New agents seem scarce. Some new drugs risk being duplicates of what is already available, thus offering no benefit to patients in need of rescue therapy. Several abstracts at the workshop presented data on a few potentially novel therapies. Although these compounds have limited utility because of kidney toxicity and lack of oral bioavailability, batyl alcohol analogs of these compounds show favorable activity and resistance profiles and will presumably be tested further. Early clinical data suggest that fewer opportunistic infections occur in patients receiving this compound.
Adherence is vital.
Authors of several abstracts came to similar conclusions that nonadherence to treatment regimens is predictive of viral rebound, AIDS progression or even death. The researchers measured adherence by dividing the number of months of documented prescriptions dispensed by the number of months of follow-up in the first year of therapy. Evidence of increased cutaneous nerve regeneration was seen in skin biopsies from the legs of 4 subjects compared to baseline. Improved neuropathic symptoms, such as pain, were also reported. Further research should be done to reproduce these results in a greater number of subjects.