Should We Optimize Antiretroviral CNS Penetration for Patients with HIV-Associated Neurologic Disease?

A large study designed to answer this question was terminated because of slow accrual.

We know that antiretroviral drugs penetrate into the brain quite differently, and case reports have suggested that optimizing the central nervous system (CNS) penetration of a regimen may improve HIV-affected cognition. Still, formal studies of this strategy have yielded mixed results.

Researchers designed a large, multicenter, randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of treating patients with HIV-associated cognitive disorder (HAND) preferentially with “high CNS penetration” drugs. After 4 years, 326 individuals had been screened but only 59 had enrolled, and a monitoring board recommended termination on the basis of slow accrual.

The 49 individuals with HAND who completed study week 16 were either antiretroviral therapy (ART) naive and ini…

Reviewing Author

Abigail Zuger, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Abigail Zuger, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Should We Optimize Antiretroviral CNS Penetration for Patients with HIV-Associated Neurologic Disease?

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Reviewing Author