No relevant interactions seem to occur if mefloquine is coadministered with
nelfinavir or indinavir (Schippers 2000).
Chloroquine is metabolized by CYP2D6 but is also significantly excreted by the
kidneys. Explicit data on interactions of chloroquine with HIV drugs are lacking. In
vitro, chloroquine inhibits HIV replication and shows synergistic effects together
with protease inhibitors (Savarino 2004). On the other hand, PIs display in vitro and
in animals inhibitory effects on plasmodia as well as synergistic effects together
with mefloquine and chloroquine (Parikh 2005, Andrews 2006, Skinner-Adams
2007). Whether these observations could have an impact on the clinical management of HIV infection or malaria is still uncertain. Clinical interaction data on Malarone are missing. In vitro studies indicate that ritonavir and lopinavir cause reduced levels of atovaquone, and ritonavir increases the level of proguanil. Atovaquone decreases the indinavir level by 20% and increases the acyclovir level by
30%. Doxycycline is not metabolized by the cytochrome p450 system. Relevant
interactions with HIV drugs are not anticipated.
Available data and clinical experience indicate that mefloquine, doxycycline, and
chloroquine can be safely and effectively used in patients taking antiretroviral therapy. Although clinical studies are lacking, the same applies for Malarone. Recommendations for malaria prophylaxis are not limited due to concomitant HIV
medication. However, mefloquine is often unfavorable because of frequent neurological comorbidity in HIV patients.
The most common drugs used in Germany for malaria stand-by treatment are
chloroquine, mefloquine, Malarone, and Riamet (artemether/lumefantrine).
Clinical data regarding interactions of Riamet with ART are lacking but lumefantrine is known to be a substrate of CPY3A4. This might lead to increases of lumefantrine concentrations and also cardiotoxicity (Khoo 2005, WHO 2005). Therefore, Riamet should not be given with protease inhibitors (see Riamet product
information).
Entry regulations and travel insurance

Entry restrictions for HIV-infected travelers violate internationally recognized basic
human rights; furthermore, they are counterproductive as a measure of health policy
and explicitly rejected by WHO (Amon 2008). Still, more than 100 countries, including yet the USA, refuse entry to HIV-infected individuals. This particularly
Traveling with HIV
583
affects long-term stays in connection to work or study. To avoid problems, information on entry regulations should be obtained beforehand. The brochure Schnellfinder (provided by Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe) provides the most comprehensive overview on entry policies. In cooperation with the European AIDS Treatment Group, a
regularly updated English version of this databank is available online
(www.hivtravel.org). The American foreign ministry also publishes a list of countries with HIV-specific entry restrictions (see Links). Under certain circumstances,
e.g., visits to conferences, family members, or business travel, journeys to the US
are possible for HIV patients if they apply for a visa waiver. However, the procedure is time-consuming and the passport endorsement can complicate further travel
to the US or other countries. The situation for HIV patients traveling to the USA
might change in the near future, and recent reports point to the US government initiating the final steps to lift the ban.
Travel insurance usually excludes existing illnesses and often refuse HIV-positive
patients explicitly. For that reason, special HIV travel insurance has been made
available in the UK and USA.
Special risks
Enteric infections
Reduced immunological defense and diminished gastric acid production increase
the risk for gastrointestinal infections in HIV patients. Furthermore, bacterial enteric infections such as salmonella, shigella, and Campylobacter infections bear a
high risk of bacteremia and relapse. Infections caused by Cryptosporidium sp., Isospora belli and microsporidia are dangerous due to chronicity.
Prophylactic use of antibiotics, while it can reduce the prevalence of travelassociated diarrhea, is not generally recommended in HIV. In individual situations,
e.g., HIV-positive patients with advanced immunodeficiency traveling under high
risk conditions for gastrointestinal infections, prophylaxis with ciprofloxacin (500
mg per day) should be considered. In Southeast Asia, an increasing rate of quinolone resistance makes azithromycin a useful alternative. Because of widespread
bacterial resistance, cotrimoxazole and doxycycline are not sufficient.
Travel-associated diarrheal diseases should be empirically self-treated for five to
seven days with ciprofloxacin (500 mg per day) or alternatively azithromycin (400
mg per day).
Malaria
The interactions between HIV and malaria are disastrous, especially in African areas of malaria endemicity (Korenromp 2005, Kamya 2006). In comorbidity with
HIV, malaria episodes are more frequent and more severe (Patnaik 2005, Laufer
2006, Cohen 2005). Furthermore, HIV infection and CD4 counts below 200 are risk
factors for malaria treatment failure (Shah 2006). On the other hand, malaria leads
to a long-term increase in HIV replication through proinflammatory cytokines
(Kublin 2005, Renia 2006) and might be associated with decreasing CD4 T cell
counts (Mermin 2006).
584 Special Issues

The recommended malaria therapy is not influenced by a concomitant HIV infection. As described above, drug interactions of antimalarial and HIV drugs are insufficiently established. The treatment of complicated malaria is especially problematic since the indicated drugs, quinine, quinidine, or artemisinin derivatives, are all
metabolized by CYP3A4. The co-administration of these drugs with CYP3A4 inhibitors requires intensive monitoring, drug level monitoring (if possible) or an interruption of ART.
Measles
In 2002, more than 200 million measles cases with about 600,000 deaths were reported worldwide (WHO 2004). In HIV-infected patients, measles have a higher
morbidity and mortality; furthermore, the virus is shed for prolonged periods of
time (Moss 2002). Such interactions are especially problematic in Africa (Moss
2006). American studies show a mortality rate of 40%, mostly due to giant-cell
pneumonitis (Kaplan 1996). Non-immune HIV-positive patients should therefore
receive active or passive immunization before traveling to areas with a high prevalence of measles (see chapter on HIV and Vaccinations).
Leishmaniasis
Visceral leishmaniasis (kala azar) is a life-threatening opportunistic infection with
limited therapeutic options (see AIDS chapter). Due to the infections potentially
extended latency period, symptoms can occur long after exposure in endemic areas.
Diagnosis is challenging, requiring cooperation with a specialized center. Severely
immunocompromised HIV-positive patients must be informed of the risk of
leishmaniasis even when traveling to Mediterranean countries. Preventive measures
against mosquito bites should be followed in order to avoid leishmania infections
(see above); because of the vectors small size, the use of an impregnated mosquito
net of small mesh size is advisable. Cutaneous leishmaniasis does not seem to occur
more frequently in HIV patients.
Tuberculosis
Globally, tuberculosis is the most prevalent HIV-associated opportunistic infection
(see chapter on Tuberculosis). In most tropical and subtropical regions, the risk of
tuberculosis is higher than in Europe.Before and after long-term travel to such areas, it is advisable to determine the reactivity towards tuberculosis (by PPD skin
test or specific interferon-gamma-tests). Patients with a positive reaction or with a
known high-risk exposure and no further signs of active tuberculosis should receive
a course of treatment for latent tuberculosis (see chapter on Tuberculosis). HIVinfected travelers should avoid risk areas such as hospitals, prisons or homelessshelters or wear adequate facemasks.
Endemic mycoses
Endemic mycoses outside endemic areas are rare. Nevertheless, they are able to
cause life-threatening opportunistic infections in HIV-positive patients even years
after a stay in an endemic area. Most agents of endemic mycoses are thought to
enter the pulmonary tract after inhalation of infective spores. In areas endemic for
Penicillium marneffei (South East Asia, Southern China) and Coccidioides immitis
(south-west parts of the USA, parts of Central and South America), increased expo-
Traveling with HIV
585
sure to dust or soil should be avoided (e.g., construction sites, agriculture, garden
work, excavations). Histoplasma capsulatum is prevalent worldwide in soil contaminated with bird and bat droppings. Exposure might happen during eco- or adventure-tourism and should be avoided by HIV-infected individuals. In certain
cases, e.g., severely immunocompromised patients with a foreseeable contact with
agents of endemic mycoses, primary prophylaxis can be considered. Depending on
the expected pathogen, either fluconazole or itraconazole should be prescribed.
Another fungus that can cause severe infections in HIV-positive patients is
Sporothrix schenkii. This pathogen, which occurs worldwide, enters the body
through cutaneous lesions. Wearing gloves while working with plants, hay, or peat
moss can reduce the sporotrichosis risk.
Sexually transmitted diseases
The risk of STDs is substantially increased in travelers (Richens 2006). In Germany, an estimated 5 to 10% of HIV infections are acquired during holidays. HIVpositive travelers should be aware of the special risks that sexually transmitted diseases and HIV super-infection present to them.
Other parasites
The following parasitic pathogens are relevant to HIV-infected travelers:
Strongyloides stercoralis is prevalent in most tropical and subtropical areas. The
parasite is transmitted by cutaneous larval invasion after skin contact with contaminated soil. In HIV-positive patients, there is the risk of a hyperinfection
syndrome with a high fatality rate (Gompels 1991). Besides HIV infection, corticosteroid therapy seems to be an important risk factor, as these drugs seem able
to increase larval maturation triggering a cycle of massive autoinfection.
Trypanosoma cruzi is endemic in large parts of Latin America. The protozoa that
causes Chagas disease is transmitted by triatomine bugs and oral transmissions
via contaminated fruit or sugarcane juice have also been reported. Chagas disease, which often persists asymptomatically for many years, can reactivate in severely immunocompromised patients. In these cases, lesions radiologically resembling cerebral toxoplasmosis are often found in the central nervous system
(Rocha 1994).
Babesia sp, a worldwide cause of zoonotic infections, is transmitted by ticks. Severe infections, clinically mimicking malaria or manifesting as fever of unknown
origin, mainly occur in patients after splenectomy, but have also been reported in
severely immunocompromised patients (Falagas 1996).
Free-living amoeba (Acanthamoeba sp. and Balamuthia mandrillaris) are ubiquitous, living in soil and water. In HIV-infected and other immunocompromised patients, these organisms are capable of causing severe infections of the central
nervous system (granulomatous encephalitis) as well as local infections of the
skin and cornea (Sison 1995).
Schistosoma sp. cause long-lasting and dangerous helminthic infections. In HIVpositive patients, schistosomiasis treatment is less effective (Kallestrup 2006). It
causes like other helminthic infections chronic stimulation of the immune sys-
586 Special Issues

tem with a negative influence on HIV infection. Therefore, HIV-positive travelers
should avoid freshwater contact in endemic areas.
Medical problems after traveling

Every disease occurring during or after traveling should be checked in a timely
manner. Because most tropical diseases are quite rare in temperate countries, diagnosis is often delayed. An analysis of imported visceral leishmaniasis in Germany
revealed a median time span of 85 days until the diagnosis was established (Weitzel
2005). Furthermore, tropical diseases often manifest atypically in HIV patients
(Karp 1999). In any event, differential diagnoses of diseases in HIV-infected individuals is very broad. After traveling abroad the clinical and diagnostic situation
can become even more complex needing close cooperation of HIV and Tropical
Medicine specialists.
References
Amon JJ, Todrys KW. Fear of Foreigners: HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay, and residence. J Int AIDS Soc 2008;11:8.
Andrews KT, Fairlie DP, Madala PK, et al. Potencies of human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitors in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum and in vivo against
murine malaria. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2006;50:639-48.
Bhadelia N, Klotman M, Caplivski D. The HIV-positive traveler. Am J Med 2007;120:574-80.
Chadwick DR, Geretti AM. Immunization of the HIV infected traveller. AIDS 2007; 21:787-94.
Cohen C, Karstaedt A, Frean J, et al. Increased prevalence of severe malaria in HIV-infected adults in South Africa. Clin Infect Dis 2005;41:1631-7.
Falagas ME, Klempner MS. Babesiosis in patients with AIDS: a chronic infection presenting as fever of unknown origin. Clin Infect Dis 1996;22:809-12.
Gompels MM, Todd J, Peters BS, Main J, Pinching AJ. Disseminated strongyloidiasis in AIDS: uncommon but important. AIDS 1991;5:329-32.
Harms G, Schonian G, Feldmeier H. Leishmaniasis in Germany. Emerg Infect Dis 2003;9:872-5.
Hayes C, Elliot E, Krales E, Downer G. Food and water safety for persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus. Clin Infect Dis 2003;36(Suppl 2):S106-9.
Igreja R. Travel medicine and HIV infection. Int J STD AIDS 2008;19:577-80.
Kallestrup P, Zinyama R, Gomo E, et al. Schistosomiasis and HIV in rural Zimbabwe: efficacy of treatment of schistosomiasis in individuals with HIV coinfection. Clin
Infect Dis 2006;42:17819.
Kamya MR, Gasasira AF, Yeka A, et al. Effect of HIV-1 infection on antimalarial treatment outcomes in Uganda: a population-based study. J Infect Dis 2006;193:9-15.
Kaplan JE, Hu DJ, Holmes KK, Jaffe HW, Masur H, De Cock KM. Preventing opportunistic infections in human immunodeficiency virus-infected persons: implications
for the developing world. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1996;55:1-11.
Karp CL, Neva FA. Tropical infectious diseases in HIV-infected patients. CID 1999;28:947-63.
Kemper CA, Linett A, Kane C, Deresinski SC. Frequency of Travel of Adults Infected with HIV. J Travel Med 1995;2:85-8.
Khaliq Y, Gallicano K, Tisdale C, Carignan G, Cooper C, McCarthy A. Pharmacokinetic interaction between mefloquine and ritonavir in healthy volunteers. Br J Clin
Pharmacol 2001;51:591-600.
Khoo S, Back D, Winstanley P. The potential for interactions between antimalarial and antiretroviral drugs. AIDS 2005;19:995-1005.
Korenromp EL, Williams BG, de Vlas SJ, et al. Malaria attributable to the HIV-1 epidemic, sub-Saharan Africa. Emerg Infect Dis 2005;11:1410-9.
Kublin JG, Patnaik P, Jere CS, et al. Effect of Plasmodium falciparum malaria on concentration of HIV-1-RNA in the blood of adults in rural Malawi: a prospective cohort
study. Lancet 2005;365:233-9.
Laufer MK, van Oosterhout JJ, Thesing PC, et al. Impact of HIV-associated immunosuppression on malaria infection and disease in Malawi. J Infect Dis 2006;193:8728.
Mahto M, Ponnusamy K, Schuhwerk M, et al. Knowledge, attitudes and health outcomes in HIV-infected travellers to the USA. HIV Med 2006;7:201-4.
Mermin J, Lule JR, Ekwaru JP. Association between malaria and CD4 cell count decline among persons with HIV. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2006;41:129-30.
Moss WJ, Griffin DE. Global measles elimination. Nat Rev Microbiol 2006;4:900-908.
Moss WJ, Monze M, Ryon JJ, Quinn TC, Griffin DE, Cutts F. Prospective study of measles in hospitalized, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and HIVuninfected children in Zambia. Clin Infect Dis 2002;35:189-96.
Parikh S, Gut J, Istvan E, et al. Antimalarial activity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease inhibitors. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2005;49:2983-5.
Patnaik P, Jere CS, Miller WC, et al. Effects of HIV-1 serostatus, HIV-1 RNA concentration, and CD4 cell count on the incidence of malaria infection in a cohort of adults
in rural Malawi. J Infect Dis 2005;192:984-91.
Rnia L, Potter SM. Co-infection of malaria with HIV: an immunological perspective. Parasite Immunol. 2006;28:589-95.
Richens J. Sexually transmitted infections and HIV among travellers: a review. Travel Med Infect Dis 2006;4:184-95.
Rieder HL. Risk of travel-associated tuberculosis. Clin Infect Dis 2001;33:393-6.
Rocha A, de Meneses AC, da Silva AM, et al. Pathology of patients with Chagas' disease and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Am J Trop Med Hyg
1994;50:261-8.
Salit IE, Sano M, Boggild AK, Kain KC. Travel patterns and risk behaviour of HIV-positive people travelling internationally. CMAJ 2005;172:884-8.
Savarino A, Lucia MB, Rastrelli E, et al. Anti-HIV effects of chloroquine: inhibition of viral particle glycosylation and synergism with protease inhibitors. J Acquir Immune
Defic Syndr 2004;35:223-32.
Schippers EF, Hugen PW, den Hartigh J, et al. No drug-drug interaction between nelfinavir or indinavir and mefloquine in HIV-1-infected patients. AIDS 2000;14:27945.
Schuwerk MA, Richens J, Zuckerman JN. HIV and travel. Travel Med Infect Dis 2006;4:174-83.
Secor WE. Interactions between schistosomiasis and infection with HIV-1. Parasite Immunol 2006;28:597603.
Shah SN, Smith EE, Obonyo CO, et al. HIV immunosuppression and antimalarial efficacy: sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in HIVinfected adults in Siaya, Kenya. J Infect Dis 2006;194:1519-28.
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Sison JP, Kemper CA, Loveless M, McShane D, Visvesvara GS, Deresinski SC. Disseminated acanthamoeba infection in patients with AIDS: case reports and review.
Clin Infect Dis 1995;20:1207-16.
Skinner-Adams TS, Andrews KT, Melville L, McCarthy J, Gardiner DL. Synergistic interactions of the antiretroviral protease inhibitors saquinavir and ritonavir with
chloroquine and mefloquine against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2007;51:759-62.
Weitzel T, Muhlberger N, Jelinek T, et al. Imported leishmaniasis in Germany 2001-2004: data of the SIMPID surveillance network. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis
2005;24:471-6.
WHO. Malaria and HIV interactions and their implications for public health policy. Geneva: WHO, 2005. (Accessed at August 4, 2009, at
http://www.who.int/malaria/malaria_HIV/MalariaHIVinteractions_report.pdf)
Links
Travel Medicine
http://www.cdc.gov/travel/
http://www.who.int/ith/
http://www.tropenmedicus.de/
http://www/crm.de/
Tropical Medicine institutions in Germany

http://dtg.org/institut.html
German recommendations for malaria prophylaxis and therapy

http://www.dtg.org/malaria.html#251
http://www.uni-duesseldorf.de/WWW/AWMF/ll/042-001.htm
Entry regulations and HIV-associated restrictions

http://www.hivtravel.org/
http://travel.state.gov/law/info/info_621.html
Drinking water & mosquito protection

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentSafeFoodWater.aspx
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentMosquitoTick.aspx
588
28. Vaccinations and HIV

Thomas Weitzel
HIV-infected individuals have an increased morbidity and mortality due to various
infectious diseases, which are preventable by vaccinations. On the other hand, vaccinations might cause a higher rate of adverse effects in HIV patients, who are also
prone to a higher rate of failure in achieving protective immune response. Indication and timing of vaccination should therefore reflect each patients individual
situationthe better the patients immune status, the higher the chances for an appropriate immune response. Thus, indications should be checked as soon as a patient is diagnosed with HIV (see chapter Checklist: The new HIV patient). In severely immunocompromised patients, vaccinations are usually not successful and
might even be contraindicated. In such cases, the immunization status of close contacts should be checked and, if necessary, completed information about exposure
and exposure prophylaxis should be provided. In certain situations, passive immunoprophylaxis might be indicated. When ART leads to a sustained rise in CD4
counts, vaccinations should be reconsidered and/or repeated.
Assessing the benefits of a vaccination

Depending on their immune status, a poorer response to previous vaccines and an
accelerated decline of protective immunity over time must be expected in HIV patients. As a rule of thumb:
the response to vaccination is reduced if CD4 T cells are < 300/L,
no vaccination response is expected if CD4 T cells are < 100/L (Rosseau 1999).
As a consequence, vaccinations should be reconsidered if CD4 T cells rise to
>200/l in patients on ART. Besides the current CD4 T cell count, the viral load
and CD4 nadir might influence the effectiveness of vaccinations (Lederman 2003).
To evaluate possible benefits of vaccinations, the anamnesis should include the following factors:
Current status of protection
- Prior infections
- Prior vaccinations (problem: reduced effectivity in severely immunocompromised patients,
consider antibody control)
Current risk of infection

- Sexual risks
- Contacts to infected individuals
- Occupational risks
- Contacts to children
- Traveling
Risks of vaccination
Some vaccinations might cause transient viral load increases. This effect reflects the
stimulation of cellular immunity and does not occur in non-responders to the vaccine. The peak of this increased viral replication appears 1 to 3 weeks after the vaccination. Therefore, routine viral loads should be avoided within four weeks after
vaccinations. Numerous studies demonstrated that these transient elevations of the
viral load (blips) are clinically and immunologically irrelevant. Still, genotyping
before and after an influenza vaccine demonstrated in 2 out of 34 patients new mutations of the RT- or protease-gene (Kolber 2002). Furthermore, the elevated viral
replication can (theoretically) increase the risk of materno-fetal transmission.
Vaccinations and HIV
589
With inactivated vaccines, there is no higher rate of adverse events in HIV patients.
In live vaccines, however, the risk of complications caused by an infection with the
vaccine strain is increased. Severe and even fatal complications have been reported
following vaccinations for smallpox, tuberculosis, yellow fever, and measles. Nevertheless, there is no general contraindication for live vaccines in HIV patients.
Vaccination of contacts
Whenever HIV patients are susceptible to vaccine-preventable infections, particular
care should be taken to vaccinate close contacts who after gaining protective immunity will not transmit the disease. However, with certain live vaccines (e.g. oral
polio vaccine) the HIV patient might acquire vaccine-associated illness from the
contact shedding the vaccine strain. Thus, oral polio and smallpox vaccinations of
close contact persons are contraindicated. In contrast, MMR vaccination of contacts
is possible. Varicella vaccination of contacts is suitable; if such a contact develops
vaccine-associated varicella, the respective HIV patient might receive prophylactic
acyclovir (German recommendations: STIKO 2005; see also Table 2).
Vaccinations in HIV-infected children

With few exceptions, HIV-infected children should be vaccinated according to national children vaccination schedules. Children with severe immunodeficiency
(relative CD4 T cell count < 15%) should not receive MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) or varicella vaccine. Above this level, children should be vaccinated twice
with MMR vaccine (second dose after 1 month). Varicella vaccine can be administered, if CD4 counts are > 25%. The latest US recommendations state that this vaccine should also be considered in children age 1-8 years with CD4 T cell counts >
15% and children > 8 years with CD4 counts >200 cell/L (Mofenson 2009). Due
to lack of data, quadruple MMRV vaccine should be avoided. If one of those four
live vaccines can not be applied, then the family contacts (especially siblings)
should be vaccinated if susceptible. A possible strategy to avoid unnecessary risks
of live vaccines is to predict their success by measuring the response to inactivated
vaccines. If there is no measurable vaccine response to diphtheria/tetanus, a benefit
from live vaccines such as MMR or varicella is unlikely, even if CD4 counts are
higher than the above mentioned limits. In those cases, immunoglobulin prophylaxis may be useful (Tim Niehues, pers. comm.).
HIV-infected children should receive a routine series of 7-valent pneumococcal
conjugate vaccine (PCV), starting in the second month of life, and supplemented by
the 23-valent-polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV) after the second year of life ( 2
months after last PCV dose). PPSV should then be revaccinated every 5-6 years. In
Germany, revaccination is recommended every 3 years until an age of 10 years
(STIKO 2009).
Post-exposure prophylaxis
With some infections, the risk of infection and/or disease severity can be reduced by
post-exposure prophylaxis of susceptible individuals, which includes active and passive
immunizations as well as chemoprophylaxis (Table 2). Usually, the time between
exposure and the start of prophylactic measures is crucial and should be minimized.
590 Special Issues
Practical approach to vaccinations

Informed consent: The obligation to inform vaccinees follows national recommendations and has recently been summarized for Germany (STIKO 2004). HIV
patients should be informed regarding the dangers of vaccine-preventable diseases
and the risks and benefits of vaccines, with particular attention to HIV-related vaccination problems. Some countries might require written information material
and/or a written informed consent. Vaccine information statements in different languages are available via the Internet (e.g. www.immunize.org).
Timing: Vaccinations should be postponed when an acute infection is present;
however, a mild afebrile infection is not relevant. Live vaccines such as MMR,
varicella, and yellow fever must be given either simultaneously or at least four
weeks apart from each other. After treatment with immunoglobulin, live vaccines
should not be administered within the following three months (exception: yellow
fever vaccine). When exact viral load measurements are crucial (e.g. decisions
about ART), vaccinations should be postponed as they might influence viral load.
Booster vs. complete series: As a rule of thumb, a complete series is necessary,
when no prior dose of the respective vaccination is reported or documented. That
means that a past incomplete primary series can be completed independent of a time
delay between the necessary shots (Every shot counts!). This strategy does not take
into account that vaccinations might be repeated if prior doses were given at a time
when the patient was significantly immunosuppressed.
Route of application: Vaccination routes should follow the recommendations provided by the manufacturers of the respective vaccines. High immunogenicity and
few complications make intramuscular injections the preferable application route
for most vaccines (deltoid muscle, in infants also anterolateral thigh; gluteal application are obsolete!). Many vaccines can also be administered subcutaneously (see
respective product information). In hemophiliacs, subcutaneous vaccination followed by thorough compression (> 2 minutes) usually allows vaccination without
coadministration of clotting factors. Only a few vaccines have to be administered
subcutaneously, including meningococcal polysaccharide, Japanese encephalitis,
yellow fever, and varicella vaccines. Intradermal rabies vaccination schedules,
which are licensed in some countries, should not be administered to HIV patients
due to reduced immunogenicity (Tantawichien 2001).
Combination vaccines: In general, it is recommendable to combine vaccines to
minimize patient discomfort (and sometimes costs).
Documentation: Vaccinations should be documented in the patients medical records as well as in a vaccination card kept by the patient. For the latter, a WHO
recommended form can be ordered either through the WHO or national providers.
Documentation includes the brand, manufacturer, and lot number of the vaccine.
591
Details of selected vaccines

