Control of HIV despite the discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy

J Lisziewicz, E Rosenberg, J Lieberman… - … England Journal of …, 1999 - Mass Medical Soc
J Lisziewicz, E Rosenberg, J Lieberman, H Jessen, L Lopalco, R Siliciano, B Walker, F Lori
New England Journal of Medicine, 1999Mass Medical Soc
To the Editor: Eradication of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a difficult goal to
achieve, because a reservoir of replication-competent HIV is established in resting CD4 T
lymphocytes soon after infection and persists after years of highly active antiretroviral
treatment. 1 A more realistic alternative to lifelong cumbersome, toxic, and expensive
treatments is to control HIV, as occurs in patients with long-term nonprogression of the
disease. A patient, who has become known as “the Berlin patient,” was treated soon after …
To the Editor: Eradication of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a difficult goal to achieve, because a reservoir of replication-competent HIV is established in resting CD4 T lymphocytes soon after infection and persists after years of highly active antiretroviral treatment.1 A more realistic alternative to lifelong cumbersome, toxic, and expensive treatments is to control HIV, as occurs in patients with long-term nonprogression of the disease.
A patient, who has become known as “the Berlin patient,” was treated soon after acute HIV infection, before complete seroconversion on Western blotting, with a combination of hydroxyurea (400 mg three times daily),2 didanosine . . .
The New England Journal Of Medicine