Active clinical trials for "HIV Infections"

Because people infected with HIV strains that are resistant to anti-HIV drugs have fewer effective treatment options, selecting an effective anti-HIV drug combination is difficult. A combination of protease inhibitors (PIs), when added to a patient's current anti-HIV therapy, may decrease viral load and increase drug activity. Tests that measure drug levels in the blood and tests to evaluate the drug resistance of HIV may also be helpful in choosing the best anti-HIV drug combination for a patient. This study will determine whether using these tests to choose a drug combination and adding PIs to that combination will improve the patient's response to anti-HIV therapy.

This study will evaluate the effects of intermittent short cycles of HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) for treating HIV infection. HAART is a multi-drug regimen that is very effective in suppressing HIV and perhaps slowing or halting progression to AIDS. However, the treatment has significant drawbacks: it cannot completely rid the body of virus; long-term therapy carries a risk of toxicity (harmful side effects); and the regimen is difficult to comply with because many pills and capsules must be taken daily. When patients stop taking HAART, their HIV levels climb again. This study will see if giving HAART in short cycles of 7 days on, 7 days off, can keep viral levels low while maintaining CD4+ T cell counts. HIV-infected people age 18 or older who are receiving HAART and have a viral load of less than 50 copies/ml and a CD4+ T cell count of at least 175 cells/mm3 may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a medical history and physical examination, blood and urine tests, and possibly a chest X-ray and electrocardiogram. Women of childbearing potential will have a pregnancy test. Participants will be randomly assigned to either continue their current medication regimen or to take HAART in intermittent cycles of 7 days off, 7 days on. Patients will continue treatment for 72 weeks or until viral levels increase or CD4+ T cell counts decline to a level of concern. Upon entering the study, patients will have blood tests to monitor the amount of virus in the blood, CD4+ T cell count, viral resistance to HAART medications, side effects of the drug, and immune response to HIV in the test tube. They will have clinic visits for a history, physical examination and blood draws every month for 12 months. At that time, depending on T cell counts and viral load, the number of visits may be reduced, but never less frequently than every other month. Patients will also undergo leukapheresis-a procedure for collecting quantities of white blood cells-every 3 to 4 months while on the study. For this procedure, whole blood is collected through a needle in an arm vein (similar to donating blood). The blood is circulated through a cell separator where the white cells are removed, and the rest of the blood (plasma, red cells and platelets) is returned through the same needle or through a second one in the other arm. The collected white cells are used for special studies on the level and function of T cells and to detect hidden virus.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) helps the body make infection-fighting white blood cells, including CD4 and CD8 T cells. One HIV treatment strategy is planned treatment interruption (stopping anti-HIV drugs when CD4 count and level of virus in the blood are at certain levels). The purpose of this study is to see if IL-2 used with potent anti-HIV drugs allows for longer HIV treatment interruptions.

This study will test the safety of an experimental vaccine against HIV infection and see if it causes an immune response to HIV. The vaccine is given by injection (shot) in the upper arm. It is made from DNA that codes for three HIV proteins. The DNA is inserted into an adenovirus that carries it into the muscle cells. The adenovirus normally can cause eye or upper respiratory infections, such as a cold; however, for the vaccine, it has been modified so that it cannot cause illness. Nor can the vaccine cause HIV infection, because it codes for only three of the nine HIV proteins. Healthy, normal volunteers between 18 and 44 years of age who are not HIV-infected may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history and physical examination and blood and urine tests. Participants are randomly assigned to receive either the experimental vaccine or a placebo (an inactive substance that looks like the vaccine). The vaccine or placebo is administered to participants in groups, according to their entry into the study. The first group receives the lowest study dose of vaccine. If this dose is safe, then the second group receives a higher dose. If this dose is also safe, then the third and final group receives the highest study dose. Clinic staff observe the subjects for side effects for 30 minutes after the injection, and subjects keep a diary card for the next 5 days, recording their temperature and any symptoms that may appear. Subjects are contacted by a nurse 2 days after the injection for follow-up. Participants are seen at the clinic for follow-up visits 1, 2, 4, 12, and 24 weeks after the injection, and then are contacted by telephone for follow-up once a year until 5 years after the injection. The clinic visits include a physical examination, medical history, blood and urine tests, and HIV counseling, as needed. Women have pregnancy tests at the screening evaluation and again at study week 24. All subjects are tested for HIV at screening and at study weeks 12 and 24, and all subjects complete a "social impact questionnaire" at week 24. All subjects are asked questions about their sexual behavior and drug use. ...

This study compared 3 different three-drug combinations in HIV infected individuals starting their first HIV treatment regimens. Participants were recruited from resource-limited areas in Africa, Asia, South America, Haiti, and also from the United States. The study hypothesis was each of the once daily combinations (PI based, or NNRTI based) would not have inferior efficacy compared to the twice daily NNRTI based combination.

The purpose of this study is to look at the effects of different anti-HIV drug combinations on body fat changes in HIV-positive patients who have never received anti-HIV therapy before.

The purpose of this study is to determine the number of newly formed CD4 cells in children who have taken anti-HIV drugs. The study will also evaluate the effectiveness of the new CD4 cells in producing an immune response to hepatitis A and tetanus toxoid vaccination. Study hypothesis: 1) Immunologic reconstitution of individuals who have less than 15% CD4 cells may or may not be associated with functional activity. 2) The functional immunologic responses to recall and newly experienced antigens may be different. 3) The functional responses to antigens delivered in vaccine format may be a function of CD4 level, viral load, or both.

The purpose of this study is to look at the effectiveness of combination anti-HIV drug therapy (with protease inhibitors [PIs] or without) in patients with early HIV infections. This study also looks at whether a drug called interleukin-2 (IL-2) can boost the immune system of these patients. Doctors are not sure which anti-HIV drug combination is best to use in patients who have early HIV infection and have never received anti-HIV treatment. PIs are anti-HIV drugs that decrease viral load (level of HIV in the blood). However, PIs can cause serious side effects in some patients. Doctors would like to know if a drug combination that does not contain a PI is just as good as one that contains PIs.

The purpose of this study is to measure the blood levels of amprenavir (APV) alone, APV combined with efavirenz (EFV), and APV/EFV combined with a third drug (nelfinavir [NFV], indinavir [IDV], ritonavir soft gel capsules [RTV sgc], or saquinavir soft gel capsules [SQV sgc]). Anti-HIV therapy with 3 or 4 drugs is currently the recommended approach for treating HIV infections. Doctors need to know the best dosages of certain drugs when they are given in combination. This study will measure the blood levels of APV alone, APV combined with EFV, and APV/EFV plus a second PI in healthy volunteers. It will study the safety and tolerance of these drugs.

Treatment of HIV repairs the immune system, but continuous treatment is expensive and causes side effects. Would it not be better to treat intermittently, e.g. stop treatment when the immune system has recovered, and start again only when damage reappears? That is the question which STACCATO proposes to answer. Approximately 500 patients were recruited for this trial from 2002 to 2004. One third were treated continuously; in two thirds, the treatment was interrupted whenever the CD4 count, a measure of immune recovery, exceeded 350. At the end of 2005, the two treatment groups will be compared in order to see which fared better regarding amount of drugs used, side effects, CD4 counts, and development of resistance to treatment.