HPTN 052
HPTN 052 is the name of a
Results
As reported by a 2011 publication in the New England Journal of Medicine, in the trial there were 1763 couples, where only one partner was infected with HIV.[1] After following them for a median of 1.7 years, there were 4 HIV infections in the group on ART and 35 in the group not on ART.[1] However, when comparing the HIV viruses in the 4 infections in the ART group, 3 of them were different than that of the partner who had originally had HIV.[1] It is likely that these were contracted from another sexual partner, who was not involved in the trial.[1] Therefore, only 1 transmission was recorded in the ART group with 886 couples followed for almost 2 years.[1] That was estimated to be a 96% reduction from the control group, who had only started on ART if they had become sick or their CD4 cell counts had dropped below 250.[1] It is also notable that both groups had received extensive counseling, condoms, and STI treatment.[1]
After the finding of such a drastic reduction in transmission the control arm was stopped prematurely in 2011 and all participants were offered ART.[3] Couples were followed for four more years and by 2015, 1,171 couples were still being followed when the study was completed. As reported in a follow-up publication in the New England Journal of Medicine,[4] only 8 cases of HIV transmission were recorded from patients on ART and 4 of them happened in the first three months after treatment was started and before the virus was able to be suppressed. The other 4 were in patients who had detectable levels of virus in their blood despite being on ART, likely due to resistance and virologic failure. Overall there was a sustained 93% reduction in HIV transmission.[5]
Ethics
This study was groundbreaking for providing compelling evidence that treating persons with HIV actually reduces HIV infection rates in communities.[6] Now that this information is available, it has created debates about ethical obligations which communities might have when making decisions about providing HIV treatment.[6]
Reception
In December 2011, Science named the study as "Breakthrough of the Year".[7]
References
- ^ PMID 21767103.
- ^ Matassa M (May 12, 2011). "Initiation of Antiretroviral Treatment Protects Uninfected Sexual Partners from HIV Infection (HPTN 052)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 11, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
- ^ "Q&A: The HPTN 052 Study: Preventing Sexual Transmission of HIV with Anti-HIV Drugs". www.niaid.nih.gov. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
- PMID 27424812.
- ^ "HPTN 052 HIV Prevention Study Demonstrates Sustained Benefit of Early Antiretroviral Therapy" (PDF). July 20, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ^ PMID 22692805.
- PMID 22194547.