Tetanus/Diphtheria/Pertussis: Following a primary series during childhood, lifelong
protection against tetanus/diphtheria should be maintained by boosters every 10 years.
According to a Danish study (Kurtzhals 1992) and observed experiences in Germany,
protection against diphtheria in adult HIV patients is frequently insufficient. Depending on their CD4 T cells, HIV patients have a reduced response to boostering and an
accelerated antibody waning (Moss 2003). Tetanus-diphtheria combination vaccines
that are also available in some countries in combination with polio and/or pertussis
(all suitable for HIV patients), should be used. Recently, in more and more countries,
cases are presented where a single booster of adults with acellular pertussis vaccine is
recommended. Since adult pertussis booster vaccines are often only available as combination vaccines (e.g., tetanus/diphtheria), their use should be considered whenever
tetanus and/or diphtheria boostering might be indicated.
Pneumococcal: Even under highly active ART, HIV patients have an increased risk
of pneumococcal infections (Barry 2006), which can be reduced by vaccination (Breiman 2000, Grau 2005, Rodriguez-Barradas 2008). Older studies demonstrated that in
patients with CD4 T cells < 500/L have a decreased response to pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (Weiss 1995), even if followed by a double-dose booster (Rodriguez-Barradas 1996). A recent study in patients taking ART with CD4 cell counts >
200/L showed a vaccine response that was equal to healthy individuals (Falco 2006).
Still, a cohort study demonstrated that patients with viral loads > 100,000/mL did not
benefit from the vaccine independent of their immune status (Teshale 2008). The
pneumococcal conjugate vaccine seems to have no benefit over the polysaccharide
vaccine in adults (Ahmed 1996, Mahdi 2005). Confusing data arose from a prospective randomized study on 1,392 HIV patients in Uganda, which reported an increased
incidence of pneumococcal infections in the vaccine group (French 2000). Remarkably, long-term follow-up of the initial patient collective showed reduced mortality in
the vaccine group, therefore the effects of pneumococcal vaccination in African patients without ART is still uncertain (Watera 2004).
According to current recommendations, HIV patients with CD4 T cells > 200/l
should receive pneumococcal vaccination as early as possible after being diagnosed
(Geretti 2008, Kaplan 2009, STIKO 2009); with CD4 T cells < 200/l, the effectivity of the vaccine is uncertain, but vaccination should be considered, especially if
other risk factors related to smoking, alcohol, lung disease, etc., are present. Revaccination is recommended every 5-6 years or if CD4 T cells rise > 200/L. However,
infants < 2 years of age should receive the conjugate vaccine (see above).
Influenza: HIV patients have an increased risk of severe manifestations of influenza infection and a higher influenza-associated mortality (Lin 2001). Although
seasonal influenza vaccine is effective in HIV patients (Atashili 2006), influenza
remains a frequent cause of febrile respiratory infections in those patients (Klein
2007). Consequently, private and healthcare contacts of HIV-infected individuals
should also be vaccinated. Yearly vaccination at the beginning of the influenza season is recommended for all HIV patients older than six months (Geretti 2008, Fiore
2009, STIKO 2009). In children under 10 years of age, the first vaccination should
include two doses at a 4-week interval. The intranasal live vaccine is not licensed
for the use in HIV patients.
592 Special Issues

Until now, there is no information indicating that the novel influenza A (H1N1)
virus (swine flu) poses a particular risk for HIV patients. Still, like other patients
with immunosuppression, HIV patients belong to the initial target groups for vaccination with monovalent H1N1 vaccine (CDC 2009).
Hepatitis B: According to international standards, every HIV patient with a negative HBV serology should be vaccinated, a recommendation that is not consistently
followed in daily routine (Bailey 2008). A simultaneous hepatitis A and B vaccination should always be considered, since the combination vaccine is cheaper and
might be more effective (Van der Wielen 2006). The main problem in HIV patients
is the reduced immune response to hepatitis B vaccination (Van den Berg 2009).
Depending on CD4 counts and other factors such as viral load, gender, and age
(Fisman 2002, Overton 2005), only 20-70% of HIV-infected individuals will develop protective immunity measured by anti-HBs (Laurence 2005). Although the
optimal vaccination strategy is still under debate, there is a broad consensus to:
Vaccinate early after diagnosis
Control immune response 4 weeks after the last shot
Revaccinate if the immune response is lacking or suboptimal (Germany: < 100,
USA: < 10 IU/mL) and/or if there is a substantial immunoreconstitution
A normal vaccination schedule (3 doses of 10-20 g) is recommended by most experts. Other strategies with multiple dosages, higher doses or more effective adjuvants
were successfully tested in studies (Cooper 2005, Fonseca 2005, Cooper 2008). If the
initial schedule fails to generate sufficient response, most experts recommend revaccination with a double dose vaccine (40 g), which is commercially available for dialysis patient (e.g. HBVAXPRO 40). The use of hepatitis A/B combination vaccine
(Twinrix) in double dose was also very successful in a recent study (Cardell 2008).
Some experts recommend the use of double dose schedules from the beginning. British guidelines recommend annual controls of anti-HBs levels (Geretti 2008). The optimal management of HIV patients with isolated anti-HBc is uncertain (this constellation might be due to a false positive result, a loss of anti-HBs after infection, or an
occult HBV infection). Most experts recommend the vaccination of such patients and
the control anti-HBs after the first vaccine dose. In the case of a positive result, further
vaccinations might not be necessary (Ghandi 2005).
Hepatitis A: This viral infection is common among HIV patients (Fonquernie
2001). The vaccine is indicated in patients with chronic liver disease or increased
risk of exposure, e.g. MSM, hemophilia or traveling to high-prevalence areas. Routine pre-vaccination serology (HAV IgG) is not generally recommended, but can be
considered in patients with possible prior exposure. A combination with HBV is
available and reduces costs.
Measles: As measles causes severe disease in HIV patients (Kaplan 1992), patients
without proven past infection or vaccination should be vaccinated (two doses with
one month in between). The status of protection should be checked prior to trips to
endemic areas (see chapter Traveling with HIV). It is possible to vaccinate patients
with CD4 T cells > 200/L (different age-specific values in children) or > 15% who
are mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic. Commonly, the MMR combination vaccine
is used. For susceptible patients, immunoglobulin administration is indicated as postexposure prophylaxis (in certain high-risk situations also pre-exposure prophylaxis).
593
Yellow fever: Available data in HIV-infected individuals (around 150 patients, all
with CD4 T cells >200/L) indicate good tolerability of yellow fever (YF) vaccination, but reduced rates of seroconversion (Goujon 1995, Receveur 2000, Tattevin
2004, Veit 2009). One HIV patient with a low CD4 count, who was asymptomatic at
the time of vaccination, developed fatal encephalitis caused by the vaccine strain
(Kengsakul 2002). Vaccination is possible in asymptomatic HIV patients with adequate immune function if possible exposure to YF virus can not be avoided (CDC
2002). In this context, most experts define adequate immune function as CD4 counts
> 200/l (Schuhwerk 2006, Bhadelia 2007, Rivas 2007). In general, older individuals
(> 60 years) have a higher risk for severe adverse events caused by YF vaccination
(Khromava 2005). This should also be taken into account in HIV patients. British
guidelines disapprove YF vaccination in HIV patients > 60 years of age (Geretti
2008). Recently, concerns about a (theoretical) risk of severe side effects of the YF
vaccine in patients treated with maraviroc has been raised (Roukens 2009). Due to
reduced response rates, titer controls are often recommended. Another, and possibly
better, approach is the documentation of seroconversion in a paired serum sample
(before and 2-3 weeks after vaccination). If vaccination is contraindicated, then a
medical waiver should be issued to patients traveling to countries where yellow fever
vaccination is mandatory. In YF endemic areas, the WHO recommends vaccination
even if there is a high prevalence of HIV infection (Moss 2003).
Human papilloma virus (HPV): In 2006, a quadrivalent vaccine against the oncogenic types 16 and 18 as well as types 6 and 11, which are responsible for most anogenital warts, was licensed; and then in 2007, followed by another bivalent vaccine
against types 16 and 18. The HPV vaccination for girls from age 11 to 17 years with
catch-up vaccinations up to age 26 is being recommending in more and more countries. For older women and men, the vaccination is not licensed. Also, at present, there
are no data concerning the efficacy in preventing HVP infection in locations other
than the female genital tract. Since HIV patients have a higher rate of HPV infection
and increased risk for neoplasias caused by HPV, they could also profit from the vaccine. Still, data regarding the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy in HIV-infected
women (and men) are very limited (Palefsky 2007). Since complications of the inactivated vaccine in immunocompromised patients are improbable, the vaccine may be
used in HIV patients on an individual basis (Kaplan 2009). In light of high incidences
of HIV- and HPV-associated cancers in developing countries, the high price of the
vaccine will be a major obstacle to its widespread use.
Varicella: Similar to measles, chickenpox is potentially life-threatening for HIV
patients (Perronne 1990). Patients without a history of VZV infections (chickenpox
or herpes zoster) or vaccination should be screened for antibodies. Alike HIVinfected children (see above), adult HIV patients can be vaccinated if asymptomatic
and not immunocompromised (CD4 > 25%). In mildly immunocompromised patients (CD4 > 200/L), the vaccine might also be used (Kaplan 2009, Geretti 2008).
If the vaccine strain causes clinical manifestations similar to chickenpox, treatment
with acyclovir should be initiated; reactivations as zoster might also rarely occur.
The zoster vaccine, which since 2006 is licensed in some countries, contains a
higher dose of the vaccine strain and should for that reason not be administered to
HIV patients until data of ongoing studies are available (Kimberlin 2007).
The following tables summarize current recommendations.
594 Special Issues

Table 1: Vaccinations in HIV-infected individuals
Vaccine
Type of vaccine
Indications
Cholera
I. Inactivated +
toxoid (Dukoral )
4
II. Live (Orochol
Berna )
Stay in endemic areas

with increased risk of
exposure
Diphtheria
Toxoid
Generally recommended
Haemophilus
influenzae b
(HiB)
Polysaccharide
Children: generally recommended

Asplenia
Hepatitis A
Inactivated
Chronic liver disease,

hemophilia, increased
risk (e.g. MSM, travel to
endemic areas)
Hepatitis B
Recombinant
antigen
Human Papilloma Virus

(HPV)
Recombinant (2or 4-valent)
Influenza
I. Inactivated/
fractionated antigen
II. Live intranasal

Chronic diseases, increased risk (e.g. healthcare workers, sexual
behavior, drug addiction,
stay in endemic areas)
Girls aged 11-17: generally recommended
USA: vaccination in
women up to age 26
Chronic diseases, age >
60, and others (USA:
children until age 18 and
age > 50)
Japanese
encephalitis
Measles
Inactivated
Live
Meningococcal
(groups A, C,
W135, Y)
I. 2-/4-valent
polysaccharide
II. 1-valent conjugate
Mumps
Live

with risk of exposure
4
Susceptible individuals
who work in healthcare,
have contact with kids or
immunocompromised
patients, travel to endemic areas
Children: generally recommended (group C)
Complement deficiency,
hypogammaglobulinemia, asplenia, travel to
endemic areas
4
Susceptible individuals
with contact to children
HIV-specific recommen3
dations / Comments
I. B
II. D
Inactivated vaccine partly
protects against some
forms of travelers diarrhea
B
Age 6 years or older: reduced dosage
B
Might be offered to unvaccinated HIV patients (CDC
2006, Geretti 2008)
B
British recommendations: in
HIV patients booster every
5 years (Geretti 2008)
A
In HIV patients double dose
vaccines might be used
(see text)
I. A
II. D
Yearly different antigen
combination
B
C
Vaccinate susceptible HIVpatients if possible (see
text)
MMR combination vaccine
B
Consider in unvaccinated
HIV patients; in GB recommended in HIV patients age
< 25 (CDC 2006, Geretti
2008)
C
595
Table 1: Vaccinations in HIV-infected individuals

Vaccine
Type of vaccine
Indications
Pertussis
Acellular antigens
Pneumococcal
I. 23-valent polysaccharide
II. 7-valent conjugate
Poliomyelitis
I. Inactivated
(IPV)
II. Live (OPV)

Adults: 1 booster in many
countries recommended
II. In many countries
recommended for all
children up to age 2
I. Chronic diseases, immunodeficiencies, age >
60 years (USA: 65)
Booster if indicated (e.g.
stay in endemic areas)
Rabies
Inactivated
Risk of animal contact in

endemic areas, travel to
endemic areas with risk
of exposure
Rubella
Live
Tetanus
Tick-borne
encephalitis
(German:
FSME)
Tuberculosis
Toxoid
Inactivated
Children: generally recommended Susceptible

4
women of child-bearing
age, susceptible indi4
viduals with frequent
children contact
Generally recommended
Risk of tick bite in endemic areas (usually
April to November)
Typhoid fever
I. polysaccharide
II. live
Live
Varicella
Live (BCG)
Depending on national
guideline (Germany: not
recommended)
with risk of exposure
HIV-specific recommen3
dations / Comments
B
For adults often only available in combination with
tetanus/diphtheria
A
I. After 2 years of age
nd
th
II. 2 months to 5 year of
life
I. B
II. D
B
HIV: often poor response,
serological testing, no intradermal schedules
C
B
B
German and European
areas of risk: see www.rki.de
and Donoso Mantke 2008
D
I. B
II. D
C
Vaccinate susceptible HIVpatients if possible (see
text)
Children: generally recommended Susceptible

4
women of child-bearing
age, susceptible indi4
viduals with frequent
contact to children or
immunocompromised
patients, before immunosuppressive therapy
Yellow fever
Live
Stay in endemic areas,
C
travel requirements in
Vaccination only by authorsome countries
ized institutions
1. Use combination vaccines, if available (exception MMRVaricella, see above)
2. Indications mainly adapted to German standards. Strategies in other countries may vary.
3. A, recommended in HIV patients; B, usable in HIV patients independent of immune status;
C, usable in HIV patients dependent on immune status; D, contraindicated for HIV patients
4. Susceptible: No documented history of disease or vaccination, no specific antibodies in
serological testing
596 Special Issues

Table 2: Post-exposure vaccines and chemoprophylaxis in HIV-infected individuals
Disease
Diphtheria
Type of prophy1
laxis
VAC
CH
Indication
Comments
Close contact (face-toface) with diphtheria

patient
VAC: if last vacc. > 5 y
CH: independent of prior
vaccinations
Immunocompromised
patients or their contacts
after close contact with
patient with invasive
infection
Exposure of susceptible
2
individuals
Within 14 (maybe even
28) d after exposure
CH: oral macrolide x 710 d
Haemophilus
influenzae b
CH.
Hepatitis A
VAC
IG
Hepatitis B
VAC
3
IG
Influenza
VAC
CH
Measles
VAC
IG
IG: exposure of HIV patient (independent of

vaccine history or serology)
VAC: Exposure of a sus2
ceptible individual without immunosuppression
Meningococcal
VAC
CH
Mumps
VAC
Following an index case:

VAC: according to health
authorities
CH: all household members; persons in contact
with oropharyngeal secretions; close contacts
in child-care centers,
dormitories etc.
2
individuals
Pertussis
VAC
CH
Depending on susceptibility and vaccination

status
VAC: contact or outbreak
with strain covered by
vaccine
CH: exposure of unvaccinated or insufficiently
protected HIV patients
VAC: exposure and incomplete immunization

CH: close contacts, e.g.
household contacts
Rifampicin 600 mg qd x
4 d (alternative: ciprofloxacin)
Immunocompromised
patients: IG might be more
effective than VAC (Victor
2007)
HIV: IG recommended in
USA (CDC 2007), VAC/IG
simultaneously recomm. in
GB (Geretti 2008)
German recommendations: STIKO 2009
CH (Influenza A or B):
Oseltamivir (Tamiflu )
75 mg qd x 10 d
Alternative:
Zanamivir (Relenza ) 10
mg qd x 10 d
IG: within 6 d after exposure (consider active vaccination 6 months later)
VAC: within 72 h after start
of exposure, if later: IG
Never VAC + IG simultaneously
CH: if possible, within 24
h, up to 14 d (index case
contagious 7 d before
onset of symptoms)
Rifampicin 600 mg bid x
2 d or ciprofloxacin
500 mg once or ceftriaxone 250 mg i.m. once
Within 3 (-5) d of exposure
Consider contraindications
CH: within 7 d of exposure
Oral macrolides, e.g.
clarithromycin 500 mg bid
x7d
597
Table 2: Post-exposure vaccines and chemoprophylaxis in HIV-infected individuals

Disease
Polio
Type of prophy1
laxis
VAC
Indication
Comments
Any exposure independent of immunization

status
Depending on vaccination status, exposure,
and national guidelines
(German recommendations: STIKO 2009)
Avoid any delays!
Rabies
VAC
3
IG (simultaneous)
Rubella
VAC
2
individuals
Tetanus
VAC
2
IG (simultaneous)
CH
Depending on vaccination status, wound, and

national guidelines
Tuberculosis
Varicella
VAC
3
IG
CH
HIV patients after close

contact with open TB
case
4
IG/CH: exposure of
susceptible immunocompromised individual
4
VAC: exposure of sus2
ceptible individual without immunosuppression
HIV patients:
VAC: consider double
dose on day 0
IG: if CD4 < 400/L use
more liberally (even if
vaccinated before exposure or minor exposure)
Within 5 d of exposure
Consider contraindications
German recommendations: STIKO 2009
Treat as latent TB (see
chapter on TB)
HIV: data lacking

IG: availability limited
CH: alternative to IG; in
high risk situations also
together with IG (e.g. aciclovir 800 mg qid x 5 d)
VAC: within 3 (-5?) d after
exposure, not together
with IG or CH
h, hours; d, days; y, years; qd, once daily; bid, twice daily; qid, 4 times daily
1. VAC, vaccination (active immunization); IG, immunoglobulin (passive immunization); CH,
chemoprophylaxis
2. Susceptible: No documented history of disease or vaccination, no specific antibodies in
serological testing
3. Specific hyperimmunoglobulin might be available in some countries
4. Chickenpox exposure: > 1 h in the same room, face-to-face contact, household contact;
herpes zoster exposure: direct contact with skin lesions or their secretions, but indication
for immunoprophylaxis under debate (data lacking)
598 Special Issues
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Weiss PJ, Wallace MR, Oldfield EC 3rd, OBrien J, Janoff EN. Response of recent human immunodeficiency virus seroconverters to the pneumococcal polysaccharide
vaccine and Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine. J Infect Dis 1995;171:1217-22.
600
29. Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)

Thore Lorenzen
Transmission
The risk of HIV transmission is present if an HIV-negative person comes into contact with the blood, semen or vaginal fluids of an HIV-positive source person. But
exposure of intact skin to HIV-contaminated body fluids (e.g. blood) is not sufficient to transfer the virus. In addition to vertical HIV transmission, HIV transmission is possible if HIV-containing material enter the body by:
needlestick injury or incision by surgical instruments
exposure of damaged skin or mucosal membranes
unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected person
IDU needle or equipment sharing
transfusion of HIV-contaminated blood or blood products
Transmission risk
HIV is not a very contagious pathogen. The transmission rate via one of the methods above ranges between 1:1000 and 1:100. Compared with HIV, the transmission
rate for hepatitis C is 10 times higher, and 100 times higher for hepatitis B.
Factors for the probability of transmission include the amount of host-incorporated
virus transmitted and the exposure time. Contact with body fluids of a patient with a
high viral load theoretically holds a greater risk of contagion than a similar contact
with body fluids of a patient under ART with a suppressed viral load. Additionally,
rapid removal of infectious material e.g. from damaged skin or mucosal membrane
by washing or disinfection presumably decreases the risk of an HIV infection.
For percutaneous contact with HIV-containing blood, an infectiousness of 0.3% in
total is assumed. According to retrospective data, calculations have been established
to assess the transmission risks of accidental exposure more precisely (see Table 1).
Table 1: Calculations to assess estimated individual transmission risk after HIV exposure *
Type of Exposure
Relative Risk
Deep needlestick injury or cut
16 : 1
Fresh blood on the penetrating instrument
5:1
Penetrating needle previously placed in blood vessel
5:1
Source person with high viral load
6:1
Exposition of mucosal membrane
1 : 10
Exposition of inflammatory damaged skin
1 : 10
* Source: German-Austrian recommendations for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis against HIV infection 2008
Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)
601
Table 2 provides information about the assumed transmission risk of other types of
exposure to HIV, for example, unsafe sexual contact. Since little hard data exists,
these risk estimates vary enormously and should be viewed with caution.
Table 2: HIV transmission risk for unprotected sexual contacts *
Type of unprotected contact
Receptive anal sex with HIV- infected
person
Receptive anal sex with person of unknown HIV status
Insertive anal sex with person of unknown HIV status
Receptive vaginal sex
Insertive vaginal sex
Oral sex
Transmission risk per contact

0.1 7.5%
0.06 0.49%
0.02 0.19%
0.05 0.15%
0.03 5.6%
Probability unknown, individual cases have been
reported, particularly through the incorporation
of semen into the mouth.
* Source: German-Austrian PEP recommendations 2008
In primary HIV infection, the establishment of the virus in various tissue reservoirs
does not occur immediately after viral entry. Within a relatively small time frame or
window, the establishment of the virus may be prevented by post-expositional
intervention.
Simian models show that in mucosal membranes, HIV primarily infects the local
immunocompetent cells such as Langherans cells. These cells and/or their sibling
cells migrate to regional lymph nodes; detection of HIV in the blood occurs days
later. The process of local infection and migration of the cells to the lymph nodes
takes approximately 24-48 hours (Spira 1996, Otten 2000). Theoretically, appropriate treatment may avert a systemic infection.
Effectiveness and limitations of PEP

Early reports on the use of AZT after occupational needlestick injuries date from
1989. An analysis of retrospective case-control studies shows that even prophylaxis
with a single antiretroviral (ARV) agent after exposure reduces the probability of an
infection by approximately 80% (Tokars 1993). The combination of multiple drugs
is theoretically more potent.
Unfortunately, there have been transmissions despite the use of PEP. Transmission
of HIV infection cannot always be prevented. Many of the described cases of PEP
failure were treated with AZT alone. But there are also reports on failures of ARV
combination therapies (Cordes 2004).
Furthermore, transmission from patients under ARV therapy may lead to transfer of
resistant virus strains. But how to deal with this issue still remains unclear since
resistance testing takes days or more. So, results arrive too late to avoid the spread
of HIV using the appropriate antiretrovirals.
602 Special Issues
When is PEP indicated?

