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Two-Drug Treatment Approaches in HIV: Finally Getting Somewhere?

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Abstract

The advent of combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly decreased AIDS-related morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, the benefits of ART are only realized through adherence to lifelong treatment. Though contemporary antiretroviral (ARV) drugs have fewer adverse effects in comparison to older ARV drugs, many agents are associated with negative or unknown long-term effects. There is increasing evidence that two-drug (dual-therapy) regimens may be an effective alternative to the currently recommended three-drug (triple-therapy) regimens. In this review, we provide a comprehensive and critical review of recently completed and ongoing trials of dual-therapy regimens in treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced HIV-1-infected patients. We also review current HIV/AIDS society recommendations regarding dual therapy as well as future therapeutic possibilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 645 N Michigan Ave, Suite 900, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Sean G. Kelly, Amesika N. Nyaku & Babafemi O. Taiwo

  2. Center for Global Health, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Babafemi O. Taiwo

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  1. Sean G. Kelly
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  2. Amesika N. Nyaku
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  3. Babafemi O. Taiwo
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Correspondence to Babafemi O. Taiwo.

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Conflict of interest

B. O. T. has served as a consultant for ViiV Healthcare, Gilead Sciences, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline and received research support to Northwestern University from Pfizer. S. G. K and A. N. N declare no conflicts of interest.

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Kelly, S.G., Nyaku, A.N. & Taiwo, B.O. Two-Drug Treatment Approaches in HIV: Finally Getting Somewhere?. Drugs 76, 523–531 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-016-0553-8

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