![New HIV Treatment Strategy]()
A study by an international consortium including the Einstein-Montefiore Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and Barry Zingman, M.D., found that a new type of therapy—infusing a broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibody into the blood of HIV+ patients—prevented HIV from rebounding for nearly 10 weeks after treatment with highly active antiretroviral (HAART) drugs were interrupted. The results, published in the June 22 issue of Nature, suggest that this approach might help to prevent, treat or even cure HIV. The study involved 13 HIV+ patients who’d been on HAART for at least one year and whose peripheral blood mononuclear cells harbored latent HIV sensitive to the broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibody 3BNC117. Six participants received two infusions of 3BNC117 three weeks apart, and seven subjects received up to four infusions at two-week intervals. HAART therapy was interrupted two days after the first infusion. Two infusions delayed viral rebound for five to nine weeks, and four infusions delayed viral rebound for up to 19 weeks—an average of 6.7 and 9.7 weeks respectively. When HAART was restarted, HIV was re-suppressed below 20 copies per milliliter of blood in all participants. Dr. Zingman, his team, and CFAR colleagues were involved in screening and recruiting patients and providing scientific input and analyses. He is professor of clinical medicine at Einstein and medical director of the AIDS Center at Montefiore.
Posted on: Thursday, June 30, 2016