The decision to provide a PEP should be made by a physician experienced in HIV
treatment. It is helpful to ascertain whether the source person has a supposed or
confirmed HIV infection. Unclear HIV status should be clarified. The source person
should be asked for consent to perform HIV testing. However, denial of consent has
to be respected. If the source person agrees to be tested, then it should be performed
immediately. A rapid HIV test may be helpful in such a situation, but confirmation
of the result should be performed by established laboratory-based methods. Moreover, the sooner the PEP patient starts therapy, the better the chances of avoiding
HIV are, regardless of the state of the possible source.
For source persons with confirmed HIV infection, the actual HIV viral load, stage
of disease, former and current ART have to be taken into consideration. Optimally,
a resistance test would also be available (Puro 2003). The exposed person should
also be asked about any first aid procedures that have already been performed.
After clarification of these queries, the exposed person has to be informed about the
possible risks of pharmaceutical PEP. It should be emphasized that none of the administered agents is approved for use in this special setting. This is also important with regard
to the coverage of cost, especially for sexual exposure. For example, in Germany, although many regional and national plans will cover a limited program of PEP, the
medication cannot be prescribed at the expense of the health insurance company; however, PEP for occupational exposure is usually covered by statutory accident insurance.
Table 3 gives an overview of situations in which PEP is recommended. Here, the
statement of the Swiss Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS (EKAF, Vernazza 2008)
should be mentioned which declares the risk of transmission as negligible in case of
an index person with viral suppression below 50 copies per ml, who has been under
ART for at least 6 months (see ART chapter Prevention). This thesis has been a part
of an intense debate. The overview of recommendations for PEP usages should
serve as an orientation, although deviations may be necessary in individual cases.
Potential risks of PEP

The risks of PEP are primarily connected with the adverse effects of the antiretrovirals, most frequently gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Changes of hematology, transaminases or creatinine are also possible. Additionally, there have been reports of elevated triglycerides and cholesterol levels, and
insulin resistance even in short term use of protease inhibitors (Parkin 2000).
It is unknown whether the temporary use of antiretroviral agents may lead to long
term side effects, but this seems secondary since the main emphasis is to prevent a
chronic and potentially life-threatening disease. For pregnant women, particular
caution is required since data concerning teratogenicity are lacking.
603
Initial interventions
According to actual guidelines, depending on the type of exposure, different procedures are recommended following HIV-exposure. Following needlestick or cut injuries with HIV-contaminated instruments, fluid should be expressed by squeezing
the tissue surrounding the wound and striking out proximal blood vessels towards
the wound. Too intense massage or contusions have to be avoided. The wound
should be flushed with an alcoholic, virucidal antiseptic for a minimum of
10 minutes. For skin that has been in contact with blood or body fluids removal of
the infectious material and subsequent extensive disinfection with a skin antiseptic
appears sufficient. After contamination of an eye, immediate flush with PVP iodine
solution 2.5% or water is recommended. The oral cavity should be washed several
times (about 10-15 seconds each) with an aqueous solution or alcohol after contact
with potentially infectious material.
Table 3: Overview of recommendations for usage of PEP
Occupational Exposure
Percutaneous needlestick injury with hollow needle (body fluids
with high viral load: blood, liquor, material from biopsies, cultured virus)
Deep injury (e.g. cuts), apparently blood stained
Intravenous injection with a previously used needle
Recommended
Superficial injury (e.g. with surgical needle)

Where required, exemption, if source person has AIDS or high
viral load
Considered
Recommended
Contact of mucosal membrane or damaged skin with fluids with

high viral load
Considered
Percutaneous contact with body fluids other than blood (e.g.

urine, saliva)
Not Recommended
Contact of intact skin with blood (including high viral load)
Not Recommended
Contact of skin or mucosal membranes with body fluids such as

urine or saliva
Not Recommended
Recommended
Recommended
Non-occupational Exposure
Transfusion of HIV containing blood products (or if HIV contamination is highly probable)
Recommended
Unprotected receptive sex with an HIV-infected person
Recommended*
Sharing contaminated needle or equipment with IDUs
Recommended
Unprotected receptive oral sex with ejaculation with an HIVinfected person
Considered
Kissing and other sexual contacts without semen-/bloodmucosal membrane contact
Not Recommended
Accidental needlestick injury

Not Recommended
Sources: CDC Guidelines for the management of occupational exposure to HIV 2005; UK
guidelines for the use of posr-exposure prophylaxis for HIV following sexual exposure 2006
*Statement of the Swiss Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS (EKAF) should be considered,
whereas transmission risk during sexual contacts is negligible if the viral load of index person is
<50 Copies/ml for at least 6 months (no STDs, see ART chapter)
604 Special Issues

Needlestick or cut injury
Contamination of damaged skin,

eye or oral cavity
Expressing fluid by squeezing

the tissue surrounding the wound
( 1 minute)
Intensive washing with easily accessible liquid: water or isotonic saline

solution, possibly PVP iodine solution
Intensive antiseptic washing or application of an antiseptic depot of antiviral agent

Figure 1: Recommended initial interventions after HIV exposure (Source: German-Austrian
recommendations for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis against HIV infection 2008)
Persons who, through sexual exposure, have contact with anal or genital mucosae
from infectious material, should wash the penis with soap and water; genital mucosae should be flushed with water after urination in order to wash contaminated material from the urethra. Intense washing of the vagina or intestines is not recommended due to an elevated risk of injuries.
After these initial interventions, an expert in HIV treatment and antiretroviral therapy should be consulted for the decision whether pharmaceutical PEP needs to be
started.
Accurate evaluation and documentation of the course of the accident is very important, especially for occupational exposure. The process of informing the patient
about the risks of PEP needs to be documented carefully and the patient should sign
an informed consent.
Initiation of PEP
Time is the most crucial factor for initiation of PEP. The best chance to prevent
transmission is within the first 24 hours of exposure. After that time period, the risk
of systemic spread of the virus increases. Initiating PEP after more than 72 hours
following exposure does not seem reasonable.
PEP should be initiated as soon as possible, preferably within 2 hours of exposure.
In this short time frame, if consultation with a physician experienced in HIV treatment is not possible, then it might be advantageous to just initiate PEP. Interrupting
a regimen that is not indicated is always an option.
Actual recommendations prefer a regimen with a combination of antiretroviral
agents given over 4 weeks, preferably consisting of two NRTIs and one PI (see Table 5). NNRTIs, especially nevirapine, should not be used for PEP because of the
risk of severe adverse effects (hepatotoxicity) (CDC 2001). For efavirenz such severe adverse effects have not been reported but the impact on the CNS, particularly
in the first weeks of intake, limits its use for PEP.
As far as possible, known resistance against antiretroviral agents of the source person should be taken into account; in many cases, this information will not be available. Therefore use of standard regimens for PEP has proven practical. Recommended combinations are shown in Table 5.
To remark: Except nelfinavir all PIs are recommended to be boosted with Ritonavir.
Furthermore, since 2003, the fusion inhibitor T-20 (Fuzeon) has been approved for
HIV therapy. Other agents, such as attachment inhibitors or coreceptor antagonists,
605
are still under investigation. These new agents with their mechanism to inhibit viral
cell entry might also be interesting with regard to increasing efficiency of PEP. Focusing on T-20, the subcutaneous route of application and high costs currently prevent its routine use.
Moreover, difficulties in monitoring a possible seroconversion might occur as development of antibodies against enfuvirtide may lead to cross reaction with gp41
and a positive result in the HIV-ELISA test.
During pregnancy, PEP should only be used after careful consideration of the benefits, since there are only limited data on teratogenic effects. In any case, advice of a
physician experienced in HIV treatment and pregnancies should be obtained.
After contact with potentially infectious material, not only HIV, but also with other
transmittable diseases. Apart from testing for HIV, hepatitis B and C testing should
be performed. Persons exposed to HBV should receive hepatitis B immunoglobulin
and a vaccine series simultaneously if they have no sufficient vaccination status.
Table 4: Recommended antiretroviral combinations for HIV Post-exposure Prophylaxis *
NRTI
1. TDF + FTC (Truvada)
or
2. AZT + 3TC (Combivir)
or
3. TDF + 3TC (Viread+Epivir)
plus
PI
Lopinavir/r (Kaletra)
or
alternative PI (Nelfinavir, Indinavir,
Saquinavir**, Fosamprenavir**
or
Efavirenz (Sustiva or Stocrin)
* Sources: CDC Guidelines for the management of occupational exposure to HIV 2005; UK
guidelines for the use of post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV following sexual exposure 2006;
German-Austrian Recommendations for PEP against HIV infection. 2008
** only boosted with 2 x 100 mg Ritonavir (Norvir)
Note: Efavirenz often causes CNS side effect within the first few week of use.
Patient communication about unprotected sexual contacts should generate a concern

for the transmissions of other STDs such as syphilis or gonorrhea. Testing is recommended between 2-4 weeks after exposure.
Management of PEP
After initiation of PEP, the patient should not be discharged without a follow-up
consultation. Persons exposed to HIV are under high psychological pressure. In
addition to accompanying the patients, it should be emphasized to the patient that
there is generally alow risk of transmission and no need to dramatize the situation.
Adverse effects often include gastrointestinal symptoms. Changes in hematology,
liver enzymes, and/or creatinine are less frequent. However, tests for these side effects should be conducted after 14 days and at the end of the PEP. Despite close
monitoring, different studies report discontinuation rates of 15-30% (Lancombe
2006, Sonder 2005+2007).
At the end of a completed course or discontinued PEP, HIV testing should be performed after 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months. An HIV PCR which may indicate an early
606 Special Issues

infection before seroconversion would only be helpful if there is reasonable suspicion of a transmission of HIV infection.
In any case, the patient must be advised to practice safer sex until a reliable negative test result is achieved.
References
Bassett IV, Freedberg KA, Walensky RP. Two drugs or three? Balancing efficacy, toxicity, and resistance in postexposure prophylaxis for occupational exposure to
HIV. Clin Infect Dis. 2004 ; 39: 395-401. Epub 2004 Jul 16.
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL. Guidelines for prevention of transmission of HIV and hepatitis B virus to health-care and public-safety workers. MMWR 1989 ;
38: 3-37.
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL. Serious adverse events attributed to nevirapine regimens for postexposure prophylaxis after HIV exposures---worldwide, 19972000. MMWR 2001 ; 49: 1153-6.
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL. Updated U.S. Public Health Service guidelines for the management of occupational exposures to HIV and recommendations
for postexposure prophylaxis. MMWR 2005 ; 54: 1-24.
Cordes C, Moll A, Kuecherer C, Marcus U. HIV transmission despite HIV post-exposure prophylaxis after non-occupational exposure. AIDS 2004;18:582-4
Daar ES, Moudgil T, Meyer RD, Ho DD. Transient high levels of viremia in patients with primary HIV type 1 infection. N Engl J Med 1991 ; 324: 961-4.
Deutsche Aids Gesellschaft (DAIG). Konsensusempfehlung zur Therapie der HIV-Infektion, last update by September 2008. http:// www.daignet.de/site-content/hivtherapie/leitlinien-1/Leitlinien zur ART im Erwachsenenalter.pdf
German-Austrian Recommendations for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis against HIV infection. last update by January 2008. http://www. daignet.de/site-content/hivtherapie/leitlinien-1/Leitlinien zur postexpositionellen Prophylaxe der HIV-Infektion.pdf
Fisher M, Benn P, Evans B et al. UK guideline for the use of post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV following sexual exposure. Int J STD AIDS 2006 ; 17: 81-92.
http://www.bashh.org/guidelines/2006/pepse_0206.pdf
Gounden YP, Moodley J: Exposure to HIV among healthcare workers in South Africa. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2000 ; 69: 265-70.
Lacombe K, Daguenel-Nguyen A, Lebeau V, Fonquernie L, Girard PM, Meyohas MC. Determinants of adherence to non-occupational post HIV exposure prophylaxis.
AIDS 2006;20:291-4.
Limb S, Kawsar M, Forster GE. HIV post-exposure prophylaxis after sexual assault: the experience of a sexual assault service in London. Int J STD AIDS 2002 ; 13:
602-5.
Martin LN, Murphey-Corb M, Soike KF, Davison-Fairburn B, Baskin GB. Effects of initiation of 3'-azido,3'-deoxythymidine (zidovudine) treatment at different times after
infection of rhesus monkeys with simian immunodeficiency virus. J Infect Dis 1993 ; 168: 825-35.
Mayer KH, Mimiaga MJ, Cohen D, et al. Tenofovir DF plus lamivudine or emtricitabine for nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis (NPEP) in a Boston Community
Health Center. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2008, 47:494-9.
Merchant RC, Mayer KH. Perspectives on new recommendations for nonoccupational HIV postexposure prophylaxis. JAMA 2005 ; 293: 2407-9.
Noor MA, Lo JC, Mulligan K,et al. Metabolic effects of indinavir in healthy HIV-seronegative men. AIDS 2001 ; 15: F11-F18.
Otten RA, Smith DK, Adams DR, et al. Efficacy of postexposure prophylaxis after intravaginal exposure of pig-tailed macaques to a human-derived retrovirus (HIV type
2). J Virol 2000 ; 74: 97715.
Parkin JM, Murphy M, Anderson J, El-Gadi S, Forster G, Pinching AJ. Tolerability and side-effects of post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV infection. Lancet 2000 ; 355:
722-3.
Puro V. Genotypic resistance tests for the management of postexposure prophylaxis. Scand J Infect Dis Suppl. 2003 ; 35 Suppl 106: 93-8.
Puro V, Cicalini S, De Carli G et al. Towards a standard HIV post exposure prophylaxis for healthcare workers in Europe. Euro Surveill. 2004 ; 9.
Sonder GJ, Regez RM, Brinkman K, et al. Prophylaxis and follow-up after possible exposure to HIV, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus outside hospital: evaluation
of policy 2000-3. BMJ 2005; 330:825-9.
Sonder GJ, van den Hoek A, Regez RM, et al. Trends in HIV postexposure prophylaxis prescription and compliance after sexual exposure in Amsterdam, 2000-2004.
Sex Transm Dis 2007; 34:288-93.
Spira AI, Marx PA, Patterson BK, et al. Cellular targets of infection and route of viral dissemination after an intravaginal inoculation of simian immunodeficiency virus into
rhesus macaques. J Exp Med 1996 ; 183: 21525.
Tokars JI, Marcus R, Culver DH, et al. Surveillance of HIV infection and zidovudine use among health care workers after occupational exposure to HIV-infected blood.
Ann Intern Med 1993 ; 118: 913-9.
Vernazza P, Hirschel B, Bernasconi E, Flepp M. HIV-infizierte Menschen ohne andere STD sind unter wirksamer antiretroviraler Therapie sexuell nicht infektis.
Schweizerische rztezeitung 2008 ; 89 : 165-169
Weinberg GA, Luque AE, Brown ST, Members of the steering committee, New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute. Nonoccupational HIV postexposure
prophylaxis. JAMA 2005 ; 294: 1615; author reply 1615-6.
607
30. The New (HIV infected) Patient

Sven Philip Aries, Bernhard Schaaf
The initial interview

Can and should be spread over several appointments at short intervals.
What the patient should know after their first appointment

In general terms, how the virus causes illness.
The difference between being HIV-infected and having AIDS.
The importance of CD4 cells and viral burden.
How others can become infected and how this can be avoided in great part.
That additional venereal diseases (STDs) should be avoided, as these can worsen
the course of HIV infection.
That it is, at least in theory, possible to become infected with another more
pathogenic or resistant strain of HIV (re-infection, superinfection).
Where HIV therapy comes in and how helpful it can be.
A healthy balanced diet and regular physical exercise can help improve the prognosis.
Smoking increases the risk of countless complications.
Where to find further information.
The self-help groups and facilities (NGOs, community-based organizations)
available in the area for the support of HIV-infected patients.
What further tests are planned and their usefulness for future treatment.
What the doctor should know afterwards

Infection and risk
When, where and why was the positive HIV test performed? Was there a negative
test prior to this? What risks did the patient take in the meantime? These questions regarding risks can help in the assessment of potential areas of concern for
the patient in further treatment. In the case of a patient without recognizable risk,
the test result may be held in doubt until confirmation is given (see The Laboratory, below).
Where has the patient been recently? This is important because certain germs,
which are dangerous for the immunodeficient patient, occur in specific regions.
For example, someone who has lived in Hollywood for a lengthy period has a
relevant risk of histoplasmosis (which is very rare in Europe).
608 Special Issues

What drugs does the patient consume regularly? Large amounts of alcohol are not
only toxic to the liver, but also may make adherence more difficult. For smokers,
the cardiovascular complications of lipodystrophy during therapy are very real.
Family history of diabetes.
Tuberculosis among contacts of the patient.
Concomitant illnesses
What previous illnesses, what concomitant illnesses?
Formerly treated or untreated infections, STDs, including syphilis and hepatitis
B/C?
What medications are taken regularly/occasionally?
Social
What is the social background of the patient? What do they do professionally?
What duties do they have to fulfill? What are their priorities? Who knows about
the infection? Who will help when/if they become ill? Who do they talk to about
problems? Do they have friends who are also infected? Are they interested in getting in touch with social workers or self-help groups?
The Laboratory
The HIV test is checked in a cooperating laboratory. Western blot is only positive
if gp41+120/160 or p24+120/160 react. Cross-reactive antibodies, for example in
the case of collagenosis, lymphoma or recent vaccination can lead to falsepositive test results, but are very rare with modern tests.
Complete blood count: 30-40% of all HIV patients suffer from anemia, neutropenia or thrombopenia. Checkups should be at least every 3-6 months, including
for asymptomatic patients.
CD4 T cell count and CD4/CD8 ratio at the beginning and every 3-4 months
thereafter. Allow for variations (dependent on time of day, particularly low at
midday, particularly high in the evening; percentage with less fluctuation; HTLV1 co-infection leads to higher counts despite existing immunodeficiency).
Plasma HIV RNA (viral load) and if > 1,000/ml, HIV resistance testing
Electrolytes, creatinine, GOT, GPT, GT, AP, LDH, lipase.
Fasting blood glucose determination in order to assess the probability of metabolic side-effects when undergoing antiretroviral therapy.
Lipid profile, as a baseline determination to check the course of metabolic sideeffects when undergoing antiretroviral therapy.
Urine status (proteinuria is often a sign of HIV-associated nephropathy).
Hepatitis serology: A and B, in order to identify vaccination candidates; B in order to choose the correct HIV treatment that might also effect hep. B, C, in order
to possibly administer HCV therapy prior to/with ART;
TPHA test and cardiolipin when TPHA positive
The New (HIV infected) Patient
609
Toxoplasmosis serology IgG. If negative: important for differential diagnosis, if

CD4 T cells < 150/l prevention of infection (no raw meat). If positive: medical
prophylaxis if necessary.
CMV serology (IgG). If negative: important for differential diagnosis, inform
well about prevention (i.e., safe sex). In cases of severe anemia, transfusion of
CMV-negative blood only. If positive: prophylaxis if necessary.
Varicella serology (IgG). If negative: active vaccination with attenuated pathogens is contraindicated, but at > 400 CD4 T cells/l it is probably safe and perhaps useful.
HLA *B5701 testing is a must before starting abacavir.
The examination
Physical diagnosis, including an exploratory neurological examination (including
vibration sensitivity and mini-mental test).
Unless there is a history of prior tuberculosis or positive Tuberculin skin test
(TST) or T cell interferon gamma release tests (TIGRA), TST according to Mendel Mantoux with 10IE. (Positive if greater than 5 mm) or one of the new TIGRA
(e.g., ELISpot or Quantiferon) that are more specific and sensitive than skin tests.
Chest X-ray. Contradictory recommendations, probably only makes sense in case
of positive TST or TIGRA or clinical indications of disease of the thoracic organs.
Sonographic scan of the abdomen. A harmless, informative examination as a
baseline finding, but not mentioned in the standard guidelines.
ECG and pulmonary function test. Simple tests to rule out any cardiovascular and
pulmonary disease.
For women, a PAP smear upon initial diagnosis, after 6 months and then, if negative, once a year. Important because of the approx. 1.7-fold increase in the risk of
cervical carcinoma.
For homosexually active males, an anal PAP smear is recommended every 3
years (due to approx. 80-fold increase in risk of anal carcinoma).
Especially at low CD4 T cell counts (e.g., < 200/l) fundoscopy (ophthalmological consultancy) in order to rule out active CMV retinitis or scars. Advisable in
cases of good immune status also (photographic documentation as a baseline).
Nutritional advice and/or treatment of malnutrition.
Verifying vaccinations (see chapter on Vaccinations).
Checking the necessity of OI prophylaxis.
Checking the indication for an antiretroviral therapy.
Part 6
Drugs
612
31. Drug Profiles

Christian Hoffmann
3TC (lamivudine)
Manufacturer: GlaxoSmithKline
Indication and trade names: as component of a combination ART for both nave
and pretreated HIV infected patients. 3TC is a component of the following:
Epivir tablets, 150 mg or 300 mg 3TC
Epivir oral solution, 10 mg per ml 3TC
Combivir film-coated tablets, 150 mg 3TC + 300 mg AZT
Trizivir film-coated tablets, 150 mg 3TC + 300 mg AZT + 300 mg ABC
Kivexa film-coated tablets, 300 mg 3TC + 600 mg ABC
Zeffix film-coated tablets, 100 mg 3TC. Caution: Only for HBV, never for HIV
(the dosage is much lower)
Zeffix oral solution, 5 mg per ml. Only for HBV, never for HIV (lower dosage)
Standard dose: 300 mg QD or 150 mg BID. Children - 4 mg/kg with a maximum
of 150 mg BID. Dose adjustment is required with reduced creatinine clearance. For
patients with a creatinine clearance between 30-49 ml/min, a dose of 150 mg QD is
recommended. Below 30, only the oral solution should be used.
Creatinine Clearance
(ml/min)
Initial Dose
Maintenance dosage
> 50
150 mg (15 ml)
150 mg (15 ml) QD
3049
150 mg (15 ml)
150 mg (15 ml) QD
1529
150 mg (15 ml)
100 mg (10 ml) QD
514
150 mg (15 ml)
50 mg (5 ml) QD
<5
50 mg (5 ml)
25 mg (2.5 ml) QD
Side effects: rare. Fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, insomnia and
myalgia may occur, but are usually due to the other drugs in the combination (see
AZT and ABC). Polyneuropathy, pancreatitis, anemia and lactic acidosis are rare.
Comments: Usually well tolerated, 3TC remains an often-prescribed NRTItwelve
years after the date of its first registration in August 1996. 3TC is available in different dosages and several fixed dose combination drugs. Resistance to 3TC develops
quickly but enhances the viral susceptibility to AZT and impairs viral fitness. 3TC is
also effective against hepatitis B (attention: development of resistance can be quite
fast when used as a monotherapy. In addition, there is a risk of HBV rebound upon
3TC discontinuation). The dose required for HBV treatment is lower than that approved for HIV and should never be used in HIV infected patients.
For detailed information see page: 90
Abacavir (ABC)
613
Abacavir (ABC)
Indications and trade name: as component of a combination ART for both nave
and pretreated HIV patients. Abacavir is a component of the following:
Ziagen film-coated tablets, 300 mg ABC
Ziagen oral solution, 20 mg per ml
Kivexa film-coated tablets, 600 mg ABC + 300 mg 3TC
Trizivir film-coated tablets, 300 mg ABC + 150 mg 3TC + 300 mg AZT
Standard dose: 300 mg BID or 600 mg QD, with or without food. Although
mainly metabolized by the liver, abacavir should be avoided in patienrts with severe
renal insufficiency (GFR < 20 ml).
Side effects: abacavir causes a hypersensitivity syndrome (HSR) in about 3 to 8%
of patients. HSR usually occurs within the first six weeks after initiation of treatment. Pruritus and rash are common, but may also be absent. HSR may present as
just fever and slowly developing malaise. Gastrointestinal complaints (nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain) and fatigue are also possible, but not necessarily linked to the
HSR. Elevated liver function tests, insomnia, dizziness, breathlessness, sore throat
or cough are rare. Before starting abacavir, a test for the HLA-B*5701 allele is
strongly recommended. HLA testing reduces the HSR risk considerably, but not
completely. Rechallenge after suspected HSR may be fatal and is contraindicated. It
is also contraindicated after treatment interruption if HSR cannot be definitively
ruled out in retrospect.
More recently, cohort studies have reported an elevated risk of myocardial infarction in patients with recent use of abacavir. The mechanism for this is not clear.
Comments: Abacavir is an NRTI (guanosine analog) with good CNS penetration.
It is usually well-tolerated and has little mitochondrial toxicity. The main problem
with abacavir is a hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) which can be avoided by prior
HLA testing. Due to recent reports on an elevated MI risk, some experts say that it
seems prudent to withhold abacavir from patients with high underlying cardiovascular disease risk if suitable alternative regimens are available.
Acyclovir
Manufacturer and trade names: diverse manufacturers, therefore several trade
names such as Aciclobeta, Aciclostad, Aciclovir, Zovirax.
Indications: herpes zoster, as well as prophylaxis of serious herpes simplex infections of immunosuppressed adult patients.
Dose: for dermatomal herpes zoster 800 mg orally five times a day for one week. In
cases of disseminated or complicated herpes zoster, 10 mg/kg IV TID. Reduce dosage in having patients with renal insufficiency at a creatinine clearance of 25-10
ml/min, 800 mg TID, and at < 10 ml/min, 800 mg BID.
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Drugs
For genital HSV infection, 400 mg five times a day. In severe cases (ulcerating
genital herpes) intravenous treatment with 5-10 mg/kg IV TID. For HSV encephalitis or HSV esophagitis 10 mg/kg IV TID.
Side effects: rare. Headache, nausea and elevation of creatinine may occur. Phlebitis can occur with intravenous dosing.
Comments: approved and well tolerated HZV/HSV medicine. Generics are sometimes significantly cheaper than the originally introduced formulation, Zovirax.
Initiation of treatment for HSV infections should be within the first 24 hours after
appearance of symptoms and when possible, for HZV infection within the first 4
days. Adequate fluid intake is important.
Agenerase, see Amprenavir
Ambisome, see Amphotericin B
Amphotericin B
Manufacturer: Bristol-Myers Squibb (Amphotericin B), Gilead (Ambisome),

