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August 29, 2005
When to Start Meds: How’s Your Math?
by Staff
Monday, August 29, 2005—If your CD4 count is over 350, you don't need to start meds yet, right? Not so fast, says a new study in the September 15 Journal of Infectious Diseases that found CD4 “percentage”—the
proportion of your lymphocytes that are CD4s, basically the lymphocytes in
charge—more relevant than CD4 count alone. In the study, the group of
first-combo HIVers with CD4 lymphocyte percentages under 17% had
faster-progressing HIV. If these results pan out in further tests, the
old feud from pre-combo days could flare up between docs who go with
percentage as the best predictor of immune health and docs who prefer
the CD4 count. Keep a calculator handy.
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