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Hi Guys - Let me clarify - this was a study of recently infected men who were not yet on medication for their HIV who had acquired a resistant virus. So while adherence does affect the likelihood of developing resistance, in this study all these were men who were infected with a resistent virus - so drug use played a role in who got infected with a resistent strain of the virus and adherence could not have paid a role since they were not yet on medication. I hope this helps! Pamina Gorbach
Probably Sean's explanation is correct. Our patients tell us that when they are using drugs or alcohol their medication adherence goes way down. It's also possible that some recreational drugs may interact with some HIV meds, decreasing their levels below what is needed for viral suppression.
Is it possible that the use of recreational drugs is making people forget to take their meds which is the real reason why resistance is more common in these groups?
David G Ostrow
I assume that this study was based, at least in part, on the UCLA MACS data. If so, do we have similar data from the other MACS sites that could be used to validate this findings? Could someone please send me a pdf of the complete article? Thanks
March 27, 2008 • Chicago