Dermapharm (Ampho-Moronal).
Indications and trade names: diverse. Amphotericin B is indicated for organ
mycoses and generalized mycoses, primarily candidiasis, aspergillosis, cryptococcosis and histoplasmosis. AmBisome (more as twice as expensive) is indicated
only if conventional Amphotericin B is contraindicated due to kidney dysfunction
or intolerance. The indication also applies to visceral leishmaniasis. Suspension and
tablets are only licensed for oral candidiasis. Amphotericin is a component of the
following:
Amphotericin B injection vial, 50 mg of powder
AmBisome injection vial, 50 mg of dry agent
Ampho-Moronal suspension, 100 mg/ml
Ampho-Moronal lozenges, to 10 mg
Dosage (per day): when using Amphotericin B, always apply test dose first (see
below). For aspergillosis 1.0-1.5 mg/kg, for other mycoses 0.5-1 mg/kg usually
suffices. Maximum dose is 1.5 mg/kg. In case of overdosage, respiratory and cardiac arrest can occur. Dose of Ambisome: initial 1 mg/kg QD, if necessary this
may be gradually increased to 3 mg/kg.
Side effects: nephrotoxicity, hypokalemia and gastrointestinal complaints. Frequent: fever, chills, and hypotension approximately 10-20 min after starting infusions. Thrombophlebitis (non-liposomal amphotericin B only via a central venous
line). Side effects are generally less severe with Ambisome.
Comments: daily monitoring of electrolytes, creatinine, BUN, ALT, blood count.
A central venous line is always necessary due to hypokalemia and the usually required potassium substitution. Sodium should be kept at normal levels. Do not
combine with other nephrotoxic drugs.
Always prehydrate with 1000 ml 0.9% NaCl. Always first test dose with 5 mg in
250 ml 5% glucose over 3060 min with strict monitoring of blood pressure and
pulse for the first hour. If the test dose is tolerated, then half of the planned mainte-
Atazanavir
615
nance dose may subsequently be given on the same day. In cases of fever or chills
(can be very impressive), the following may be repeated after 30 min: 50 mg
pethidine (e.g., Dolantin) IV plus 1 ampule clemastine (e.g., Tavegil), steroids
only if complaints persist (prednisolone 1 mg/kg).
If side effects are severe, then switch to Ambisome, which is probably not more effective than conventional amphotericin B but significantly better tolerated and less nephrotoxic (no test dose, no prehydration, no central line necessary). Never mix amphotericin
infusions, and always protect from light. Infuse slowly. The longer the infusion time (>
3 hours), the better the tolerability. Always use 5% glucose as a diluent.
Amprenavir (Agenerase), replaced by fosamprenavir in 2008. See below.
Atazanavir
Manufacturer: Bristol-Myers Squibb
Indications and trade name: Atazanavir is indicated for treatment of HIV-infected
adults as part of a combination. Since 2008, it has been used for both pretreated and
ART-nave patients. Atazanavir is a component of the following:
Reyataz capsules, 150 mg, 200 mg, 300 mg
Dosage: 300 mg atazanavir QD combined with 100 mg ritonavir. If ritonavir is not
tolerated, atazanavir can be given 400 mg OD, without booster (combination with
tenofovir should then be avoided). If atazanavir is combined with efavirenz (even if
boosted), increase dosage to 400 mg. The capsules should be swallowed (not
chewed) and taken with a meal.
Side effects: very often hyperbilirubinemia (up to 50%), also with jaundice; rarer
elevated transaminases. Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headache, insomnia and abdominal pain are also relatively rare. In contrast to other PIs, there is less dyslipidemia. The
effect on lipodystrophy remains unknown. Rarely nephrolithiasis.
Interactions, warnings: Do not combine with indinavir. Caution with impaired
liver function. Atazanavir is contraindicated in patients with Child-Pugh B and C.
Be careful with proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and antacids.
Combinations with the following pharmaceuticals are contraindicated: cisapride,
midazolam, triazolam, simvastatin, lovastatin, ergotamines, calcium antagonists.
Life-threatening interactions may occur with concomitant administration of amiodarone, lidocaine (systemic dosing), tricyclic anti-depressants and quinidine (measure plasma levels). Do not combine boosted atazanavir with clarithromycin.
It should not be given with rifampin (reduces plasma levels of atazanavir by 90%).
Reduce the rifabutin dose by 75% (instead of 300 mg daily, give only 150 mg every
other day or three times per week).
Comments: Well-tolerated PI with a favorable lipid profile and a low pill burden
which can be taken once daily. Should be boosted with ritonavir. The most important side effect is hyperbilirubinemia, which often presents as jaundice. There are
some relevant interactions - primarily with proton pump inhibitors and antacids, but
also with tenofovir, efavirenz, and ddI.
616
Drugs
Atovaquone
Indications and trade name: Acute treatment of mild or moderate PCP in cases of
hypersensitivity to cotrimoxazole; in combination with proguanil for the treatment
and prophylaxis of malaria. Off-label, can be used as PCP prophylaxis (as reserve)
and as acute treatment of cerebral toxoplasmosis.
Atovaquone is a component of the following:
Wellvone suspension, 750 mg atovaquone/5 ml.
Malarone film-coated tablets, 250 mg atovaquone and 100 mg proguanil
Dose: as therapy for acute PCP (or toxoplasmosis): 750-1500 mg BID (i.e., 1-2
measuring spoons of 5 ml BID) for 21 days. For prophylaxis 750 mg BID (i.e.,
1 measuring spoon of 5 ml BID) or 1500 mg QD.
Side effects: gastrointestinal complaints such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are
frequent (but often mild), as are rashes, which occur in approximately 20% of patients. Less common are headache and insomnia. Elevated liver enzymes, amylase.
Anemia, leukopenia (rare).
Comments: Atovaquone should be taken with meals, ideally with fatty dishes, as
this improves absorption. Rifampin and possibly also rifabutin lower plasma levels
of atovaquone by approximately 50%. Fluconazole probably increases levels.
Nowadays, used only rarely. Atovaquone is considerably more expensive than other
drugs for PCP prophylaxis.
Atripla
Manufacturer: co-produced by Gilead, Bristol-Myers Squibb and MSD
Indications and trade name: adult HIV-infected patients. It should be noted that
in Europe, approval for Atripla is more strict than in the US. The EMEA has only
approved the use of Atripla in patients who have already achieved virological suppression to below 50 copies/ml on their current antiretroviral regimen for at least
three months. Furthermore, patients must not have experienced virological failure
with an earlier treatment combination or be known to have resistance to any of the
drugs in Atripla.
Atripla film-coated tablets with 600 mg efavirenz, 200 mg FTC, 300 (245) mg
tenofovir
Dose: one tablet daily in the evening, unchewed, on an empty stomach.
Comments: the first complete ART in one single tablet per day; a convenient simplification. In Europe, the above-mentioned limitation of the indication applies. For side
effects, see sections on tenofovir (caution with renal function), efavirenz (CNS side
effects) and FTC.
Azithromycin
617
Azithromycin
Manufacturer and trade names: diverse, therefore several trade names, such as
Azithromycin, Zithromax, Ultreon.
Indications: treatment and prophylaxis of MAC infection. Infections of the upper
and lower respiratory tract, otitis media. Uncomplicated gonorrhea, uncomplicated
genital infections with Chlamydia trachomatis, chancroid. Azithromycin is a component of the following:
Ultreon film-coated tablets, 600 mg
Zithromax film-coated tablets, 250 mg and 500 mg
Zithromax, dry suspension, 200 mg per 5 ml
Dose: primary prophylaxis of disseminated MAC infection: 1200 mg azithromycin
once weekly (2 tablets Ultreon 600 mg per week). MAC treatment: 1 tablet Ultreon 600 mg QD, only in combination with ethambutol and rifabutin.
Infections of the respiratory tract: 500 mg QD for 3 days.
Uncomplicated gonorrhea, uncomplicated genital infections or chancroid with
Chlamydia trachomatis: 1000 mg azithromycin may be given as a single dose.
Side effects: mainly gastrointestinal with stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, and
diarrhea. Rarely, elevations of transaminases, cholestatic jaundice. Reversible
ototoxicity with high doses. Rarely, taste disturbances, discoloration of the tongue.
Allergies.
Comments: This macrolide antibiotic has a long half-life and good tissue
penetration. In patients with genital infections, a single dose is sufficient. For
respiratory tract infections, azithromycin should be given for 3-5 days. In HIV
infection, azithromycin has been often used as (permanent) prophylaxis or
treatment of MAC infections.
AZT (zidovudine)
Indications and trade name: as component in a combination ART for both nave
or pretreated HIV patients. Prevention of maternal-fetal HIV transmission. AZT is a
component of the following:
Retrovir hard capsule, 100 mg AZT and 250 mg AZT
Retrovir film-coated tablets, 300 mg AZT
Retrovir oral solution, 100 mg AZT per 10 ml
Retrovir concentrate, 10 mg AZT per ml (5 Injection vial 200 mg each)
Combivir film-coated tablets, 300 mg AZT + 300 mg 3TC
Trizivir film-coated tablets, 300 mg AZT+150 mg 3TC+300 mg abacavir
Dose: 250 mg BID (in Combivir and Trizivir 300 mg BID). In patients with serious renal impairment (creatinine clearance below 20 ml/min, haemodialysis) 300
mg daily. With severe hepatic impairment 100 mg TID.
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Drugs
Side effects: nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, headache, myalgia, and dizziness. Macrocytic anemia (MCV almost always elevated), rarely neutropenia. Elevations in LDH, CPK and transaminases may occur. Episodes of lactic acidosis are rare.
Interactions, warnings: do not combine with d4T. There is increased
myelotoxicity if used with other myelosuppressive drugs, especially ganciclovir but
also co-trimoxazole, dapsone, pyrimethamine, interferon, sulfadiazine,
amphotericin B, ribavirin and various other chemotherapeutic agents. Ribavirin
antagonizes the antiviral activity of AZT in vitro (combination should be avoided).
Initially monthly monitoring of blood count, transaminases, CPK and bilirubin.
Gastrointestinal complaints can be treated symptomatically and usually subside
after a few weeks. Anemia can develop even after months.
AZT should always be a component of transmission prophylaxis.
Comments: The first NRTI (thymidine analog) on the market and the oldest HIV
drug of all (registered in 1987). Still partner in some ART therapies. However, due
to numerous toxicities (myelotoxicity, mitochondrial toxicity) AZT is prescribed
considerably less frequent than previously. Remains important in transmission prophylaxis. Comprehensive data, good penetration of the blood-brain barrier. Generics to be expected.
Caelyx,see Doxorubicin, liposomal.
Cidofovir
Manufacturer: Gilead
Indications and trade name: CMV retinitis in HIV-infected patients without renal
dysfunction, mainly in cases of resistance/contraindications to ganciclovir or foscavir. As a curative measure for PML, although efficacy is uncertain.
Cidofovir is a component of the following:
Vistide injection vial, 375 mg per 5 ml (= 75 mg/ml)
Dose: induction dose 5 mg/kg IV weekly, by day 21 maintenance therapy with
5 mg/kg IV every two weeks. A precise treatment plan (see below) is necessary.
Side effects: renal failure, which can occur even after 1 dose of cidofovir. Less frequent: neutropenia, dyspnea, alopecia, decreased intraocular pressure, iritis, uveitis.
Fever, chills, headache, rash, nausea and vomiting are usually caused by probenecid
and should subside within 12 hours. Complaints may be lessened with food intake,
antipyretics, or antiemetics.
Warnings: renal function (serum creatinine, electrolytes, proteinuria) should be
checked before each dose of cidofovir. If serum creatinine increases by more than
0.3 mg/dl, reduce dose to 3 mg/kg. If serum creatinine increases by more than
0.5 mg/dl above levels prior to treatment, discontinue cidofovir. Cidofovir is always
contraindicated at serum creatinine levels > 1.5 mg/dl or creatinine clearance below
55 ml/min or proteinuria > 100 mg/dl. Always ensure sufficient hydration. With
normal renal function, cidofovir should be given according to the following scheme
(draw up protocol):
Clarithromycin
3 h
3 to 1 h
0 to + 2 h
+4 h
+10 h
619
2 g probenecid (4 tablets of 500 mg), prior poss. 20 drops novaminsulfon plus

50 mg prednisolone
1000-2000 ml 0.9% NaCl
Cidofovir in 500 ml 0.9% NaCl over 1-2 h. Concurrently 1000 ml 0.9% NaCl.
1 g probenecid (2 tablets of 500 mg), prior poss. 20 drops Novaminsulfon
1 g probenecid (2 tablets of 500 mg), prior poss. 20 drops Novaminsulfon
Potentially, nephrotoxic drugs such as aminoglycosides, amphotericin B, foscarnet,

IV pentamidine or vancomycin must be avoided or discontinued at least 7 days
prior to treatment with cidofovir. Probenecid is necessary to reduce nephrotoxicity.
Probenecid has drug interactions with acetaminophen, acyclovir, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, aminosalicylic acid, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, bumetanide, clofibrate, methotrexate, famotidine, furosemide and theophylline.
Comments: Reserve drug in severe CMV infections. Rarely used, due to considerable nephrotoxicity. The effect in PML is more than questionable.
Clarithromycin
names, such as Clarithromycin-CT Klacid, Mavid.
Indications: prophylaxis and treatment of MAC disease. Infections of the respiratory tract, ENT area and the skin. Clarithromycin is a component of the following
(selection):
Mavid film-coated tablets, 500 mg
Klacid film-coated tablets, 250 mg
Dose: with MAC 500 mg BID, both for primary prophylaxis and for maintenance
therapy. 50% dose reduction if creatinine clearance is below 30 ml/min. At respiratory tract infections 250 mg BID will suffice.
Side effects: mainly gastrointestinal complaints such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort (rarely tenesmus) and diarrhea; in addition, allergic skin reactions,
headache, elevated transaminases, alkaline phosphates and bilirubin.
Interactions, warnings: no concurrent treatment with rifampin, carbamazepine,
cisapride, terfenadine, pimozide and other macrolide antibiotics such as
erythromycin or azithromycin. Lopinavir and ritonavir increase clarithromycin
levels. If administered concurrently, oral treatments with clarithromycin and AZT
should be taken 1-2 hours apart.
Comments: Macrolide antibiotic with a shorter half-life than azithromycin. The
daily dose should not exceed 500 mg BID.
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Drugs
Clindamycin
Manufacturer and trade name: diverse manufacturers, therefore several trade
names, such as Aclinda, Clindabeta, Clindamycin-ratiopharm, Sobelin.
Indications: for HIV+ patients, mainly cerebral toxoplasmosis. Also for serious
infections by anaerobes, staphylococci (because of good tissue- and bone
penetration also used in dentistry).
Dose: 600 mg IV QD or 600 mg oral QD (always with pyrimethamine and leucovorin). Half dose for (oral) maintenance therapy. In renal failure, reduce dose to a
quarter or a third of the normal dose.
Side effects: diarrhea in 10-30% of patients. Allergies are also frequent and often
require discontinuation.
In cases of infection with Clostridium difficile Pseudomembranous colitis, the
clinical spectrum ranges from mild watery stool to severe diarrhea with blood and
mucous, leukocytosis, fever and severe abdominal cramps which may progress to
peritonitis, shock and toxic megacolon.
Warnings: Clindamycin is contraindicated in inflammatory bowel disease and antibiotic-induced colitis. Caution with reduced hepatic or renal function and in
asthma. No concurrent administration of antiperistaltics. For every occurrence of
diarrhea on clindamycin, discontinue and give vancomycin.
Comments: Still used in patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis. Several side effects,
caution with colitis.
Combivir
Indications and trade name: as a component in combined therapy for ART nave
or pretreated HIV patients.
Combivir film-coated tablets, 300 mg AZT + 300 mg 3TC
Dose: 1 tablet BID. In cases of reduced renal function (creatinine clearance below
50 ml/min) and anemia, Combivir should be replaced with the individual drugs to
allow for adjustment of 3TC and AZT doses.
Comments: in the year 1998 the first combination preparation in HIV medicine.
For a long time one of the most used drugs. While it is prescribed less, it remains a
valuable alternative. See AZT for side effects.
Co-trimoxazole (Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole)
621
Co-trimoxazole (Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole)
names, such as Cotrimratiopharm, Cotrimstada, Eusaprim
Indications: Prophylaxis and treatment of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP).
Prophylaxis and treatment (reserve drug) of cerebral toxoplasmosis. Also for other
infections, for example, urinary tract infections.
Cotrim 960 tablets, 160/800 mg TMP/SMX
Cotrim forte tablets, 160/800 mg TMP/SMX
Cotrim 480 tablets, 80/400 mg TMP/SMX
Bactrim liquid suspension, adults (= 16/80 mg/ml), children (8/40 mg/ml)
Bactrim ampule, 80/400 mg TMP/SMX
Dose: As PCP prophylaxis: 80/400 mg QD or 160/800 mg TMP/SMX 3 x/week. As
PCP therapy: 5 mg/kg (based on TMP) orally or IV q 8 h x 21 days, therefore usually 5 to 6 ampules each 80/400 mg TID.
Toxoplasmosis prophylaxis: 1 tablet (160/800 mg) QD. With reduced renal function, use half-dose with creatinine clearance of 15 to 50 ml/min. Co-trimoxazole is
contraindicated below 15 ml/min.
Side effects: allergies. High intravenous doses also cause myelotoxicity (anemia,
neutropenia), nausea, vomiting, headache, raised transaminases. Treatment can often be continued in cases of mild allergy.
Comments: caution with sulfonamide allergy. Co-trimoxazole oral suspension for
children can be used for desensitization. Increase the dose slowly over six days
from 12.5, 25, 37.5, 50 and 75 to 100% of the 480 mg tablet dose. Co-trimoxazole
can increase levels of anticoagulants and phenytoin and reduce the efficacy of oral
contraceptives.
Crixivan, see Indinavir.
Cymeven, see Gancyclovir.
d4T (stavudine)
Indications and trade name: HIV infection.
Zerit hard capsule, 20, 30 and 40 mg
Zerit powder for preparation of an oral solution, 1 mg /ml
622
Drugs
Dose: 40 mg BID for body weight > 60 kg, 30 mg BID for body weight < 60 kg.
On empty stomach or with a light meal.
In renal failure:
Weight
<60 kg
>60 kg
CrCl 26-50 ml/min

15 mg BID
20 mg BID
CrCl below 26 ml/min (incl. dialysis patients)*

15 mg QD
20 mg QD
*Hemodialysis: patients should take d4T after dialysis, and at the same time on non-dialysis
days.
Side effects: more than other NRTIs, mitochondrially toxic, lipoatrophy. Peripheral
neuropathy, especially in combination with ddI (up to 24%). The following are less
frequent: diarrhea, nausea, headache, hepatic steatosis and pancreatitis. Very rare,
but potentially fatal are lactic acidosis, which occurs mostly in combination with
ddI (especially in pregnancy).
Comments: d4T is a thymidine analog like AZT (do not combine). Subjective tolerability is good; the drug was long-considered an important alternative to AZT.
Due to the mitochondrial toxicity (lipoatrophy, lactic acidosis, peripheral neuropathy), the (long-term) use of d4T is no longer recommended. Contraindicated with
existing peripheral neuropathy. Do not combine with other neurotoxic drugs
(ethambutol, cisplatin, INH, vincristine, etc). D4T should not be combined with
AZT.
Dapsone
Manufacturer: Fatol
Indications: reserve drug for prophylaxis of PCP and cerebral toxoplasmosis.
Other (rare) areas of application are in dermatology (bullous pemphigoid), rheumatology and leprosy.
Dapson-Fatol tablets, 50 mg
Dose: 100 mg daily. Alternative: 50 mg QD + pyrimethamine 50 mg/week + folinic
acid 30 mg/week.
Side effects: allergies (pruritus, rash), fever. Frequently hemolytic anemia (with
almost obligatory elevation of LDH), hepatitis.
Comments: dapsone is contraindicated in severe anemia and must be used with
caution in G-6-PD deficiency. It is contraindicated in Mediterranean G-6-PD deficiency. Not to be taken simultaneously with ddI, antacids and H2 blockers (to be
taken at least two hours apart). Rifabutin and rifampin lower dapsone levels.
Daraprim, see Pyrimethamine.
ddI (didanosine)
623
Darunavir (TMC114)
Manufacturer: Tibotec
Indications and trade name: to be used in either ART nave (since 1/2009) and
pretreated HIV patients.
Prezista tablets, 400 and 600 mg
Dose: Depending on previous therapy, once or twice daily (1/2009)
ART nave: 800 mg QD (2 tablets of 400 mg) + 100 mg ritonavir QD
Pre-treated: 600 mg BID (1 tablets of 600 mg) + 100 mg ritonavir BID
Side effects: the usual PI side effects, with (moderate) gastrointestinal complaints
and dyslipidemia. The dyslipidemia may not be as pronounced as with other PIs.
Data on lipodystrophy is missing. Rash (7%) within the first 2 weeks.
Interactions, warnings: darunavir should be taken with or shortly after meals.
Caution for sulfonamide allergy. Since darunavir is metabolized by the cytochrome
P450 system, some interactions have to be taken into account. Lopinavir and saquinavir lower the plasma levels of darunavir, the combinations should be avoided.
Also do not combine with St. Johns wort, astemizole, terfenadine, cisapride, pimozide, midazolam, triazolam, ergotamine derivatives, rifampicin, phenobarbital,
phenytoin, and carbamazepin. Use atorvastatin instead of pravastatin at the lowest
dose (10 mg). Dosage adjustments may be required with efavirenz (decreased darunavir levels and increased efavirenz levels), rifabutin (r. dose should be reduced
to 150 mg each two days), calcium antagonists (increased levels), methadone (reduced levels). Interactions with contraceptives.
Maximum doses of PDE5 inhibitors when combined with darunavir, 10 mg Cialis
in 72 hours; 2.5 mg Levitra in 72 hours; 25 mg Viagra in 48 hours. For further
information (-azole, cyclosporine, SSRIs and others) see product information.
Comments: darunavir is a new, well-tolerated and broadly applicable protease inhibitor that has considerable activity against PI-resistant viruses. Needs to be
boosted with ritonavir. The indication was recently extended to ART nave patients.
Different dosages as well as interactions have to be taken into account.
ddC (zalcitabine),
manufacturing and distribution was stopped in 2006.
ddI (didanosine)
Indications and trade name: HIV infection
Videx hard capsules, 125, 200, 250 and 400 mg
Videx powder, 2 g
Dose: 400 mg QD (body weight > 60 kg) or 250 mg QD (body weight < 60 kg). ddI
must be taken on an empty stomach, at least 2 hours after or at the latest 1 hour before meals.
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Drugs
Side effects: diarrhea, nausea, headache. Pancreatitis, even after longer periods of
treatment. Peripheral polyneuropathy. Rarely lactic acidosis, especially in combination with d4T and ribavirin.
Interactions, warnings: acute and chronic pancreatitis are contraindications, as
well therapy with ribavirin. The following drugs should be used with caution: d4T,
ethambutol, cisplatin, disulfiram, INH, vincristine, etc (peripheral neuropathy).
Concurrent dosing with tenofovir should be avoided because it increases the AUC
of ddI by 44%. The ddI dose should be reduced to 250 mg. Tenofovir must be taken
two hours before or one hour after ddI. Treatment with indinavir, dapsone, ketoconazole, itraconazole, or tetracyclines should be given 2 hours before or after ddI.
Initially, monthly monitoring of amylase, blood count, transaminases and bilirubin.
Patients should be informed about the symptoms of pancreatitis. ddI should be discontinued if there is clinical suspicion for pancreatitis with no rechallenge.
Comments: An early NRTI. Due to considerable toxicity (pancreatitis, polyneuropathy, mitochondrial toxicity) today only used in certain resistance situations. The
dose has to be adjusted according to bodyweight. Combinations with tenofovir and
d4T should be avoided.
Diflucan, see Fluconazole.
Delavirdine
Manufacturer: Pfizer
Indications and trade name: HIV infection. Not licensed in Europe.
Rescriptor tablets, 100 mg and 200 mg
Dose: 400 mg TID. The tablets can be dissolved into water.
Side effects: rash, usually occurring within the first six weeks of treatment. In uncomplicated cases, give antihistamines. Discontinue if systemic effects such as fever, conjunctivitis, and myalgia occur. Nausea, elevated transaminases.
Interactions, warnings: delavirdine is contraindicated for concurrent treatment
with rifabutin, rifampin, carbamazepine, phenytoin, alprazolam, astemizole, phenobarbital, cisapride, midazolam, terfenadine and triazolam.
Delavirdine interacts with numerous drugs via reduction of CYP3A activity. It increases the AUC of some PIs (saquinavir, nelfinavir), sildenafil, dapsone,
clarithromycin, quinidine and warfarin. Delavirdine levels are lowered by ddI, H2
blockers, carbamazepine, phenytoin and antacids.
Comment: delavirdine is rarely used due to impractical dosing, high pill burden
and drug interactions. This NNRTI is not approved in Europe.
Doxorubicin (liposomal)
625
Doxorubicin (liposomal)
Manufacturer: Essex
Indications and trade name: AIDS-associated Kaposi sarcoma with < 200 CD4
cells/l and severe mucocutaneous or visceral involvement.
Caelyx injection vial, 10 ml (20 mg) and 25 ml (50 mg).
Dose: 20 mg/m2 in 250 ml 5% glucose solution intravenously over 30 minutes. Repeat after 2-3 weeks.
Side effects: myelosuppression, cardiomyopathy, stomatitis (rarely severe), palmarplantar erythrodysesthesia (PPE or hand-foot syndrome - erythematous rash which
may be very painful. Treatment: cool affected areas). Be careful with paravasate
(never s.c. or intramuscular, never give a bolus.)
Interactions, warnings: liposomal doxorubicin is contraindicated in decompensated cardiomyopathy, severe myelosuppression (neutrophils < 1,000/l, platelets
< 50,000/l).
Cardiological examination is important (ECG, echocardiography: left ventricular
ejection fraction, LVEF) before initiation of treatment and at periodic intervals during treatment. If the cumulative dose of 450 mg/m2 is exceeded, then an echocardiography is necessary before each further cycle.
It is important to inform patients of PPE (may be induced by sweating, pressure,
friction i.e., no tight gloves, no sun, no long warm showers). Cool drinks are favorable.
This drug is expensive.
Efavirenz
Manufacturer: BMS (Sustiva); MSD (Stocrin); Gilead/BMS/MSD (Atripla)

Sustiva film-coated tablets, 600 mg, in some countries known as Stocrin
Sustiva hard capsules, 50 mg, 200 mg
Sustiva solution for oral administration, (30 mg/ml, 180 ml = 5.4 g).
Atripla film-coated tablets, 600 mg efavirenz + 200 mg FTC + 300 mg tenofovir
Dose: 600 mg daily preferably before going to bed on an empty stomach.
Side effects: CNS symptoms occur frequently in the first weeks. Nightmares, confusion, dizziness, depression, somnolence, impaired concentration, insomnia and
depersonalization. A generally mild rash (15%) may also occur in the first weeks,
and continued treatment is usually possible. Elevation of liver function tests and
biliary enzymes. Dyslipidemia. Occasionally painful gynecomastia.
Interactions, warnings: contraindicated in pregnancy. Caution with women of
childbearing age. Efavirenz should not be taken with fatty meals (possibly higher
absorption and side effects).
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Drugs
Contraindicated for concurrent administration with ergotamines, astemizole, cisapride, midazolam, terfenadine and triazolam. Should not be combined with contraceptives.
Dose increases in combination with lopinavir/r (3 capsules BID), atazanavir/r
(400/100mg), rifabutin (450 mg), methadone (20-30%) and maraviroc (600 mg BID
if no boosted PI is given).
Comments: Efavirenz is a frequently used and very effective NNRTI. However, it
has multiple CNS side effects. Further disadvantages as with the other members of
this drug class include drug interactions, low resistance barrier and cross-resistance.
Emtricitabine (FTC)
Manufacturer: Gilead (Emtriva and Truvada); Gilead+BMS+MSD (Atripla)

