Successful rescue therapy with darunabir (TMC114) in HIV-infected patients who have failed several ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors.

Darunabir, formerly TMC114, is a new protease inhibitor (PI) under clinical development designed to be active against HIV strains resistant to currently available PI. The virological and immunological response to ritonavir-boosted darunabir was assessed in four heavily antiretroviral-experienced patients who had failed enfuvirtide and two or more previous ritonavir-boosted PI regimens, including tipranavir in one instance. All four patients reached undetectable plasma HIV-RNA levels within 8 weeks of therapy and experienced significant CD4 cell count gains.

Short communication: benefits in the lipid profile after substitution of abacavir for Stavudine: a 48-week prospective study.

Stavudine (d4T) has been associated with lipoatrophy and hyperlactatemia. In recent studies, d4T has also been related to both hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia. Replacing d4T with another nucleoside analogue such as abacavir (ABC) may reduce lactate levels and improve lipoatrophy in the long term.