<\/em>Excess risk for AIDS, serious non-AIDS conditions, death for those deferring treatment reduced soon after initiation of ART<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n <\/b><\/p>\n <\/b><\/p>\n TUESDAY, Oct. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Initiating antiretroviral treatment (ART) early in the course of HIV infection results in better outcomes compared with deferred initiation, although the difference in ongoing excess risk is reduced with long-term follow-up, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDWeek), held from Oct. 19 to 23 in Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n James D. Neaton, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues randomly assigned 4,684 ART-naive HIV-positive adults with CD4 >500 cells\/\u00c2\u00b5L to start ART immediately (IMM; 2,325 participants) or defer ART until CD4 <350 cells\/\u00c2\u00b5L or development of AIDS (DEF; 2,359 participants). In 2015, a 57 percent reduction in the risk for the primary end point of AIDS, serious non-AIDS (SNA) condition, or death was seen for IMM ART. Participants assigned to DEF were recommended to initiate ART, with follow-up to Dec. 31, 2021.<\/p>\n The researchers found that ART initiation led to a rapid decline in HIV RNA to \u00e2\u0089\u00a4200 copies\/mL during both time periods. The benefit of IMM versus DEF was reduced in post-2016 versus pre-2016 for the primary end point (hazard ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.47 [0.34 to 0.64] and 0.75 [0.56 to 1.01] for pre-2016 and post-2016, respectively) and its components. The hazard ratio for the primary end point was 0.61 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.49 to 0.76) from randomization to 2021.<\/p>\n “Among people with CD4 >500, the excess risk of AIDS and SNA conditions associated with delaying ART initiation is substantially diminished soon after ART is initiated, but persistent excess risk remains,” the authors write.<\/strong><\/p>\n One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n Press Release<\/a><\/p>\n