Emtriva hard capsules, 200 mg FTC
Emtriva solution, 10 mg FTC per ml

Truvada film-coated tablets, 200 mg FTC + 300 mg tenofovir
Atripla film-coated tablets, 200 mg FTC + 300 mg tenofovir + 600 mg efavirenz
Dose: 200 mg QD (solution: recommended dose 240 mg = 24 ml). At reduced
creatinine clearance, combination preparations should be avoided. FTC is adapted
as follows:
CrCl (ml/min)
3049
Dose
200 mg every 2 days
1529
200 mg every 3 days
Below 14 or dialysis
200 mg every 4 days
Side effects: Most commonly mild headache, nausea, diarrhea, rash. Possibly hyperpigmentation.
Comments: FTC is a well-tolerated cytidine analog comparable to 3TC. FTC has
the same resistance profile but has a significantly longer half-life than 3TC. Used as
a component in Truvada and Atripla. Effective against HBV.
Emtriva, see Emtricitabine.
Enfuvirtide, see T-20.
Epivir, see 3TC.
Eremfat, see Rifampicin.
Filgrastim, see G-CSF.
Ethambutol
627
Ethambutol
Manufacturer: among others Riemser, Fatol
Indications and trade name: tuberculosis, MAC infection
EMB-Fatol tablets, 100 mg
EMB-Fatol film-coated tablets, 250 mg, 400 mg and 500 mg.
EMB-Fatol injection solution, 1 g in 10 ml.
Myambutol film-coated tablets, 100 mg and 400 mg.
Myambutol Injection solution, 400 mg/4 ml and 1000 mg/10 ml
Dose: 15 to 25 mg/kg (maximum 2 g) daily, usually 3 400 mg tablets of QD.
Ethambutol should only be given as combination therapy. Dose reduction in renal
failure as follows:
Cr Cl
Dose
Above 75 ml/min
25 mg/kg
40-75 ml/min
15 mg/kg
30-40 ml/min
15 mg/kg every second day

Measurement of serum levels required*
< 30 ml/min
*Serum levels should be within the range of the minimal inhibitory

concentration 2-5 g/ml after 2-4 hours.
Side effects: ethambutol can lead to optical neuritis with impaired vision
(decreased acuity, restricted fields, loss of red-green color discrimination). It is
usually reversible if ethambutol is discontinued immediately.
Other side effects: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, dizziness, pruritus,
arthralgia, elevated serum uric acid (possible acute gout attacks), abnormal liver
function tests.
Interactions, warnings: ethambutol is contraindicated with pre-existing optical
nerve damage.
Ophthalmologic examination before initiation of treatment and subsequently at 4week intervals (color discrimination, field of vision, acuity). Immediate
discontinuation to prevent optical atrophy if drug-related impairment of vision
occurs.
Patients should be informed that impairment of vision may occur and to
immediately report this to the treating physician.
Aluminum hydroxide reduces absorption of ethambutol; ethambutol should
therefore be taken at least one hour before antacids.
Monitor liver values and uric acid levels at monthly intervals.
628
Drugs
Etravirine (TMC125)
Manufacturer: Tibotec.
Indications and trade name: in combination with a boosted protease inhibitor and
other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in antiretroviral
treatment-experienced adult patients.
Intelence tablets, 100 mg
Dose: 200 mg (2 x 2 pills) BID after a meal. The tablets are soluble in water.
Side effects: Mostly mild rash, nausea is rare. At a mild exanthema, which usually
appears in the second week, treatment can usually be continued. Immediately stopping at a serious exanthema. Rarely Stevens-Johnson syndrome, recently cases of
TEN.
Interactions, warnings: Etravirine is a substrate of the CYP450 enzyme system as
well as an inductor of CYP3A4 and an inhibitor of CYP2C9. Therefore, some interactions have to be anticipated. Etravirine reduces the serum concentrations of atazanavir, maraviroc and raltegravir and increases fosamprenavir levels. On the other
hand, the etravirine levels are considerably reduced by tipranavir, efavirenz and
nevirapine (moderately by darunavir, saquinavir and tenofovir). Lopinavir and delavirdine increase the levels of etravirine.
Result: Etravirine should not be combined with the following:
Atazanavir, fosamprenavir, tipranavir, unboosted PIs or other NNRTIs. Avoid
rifampicin, carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin and St. Johns wort as well.
For further details, see product information.
Comments: Etravirine is the first second-generation NNRTI that was licensed (in
2008) for pre-treated patients. It is well-tolerated and effective against NNRTIresistant HIV strains with classic NNRTI mutations like K103N. Should always be
combined with boosted PI (preferably darunavir).
Fluconazole
Manufacturer and trade name: Pfizer and many other companies, therefore several trade names, such as Diflucan, Fluconazole CT/Stada, or Flucobeta.
Indications: Candida infection, cryptococcal meningitis and some rare mycoses.
Fluconazole capsules, 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg
Fluconazole suspension, 50 mg per 10 ml
Fluconazole IV for injections, 100, 200 and 400 mg
Dose: for oral candidiasis, 100 mg QD orally; for candida esophagitis 200 mg QD
for 7-10 days. Double the dose on the first day. An attempt with a higher dose (up
to 800 mg daily) may be made if there is persistent candidiasis after 10 days.
Cryptococcal meningitis: Initially, 400-800 mg daily, combined with flucytosine
and amphotericin B if possible. After completion of acute therapy usually after 6
weeks maintenance therapy with 200 mg fluconazole daily.
Fosamprenavir
629
Renal insufficiency: half the dose with creatinine clearance of 10 to 50 ml/min;

reduce to 25% below 10 ml/min.
Side effects: overall good tolerability, rarely gastrointestinal complaints and elevated transaminases. Reversible alopecia in approximately 10% of cases with more
than 400 mg daily.
Interactions, warnings: long-term treatment may lead to development of candidaresistant strains. Fluconazole is not effective against C. krusei or aspergillus. In
cases of C. glabrata infection higher doses are required (sensitivity is dosedependent). Fluconazole levels are reduced with concurrent administration of rifabutin/rifampin. Fluconazole increases the serum levels of rifabutin, atovaquone,
clarithromycin, theophylline, opiates, coumarin derivatives, benzodiazepines, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, phenytoin and anti-convulsive drugs as well as AZT.
Comments: Fluconazole is the first choice for HIV-associated candidiasis and for
the secondary prophylaxis of cryptococcosis (also as component of acute therapy).
The tablets have good absorption. Infusions (2-3 times more expensive) are only
required in cases of non-adherence, severe mucositis, and/or problems with absorption.
Fosamprenavir
Indications and trade name: HIV infection, for both treatment-nave and experienced patients. US trade name: Lexiva
Telzir film-coated tablets, 700 mg
Telzir suspension, 50 mg/ml (225 ml bottle = N1)
Dosage in treatment-nave patients:
700 mg BID + 100 mg ritonavir BID (2 x 2 pills, normal dose)
1400 mg BID (without ritonavir, not approved in Europe).
1400 mg QD + 200 mg ritonavir QD (1 x 4 pills; not approved in Europe).
Dosage in PI-experienced patients:
700 mg BID + 100 mg ritonavir BID (2 x 2 pills)
Side effects: most frequently diarrhea which may be severe in some cases. Also
nausea, vomiting, rash (up to 20%). Rarely Stevens-Johnson syndrome (< 1%).
Interactions, warnings: Fosamprenavir can be taken on an empty stomach or with
a meal. Contraindicated: cisapride, pimozide, midazolam, triazolam, ergotamines.
Flecainide and propafenone are also contraindicated when fosamprenavir is boosted
with ritonavir. There may be life-threatening interactions upon concurrent administration of amiodarone, lidocaine (systemic), tricyclic anti-depressants and
quinidine. Do not use together with rifampin (this reduces amprenavir plasma levels
by 90%), delavirdine or St. Johns wort; use cautiously with simvastatin, lovastatin,
sildenafil, vardenafil.
Carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin and dexamethasone can lower plasma
levels of amprenavir.
630
Drugs
Rifabutin: dose reduction of rifabutin by at least 50%. If fosamprenavir is boosted

with ritonavir, a 75% reduction of the rifabutin dose is required (instead of 300 mg
daily, only 150 mg every other day, or 150 mg three times per week). An increased
methadone dose may be required.
Efavirenz seems to lower plasma levels significantly (probably clinically relevant).
However, this is not the case if fosamprenavir is boosted with ritonavir. If fosamprenavir + ritonavir are administered once daily, then the ritonavir dose should be
increased to 300 mg. Caution in combination with lopinavir plasma levels of both
drugs are reduced. If dosed > 400 mg daily, possibly dose reduction of ketoconazole/itraconazole. If fosamprenavir is boosted with ritonavir, ketoconazole and itraconazole maximum dose 200 mg daily. Caution in patients with sulfonamide allergy or with reduced liver function.
Comments: Except for diarrhea, this PI is well-tolerated. As a calcium phosphate
ester of amprenavir, fosamprenavir is more soluble and absorbable (lower pill burden). However, fosamprenavir currently does not play an important role in HIV
medicine. There is no convincing argument for its use. One advantage of the drug is
that there are no restrictions with respect to food intake.
Fortovase , see Saquinavir.
Foscarnet
Manufacturer: AstraZeneca
Indications and trade name: reserve drug for induction and maintenance therapy
of CMV retinitis. Severe acyclovir-resistant herpes or varicella zoster infections.
Foscavir IV, 250 ml with 24 mg/ml
Dose: 90 mg/kg IV over at least 2 hours BID for induction therapy (2-3 weeks) of
CMV retinitis. 90-120 mg/kg over 2 hours QD for maintenance therapy.
HSV and HZV infections: 60 mg/kg IV BID for 2 weeks.
Side effects: nephrotoxicity. Usually reversible after discontinuation of foscarnet.
Electrolyte changes (hypocalcemia, hypokalemia) are also common. More rarely,
anemia, neutropenia, fever, rash, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. Often painful penile ulcerations (washing recommended after every urination).
Interactions, warnings: good hydration. At least 2.5 l fluids daily. To prevent
hypocalcemia give one ampule of 10% calcium solution in 100 ml 5% glucose
immediately prior to infusion of foscarnet. Give 500-1000 ml 5% glucose before or
after foscarnet dose. Do not mix infusions.
Initial monitoring of Na, K, Ca, creatinine, blood count at least 3x/week.
No concurrent treatment with other nephrotoxic drugs.
Adjust dose in renal insufficiency. See prescribing information.
Comment: Since the approval of valgancyclovir, foscarnet is only used rarely.
However, it can be useful in some resistance situations (herpes viruses).
Gancyclovir
631
Foscavir, see Foscarnet.

Fuzeon, see T-20.
Gancyclovir
Manufacturer: Hoffmann-La Roche
Indications and trade name: CMV retinitis.
Cymeven IV, 500 mg
Dose: initial treatment with normal renal function: 5 mg/kg BID as an IV infusion
for one hour. Treatment duration, 14 to 21 days.
Maintenance therapy: 6 mg/kg IV QD, 5 x/week.
Side effects: leukopenia, anemia and thrombocytopenia are dose limiting. Nausea,
vomiting or CNS symptoms such as confusion or headache are rare.
Interactions, warnings: monitor blood count every other day. Discontinue drug
when below 500/l (G-CSF if necessary). Contraindicated in neutropenia < 500/l,
thrombocytopenia < 25,000/l and concurrent chemotherapy (KS, NHL). Use
extreme caution if administering with AZT and ddI (increased toxicity).
Gancyclovir is a potential teratogen. Dose adjustment is necessary in renal
insufficiency.
Comment: Since the approval of valgancyclovir, gancyclovir is only used rarely.
G-CSF
Manufacturer: Amgen, Chugai Pharma
Indications and trade name: neutropenia, especially drug-induced (AZT, gancyclovir, interferon, myelosuppressive chemotherapy), rarely HIV-related.
Neupogen prefilled syringe, 300 g filgrastim (30 Mio I.U.) in 0.5 ml
Neupogen prefilled syringe, 480 g filgrastim (48 Mio I.U.) in 0.5 ml
Neulasta prefilled syringe, 6 mg pegfilgrastim in 0.6 ml
Granocyte injection vial, 13.4 and 33.6 Mio I.U. lenograstim
Dose: according to protocol for chemotherapy, usually approximately 5 g/kg Neupogen daily on fixed days. Outside of chemotherapy protocols, 1-5 g/kg Neupogen 1-3x/week. The goal is usually at least 1,000 neutrophil granulocytes/l. For
Granocyte doses see product information.
Side effects: bone, back or muscle pain in 10 to 20% of patients, sometimes severe
(requiring generous analgesia). Irritation at the injection site.
Comments: G-CSF is expensive. Long-term treatment should be avoided (change
the drug causing neutropenia if possible). Remainders of individual ampules should
be kept refrigerated in a syringe. Monitor blood count twice weekly.
Hivid, see ddC.
632
Drugs
Indinavir
Manufacturer: Merck
Crixivan hard capsules, 200 mg and 400 mg
Dose: Two established dosages in combination with ritonavir:
800 mg BID plus 100 mg ritonavir BID.
400 mg BID plus 400 mg ritonavir BID. Dose reduction is often possible after
TDM.
Dose without ritonavir boost (uncommon): 800 mg TID (two 400 mg capsules TID)
one hour before or two hours after meals.
Side effects: nephrolithiasis (in up to 25%). Less frequently, nephrotoxicity with
elevated serum creatinine. Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting. Hyperbilirubinemia. A sicca
syndrome occurs relatively frequently (dry skin, mouth, eyes); ingrown toenails and
paronychia; rarely alopecia.
Lipodystrophy (originally called Crix belly), dyslipidemia, disorders of glucose
metabolism.
Interactions, warnings: At least 2 l of fluid should be consumed daily to prevent
nephrolithiasis. The occurrence of nephrolithiasis and probably skin problems too,
correlates with plasma levels. No concurrent administration with ddI.
In combination with ritonavir, indinavir can be taken twice daily with meals.
The concurrent use of rifampin, astemizole, terfenadine, cisapride, triazolam, ergotamines, simvastatin, lovastatin, or St. Johns wort is contraindicated.
The following dose adjustments are necessary: When using IDV/r, 150 mg rifabutin
every 2 days or three times a week. Ketoconazole and itraconazole: 600 mg indinavir TID. Sildenafil: maximum 25 mg sildenafil/48h.
Comments: Was one of the first PIs on the market in 1996. Due to toxicity, indinavir is no longer among the top choices for therapy.
Interferon alfa 2a/2b

Manufacturer: Essex (interferon -2b as Intron A, pegylated as PegIntron) and
Roche (interferon -2a as Roferon, pegylated as Pegasys).
Indications and trade name: chronic hepatitis C (IFN -2b and IFN -2a), possibly also for chronic hepatitis B (-2a). Kaposi sarcoma with good immune status
(> 250 CD4 cells/l); pegylated interferons are not licensed for KS.
PegIntron injector, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150 g in 0.5 ml
Pegasys prefilled syringe, 135, 180 g
Roferon-A prefilled syringe, 3, 4.5, 9, 18 Mio IU
Intron A pens, 18, 30, 60 Mio IU
Dose: PEG-Intron, 1.5 g/kg body weight 1 x/week. Pegasys, 180 g 1 x/week
Isoniazid (INH)
633
Standard interferons: 6 mil IU 3 x/week

Duration is dependent on success of treatment of KS, on HCV genotype and success of treatment. Interferon is injected subcutaneously.
Side effects: frequent side effects. Influenza-like symptoms such as fever and
myalgia. Depression, even suicidality, fatigue, sleeping disorders, personality
changes. Anemia, thrombocytopenia and leukopenia. Autoimmune thyroiditis. Reversible hair loss. Possibly impaired vision.
Interactions, warnings: influenza-like symptoms usually occur a few hours after
dosing and can be reduced with paracetamol (take 1000mg in advance). All side
effects are usually reversible.
Contraindications are severe liver or renal dysfunction, severe heart disease, bone
marrow disorders, CNS disorders (e.g., epilepsy, severe depression), uncompensated thyroid disorders.
Monitor blood count every two weeks initially, and then later, monthly with standard laboratory tests. TSH every three months. Interferons must be kept refrigerated.
Intelence, see Etravirine.
Intron A, see Interferon.
Invirase, see Saquinavir.
Isentress, see Raltegravir.
Isoniazid (INH)
Manufacturer and trade name: isoniazid is made by various manufacturers and
has many trade names.
Indications: combination therapy of tuberculosis. Prophylactic treatment after
tuberculin conversion.
Isozid comp film-coated tablets, 200, 300, 400 mg INH and 40, 60, 80 mg vitamin B6 (pyridoxin-HCl)
Also in various combination preparations (see rifampicin)
Dose: 200 to 300 mg QD (4 to 5 mg/kg, maximum 300 mg) orally, IV only in
severe cases during the first two weeks of therapy. For prophylaxis of neuropathy
100 mg pyridoxine orally QD. Pyridoxine is contained in the dosage of 20 mg per
100 mg of isoniazid in Isozid comp.
Pediatric dose: 6 (to 10) mg/kg QD, maximum 300 mg.
Side effects: toxic hepatitis, more frequent in older patients, and patients with
chronic liver disease and alcohol abuse. Peripheral neuropathy. Discontinue
isoniazid in severe cases and treat for several weeks with pyridoxine and vitamin
B12. Psychosis, CNS symptoms. Fever, rash, nausea, vomiting, anemia, leukopenia,
thrombocytopenia.
Interactions, warnings: INH should not be used in acute hepatitis and patients
with a history of INH-associated hepatopathy or severe febrile reactions, peripheral
neuropathy, macrohematuria. Always combine with vitamin B6.
634
Drugs
Diverse interactions with barbiturates, cycloserine, theophylline, phenytoin and

rifampin; doses of these drugs should be reduced due to CNS disorders.
Reduced absorption if taken concurrently with aluminum-based antacids.
Do not combine with ddI or d4T due to risk of peripheral neuropathy. Caution with
alcohol during treatment.
Initially, biweekly monitoring of blood count, transaminases, bilirubin, and renal
function. Discontinue isoniazid with elevation of transaminases to more than 3-fold
initial levels and symptoms; or with a 5-fold elevation in the absence of symptoms.
Itraconazole
Manufacturer and trade name: diverse, therefore several trade names.
Indications: histoplasmosis, aspergillosis, treatment-resistant Candida infections
(second choice). Also at derma/onychomycoses.
Sempera capsules, 100 mg
Sempera 7 capsules, 100 mg each
Sempera Liquid juice, 10 mg/ml (150 ml)
Dose: Fluconazole-resistant Candida infections: 100 mg QD to 100 mg BID (up to
200 mg BID) ideally as itraconazole oral solution. Histoplasmosis, aspergillosis
200 mg BID.
Side effects: nausea, vomiting, rash, dizziness. Toxic hepatitis.
Interactions, warnings: To achieve maximum absorption, the capsules should be
taken immediately after a full meal. Acidic drinks such as coke and orange juice
may increase absorption.
No concurrent administration of itraconazole capsules with ddI, H2 blockers, omeprazole, antacids. No concurrent administration (of capsules or oral solution) with
rifampin, rifabutin, carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital, simvastatin, lovastatin and isoniazid (these lower the bioavailability of itraconazole).
Itraconazole increases serum levels of cyclosporine, calcium antagonists, digoxin,
lovastatin, simvastatin and indinavir. Itraconazole has a negative inotropic effect
and should not be given to patients with heart failure.
Comments: Due to numerous interactions and unreliable plasma levels, administration of itraconazole is problematic. However, in contrast to fluconazole, it is effective for many non-albicans strains, aspergillosis, and histoplasmosis.
Kaletra, see Lopinavir/r.
Kivexa (US: Epzicom)

Kivexa film-coated tablets, 600 mg abacavir and 300 mg 3TC
Dose: 1 tablet QD. Replace Kivexa with the individual drugs if kidney function is
impaired (creatinine clearance below 50 ml/min), in order to adjust the 3TC dose.
Lopinavir/r
635
Side effects: hypersensitivity reaction due to abacavir (see abacavir). Possibly an

enhanced risk of myocardial infarction in patients with a risk of cardiovascular
events. Otherwise well tolerated.
Comments: frequently-used fixed dose combination. The abacavir HSR has to be
taken into account. However, it can be prevented by prior HLA-testing. Caution is
recommended in patients with a high cardiovascular risk (see abacavir and 3TC).
Klacid, see Clarithromycin.
Lamivudine, see 3TC.
Lexiva, see Fosamprenavir.
Lopinavir/r
Manufacturer: Abbott
Kaletra film-coated tablets, 200 mg lopinavir + 50 mg ritonavir
Kaletra film-coated tablets, 100 mg lopinavir + 25 mg ritonavir
Kaletra solution, 80 mg lopinavir + 20 mg ritonavir per ml
Dose: 2 capsules BID (400 mg lopinavir/100 mg ritonavir) or 5 ml solution BID. In
the US, 4 capsules QD is approved. Tablets with a lower dose were developed for
children (also known as Aluvia).
Side effects: mainly diarrhea, nausea, dyslipidemia. More rare: headaches, and elevated transaminases.
Interactions, warnings: The solution should be kept in the refrigerator; this is not
required for the tablets. No special food requirements.
Drug interactions are numerous. All drugs metabolized by the CYP3A or CYP2D6
enzyme systems are contraindicated: flecainide, propafenone, terfenadine, ergotamines, cisapride, midazolam, triazolam.
In combination with efavirenz (perhaps also nevirapine) the dose should be increased to 3 capsules BID or 6.5 ml solution BID. Measure plasma levels.
Rifampin and St. Johns wort reduce the blood levels of lopinavir.
Caution with: lovastatin, simvastatin (myopathy, rhabdomyolysis), carbamazepine,
phenobarbital, phenytoin or sildenafil (hypotension), amiodarone, warfarin, lidocaine, tricyclic antidepressants, quinidine, cyclosporine, tacrolimus. Measure
plasma levels in patients with reduced liver function tests or significantly elevated
transaminases.
If lopinavir is combined with ddI, then the latter must be taken one hour before or
two hours after lopinavir. Lopinavir solution contains alcohol, therefore no comedication with disulfiram or metronidazole. Caution with contraception - not safe. Increasing the methadone dose may be necessary.
When used with rifabutin, the rifabutin dose should be reduced by 75% (i.e., to 1 x
150 mg every two days).
636
Drugs
Comments: Effective PI for both ART-nave and pretreated patients. Still one of
the most prescribed drugs in HIV medicine. Disadvantages include gastrointestinal
side effects (diarrhea) and the often significant dyslipidemia. As with all PIs, lipodystrophy and various drug interactions should be considered. Advantage over all
other PIs is the fact that the tablets do not have to be refrigerated.
Maraviroc
Indications and trade name: pretreated adult HIV-infected patients with CCR5tropic HIV strains.
Celsentri or Selzentry tablets, 150 mg and 300 mg
Dose: 300 mg BID with or without food. Depending on the co-medication, multiple
dosage adjustments of maraviroc are recommended.
Combined Drugs
Maraviroc-Dose
adjustment
Nevirapine, tenofovir, other NRTIs
none
Efavirenz + no protease inhibitors or other strong CYP3A4 inhibitors
600 mg BID
Rifampicin + no concurrent CYP3A4 inhibitor
600 mg BID
Boosted PIs (exception: tipranavir/r and fosamprenavir/r standard

dosage)
150 mg BID
Efavirenz + simultaneous PI therapy (exception: fosamprenavir/r)
150 mg BID
Rifabutin + concurrent administration of PIs (exception: tipranavir/r or

fosamprenavir/r - here use standard dosage)
150 mg BID
Itraconazole, ketoconazole, clarithromycin, telithromycin
150 mg BID
In combination, the dosage always varies according to the PI; when both an inhibitor and an inducer are given, the inhibitor dominates.
The following adjustments are recommended to reduced creatinine clearance:
Crea.
clear.
(ml/min)
50-80
30-49
< 30
Without co-medication
of a strong CYP3A4
inhibitor or together
with tipranavir/r
no adjustment of
dosage interval
Concurrent treatment with a strong

