Fight the Resistance!

HIVers concerned about the potential development of drug resistance might want to talk with their physicians about taking a boosted protease inhibitor-based cocktail rather than one containing a nonnucleoside analog, according to a report in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. An analysis of nearly 8,000 HIVers showed that those who experienced virologic failure while on a nonnuke regimen were significantly more likely to develop resistance to nucleoside analogs--including to multiple drugs in that medication class--than were HIVers on failing PI regimens. More than half of the HIVers on a failing nonnuke regimen also developed resistance to all three medications in their cocktails, compared to just 0.9% of those experiencing viral rebound on a PI-based regimen.