Bihari B, Drury F, Ragone V, Ottomanelli G, Cannon G, Klein E; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1989 Jun 4-9; 5: 552 (abstract no. M.C.P.62).
SUNY/Health Science Center at Brooklyn, NY, USA
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long term results of the treatment of AIDS with low doses (1.75 mg qhs) of naltrexone, an opiate antagonist. METHOD: Thirty-eight patients with AIDS were treated in a 3 month placebo controlled trial of naltrexone, after which the placebo patients were switched to naltrexone and both groups followed on naltrexone since. RESULTS: During the placebo controlled period the treatment group showed significantly fewer O.I.s and a significant drop in their markedly elevated levels of IFN. Twenty-five of the 38 patients while on naltrexone eventually showed a drop in IFN levels from means of 160 i.u. to 11.75i.u., over a 4 to 12 month period (called "responders"). The 13 patients whose interferon did not drop ("non-responders") all died within 9 months. Of the responder group 21/25 had survived at 12 months and 19/25 at 18 months. At 39 months 10 of the 25 responders are still alive, 4 years after AIDS diagnosis. Only one of these 10 has suffered an O.I. in the course of the trial. The other 9 are all working full-time and are essentially symptom free 4 years after AIDS diagnosis and 39 months after starting naltrexone. The mean T4 level in this group has not dropped during the trial. The responders also showed an increase in lymphocyte proliferative responses to PHA and have shown no decline in responses to CMV antigen. p24 antigen levels and anti p24 antibodies will be presented as well. CONCLUSION: Low dose naltrexone may be a useful immunomodulating agent in AIDS related illness with 40% of responding patients with AIDS showing long term survival.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Clinical Trials as Topic
- Drug Therapy, Combination
- Humans
- Naltrexone
- Narcotic Antagonists
- Placebos
- drug therapy
- therapy
Other ID:
UI: 102178769
From Meeting Abstracts