CYP3A4 inhibitor, e.g.,
lopinavir/r, darunavir/r,
atazanavir/r, ketoconazole
Concurrent treatment with saquinavir/r

every 24 hours
every 24 hours
every 48 hours
every 72 hours
Side effects: well tolerated, rare headaches, dizziness, fatigue, nausea. In high
doses orthostatic hypotension. Occasional reports of CK increases, mycositis. Longterm data on more than 48 weeks is not yet available.
Nelfinavir
637
Interactions, warnings: the concurrent administration of maraviroc and rifampicin

is not recommended. INH should be avoided (hepatotoxicity). St. Johns wort can
lower maraviroc levels. The combination should be avoided.
It is required to have a valid tropism test indicating the presence of R5 viruses
(genotyping probably suffices).
Comments: The first CCR5 antagonist and the first oral entry inhibitor that was
licensed for HIV therapy. Since maraviroc inhibits only CCR5-tropic viruses, the
co-receptor tropism has to be determined prior to treatment. Very well tolerated but
complex dosage regulations.
Mavid, see Clarithromycin.
Mycobutin, see Rifabutin.
Nelfinavir
Manufacturer: Hoffmann-La Roche (Europe), Pfizer (US)
Viracept film-coated tablets, 250 mg
Viracept film-coated tablets, 625 mg (not in Europe)
Viracept Powder, 50 mg/g
Dose: 1250 mg BID (5 tablets) or 750 mg TID (3 tablets) with meals. Boosting with
ritonavir is not useful.
Side effects: frequently reported diarrhea (> 20%). Meteorism, nausea may also
occur. Lipodystrophy, dyslipidemia, reduced glucose tolerance.
Interactions, warnings: contraindicated for co-medication with rifampin, the contraceptive pill, astemizole, terfenadine, cisapride, triazolam, ergotamines, simvastatin, lovastatin, and St. Johns wort. With rifabutin, 150 mg rifabutin QD and increase nelfinavir dose to 1,250 mg BID or 1,000 mg TID.
If withdrawal symptoms occur while on methadone, dose may be increased.
Sildenafil maximum dose of 25 mg in 48 h.
Diarrhea can often be controlled with loperamide (maximum 16 mg/day).
Comments: Nelfinavir is less potent than boosted PIs or NNRTIs. The main problems include frequent diarrhea and the high pill burden. May be useful in some pediatric patients (powder preparation) and during pregnancy. In 2007, nelfinavir was
taken temporarily off the European market because of production problems. It is
available once again.
Neupogen, see G-CSF.
638
Drugs
Nevirapine
Manufacturer: Boehringer Ingelheim
Indications and trade name: HIV infection. ART-nave patients with a good immune status (women > 250, men > 400 CD4 T cells/l) should avoid nevirapine
because of an elevated risk of hepatotoxicity (see below).
Viramune tablets, 200 mg
Viramune Suspension, 10 mg/ml
Dose: 1 tablet BID. Always start with lead-in dosing (1 tablet OD over 2 weeks) to
reduce the frequency of rash. NVP may be taken on an empty stomach or with
meals.
Side effects: hepatotoxicity (elevation of transaminases 10-15%), rash. Caution is
needed when both appear simultaneously (see below). Less frequently, fever, nausea, drowsiness, headache, myalgia. These side effects may occur with or without
hepatotoxicity and/or rash. GGT elevation on nevirapine is almost always the rule.
To detect hepatotoxicity (an increase in transaminases to at least three times the
upper limit of normal), liver function tests should be monitored biweekly for the
first two months. Thereafter, monthly tests are necessary, as more than half of the
hepatotoxic episodes occur after the first three months of treatment. If hepatotoxicity does occur, treatment must be interrupted until liver function tests have returned
to initial levels. Treatment is restarted with 200 mg QD. The dose may be increased
to 200 mg BID only after a prolonged period of observation. If liver enzymes increase again, nevirapine should be permanently discontinued. The risk is greater
with good immune status (women > 250 CD4 T cells/l, 12-fold; men > 400 CD4 T
cells/l, 5-fold). This elevated risk applies probably only to ART-nave patients.
A mild rash, usually occurring within the first weeks of treatment, can be treated
with antihistamines (e.g., Fenistil retard 1 x 1 tablet) if mucous membranes are not
involved and if transaminases are normal. Nevirapine must be discontinued if a
severe rash occurs; in these cases, steroids are recommended (e.g., prednisolone
1 mg/kg for 3-5 days). Nevirapine should also be discontinued if other systemic
symptoms occur (fever, conjunctivitis, myalgia, arthralgia, malaise). If the rash occurs during the first two weeks of treatment, then the dose should not be increased
until the rash has resolved completely. Prophylactic treatment (steroids, antihistamines) is not advised.
Nevirapine has a favorable long-term profile. In particular, lipid levels are usually
positively influenced. GGT is almost always increased during long-term treatment.
Values of up to 150 U/l can be tolerated.
Interactions, warnings: cautious use in hepatic dysfunction (TDM can be used if
available). Preferably no concurrent treatment with rifampin, ketoconazole, and St.
Johns wort. Dose adjustment in combination with methadone (methadone dose
increase may be required) and lopinavir/r (increase Kaletra to 3 capsules BID).
Nevirapine should not be given for post-exposure prophylaxis if there are other options.
Comments: Nevirapine is a frequently prescribed NNRTI, which is also used for
the prevention of mother-to-child transmission. As with all NNRTIs, a single point
mutation is sufficient for high-level resistance. During the first weeks of treatment,
Pentamidine
639
nevirapine is saddled with allergies and hepatotoxicity (start with lead-in dosing).
However, the long-term tolerance is excellent (favorable lipid profile).
Norvir, see Ritonavir.
Pegasys, see Interferon.
PegIntron, see Interferon.
Pentacarinat, see Pentamidine.
Pentamidine
Manufacturer: Sanofi Aventis/GlaxoSmithKline.
Indications and trade name: treatment and secondary prophylaxis of Pneumocystis pneumonia if cotrimoxazole is contraindicated (hypersensitivity, resistance to
treatment). Also for visceral leishmaniosis.
Pentacarinat injection vials, 300 mg
Dose: for treatment, 200-300 mg Pentacarinat QD IV for five days (4 mg/kg), then
halve the dose. In very mild cases, daily inhalations with 300 mg. In renal failure
and creatinine clearance of 10 to 50 ml/min: 4 mg/kg q 24-36 h; below 10 ml/min:
4 mg/kg q 48 h. Prophylaxis: inhalation of 300 mg 1-2 x/month.
Side effects: frequent with intravenous dosing. Nausea, vomiting, metallic taste;
nephrotoxicity (increased creatinine in the second week of treatment) up to renal
failure. Hypo- or hyperglycemia (possible even months after end of treatment), hypotension, arrhythmia, pancreatitis. Leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. Inhalation
may induce cough, rarely asthma attacks.
Interactions, warnings: For the inhalation, pentamidine as an aerosol is contraindicated in asthma and treatment with beta-blockers. Inhalation is ineffective with
several pulmonary disease. Prior inhalation of a -mimetic (e.g., Berotec) is desirable.
For the infusions, caution in liver or renal failure, hyper- or hypotension, hyperglycemia, cytopenia. Always ensure sufficient intake of electrolytes and fluids. No
concurrent administration of other nephrotoxic drugs (e.g., aminoglycosides, amphotericin B, foscarnet). Patient should remain in supine position before, during and
after infusions of pentamidine (caution: hypotension). Pentamidine should be infused slowly over at least 2 hours. Daily monitoring of BUN, serum creatinine,
blood count, fasting blood glucose, urinalysis and serum electrolytes, weekly monitoring of bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, transaminases.
640
Drugs
Pyrimethamine
Indications and trade name: prophylaxis and treatment of cerebral toxoplasmosis.
Prophylaxis of Pneumocystis pneumonia.
Daraprim tablets, 25 mg
Dose: treatment of toxoplasmosis, Daraprim 2 tablets (50 mg) BID (for 3 days,
then 1 tablet BID) + Leucovorin 3 x 1 tablets/week each 15 mg + either sulfadiazine, clindamycin or atovaquone (second choice).
For PCP prophylaxis in combination with dapsone, Daraprim 2 tablets (50 mg) per
week + Dapsone 1 tablet (50 mg) QD + Leucovorin 2 tablets (30 mg) per week.
Side effects: nausea, colics, vomiting, diarrhea, leukopenia, anemia or thrombocytopenia. Rarely seizures, tremor or ataxia.
Interactions, warnings: pyrimethamine is contraindicated in megaloblastic anemia
resulting from folic acid deficiency. Caution in patients with seizures, renal failure,
asthma or G6PD deficiency. All patients taking pyrimethamine should receive
folinic acid to decrease risk of myelosuppression. Folic acid is pointless, since it
cannot be metabolized with pyrimethamine present.
Initial monitoring of blood count at weekly intervals.
Raltegravir
Manufacturer: Merck
Indications and trade name: pretreated HIV patients. However, unrestricted approval is expected imminently.
Isentress film-coated tablets, 400 mg
Dose: 1 tablet of 400 mg BID with or without food. In patients with renal or moderate hepatic impairment, no dose adjustment is required.
Side effects: Raltegravir is very well tolerated - in studies, there have generally
been no more adverse events than seen with placebo. At a frequency of 1% to 10%,
dizziness, stomach ache, flatulence, obstipation, hyperhidrosis, arthralgia, tiredness,
weakness. Because of the dizziness, driving fitness may be (rarely) impaired. Rash
(mild, very rarely requiring the discontinuation). Recent FDA warning on suicidal
thoughts.
Interactions, warnings: Raltegravir is eliminated for the most part via UGT1A1mediated glucuronidation, so that relevant interactions with other antiretroviral
agents are not expected. Strong inductors of UGT1A1 like rifampicin reduce the
plasma levels of raltegravir. If a combination is unavoidable, raltegravir dose
should be doubled. Omeprazole or other gastric acid inhibitors may increase the
plasma levels of raltegravir.
Comments: The first-in-class integrase inhibitor. Well-tolerated and already an
essential salvage agent, with impressive effectiveness in the setting of multiple resistance as well as in ART-nave patients. Disadvantages: It has a relatively low
resistance barrier, cross-resistance with elvitegravir, no long-term data yet.
Ribavirin
641
Rebetol, see Ribavirin.
Ribavirin
Manufacturer: Roche and Essex
Indications and trade name: chronic hepatitis C, only in combination with interferon. In Europe, the licence for HIV/HCV-coinfected patients only applies to
Copegus.
Copegus film-coated tablets, 200 mg, 400 mg
Rebetol hard capsules, 200 mg
Rebetol solution, 40 mg/ml
Dose: daily dose 800 mg for body weight < 65 kg, 1,000 mg for 65-85 kg,
1,200 mg for > 85 kg. Capsules are divided into two daily doses and taken with
meals. Treatment duration depends on the genotype and success of treatment.
Side effects: the most frequent side effect is hemolytic anemia (Hb decrease by at
least 2 g/dl obligatory), gastrointestinal complaints, headache and fatigue may also
occur. Rarely lactic acidosis, pancreatitis in combination with NRTIs.
Interactions, warnings: ribavirin is contraindicated in severe coronary disease,
renal failure, decompensated liver cirrhosis, and hemoglobinopathy. It is also contraindicated in pregnancy (teratogenicity).
Dose reduction for hemoglobin < 10 g/dl. Reduce dose to 600-800 mg/day. Discontinue ribavirin at hemoglobin values < 8.5 g/dl. Before reducing or discontinuing
ribavirin, however, consider erythropoietin and transfusions. Avoid concurrent
treatment with other myelosuppressive drugs (AZT).
Ribavirin can lead to lactic acidosis in combination with other NRTIs. Most importantly, ddI should be avoided but care should be taken with all other NRTIs like
d4T. Possible antagonism with abacavir (mechanism unclear). Efavirenz-induced
depression may worsen on ribavirin.
Monitoring of lab values (blood count, ALT, amylase, lipase) initially at biweekly
intervals and then monthly. Measure lactate if unspecific symptoms occur.
Rescriptor, see Delavirdine.
Retrovir, see AZT.
Reyataz, see Atazanavir.
Rifabutin
Indications and trade name: infections with Mycobacterium avium complex
(MAC) in combination with other drugs (usually ethambutol and azithromycin).
Also for patients with tuberculosis, when rifampicin is contraindicated.
Mycobutin (previously, Alfacid ) capsules, 150 mg
Dose: 300 mg rifabutin daily (+ azithromycin + ethambutol).
Renal failure, dose reduction by 50% for creatinine clearance < 30 ml/min.
642
Drugs
Dose adjustments for concurrent dosing with antiretroviral drugs:

Drug
Atazanavir/r*, darunavir/r,
fosamprenavir/r, indinavir/r,
lopinavir/r, saquinavir/r,
tipranavir/r
Nelfinavir
Delavirdine
Efavirenz
Nevirapine
* /r = boosted with ritonavir
Recommendation
Rifabutin: 150 mg every other day or three times per week
(see product information)
Nelfinavir 1,250 mg BID + rifabutin 150 mg/day
Rifabutin contraindicated
Increase rifabutin to 450mg/day or 600 mg twice or three
times weekly
Standard dose
Side effects: Nausea, vomiting, elevation of liver enzymes, jaundice. Uveitis

usually only with a daily dose > 300 mg and concurrent treatment with
clarithromycin or fluconazole. Red discoloration of urine, skin and body secretions
(inform patients about this).
Interactions, warnings: Rifabutin should not be used in thrombocytopenia and
severe hepatic dysfunction. Monitor blood count and liver enzymes initially biweekly and then monthly.
Rifabutin can decrease the efficacy of the following drugs: analgesics, anticoagulants, corticosteroids, cyclosporine, digitalis (except digoxin), dapsone, oral
antidiabetics, oral contraceptives, narcotic analgesics, phenytoin and quinidine.
Erythromycin, ketoconazole, itraconazole, fluconazole and clarithromycin can increase plasma levels of rifabutin. Antacids should be taken at least three hours after
rifabutin.
Rifampin
Manufacturer and trade name: manufactured by several companies, therefore
many trade names, also part of several fixed dose combinations (see below).
Indications: tuberculosis. Use only in combinations.
Rifa tablets, 150, 300, 450, 600 mg rifampicin
Eremfat syrup, 20 mg rifampicin per ml
Eremfat IV, 300 mg and 600 mg
Rifinah or Tebesium duo film-coated tablets, 300 mg rifampicin + 150 mg
isoniazid
Rifater or Tebesium trio sugar-coated film-coated tablets, 120 mg rifampicin +
50 mg isoniazid + 300 mg pyrazinamide
Dose: 600 mg daily (body weight > 50 kg) or 450 mg (body weight < 50 kg).
Ideally taken in the morning on an empty stomach.
Side effects: toxic hepatitis (up to 20%), cholestatic changes. Red discoloration of
urine and other body fluids (inform patients of this). Soft contact lenses may permanently stain red. Allergies are frequent. Gastrointestinal complaints such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
Ritonavir
643
Interactions, warnings: caution in patients with chronic liver disease. Discontinue

rifampin, if ALT > 100 U/l or with elevated bilirubin (careful on re-exposure,
gradually increasing doses is possible after normalization of values), and with patients who experience severe and persistent diarrhea (pseudomembranous colitis).
Rifampin should be avoided if concurrent NNRTIs or PIs are necessary.
Rifampin increases metabolism of numerous drugs, reducing their efficacy if administered concurrently. These drugs include atovaquone, warfarin, barbiturates,
benzodiazepines, beta-blockers, clarithromycin, contraceptives, steroids, oral
antidiabetics, cyclosporine, dapsone, digitalis, doxycycline, erythromycin, haloperidol, ketoconazole, methadone, phenytoin, theophylline, trimethoprim, verapamil.
Combination with ketoconazole or voriconazole is contraindicated.
Antacids, opiates and anticholinergics reduce the bioavailability of orally administered rifampin, if given simultaneously. To avoid this interaction, rifampin should
be given several hours before these drugs.
Not for use in pregnancy.
Blood count and liver values should be monitored every two weeks.
Ritonavir
Manufacturer: Abbott
Indications and trade names: HIV infection. Also a component of Kaletra.
Norvir soft gel capsules, 100 mg
Norvir oral solution, 80 mg per ml (7.5 ml = 600 mg).
Dose: in rare cases, in which ritonavir is used as a single PI, the dose is 600 mg
BID (increase dose over two weeks: 300 mg BID on day 1-2, 400 mg BID on day
3-5, 500 mg BID on day 6-13). However, ritonavir should ideally be used only for
boosting of other PIs. Daily doses in combination with:
Atazanavir (Reyataz, 300 mg QD), 100 mg ritonavir QD
Darunavir (Prezista, 600 mg BID), 100 mg ritonavir BID
Darunavir (Prezista, 800 mg QD), 100 mg ritonavir QD
Fosamprenavir (Telzir, 700 mg BID), 100 mg ritonavir BID, also 1400 mg
fosamprenavir QD + 200 mg QD (US only, naive patients)
Indinavir (Crixivan, 800 mg BID), 100 mg ritonavir BID, also 400 mg ritonavir
BID + 400 mg indinavir BID
Lopinavir (Kaletra) fixed combination, see Lopinavir/r.
Saquinavir (Invirase, 1000 mg BID), 100 mg ritonavir BID
Tipranavir (Aptivus), 200 mg ritonavir BID
Side effects: depending on dosage, frequent, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, perioral
paresthesia and electric sensations on arms and legs. Elevated transaminases and
GGT, dyslipidemia, lipodystrophy and rarely diabetes mellitus.
644
Drugs
Comments: even the low boosting doses have multiple drug interactions. The following drugs are contraindicated: rifampin, amiodarone, astemizole, bepridil, terfenadine, encainide, flecainide, cisapride, triazolam, ergotamine, simvastatin, lovastatin, quinidine and St. Johns wort. Sildenafil should be avoided.
Caution should be taken and plasma levels measured for both ritonavir and (if possible) the following co-medications: methadone, immunosuppressants (cyclosporine, tacrolimus), macrolide antibiotics (erythromycin, clarithromycin), steroids, calcium antagonists, tricyclic antidepressants, other antidepressants, neuroleptics (haloperidol, risperidone, thioridazine), antimycotic drugs (ketoconazole, itraconazole), carbamazepine, tolbutamide, rifabutin, theophylline, and warfarin.
Saquinavir
Invirase 500 film-coated tablets, 500 mg saquinavir.
Dose: 1,000 mg saquinavir BID + 100 mg ritonavir BID.
Side effects: mainly gastrointestinal, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal discomfort,
meteorism. Otherwise well-tolerated. Rarely elevation of transaminases or GT,
headache. As with other PIs, lipodystrophy, dyslipidemia and reduced glucose
tolerance may occur with long-term treatment.
Interactions, warnings: contraindicated with rifampin, astemizole, terfenadine,
cisapride, triazolam, ergotamine, simvastatin, lovastatin, and St. Johns wort. If
saquinavir is not combined with other protease inhibitors it should be taken with
meals.
Comments: saquinavir was the first PI to be licensed for HIV therapy in 1995. It is
well-tolerated, except for gastrointestinal problems, and typically not associated
with any serious short-term problems.Since the introduction of the 500 mg capsule,
the number of tablets taken has been significantly reduced.
Sempera, see Itraconazole.
Sobelin, see Clindamycin.
Stavudine, see d4T.
Stocrin, see Efavirenz.
Sulfadiazine
645
Sulfadiazine
Manufacturer: Heyl
Indications and trade name: treatment and prophylaxis of cerebral toxoplasmosis,
only in combination with pyrimethamine.
Sulfadiazin-Heyl tablets, 500 mg
Dose: For treatment, 2-3 500 mg tablets QD (= daily dose 4-6 g). For prophylaxis,
halve the dose (500 mg QD).
Renal insufficiency: creatinine clearance 10-50 ml/min: halve dose, < 10 ml/min:
one third of the dose.
Side effects: very frequently allergies with pruritus, fever and urticaria, often
treatment-limiting. Rare, Stevens Johnson syndrome. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
Renal problems with renal failure, crystalluria, nephrolithiasis in up to 7%. Anemia,
leukopenia, thrombocytopenia. Elevated liver enzymes.
Interactions, warnings: sulfadiazine is contraindicated in sulfonamide
hypersensitivity in G6PD deficiency, renal failure, severe hepatic disease or
dysfunction (e.g., acute hepatitis) and during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Sulfadiazine can increase the effect of sulfonylurea urea (oral antidiabetics), anticoagulants, diphenylhydantoin. Concurrent use of antacids reduces absorption of sulfadiazine (separate administration by 1-2 hours). Ensure sufficient intake of fluids
(at least 2 l daily).
Initially, monitor blood count, ALT, creatinine, and BUN at least weekly.
Monitor urine. In case of crystalluria, alkalize urine.
Sustiva, see Efavirenz.
T-20 (enfuvirtide)
Indications and trade name: treatment of patients with evidence of HIV replication despite ongoing ART that contained at least one PI, each NRTI or NNRTI.
Fuzeon 90 mg/ml powder and solvent
Dose: 90 mg subcutaneously BID.
Side effects: generally well-tolerated. However, almost all patients have local injection site reactions: erythema, inflammation, induration, rash. In the licensing studies, approximately 10% of patients required intermittent use of analgesics or were
temporarily affected in their daily activities.
Patients on T-20 may have an increased risk of bacterial pneumonia. It is important
to be particularly vigilant in patients with risk factors for pneumonia (low baseline
CD4 counts, high viral load, IV drug users, smokers, history of pulmonary disease).
Hypersensitivity reactions with rash, fever, nausea, chills, hypotension or elevated
transaminases are rare (< 1%).
Interactions, warnings: interactions are not known. Injection sites - upper arm,
ventral hip, and abdomen. Change injection sites often. On the back, possibly fewer
646
Drugs
irritations. Do not inject at sites with inflammatory signs from previous injections.
Do not inject at sites with birth marks, scars or disrupted skin integrity.
Comments: T-20 is an entry inhibitor used for heavily treatment-experienced patients. T-20 must be injected subcutaneously BID. Use is limited primarily by its
administration and by the local skin side effects. Very expensive, may double the
price of ART.
Tenofovir
Manufacturer: Gilead
Indications and trade name: HIV infection, chronic hepatitis B.
Viread film-coated tablets, 300 mg tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
Truvada film-coated tablets, 300 mg tenofovir + 200 mg FTC
Atripla film-coated tablets, 300 mg tenofovir + 200 mg FTC + 600 mg efavirenz
Dose: 300 mg QD, to be taken with a meal. Dose adjustments in patients with renal
impairment are required. Double dosage interval (every 48 hours) at moderate kidney dysfunction (creatinine clearance 30-49 ml/min, below 30 ml/min it should be
avoided). In hemodialysis patients, every 7 days following completition of the
hemodialysis.
Side effects: generally well-tolerated. Rarely, renal side effects (renal failure, tubulopathies including Fanconis syndrome, nephrogenic diabetes insipidus). Possibly
bone loss (in animal experiments). Rarely, elevation of liver enzymes. CK rises
observed in up to 48% (macro CK, relevance is unclear).
Interactions, warnings: Patients with existing renal disease should either not receive tenofovir or, with no alternatives, reduce the dose. Controls (creatinine clearance and serum phosphate), before starting therapy, during the first year of treatment every four weeks and thereafter every three months.
When serum phosphate is < 1.5 mg/dl (0.48 mmol/l) or creatinine clearance
< 50 ml/min check renal function again within one week. Simultaneous determination of blood glucose and potassium, as well as glucose in the urine. Interruption of
therapy may be necessary, if creatinine clearance is < 50 ml/min or serum phosphate is < 1.0 mg/dl (0.32 mmol/l).
Creatinine clearance in ml/min is calculated as follows:
Women: (1.04 x (140 age) x kg) / creatinine (mol/l)
Men: (1.23 x (140 age) x kg) / creatinine (mol/l)
Concurrent administration of tenofovir and drugs that are also eliminated via active
tubular secretion can lead to increased serum concentrations of both drugs: cidofovir, acyclovir, valacyclovir, gancyclovir, valgancyclovir.
Do not combine with ddI, co-medication with tenofovir increases the AUC of ddI
by 44%. Atazanavir and lopinavir increase tenofovir levels. Tenofovir lowers the
plasma levels of atazanavir (always boost with 100 mg of ritonavir).
Tipranavir
647
Comments: One of the most frequently used drugs in HIV medicine due to a good
tolerability profile and only low mitochondrial toxicity. However, potential nephrotoxicity has to be taken into account as well as some interactions (particularly with
ddI and atazanavir). Tenofovir is also effective against hepatitis B virus; in April
2008, it was officially licensed for hepatitis B therapy.
Tipranavir
Manufacturer: Boehringer Ingelheim
Indications and trade name: HIV-infected adult patients who are either highly
treatment-experienced or who have multiple PI resistance.
Aptivus capsules, 250 mg
Dose: 500 mg BID + 200 mg BID ritonavir with meals.
Side effects: The most frequent side effects are gastrointestinal, diarrhea and nausea. Elevated transaminases have been observed in at least 6% of patients, with
clinical hepatitis and liver failure in rare cases. More frequent than with other PIs
dyslipidemia (20%). Rare rash (urticarial or maculopapular). Occasional reports
(and FDA warning)of intracranial bleedings (causality unclear).
Interactions, warnings: Tipranavir is a substrate, activator and inhibitor of cytochrome CYP3A and both a substrate and inhibitor of the P-glycoprotein. Consequently, various interactions have to be taken into account (see table). Tipranavir
reduces the serum level of other PIs, so a double PI regime is not applicable. Fluconazole and clarithromycin increase the serum level of tipranavir. Antacids reduce
the tipranavir levels by 30% (administer separately).
Drugs contraindicated on tipranavir therapy:
Antiarrhythmics
Amiodarone, bepridil, flecainide, propafenone, quinidine
Antihistamines
Astemizole, terfenadine
Ergotamine derivatives
(Dihydro)-ergotamine, (methyl)-ergonovine
Prokinetics
Cisapride
Neuroleptics
Pimozide
Sedatives/hypnotics
Midazolam, triazolam
Rifampicin reduces tipranavir levels by 80% (avoid). Tipranavir/r increases the

serum levels of atorvastatin by 8-10 fold (use another statin like pravastatin or fluvastatin). Dose reduction by at least 75% for rifabutin: 150 mg every other day or
three times per week. Tipranavir reduces the plasma levels of abacavir and AZT by
35-40% (relevance unclear).
Tipranavir should not be used in patients with moderate to severe hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh B and C). Use cautiously in patients with HBV or HCV coinfection. Determine liver function parameters (monthly during the first 6 months),
transaminases, cholesterol and triglycerides before and during treatment. Women
who take an estrogen-based contraceptive appear to have a higher incidence of rash.
648
Drugs
Comments: Tipranavir is the first non-peptidic PI. In two large studies on intensively PI-experienced patients, it was superior to optimized background regimen.
Helpful salvage agent. Tipranavir has to be boosted with elevated ritonavir doses.
Numerous interactions have to be taken into account.
Trizivir
Trizivir film-coated tablets, 150 mg 3TC + 300 mg AZT + 300 mg abacavir
Dose: 1 tablet BID. In cases of impaired renal function (creatinine clearance less
than 50 ml/min), the individual drugs should be given separately to allow for dose
adjustment of 3TC.
Side effects: mostly gastrointestinal, see individual drugs. Abacavir HSR (see abacavir). There are possibly additive effects with regard to mitochondrial toxicity.
Possibly an increased risk for cardiovascular events (see abacavir).
Comments: Less effective than multi-class combinations. No longer recommended
without a PI/r or NNRTI. Further disadvantages include mitochondrial toxicity,
abacavir HSR, QD is not possible. Thus, Trizivir is only indicated in patients with
compliance problems or with interactive co-medication (for tuberculosis; coumarin
derivatives, etc).
Truvada
Manufacturer: Gilead (Truvada)

