Another Safe Path to Conception in HIV-Serodiscordant Couples?

A small study raises the question of whether, when the infected male partner is optimally treated, pre-exposure prophylaxis may someday replace assisted reproductive technologies.

For decades now, the standard recommendation for an HIV-seronegative woman who wants to conceive a child with an HIV-infected man has been to consider artificial insemination with washed sperm. However, the strikingly low rates of heterosexual transmission observed when the infected partner is receiving effective combination antiretroviral therapy (ART), along with the increasing enthusiasm for pre- and postexposure prophylaxis, have inspired new solutions.

In 2004, investigators in Europe started offering one such solution — timed intercourse with pre-exposure prophylaxis — to HIV-serodiscordant couples who wanted to conceive, provided the infected man had a documented viral load <50 copies/mL for ≥6 months. Unprotected intercourse was time…

Reviewing Author

Abigail Zuger, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Abigail Zuger, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Another Safe Path to Conception in HIV-Serodiscordant Couples?

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Reviewing Author