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Antiretroviral
Therapy
for Prevention Research
Overview
Antiretroviral drugs were first developed in the
late 1980s and have been shown to dramatically reduce the morbidity and
mortality of HIV infection through sustained reduction in HIV viral replication.
The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has resulted in
reduction of viral load and may delay disease progression, which provides an
opportunity to assess whether HAART in HIV-positive people can reduce new
infections, thereby extending prevention strategies to those who are infected.
Further, the increased access to voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) and
HAART shifts key programmatic responses to health care facilities and creates a
new opportunity to integrate prevention and care in the context of health
service provision. The HPTN is currently evaluating the impact of HAART in
transmission of HIV in serodiscordant couples.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP) is a prevention
strategy based on the use of antiretroviral therapy before exposure to HIV.
Several antiretroviral drugs are already licensed, have extensive safety data,
and may plausibly play a role in limiting HIV transmission in uninfected at-risk
populations. This approach has an advantage of not requiring participation of
the sexual partner, and hence, may be complementary to other prevention
modalities such as condom use. Furthermore, PREP represents an important new
concept for empowering women and men to protect themselves from HIV.
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HPTN 034 |
HIV Incidence and Participant Retention Protocol, Pune, India |
(Participants Off Study & Primary Analysis Complete) |
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HPTN 052 |
A Randomized Trial to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Antiretroviral Therapy Plus HIV Primary Care versus HIV Primary Care Alone to Prevent the Sexual Transmission of HIV-1 in Serodiscordant Couples |
(Enrolling) |
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