Truvada film-coated tablets, 300 mg tenofovir + 200 mg FTC
Dose: Truvada: 1 tablet QD.
Caution in patients with renal dysfunction. If there are no alternatives, with a reduced creatinine clearance of 30-49 ml/min, then it is recommended to reduce the
dose to 1 tablet every two days (< 30: avoid Truvada). Absorption of Truvada is
not affected by food intake.
Side effects: monitoring of renal parameters, see chapter on Tenofovir
Interactions, warnings: see chapter on tenofovir. In coinfected patients with
chronic hepatitis B, Truvada is preferred. Exacerbation of hepatitis may occur after
discontinuing Truvada.
Comments: Combination pill consisting of tenofovir and FTC. To date, one of the
most frequently prescribed HIV drugs. Well-tolerated. However, renal dysfunction
may occur (see tenofovir).
Valgancyclovir
649
Valcyte, see Valgancyclovir.
Valgancyclovir
Indications and trade name: induction and maintenance therapy of CMV retinitis.
Valcyte tablets, 450 mg
Dose: for induction therapy 900 mg BID for 3 weeks (or until scar formation of
CMV lesions), then suppressive therapy with 900 mg QD. Should be taken with a
meal. The following doses should be used for renal failure:
CrCl (ml/min)
Induction therapy
Suppressive therapy
> 60
900 mg BID
900 mg QD
40 59
450 mg BID
450 mg QD
25 39
450 mg QD
450 mg q 48 h
10 24
450 mg q 48 h
450 mg 2 x/week
Side effects: frequent leukopenia, but also thrombocytopenia, anemia. Gastrointestinal complaints such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are more frequent than with
intravenously-administered gancyclovir.
Interactions, warnings: monitoring of blood count at least 2-3 x/week during induction. Discontinuation if neutrophils below 500/l (G-CSF if needed). Contraindicated in neutropenia < 500/l, thrombocytopenia < 25,000/l and concurrent
chemotherapy.
Caution when concurrent dosing with ddI, as valgancyclovir can double levels of
ddI (increased toxicity). Valgancyclovir is potentially teratogenic and carcinogenic;
reliable contraception is required.
The drug is extremely expensive. It should be discontinued when sufficient immune
reconstitution has been reached (see chapter on OIs).
Comment: Valgancyclovir was the first effective anti-CMV drug to be administered orally. Valgancyclovir is a prodrug of gancyclovir and therefore has a similar
toxicity profile, neutropenia, anemia and thrombocytopenia.
Vfend, see Voriconazole.
Videx, see ddI.
Viracept, see Nelfinavir.
Viramune, see Nevirapine.
Viread, see Tenofovir.
Vistide, see Cidofovir.
650
Drugs
Voriconazole
Indications and trade name: treatment of invasive aspergillosis; candidemia in
non-neutropenic patients; treatment of fluconazole-resistant, severe candida infections (including C. krusei); treatment of severe fungal infections caused by Scedosporium spp and Fusarium spp.
Vfend tablets, 50 mg and 200 mg
Vfend dry suspension, 40 mg/ml
Vfend IV, 200 mg
Dose: for intravenous dosing, initial dose on day 1: 6 mg/kg every 12 hours followed by 4 mg/kg every 12 hours.
Oral dosing, Initial dose on day 1 400 mg every 12 h then 200 mg every 12 h. Halve
the oral dose with patients weighing less than 40 kg.
Side effects: elevated transaminases, rash and impairment of vision (overly bright
images, blurred vision, light sensitivity or altered color vision) occurrs in approximately 30% of patients, usually appearing within 30 minutes of taking voriconazole
and lasting approximately 30 minutes.
More rarely fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, abdominal pain.
Interactions, warnings: voriconazole is metabolized via the cytochrome P450 enzymatic pathway. Several drugs, which may significantly reduce serum levels of
voriconazole and are consequently contraindicated for co-administration include
rifampin, rifabutin, carbamazepine and long-lasting barbiturates.
Serum levels are significantly elevated by voriconazole and co=medication is contraindicated with sirolimus, ergotamine derivatives, terfenadine, astemizole, cisapride, pimozide, quinidine. Concurrent administration of rifabutin is also contraindicated.
Administration together with NNRTIs or protease inhibitors (exception: indinavir)
may require dose modifications, as is the case with a number of other drugs including cyclosporine, tacrolimus, anticoagulants, digoxin, statins, calcium antagonists,
vincristine, vinblastine, phenytoin, omeprazole (see product information).
Voriconazole tablets should be taken either one hour before or two hours after a
meal. Avoid strong sun exposure and driving at night due to potential visual impairment.
Comment: Oral azole antimycotic that is first choice medication in patients with
invasive aspergillosis. Effective also with invasive candida infections.
Zerit, see d4T.
Ziagen, see Abacavir.
Zidovudine, see AZT.
Zovirax, see Acyclovir.
651
32. Drug-drug interactions

Jan Thoden
With an increasing number of antiretroviral drugs there is an growing risk of adverse drug-drug interactions. These might interfere with therapeutic success. Moreover, antiretroviral drugs are used by an aging patient population with a variety of
co-morbidities requiring additional medications. Therefore drug combinations as
well as drug concentrations or dosages need to be carefully chosen to avoid toxicity
while exceeding sub-therapeutic levels.
By inducing or inhibiting enzyme production, the elimination of a drug and hence
its plasma levels are influenced. Especially metabolization by cytochrome-P450
plays a crucial role for drug-drug interactions. As many other drugs, PIs and
NNRTIs are mainly metabolised by CYP3A4 in liver and the gastrointestinal tract.
Another pathway for the elimination of antiretroviral drugs is the glucuronidation
by glucuronosyltransferases, though this usually does not cause clinically relevant
interactions. Moreover, there are major inter-individual differences in enzyme activity and drug metabolization rates. Other factors that need to be considered include genetic polymorphisms, ethnicity, age, sex, and co-morbidities.
The tables in this chapter provide a brief overview of drug combinations deemed
safe (+) as well as drug combinations that should be avoided ( ). However, for
many drug combinations the interactions are uncertain or unknown ( ). In these
cases, their use might still be safe and should be controlled by regular TDM.
The first part of this chapter deals with ART/ART interactions, the second part
deals with interactions between ART and selected relevant concomitant medications. Clinically irrelevant drugs, such as delavirdine, were not included. Except for
nelfinavir, all PIs are assumed to be given boosted with ritonavir. T-20 is only mentioned in the first part as there are no known relevant interactions with concomitant
medications. Ritonavir is only mentioned in the first part, too, yet interactions between it, used as a booster, and concomitant medications need to be considered.
This chapter is intended as a tool to support rapid decision making in the daily practice, but - when in doubt - should not replace a thorough literature search. On rare
occasions, drug combinations with know adverse effects might be unavoidable due
to a lack of alternatives. In these cases, close monitoring of the patients and the
drug levels is necessary, as well as regular TDM.
Abbreviations:
+
Combination of these drugs possible
Potential interactions or unknown, combination of these drugs is often
possible, therapeutic drug monitoring suggested
Combination of these drugs should be avoided or is contraindicated
up to 50% increased drug levels, up to 100%, > 100%
up to 50% decreased drug levels, up to 100%, > 100%

BID
Twice daily (TID = Three times daily)
QD
Once daily
TDM Therapeutic drug monitoring
652
Drugs
Part 1: ART + ART

NRTIs + NRTIs
3TC
3TC
ABC
DDI
D4T
FTC
TDF
AZT
+
+
+
+
+
2
ABC
DDI
D4T
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
FTC
1
+
+
+
TDF
AZT
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Antagonism
DDI (reduce daily dose to 250 mg), increased toxicity, reduced effectivity
Increased mitochondrial toxicity (lactatic acidosis, pancreatitis, polyneuropathie)
NRTIs + NNRTIs
EFV
ETV
NVP
3TC
ABC
DDI
D4T
FTC
TDF
AZT
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Take DDI fasting, ETV with food if taken apart, no dose adjustment necessary
NRTIs + PIs
ATV
DRV
FPV
IDV
LPV
NFV
RTV
SQV
TPV
3TC
ABC
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
DDI
D4T
FTC
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
TDF
2
+3
+
+
3
+
+
+
+
ATV , ATV to be taken > 2 hrs before DDI
TDF , caveat: combination with nephrotoxic drugs, increased nephrotoxicity possible
NRTI (unknown relevance)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
ATV , TDF , ATV always boosted
NRTIs + Entry-/Integrase inhibitors

T-20
MVC
RAL
AZT
3TC
ABC
DDI
D4T
FTC
TDF
AZT
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Part 1: ART + ART
653
NNRTIs + NNRTIs, NNRTIs + Entry-/Integrase inhibitors

EFV
EFV
ETV
NVP
T-20
MVC
RAL
ETV
NVP
T20
MVC
+
+
+
RAL
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
MVC , increase MVC to 2 x 600 mg/d, if not combined with PI or potent CYP3A4 inhibitor
RAL , relevance unclear
Comment: The combination of two NNRTIs is not recommended in general.
NNRTIs + PIs, PIs + Entry-/Integrase inhibitors

EFV
ETV
ATV
DRV
FPV
IDV
LPV
NFV
RTV
SQV
TPV
NVP
+
+
2
5
6
ATV , ATV always boosted
FPV , relevance unclear, monitor FPV levels
MVC
RAL
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
T20
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
2
2
2
2
2
MVC , reduce MVC to 2 x 150 mg/d
LPV , increase LPV to 2 x 3 tablets (controversial in combination with NVP, use TDM)
SQV , always boosted
ETV , TPV , combination therefore not recommended
PIs + PIs
ATV
ATV
DRV
FPV
IDV
LPV
NFV
RTV
SQV
TPV
DRV
FPV
IDV
LPV
NFV
SQV
+1
+
+
TPV
+
+1
+
+
+2
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
19
* ATV , SQV , combination well tolerated

20
* FPV with 200 mg RTV booster, combination possible

Comment: The combination of two PIs is probably not more effective compared to second generation PIs (DRV and TPV), is therefore only recommended for special indications.
654
Drugs
Part 2: ART + concomittant medications

Gastrointestinal agents
NRTIs/NNRTIs
3TC ABC
Cimetidine
Famotidine
Loperamide
MCP
Ondansetron
PPIs
Ranitidine
1
DDI
D4T FTC TDF AZT EFV ETV NVP
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
NNRTIs . MCP = metoclopramide, PPIs = proton pump inhibitors.
PIs/Entry-/Integrase inhibitors
ATV DRV FPV IDV
1
Antacids
Cimetidine
Famotidine
Loperamide
MCP
Ondansetron
PPIs
Ranitidine
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
LPV
+
+
+
+
+
NFV SQV TPV MVC RAL
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+2
PIs , take antacids at least 2 hours apart
ATV boosted, TDM recommended, avoid this combination.
+
+
+
+
+
Cimetidine , SQV
4
RAL, relevance unclear
MCP = metoclopramide, PPIs = proton pump inhibitors
Antiarrhythmic drugs
Most PIs increase the drug levels of antiarrhythmic drugs. While in combination
with NNRTIs the levels might be fluctuating. If antiarrhythmic drugs are necessary,
they need to be introduced with the lowest possible dosage. There are no known
relevant interactions beween antiarrhythmic drugs and NRTIs.
PIs/NNRTIs
ATV DRV FPV
Amiodarone
Chinidine
Flecainide
Propafenone
IDV
LPV
NFV SQV TPV EFV
ETV NVP
Antibiotics
655
Antibiotics
NRTIs/NNRTIs
Clarithromycin
6
Clindamycin
Cotrimoxazole
Dapsone
Erythromycin6
Ethambutol
Isoniazid
Metronidazole
Pentamidin
Pyrazinamide
Pyrimethamin
Rifabutin
Rifampin
1
3TC
ABC
DDI
D4T
FTC
TDF
+
+
+
+
2
AZT , take 1-2 h apart
3
4
AZT
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
EFV
ETV
NVP
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
10
11
active metabolite , consider alternatives e.g. azithromycin.
Caveat: renal function Caveat: hematotoxicity Caveat: neuropathy, avoid; dapsone by

6
7
No data on interactions with NRTIs NNRTI , consider alternatives e.g. azithromycin.
DDI
Rifabutin , increase dosage to 450-600 mg/d
10
EFV , increase EFV to 800 mg/d
11
ETV , rifabutin , avoid this combination
ETV approved with PI/r, only - rifampin contraindicated
Comment: No relevant interactions with azithromycin, ciprofloxazin and tetracyclines.
ATV
Azithromycin
Clarithromycin
Cotrimoxazole
Dapsone
Erythromycin5
Ethambutol
Isoniazid
Metronidazole
Pentamidin
Pyrazinamide
6
Pyrimethamin
7
Rifabutin
Rifampin
Tetracyclines
1
DRV
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
FPV
IDV
LPV
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
NFV
1
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
SQV
TPV
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
MVC
RAL
+4
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
2
NFV , azithromycin QT-prolongation possible, clarithromycin - 50%, reduce dose

3
4
5
TPV MVC , reduce MVC to 2x150 mg/d PIs , erythromycin , consider azithromycin
6
7
8
No data
rifabutin , reduce to 150 mg every other day
increase MVC to 2 x 600 mg/d,
if not combined with PI or potent CYP3A4 inhibitor
Comment: (Probably) no relevant interactions with ciprofloxazin, clindamycin and streptomycin.
656
Drugs
Antidepressants
NRTIs/NNRTIs
3TC
Amitryptiline
Bupropion
Citalopram
Desipramine
Doxepin
Fluoxetine
St. Johns w.
Mirtazapine
Nortryptiline
Paroxetine
Sertaline
Trazodone
Venlafaxine
+
+
ABC DDI
+
+
+
+
D4T
+
+
FTC TDF AZT
+
+
+
+
EFV ETV NVP

+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Comment: No data exists for most antidepressants and their interactions with NRTIs
ATV DRV FPV IDV
Amitryptili1
ne
Bupropion
Citalopram4
Desipramine1
4
Doxepin
Fluoxetine4
St. Johns w.
Mirtazapine
Nortryptiline1
Paroxetine
Sertaline
Trazodone
5
Venlafaxine
LPV
NFV SQV TPV MVC RAL

+
+
+
+
3
4
+
+
Tricyclic antidepressants and boosted PIs: PI , antidepressant
Paroxetine -, adjust if applicable
Sertaline , adjust if applicable
Antidepressant, titrate dose!
Boosted PIs and venlafaxine , TDM of PIs, careful titration of dose!
4
4
+
+
Antihistamine agents
657
Antihistamine agents
PIs/NNRTIs
ATV DRV FPV
Astemizole1
Cetirizine
Fexofenadine
Loratadine
Terfenadine1
IDV
LPV
NFV SQV TPV EFV

+
+
ETV NVP
+
+
+
Caveat: Arryhthmia
Comment: No relevant interactions with NRTIs
Anticonvulsants
NRTIs/NNRTIs
3TC
ABC DDI
D4T
FTC TDF AZT
Carbamazepine
Lamotrigine
Levetiracetam
Oxcarbazepine
Phenobarbital
Phenytoin
Valproic acid
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
EFV , NVP , avoid combination or monitor closely (TDM)
AZT , monitor for side effects
+
+
EFV ETV NVP

1
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
2
2
ATV DRV FPV IDV
Carbamazep.
Lamotrigine
Levetiracetam
+
+
+
+
LPV
1
NFV SQV TPV MVC RAL

1
+
+
+
+
Oxcarbazep.
Phenobarbital
Phenytoin
Valproic acid
1
PIs , Carbamazepine , avoid if possible or monitor closely (TDM)
Lamotrigin , increase if necessary
+
+
+
+
+
+
658
Drugs
Antimycotic agents
NRTIs/NNRTIs
3TC ABC DDI

1
Amphotericin B
+
+
+
+
Caspofungin
Fluconazole
+
+
+
+
Flucytosine
+
+
+
Itraconazole
Ketoconazole
Posaconazole
+
5
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Terbinafine
Voriconazole
3
6
+
+
Caveat: additive nephrotoxicity possible
NVP , monitor liver function tests; in combination with azoles Fluconazole still preferred
NNRTIs , azoles
AZT , Fluconazole
6
Itraconazole (take 2 h apart)
NVP , Ketoconazole
ATV DRV FPV IDV
Amphoter. B
LPV
Caspofungin
NFV SQV TPV MVC RAL

+
+
1
Fluconazole
Flucytosine
Itraconazole
Ketoconazole
+
2
Posaconazole
Terbinafine
Voriconazole
Fluconazole , do not excess 200 mg/d

PIs , Itra-/Ketoconazole , avoid doses > 200
3
4
mg/d LPV , Itraconazole ; avoid doses > 200 mg Itraconazole/d Keto-/Itraconazole: MVC
5
150 mg BID Voriconazole by Ritonavir, avoid boosted PIs if possible
Calcium channel inhibitors

PIs/NNRTIs
ATV DRV FPV
IDV
LPV
NFV SQV TPV EFV
ETV NVP
Amlodipine
Diltiazem
Nifedepine
Verapamil
Comment: Calcium channel inhibitors - if combined with PIs. Careful titration, reduce dose
of Calcium channel inhibitors if applicable. Calcium channel inhibitors - if combined with
NNRTIs, careful administration. In general consider alternatives to Calcium channel inhibitors.
Immunosuppressants / Chemotherapeutic agents
659
Immunosuppressants / Chemotherapeutic agents

NRTIs/NNRTIs
3TC
ABC DDI
D4T
FTC TDF AZT

2
Cyclophosph.
3
Cyclosporine
Cytarabine
Doxorubicine
Etoposide
Interferons
+
+
Irinotecan
Mycophenol.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
EFV ETV NVP
+
+
+
+
+
+
2
2
Paclitaxel
Sirolimus
Tacrolimus
Vinblastine
+
+
Vincristine
Caveat: Neuropathy! Avoid if possible
Caveat: Additive nephrotoxicity possible
Immunosuppressants -, always TDM and dose adjustments!!
AZT: Caveat: Hematotoxicity, avoid if possible
ATV DRV FPV IDV
LPV
NFV SQV TPV MVC RAL
Cyclophosph.
Cyclosporine
Cytarabine
Doxorubicine
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Etoposide
Interferon
Interleukin 2
Irinotecan
Mycophenol.
Paclitaxel
Sirolimus
Tacrolimus
Vinblastine
Vincristine
1
Cyclosporine, Sirolimus and Tacrolimus -, always TDM, dose adjustment necessary!
Irinotecan toxicity may be increased
660
Drugs
Contraception
The serum levels of both ethinylestradiol and norethindrone can be very fluctuation
especially in combination with (boosted) PIs. Therefore the use of oral contraceptives containing these hormones might be unsafe. Furthermore their levels can be
fluctuating if combined with EFV and NVP. Combination with ETV is usually safe.
For these reasons as well as for STD and HIV transmission prophylaxis oral contraceptives should always be combined with an additional method of contraception,
preferrably a condom.
Antimalarials/ Antiprotozoals
No data exist on combination with entry inhibitors or integrase inhibitors.
NRTIs
Atovaquone
Choroquine, Quinine
Halofantrine
3TC
ABC
DDI
D4T
FTC
TDF
AZT
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Lumefantrine
Mefloquine
Pentamidine i.v.
+
+
Primaquine
Proguanil
Pyrimethamin
1
AZT , monitor for toxicity
Caveat: Nephrotocicity
Caveat: Hematotoxicity
PIs/NNRTIs
ATV DRV FPV
IDV
LPV
NFV SQV TPV EFV
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
ETV NVP
Artemisin
Atovaquone
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Quinine
Chloroquine
Halofantrine
Lumefantrine
Mefloquine
Pentamidine
Primaquine
Proguanil
Pyrimethamin
1
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Limited data on Primaquine, according to uptodate.com no relevant interactions
Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors
661
Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors

Combinations of most PDE5 inhibitors (e.g. Sildenafil, Tadalafil and Vardenafil)
with PIs can cause severe increase in PDE5 serum levels. Thus they should be
started carefully with a reduced (usually half) dose every 48 to 72 hours. In combination with NNRTIs the levels of PDE 5 inhibitors are fluctuating strongly, TDM
and individual dosing are recommended (ETV and Sildenafil can be combined,
sometimes Sildenafil needs to be increased). There are no known relevant interactions of PDE5 inhibitors with NRTIs, T-20, MVC and RAL. If PDE5 inhibitors are
prescribed for pulmonary arterial hypertension alternatives such as endothelin inhibitors should be evaluated.
Statins / Lipid lowering drugs

The combination of NRTIs, Entry- and Integrase inhibitors with statins is generally
possible, but the combination with PIs can cause problems.
PIs/NNRTIs
ATV DRV FPV
Atorvastatin
Clofibrat
Ezetimibe
+
+
+
+
Fenofibrate
Fish oils
Fluvastatin
Gemfibrozil
Lovastatin
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
IDV
LPV
+
+
+
+
NFV SQV TPV EFV

1
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Pravastatin
Simvastatin
+
+
Rosuvastatin
1
ETV NVP
Atorvastatin if combined with PIs, low dosing! Consider alternatives: e.g. Pravastatin
Atorvastatin often , increase dose if applicable or chose alternatives: e.g. Fluvastatin /

3
Pravastatin Statin levels severely increased, avoid these combinations!
Comment: All statins should be started low-dose if combined with PIs!
Anti-addictive drugs
NRTIs/NNRTIs
3TC ABC
Buprenorph.
Methadone
+
+
DDI
+

