Conditions: HIV Infection
Keywords: Intensification HIV viremia Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Allocation: NA | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 10
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The medicines used to treat HIV can suppress but cannot kill all the virus in the body. A small amount of virus remains at low levels in the part of the blood called the plasma. It is of crucial importance to identify the source of the residual virus in patients receiving antiretroviral therapy. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the source of low level plasma virus is from latent (old) infection or ongoing (new) infection. MK-0518 is a investigational drug, which means that is not yet FDA approved, that works in a different way to other anti-HIV medicines to help kill the virus. We hypothesize that addition of MK-0518 to a stable anti-HIV regimen will reduce the viral load further in patients with undetectable plasma virus.

Detailed description:
This is a non-randomized, non-comparative, single center trial of antiretroviral therapy intensification using the investigational integrase inhibitor MK-0518 and an investigational viral load assay to measure response to additional antiviral therapy. Eighteen patients will receive open-label MK-0518 400 mg P.O. every 12 hours for 28 days in addition to their prescribed antiretroviral therapy. Patients will take their doses of MK-0518 without regard to food. The study will enroll patients on antiretroviral therapy regimens with Cluster of Differentiation 4 (CD4) counts greater than 200 cells/ul, HIV-1 RNA levels \<50 copies RNA/ml plasma using a commercial assay(conventional Amplicor) and with detectable plasma virus (viral loads ≥ 1 copies RNA/ml plasma, Single copy assay, "SCA"). Acceptable antiretroviral regimens will include those on Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors ("NRTIs") + protease inhibitor (PI)I, NRTIs + non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), + PI, or NRTIs + NNRTI-containing regimens. Patients cannot have prior evidence of resistance to antiretroviral drugs. Patients will be screened for intensification by history, physical exam, and laboratory evaluations (see below). Patients who are eligible and who agree to participate will intensify their antiretroviral therapy for 28 days with MK-0518 400 mg by mouth twice a day. During the 28- day drug addition, patients will have samples drawn for SCA assay at entry and on days 7, 14, 21, and 28 (+/- 1 d), with the last day of intensification as day 28. Patients will have additional phlebotomy after intensification on days 29, 30, 35, 42, 49 and 58 (+/- 1 day). The intensification period is followed by a post- intensification period to determine whether removal of the drug resulted in viral RNA changes.

Arms:
arm 1: Patients will be administered raltegravir 400 mg orally twice daily in addition to antiretroviral therapy

Interventions: intervention 1: Raltegravir (MK-0518)
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Antiretroviral drug intensification with Raltegravir (MK0518) 400mg orally every 12 hours for 28 days in addition to the prescribed antiretroviral therapy

Protocol document: