Trial results presented at the International AIDS Society Conference in Sydney, Australia indicate that a combination of Aptivus (tipranavir) and Norvir (ritonavir) results in a better CD4 cell count response among treatment-experienced women than in it does among men.
The RESIST (Randomized Evaluation of Strategic Intervention in Multi-drug ReSistant Patients with Tipranavir) trials examined 1,483 positive people who had been undergoing treatment, of whom 13 percent were women. Researchers selected 117 women at random to begin taking the combination (Aptivus/r), and they saw an improved CD4 response at week 48 of treatment, with fewer side effects than men on the same regimen.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
