TREAT Asia at the 7th IAS Conference

Five TREAT Asia-supported research studies are being presented at the 7th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, which will be held June 30–July 3, 2013, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Rates and factors associated with major modifications to first-line combination antiretroviral therapy: Results from the Asia-Pacific region
Among 4,350 HIV-infected patients in the TREAT Asia adult HIV cohort, 961 (22 percent) changed antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimens in their first five years of therapy. Patients in low-income countries tended to change medication less frequently than those in higherincome countries. Patients with more frequent CD4 and HIV viral load tests were more likely to change. Lead investigator: Stephen Wright, Kirby Institute, Australia.

Second-line antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients in Asia: Results from the TREAT Asia HIV Observational Database
Of the 448 patients included in this analysis, those with an HIV viral load >5000 copies/ ml or CD4 count <200 cells/mm3 at the start of second-line ART had an increased risk of treatment failure. Lead investigator: Nguyen Van Kinh, National Hospital of Tropical Diseases, Vietnam.

Non-adherence to first-line cART in HIV infected patients in Asia – TASER-M analysis
Adherence to first-line combination ART was assessed in 1,316 patients from 11 study sites in the TREAT Asia Studies to Evaluate Resistance-Monitoring (TASER-M) cohort. Sites that assessed patient adherence more frequently also had higher levels of reported adherence. Homosexual patients and injecting drug users (IDU) were more likely to have poorer adherence to ART than non-IDU heterosexual patients, and would benefit from targeted adherence support interventions. Lead investigator: Awachana Jiamsakul, Kirby Institute, Australia.

Cardiovascular abnormalities and carotid intima-media thickness among HIVinfected adolescents receiving long-term highly active antiretroviral therapy in Thailand: A cross-sectional study with HIV-uninfected healthy controls
Ultrasound assessments of the heart and surrounding blood vessels were done in 100 HIV-infected adolescents and 50 HIV-uninfected adolescents. Although heart function and blood vessel structure was similar between the two groups, HIV-infected adolescents taking protease inhibitor-based ART had stiffer carotid arteries—a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Lead investigator: Voraporn Poomlek, Siriraj Hospital, Thailand.

Longitudinal study of bone mineral density and vitamin D levels among perinatally HIV-infected Thai adolescents on long-term antiretroviral therapy
A bone density test, known as a DEXA scan, was performed on 47 patients. Afterwards, they received counseling to increase sun exposure and improve dietary choices. In repeat DEXA scans 12–24 months later, those with very poor bone density went from 23 percent to 19 percent. In addition, those with vitamin D deficiency improved from 28 percent to 4 percent. Lead investigator: Surapong Tunchaweng, Siriraj Hospital, Thailand.

The full text of the abstracts may be found at http://iasociety.org/AbstractSearch.aspx.