Five year follow-up of children with perinatal HIV-1 infection receiving early highly active antiretroviral therapy

Although it has been shown that when highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is started within ...

Although it has been shown that when highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is started within the first months of age it prevents immunological and clinical deterioration, no data has been available regarding long term follow up. This study looked at 40 HIV infected children who received HAART from birth for at least 6 years compared to 91 children whose treatment was deferred.

The results showed that almost half of the children who received early treatment were still receiving their first HAART regimen at 6 years. The study also found that almost all the children (97.5%) had CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts of > 25% and 77.5% reached an undetectable viral load. The researchers thus conclude that the findings suggest immunological advantages from early-HAART are long-lasting, indicating that children should be treated early.

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