via allafrica.com, by Anso Thom
AIDS activists and researchers are at loggerheads over the planned South African trial of a lower dose version of the controversial antiretroviral stavudine, which has in the past been responsible for debilitating side-effects in HIV patients.
However, due to its low price, it is still widely used in the developing world.
Lipodystrophy is the redistribution of fat in the body, which manifests as excess, or lack of, fat in various regions of the body. People can have sunken cheeks and/or "humps" on the back or back of the neck (also referred to as buffalo hump).
In the one camp, the Treatment Action Campaign, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without borders) and the Treatment Action Group have serious concerns about the proposed trial.
They are concerned that stavudine is more toxic than tenofovir (the drug which replaced stavudine in the government treatment programme), making it an inferior treatment.
Patients' poor tolerance means that they are more likely to not adhere to treatment and will have to be switched to more expensive second-line treatment when they fail first line treatment.
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[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position. Please look for us on Facebook here www.facebook.com/MappingPathways and you can follow us on Twitter @mappingpathways as well.]
AIDS activists and researchers are at loggerheads over the planned South African trial of a lower dose version of the controversial antiretroviral stavudine, which has in the past been responsible for debilitating side-effects in HIV patients.
The main adverse effect is peripheral neuropathy, which can be corrected by reducing dosage.
The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy include burning, stiffness, prickling, tingling, and numbness or a loss of feeling in the toes and soles of the feet. Sometimes the nerves in the fingers, hands, and wrists are also affected.
Stavudine is also one of the most likely ARVs to cause lipodystrophy, and for this reason it is no longer considered an appropriate treatment for most patients in developed countries and is no longer recommended by the World Health Organisation.
However, due to its low price, it is still widely used in the developing world.
Lipodystrophy is the redistribution of fat in the body, which manifests as excess, or lack of, fat in various regions of the body. People can have sunken cheeks and/or "humps" on the back or back of the neck (also referred to as buffalo hump).
In the one camp, the Treatment Action Campaign, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without borders) and the Treatment Action Group have serious concerns about the proposed trial.
They are concerned that stavudine is more toxic than tenofovir (the drug which replaced stavudine in the government treatment programme), making it an inferior treatment.
Patients' poor tolerance means that they are more likely to not adhere to treatment and will have to be switched to more expensive second-line treatment when they fail first line treatment.
Read the rest.
[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position. Please look for us on Facebook here www.facebook.com/MappingPathways and you can follow us on Twitter @mappingpathways as well.]
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