+
+
Buprenorphine , increase dose if necessary
AZT , relevance uncleare
+
+
2
+
+
Methadone , increase dose if necessary
662
Drugs
PIs/Entry-/Integras inhibitors
ATV DRV FPV IDV
Buprenorph.
Methadone
1
LPV
1
2
NFV SQV TPV MVC RAL
2
2
Buprenorphine -, reduce dose if necessary
+2
+
+
+2
+
+
Methadone (), adjust dose if necessary
Antiviral drugs
There are no known relevant interactions between PIs/NNRTIs and antiviral drugs.
No data exists on interactions with CCR5- and Integrase inhibitors.
NRTIs
Aciclovir
Adefovir
Cidofovir
Entecavir5
Famcyclovir
Foscarnet
Gancyclovir
Ribavirin
Valacyclovir
3TC
ABC
DDI
D4T
FTC
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
3
4
1
1
AZT
+
+
1
1
Caveat: Mitochondrial toxicity, Lactic acidosis
2
2
2
Caveat: Nephrotoxicity, increased levels through tubular secretion
+
+
+
TDF
+
2
Hematotoxicity increased
Possible antagonism (controversial)
Caveat: Possible development of HIV resistance (M184V), sparse data on combination with
HIV-NRTIs
References
Bartlett JG; Pocket Guide Adult HIV/AIDS Treatment 2008-09. www.hopkins-hivguide.org
Drug information: Aptivus, Atripla, Celsentri/Selzentry, Combivir, Crixivan, Emtriva, Epivir, Fuzeon, Intelence, Invirase, Isentress, Kaletra,
Kivexa/Epzicom, Norvir, Prezista, Retrovir, Reyataz, Sustiva, Telzir/Lexiva, Trizivir, Truvada, Videx, Viracept, Viramune, Viread, Zerit,
Ziagen.
Pocket guide to pharmacokinetic interaction profiles of ritonavir boosted PIs; October 2008, Boehringer Ingelheim
www.hiv-druginteractions.org
www.hivinsite.org
www.uptodate.org
663
Index
3
3TC................................................ 86, 90
Drug profile .................................. 612
Resistance ..................................... 324
Side Effects................................... 271
A
Abacavir ........................................ 86, 87
Drug profile .................................. 613
HSR ........................................ 88, 274
Resistance ..................................... 324
Side Effects................................... 271
Acute HIV infection............................. 72
Acyclovir ................................... 371, 374
Drug profile .................................. 613
Adipositas .......................................... 283
AIDP.................................................. 570
AIDS.................................................... 32
Malignant lymphoma .................... 416
Opportunistic Infections................ 330
Albendazole ....................................... 406
Allergy............................................... 273
ALT ................................................... 246
AmBisome ......................................... 614
AMD 11070....................................... 142
Amdoxovir......................................... 131
Amoxicillin........................................ 381
Amphetamine..................................... 184
Amphotericin B .......................................
...............387, 400, 402, 403, 404, 407
Drug profile .................................. 614
Amprenavir................................ 107, 615
Anemia ...................................... 182, 272
Antibodies, neutralizing....................... 68
Antidepressants.................................. 656
Antimony compounds........................ 404
Aphthous ulcers ................................. 550
APOBEC3G......................................... 47
Aprepitant .......................................... 142
Apricitabine ....................................... 131
Aptivus ................................ 86, 112, 647
ART ..................................................... 82
Children ........................................ 469
Costs ............................................. 260
Dermatology ................................. 549
Giga-ART ..................................... 222
Guidelines ..................................... 169
Initial Regimens............................ 180
Long-term Toxicity....................... 202
Lymphoma .................................... 422
Mega-ART ....................................222
Pregnancy......................................450
Principles ......................................154
Renal insufficiency .......................517
Side Effects ...................................201
Start....................................... 169, 180
Stop ...............................................227
Switch ................................... 201, 210
Aspergillosis ......................................400
Assisted reproduction.........................464
AST....................................................246
Atazanavir............ 86, 107, 189, 221, 268
Drug profile...................................615
Resistance .....................................326
Side Effects ...................................269
ATC ...................................................131
Atevirdine ..........................................136
Atherosclerosis...................................527
Atorvastatin........................................289
Atovaquone........................................334
Drug profile...................................616
ATP......................................................86
Atripla............................ 86, 93, 616, 625
Attachment inhibitors.........................138
Atypical Mycobacteriosis ..................367
Avascular necrosis .............................276
Azithromycin ............................. 368, 583
Drug profile...................................617
AZT ............................................... 86, 88
Drug profile...................................617
Resistance .....................................324
B
Bacillary angiomatosis.......................401
Bacterial Vaginosis ............................440
Bevirimat ...........................................147
Bezafibrat...........................................289
Bilirubin.............................................246
BIRL355BS .......................................136
BIT-225 .............................................147
Blips...................................................156
BMI....................................................288
BMS-488,043.....................................139
Boosting.............................................106
Brecanavir..........................................137
Burkitts Lymphoma..........................423
C
Caelyx................................................625
Calanolide A ......................................136
664 Index
Calcium channel inhibitors ................ 658
Camptothecin..................................... 377
Candidiasis......................................... 349
Cannabinoids ..................................... 152
Capravirine ........................................ 136
Capreomycin...................................... 359
Carbamazepine .................................. 375
Caspofungin............................... 350, 401
Castleman's disease............................ 432
CCR5 ........................................... 50, 116
CCR5 antagonists
new CCR5 antagonists .................. 140
CD4 cells ............................... 30, 49, 242
CD4 receptor........................................ 49
Cefpodoxim ....................................... 381
Ceftriaxon .......................................... 381
Cefuroxim.......................................... 381
Cell cultures......................................... 63
Celsentri............................... 86, 120, 636
Chancroid .......................................... 543
Chemokine receptors ........................... 50
Chemokines ......................................... 50
Children ............................................. 469
Chlamydia Infection .......................... 542
Chloroquine ....................................... 582
CHOP ................................................ 420
Cidofovir.................................... 346, 377
Drug profile .................................. 618
CIDP .................................................. 570
Ciprofloxacin ..... 359, 390, 403, 408, 583
Circumcision...................................... 253
Clarithromycin........................... 368, 381
Drug profile .................................. 619
Clindamycin....................................... 340
Drug profile .................................. 620
CMV
Encephalitis................................... 567
Renal insufficiency ....................... 520
Retinitis......................................... 344
CNS lymphoma ................................. 427
Coccidioidomycosis........................... 403
Coinfection ........................................ 486
Combivir........................................ 86, 94
Drug profile .................................. 620
Compliance........................................ 256
Condylomata acuminata .... 443, 544, 551
Congestive heart failure ..................... 524
Contraception..................................... 439
Copegus ............................................. 641
Co-receptor antagonists ..................... 116
Coronary heart disease....................... 522
Corticosteroids................................... 149
Cotrimoxazole ........................... 334, 403
Drug profile .................................. 621
Crixivan ............................... 86, 110, 632

Cryptococcosis...................................386
Cryptosporidiosis ...............................383
CXCR4 ........................................ 51, 116
antagonists ....................................142
Cyclosporin A....................................149
Cymeven ............................................631
Cytidine analog ....................................87
Cytotoxic T cell ...................................61
D
D4T................................................ 86, 90
Drug profile...................................621
Lactic acidosis...............................275
replacement ...................................203
Resistance .....................................324
DAPD ................................................131
Dapivirine ..........................................136
Dapsone
Drug profile...................................622
Daraprim ............................................640
Darunavir ............................. 86, 108, 188
Drug profile...................................623
Resistance .....................................327
Daunorubicin .....................................425
DC-SIGN .............................................58
DDC.....................................................89
DDI ................................................ 86, 89
Drug profile...................................623
Lactic acidosis...............................275
D-drugs ..............................................297
Delavirdine .................................. 86, 104
Drug profile...................................624
Dendritic cells ......................................57
Depression .........................................270
Dermatology ......................................547
Dermatoses
Papular ..........................................555
DEXA ................................................287
DG17 .................................................137
Diabetes mellitus........................ 182, 282
Diagnostic window ..............................40
Diarrhea .............................................265
Didanosine ..................................... 86, 89
Drug profile...................................623
Resistance .....................................325
DILS ..................................................572
Dioxolanthymidine ............................132
Diphtheria ..........................................591
Discordant response ...........................159
Dizziness............................................ 270
Docetaxel ...........................................411
Index 665
Double PI........................................... 221
Doxorubicin ....................................... 411
Drug profile .................................. 625
Doxycycline....................................... 582
DPC 083 ............................................ 136
DPC 961 ............................................ 136
Dronabinol ......................................... 398
Drug interactions ............................... 651
Drug Profiles...................................... 612
DSSP ................................................. 572
E
Ecstasy............................................... 184
Efavirenz.............................. 86, 102, 187
Drug profile .................................. 625
Resistance ..................................... 325
Side Effects........................... 270, 273
Effusion
Pericardial ..................................... 525
EKAF Paper....................................... 252
ELISA.................................................. 37
Elvitegravir ........................................ 145
Elvucitabine ....................................... 132
Emivirine ........................................... 136
Emtricitabine ................................. 86, 91
Drug profile .................................. 626
Resistance ..................................... 324
Emtriva ........................................ 86, 626
Encephalopathy.................................. 562
Endemic mycoses .............................. 584
Endocarditis ....................................... 527
Enfuvirtide ................................... 86, 123
Drug profile .................................. 645
Entry inhibitors .................................. 116
env ....................................................... 45
Epidemiology....................................... 34
Epivir ..................................... 86, 90, 612
Epzicom............................................... 93
Drug profile .................................. 634
Eradication......................................... 164
Erythromycin ............................. 401, 408
Escape mutants .................................... 61
ESN-196 ............................................ 142
Ethambutol................................. 356, 368
Drug profile .................................. 627
Etravirine ..................................... 86, 103
Drug profile .................................. 628
Resistance ..................................... 325
Side Effects................................... 273
ETV ..................................................... 86
Examination
Dermatological.............................. 548
General..........................................609
Gynecological ...............................246
F
FABP .................................................285
Famciclovir ........................................375
Fanconis syndrome ...........................515
Fertility disorders...............................466
FFA.................................................... 282
Fibric acid analogues .........................291
Filgrastim...........................................631
Fluconazole........................ 350, 387, 404
Drug profile...................................628
Flucytosine.........................................387
Fluvastatin..........................................289
Folliculitis ..........................................550
Fomivirsen .........................................346
Fosalvudine........................................132
Fosamprenavir ..................... 86, 109, 189
Drug profile...................................629
Resistance .....................................326
Foscarnet............................................345
Drug profile...................................630
Foscavir .............................................630
Fozivudine .........................................132
FSGN .................................................513
FTC................................................ 86, 91
Drug profile...................................626
Resistance .....................................324
Fumagillin..........................................406
Funduscopy........................................246
Fusion inhibitors ................................123
New fusion inhibitors....................143
Fuzeon ................................. 86, 123, 645
G
Gabapentin.........................................375
gag .......................................................45
Gancyclovir
Drug profile...................................631
GB virus C .........................................504
GBV-C Infection................................504
G-CSF................................................149
Drug profile...................................631
Gemfibrozil........................................289
Generics .............................................130
Genetic polymorphism.........................52
Genital Herpes ...................................440
Genital warts......................................551
Genotyping ........................................306
GHB................................................... 184
666 Index
Glomerulonephritis ............................ 510
Post-infectious .............................. 513
Glucantime......................................... 404
Glucose .............................................. 246
Glucose tolerance............................... 282
GLUT-4 inhibition............................. 286
GM-CSF ............................................ 149
Gonorrhea .......................................... 541
gp120 ........................................... 51, 138
gp41 ................................................... 123
Granocyte .......................................... 631
Growth hormone........................ 289, 398
GS-9148............................................. 132
GS-9350............................................. 129
Guanosine analog................................. 87
Guillan Barre ..................................... 570
GW420867X...................................... 136
GW5634 ............................................ 135
GW8248 ............................................ 136
H
Hairy leukoplakia............................... 554
HBY-097 ........................................... 136
HDL................................................... 282
Heart disease
Coronary ....................................... 522
Valvular ........................................ 526
Heart Failure
Congestive .................................... 524
Hemophilia ........................................ 277
Hepatitis A......................................... 592
Hepatitis B ......................... 182, 496, 592
Hepatitis C ................................. 182, 486
Hepatotoxicity ................................... 266
Herpes simplex .......................... 254, 371
Herpes zoster ..................................... 374
HGS004 ............................................. 141
Histoplasmosis................................... 402
HIV
Acute infection................................ 72
Exanthema .................................... 550
Gynaecology ................................. 438
HBV/HCV Coinfections ............... 486
HIV-AN ............................................. 512
HLA B57 ............................................. 60
HLA system......................................... 60
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors ......... 290
Hodgkins disease.............................. 430
HPV ........................................... 544, 593
HPV-associated diseases.................... 442
HSR ..................................... 88, 274, 613
HSV
Hydroxyurea ......................................150
Hypercholesterolemia ........................282
Hyperinsulinemia...............................283
Hyperlipidemia ..................................283
Hypersensitivity reaction ..... 88, 274, 613
Hypertension......................................182
Hypertriglyceridemia .........................282
Ibalizumab .........................................138
IDX-899.............................................135
Immune reconstitution syndrome.......392
Immunotherapy..................................149
INCB9471..........................................140
Indinavir............................... 86, 110, 268
Drug profile...................................632
Nephropathy..................................515
Resistance .....................................326
Side Effects ...................................270
Induction............................................194
Influenza ............................................591
Inosine analog......................................87
Insomnia ............................................270
Insulin resistance................................282
Integrase inhibitors ............................125
New integrase inhibitors ...............145
Intelence....................................... 86, 103
Interactions ................................ 183, 651
Interferon ........................... 150, 412, 492
Drug profile...................................632
interleukin-10.....................................151
Interleukin-12 ....................................151
Interleukin-2 ......................................150
Interleukin-7 ......................................151
Intron A..............................................632
Invirase ................................ 86, 112, 644
IRIS............................................ 392, 552
Isentress ............................... 86, 126, 640
Isoniazid.............................................356
Drug profile...................................633
Isosporiasis ........................................403
Itraconazole................ 350, 401, 402, 407
Drug profile...................................634
K
Kaletra ................................. 86, 110, 635
Kaposis Sarcoma ..............................409
KIR receptor ........................................61
Kivexa............................................ 86, 93
Drug profile...................................634
Index 667
Klacid ................................................ 619
KRH-3955 ......................................... 142
Kryptokokkose................................... 567
KS...................................................... 409
L
Lactic acidosis ..................... 90, 275, 295
Lamivudine............................ 86, 90, 324
Drug profile .................................. 612
Latent reservoirs ................................ 165
Latent TB........................................... 363
Late Presenters........................... 177, 194
LDH................................................... 246
Leishmaniasis ............................ 404, 584
Leukoencephalopathy
Progressive multifocal................... 376
Leukopenia ........................................ 273
Lexiva ........................................ 109, 629
Linezolid............................................ 357
Lipase ................................................ 246
Lipodystrophy Syndrome .................. 281
Litalir ................................................. 150
Lopinavir ..................... 86, 110, 188, 221
Drug profile .................................. 635
Resistance ..................................... 326
Loviride ............................................. 136
LTNP ................................................... 61
Lubricans ........................................... 255
Lymphoma......................................... 416
Hodgkin's disease.......................... 430
Cutaneous ..................................... 553
Plasmablastic ................................ 424
Primary CNS................................. 427
Primary effusion ........................... 424
M
Macrophage ......................................... 57
Malaria....................................... 583, 660
Prophylaxis ................................... 582
Malarone............................................ 582
Malignant lymphoma.......see Lymphoma
Maraviroc .................................... 86, 120
Drug profile .................................. 636
Marijuana........................................... 184
Maturation inhibitors ......................... 147
Mavid................................................. 619
MCD .................................................. 432
Measles ...................................... 584, 592
Mefloquine......................................... 582
Megestrol acetate ............................... 398
Meglumin antimonate ........................ 404
Membrane fusion .................................54

Metformin ..........................................289
Methadone ................................. 183, 661
Micafungin.........................................350
Microbicides ......................................255
Microsporidiosis ................................405
Miltefosine.........................................404
MIP-1.................................................51
MIP-1 ................................................51
Mitochondrial DNA ...........................294
Mitochondrial DNA polymerase........285
Mitochondrial myopathy....................296
Mitochondrial Toxicity ......................294
MIV-15 ..............................................136
Molluscum contagiosum ....................553
Monitoring .........................................238
Mother-to-child transmission...............28
Moxifloxacin......................................357
Mozenavir ..........................................137
MPC9055.........................................148
mtDNA depletion...............................285
Multicentric Castleman's disease .......432
Murabutide.........................................151
Mycobacteriosis, atypical...................367
Mycobacterium avium complex.........367
Mycobutin..........................................641
Mycophenol .......................................151
Myelopathy ........................................568
Myocardial infarction......... 182, 283, 522
Myocarditis ........................................527
Myopathy...........................................578
N
NASBA..............................................239
Natural killer cell .................................58
Nausea ...............................................265
Necrosis avascular .............................276
Needlestick injury ..............................600
Nef .......................................................47
Nelfinavir............................. 86, 111, 130
Drug profile...................................637
Resistance .....................................326
Neonates, therapy...............................456
Nephrolithiasis ...................................269
Nephropathy ......................................512
Nephrotoxicity ...................................269
Neupogen...........................................631
Neuromuscular Diseases ....................570
Neurosyphilis.....................................567
Neutralizing antibodies ........................69
Nevirapine.................... 86, 100, 187, 267
Drug profile...................................638
668 Index
Resistance ..................................... 325
Side Effects................................... 273
New (HIV infected) Patient ............... 607
New co-receptor antagonists.............. 140
New entry inhibitors .......................... 138
New formulations .............................. 130
New NNRTIs..................................... 135
New nucleoside analogs..................... 131
NFB ................................................... 56
Nightmares................................. 102, 270
Nitazoxanide...................................... 383
NNRTI................................................. 99
Hypersusceptibility ....................... 222
Side Effects................................... 273
Nocardiosis ........................................ 406
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma .........................
....................................see Lymphoma
Norvir .......................... 86, 111, 130, 643
NRTIs .................................................. 87
Nuke backbone .................................... 92
Nuke sparing.............................. 192, 205
O
Occupational Exposure ........................ 41
OHL................................................... 554
Once-daily ......................................... 190
Opportunistic infections..................... 330
Oral hairy leukoplakia ....................... 554
Osteopenia ......................................... 276
Osteoporosis ...................................... 277
Oxymetholone ................................... 398
P
p24 antigen .......................................... 76
PA1050040 ........................................ 147
Paclitaxel ........................................... 411
Pancreatitis......................................... 182
Paromomycin..................................... 384
Paronychia ......................................... 555
Pathogenesis ........................................ 44
PBS ...................................................... 55
PCP .................................................... 332
PCR ..................................................... 76
Pegasys .............................................. 632
PegIntron ........................................... 632
PEL .................................................... 424
Pellet implantation ............................. 346
Penicillium marneffei ........................ 406
Pentacarinat ....................................... 639
Pentamidine ....................................... 334
Drug profile...................................639
Pentostam...........................................404
PEP ..........see Post-exposure prophylaxis
Peripheral neuropathy ..........................32
Pertussis .............................................591
PF-232798..........................................141
Pharmacoenhancers............................129
Phenotyping .......................................306
Phosphazide .......................................132
Pioglitazone .......................................289
Piperacillin.........................................381
PL-100 ...............................................137
Plasmablastic lymphomas ..................424
PML ................ see Leukoencephalopathy
Pneumococcal ....................................591
Pneumococcal polysaccharide ...........381
Pneumocystis pneumonia...................332
Pneumonia
Bacterial ........................................380
PCP ...............................................332
PNU142721 .......................................136
pol ........................................................45
Polyneuropathy .................. 182, 271, 570
Polyradiculopathy ..............................570
Post-exposure prophylaxis ........... 41, 600
PPAR................................................286
Pravastatin..........................................289
Pregnancy ..........................................447
PrEP ........................................... 256, 465
Prevention ..........................................249
Prezista................................. 86, 108, 623
Primary CNS lymphoma....................427
Primary effusion lymphoma...............424
PRO 140 ............................................141
Progression risk..................................170
Protease inhibitor ...............................106
Double PIs.....................................221
New protease inhibitors.................137
Proteinuria..........................................510
Prothionamide....................................359
Pruritus...............................................554
Psoriasis .............................................555
Psychoses...........................................182
Pyrazinamide .....................................356
Pyridoxine..........................................357
Pyrimethamine ........................... 340, 341
Drug profile...................................640
Q
Quadruple Nuke......................... 189, 213
Index 669
R
Racivir ............................................... 133
Raltegravir ................................... 86, 126
Drug profile .................................. 640
Resistance ..................................... 327
Rapid Tests .......................................... 39
Rare OIs............................................. 400
RDEA806 .......................................... 135
Rebetol............................................... 641
Reiters syndrome.............................. 556
Remune.............................................. 151
Renal Function................................... 510
Reproduction, assisted ....................... 464
Rescriptor ............................ 86, 104, 624
Resistance Mechanism....................... 307
Resistance Profiles............................. 312
Resistance Testing ............................. 305
Retrovir.................................. 86, 88, 617
rev ........................................................ 46
Reyataz ................................ 86, 107, 615
Rhodococcus...................................... 407
Ribavirin ............................................ 492
Drug profile .................................. 641
Rifabutin ............................................ 363
Drug profile .................................. 641
Rifampin ............................................ 362
Drug profile .................................. 642
Rilpivirine.......................................... 135
Ritonavir ...................................... 86, 111
Drug profile .................................. 643
Rituximab .................................. 421, 434
Roferon .............................................. 632
Rosiglitazone ..................................... 289
Roxithromycin ................................... 381
S
Salmonella septicemia ....................... 390
Salvage Therapy ................................ 216
Newer drugs.................................. 218
Saquinavir.................... 86, 112, 189, 221
Drug profile .................................. 644
Resistance ..................................... 326
Scabies............................................... 557
SCH-532706 ...................................... 141
SDF-1 .................................................. 51
Seborrheic dermatitis ......................... 558
Selzentry .................................... 120, 636
Sempera ............................................. 634
Sexual Dysfunction............................ 529
Sexually transmitted diseases .... 536, 585
Side Effects........................................ 264
Sifuvirtide ..........................................144
Sildenafil............................................533
Simplification ............................ 211, 223
Skin Diseases .....................................547
SM-309515 ........................................137
Smoking.............................................283
SP01A................................................144
Sperm washing...................................464
SPI-256 ..............................................137
SPI-452 ..............................................129
SREBP-1c ..........................................286
Staging, CDC.......................................33
Stampidine .........................................133
Statins ........................................ 290, 661
Stavudine ....................................... 86, 90
Drug profile...................................621
Resistance .....................................324
Stem cell transplantation....................425
Streptomycin......................................356
Strongyloides stercoralis....................585
Structured intermittent therapy ..........231
substance abuse..................................182
Sulfadiazine ............................... 340, 406
Drug profile...................................645
Sustiva ......................................... 86, 625
Syphilis ..............................................536
T
T-20 ....................................... 51, 86, 123
Drug profile...................................645
Resistance .....................................327
Side effects....................................277
TAK-652............................................141
Tadalafil.............................................533
TAR .....................................................56
Tat........................................................46
Telzir.................................... 86, 109, 629
Tenofovir ....................................... 86, 91
Drug profile...................................646
Nephrotoxicity ..............................516
Resistance .....................................325
Side Effects ...................................269
Switch ...........................................204
Testing .................................................37
Testosterone.......................................398
Tetanus...............................................591
TH1 cell ................................................63
TH2 cell ................................................63
Thalidomide.......................................435
THC ........................................... 152, 398
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring ............246
Thymidine analog ................................87
670 Index
Tinea .................................................. 552
Tipranavir .................................... 86, 112
Drug profile .................................. 647
Resistance ..................................... 326
Tissue plasminogen activator............. 283
TMC .......................................... 126, 137
TMC114
Drug profile .................................. 623
TMC120 ............................................ 136
TMC125
Drug profile .................................. 628
TNF ................................................... 56
TNX-355............................................ 138
Toxoplasmosis ........................... 339, 567
TR-999............................................... 144
Transmission........................................ 26
Resistant strains ............................ 309
Traveling............................................ 580
Treatment
failure............................................ 154
interruptions .......................... 222, 227
TRIM5............................................... 54
Triple Nuke................................ 189, 213
Trizivir........................................... 86, 88
Drug profile .................................. 648
Tropism shift...................................... 119
Tropism test ....................................... 118
Truvada.......................................... 86, 93
Drug profile .................................. 648
Trypanosoma cruzi ............................ 408
Tuberculosis............................... 352, 584
U
UK-453,061 ....................................... 136
UK-201844 ........................................ 147
Ulcus molle........................................ 543
Ultreon............................................... 617
Uridine............................................... 300
Varicella.............................................593
Vasculitic neuropathy ........................572
Vasculitis ...........................................527
Vfend .................................................650
Vicriviroc...........................................140
Videx ........................................... 86, 623
Vif........................................................47
Viracept ............................... 86, 111, 637
Viral load .................................................
.......... 32, 76, 154, 169, 203, 227, 238
Viral vectors.........................................70
Viramune ............................. 86, 100, 638
Viramune ER ...................................130
Viread .......................................... 86, 646
Virip...................................................144
Virological failure.............. 154, 206, 210
Vistide................................................618
Vitrasert ...........................................346
Vomiting ............................................265
Voriconazole......................................400
Drug profile...................................650
Vpr .......................................................47
Vpu ......................................................47
Vulvovaginal Candidiasis ..................441
VZV .............................See Herpes zoster
encephalitis ...................................567
W
Wasting syndrome .............................397
Wellvone............................................616
Western blot.........................................38
Wish for Parenthood ..........................461
X
Xerosis ...............................................558
Y
Yellow fever ......................................593
Vaccinations .............................. 581, 588

Children ........................................ 589
Vaccine ................................................ 68
Valacyclovir....................................... 375
Valcyte............................................... 649
Valgancyclovir................................... 345
Drug profile .................................. 649
Vancomycin....................................... 408
Vardenafil .......................................... 533
Zeffix .................................................612
Zerit ....................................... 86, 90, 621
Zerit PRC ...........................................130
Ziagen .......................................... 86, 613
Zidovudine...........................................88
Drug profile...................................617
Resistance .....................................324
Zithromax ..........................................617
Zovirax...............................................613

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With support from

Medizin Fokus Verlag

2009 by Medizin Fokus Verlag, Hamburg

Reinhold E. Schmidt, M.D., Ph.D.

Helmut Schfer, M.D., Ph.D.

Michael Weigel, MD, PhD

Entry regulations and travel insurance.......................................................... 582

The HIV epidemic

well as chronic ulcerating perianal herpes infections (Gottlieb 1981a, Gottlieb

Potentially favorable factors and risks

HIV infection. It is important to note that a precise calculation of a transmission

Probability of infection per contact

is to manage fears of HIV transmission and to enable a normal sex-life, as far as

The natural course of HIV infection

Viral load [copies/ml]

CD4cell count [/l]

Figure 1: The natural course of HIV infection

Table 2. Clinical categories of HIV-infection according to the CDC-Classification

Acute, symptomatic (primary) HIV infection

Candidiasis of the bronchia, trachea, or

Persistant generalized lymphadenopathy

Disease progression stage

*for AIDS-defining conditions please refer to Table 2.

New infections 2007

Total numbers (lower and upper estimate)

People with HIV/AIDS in 2008

People with AIDS

According to transmission risk

Persons infected via heterosexual contacts

Persons from high prevalence regions / countries

Intravenous drug users

Hemophiliacs and received blood transfusions

Mother to child transmission

The Basics of HIV Diagnostics

The diagnostic window

HIV Diagnostics in Newborns

According to the German-Austrian recommendations for HIV therapy in pregnancy

HIV Diagnostics after Occupational Exposure

What is relevant in practice?

Internet sources related to HIV testing

3. Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection

Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection

1. The structure of HIV-1

1.1. The morphologic structure of HIV-1

1.2. The organization of the viral genome

Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection

Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection

2. The HIV replication cycle

Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection

Figure 4: Inhibition of viral entry of CCR5-utilizing (monocytotropic) and CXCR4-utilizing (T cell

Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection

2.2. Post-fusion events

Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection

Figure 6: Life cycle of HIV.

Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection

3. HIV and the immune system

3.2. Lymphatic tissue as the site of viral replication

Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection

3.3. The HLA system and the immune response to HIV