HIV Control After Stopping Antiretroviral Therapy — Treatment Effect or Elite Controller?

Data from the SPARTAC trial show that prolonged HIV suppression can occur spontaneously after initial infection or, in other patients, following antiretroviral therapy discontinuation.

Recent reports of patients with prolonged HIV suppression following discontinuation of ART raised the question of whether these outcomes were due to early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) or merely revealed individuals destined to become elite controllers. Improved understanding of this phenomenon might provide important clues to achieving a functional cure for HIV infection. To address this question, investigators characterized viral dynamics in 292 acute HIV seroconverters enrolled in the SPARTAC (Short Pulse Antiretroviral Therapy at Acute Seroconversion) study, which compared the effect of 0, 12, or 48 weeks of ART initiated during acute HIV infection.

Defining controllers as having HIV RNA <400 copies/mL for ≥16 weeks after st…

Reviewing Author

Charles B. Hicks, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardGilead Sciences; ViiV; Merck

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc.

Grant / Research supportNIH; Department of Health and Human Services

Charles B. Hicks, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardGilead Sciences; ViiV; Merck

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc.

Grant / Research supportNIH; Department of Health and Human Services

HIV Control After Stopping Antiretroviral Therapy — Treatment Effect or Elite Controller?

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Reviewing Author