Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2016 Feb 15;213(4):556-60.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiv433. Epub 2015 Sep 2.

Continued Slow Decay of the Residual Plasma Viremia Level in HIV-1-Infected Adults Receiving Long-term Antiretroviral Therapy

Sharon A Riddler  1 , Evgenia Aga  2 , Ronald J Bosch  2 , Barbara Bastow  3 , Margaret Bedison  1 , David Vagratian  1 , Florin Vaida  4 , Joseph J Eron  5 , Rajesh T Gandhi  6 , John W Mellors  1 ; ACTG A5276s Protocol Team
Collaborators, Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Continued Slow Decay of the Residual Plasma Viremia Level in HIV-1-Infected Adults Receiving Long-term Antiretroviral Therapy

Sharon A Riddler et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

We measured plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA levels by means of single-copy assay in 334 participants receiving virologically suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). A residual viremia load of ≥1 copy/mL after 4 years of ART was predicted by a higher pre-ART HIV-1 RNA level, higher CD8(+) T-cell count during treatment, and a lower ratio of CD4+ T cells to CD8+ T cells during treatment but not by initial ART regimen. In a longitudinal subset of 64 individuals, continued decay of the plasma HIV-1 RNA level was observed, with an average annual decrease of 6% and an estimated half-life of 11.5 years. In contrast to prior reports, the persistent viremia level continues to slowly decline during years 4-12 of suppressive ART.

Clinical trials registration: NCT00001137.

Keywords: CD4/CD8 ratio; HIV/AIDS; residual viremia; single-copy assay; viral decay.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Distribution of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA levels determined by a single-copy assay (SCA) for the longitudinal cohort of 64 individuals, by time after initiation of suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). A, SCA findings for all participants. B, SCA findings for the subset of 27 participants with an HIV-1 RNA load of ≥1 copy/mL at the 4-year (192-week) time point after ART initiation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Finzi D, Blankson J, Siliciano JD et al. . Latent infection of CD4+ T cells provides a mechanism for lifelong persistence of HIV-1, even in patients on effective combination therapy. Nat Med 1999; 5:512–7. - PubMed
    1. Siliciano JD, Kajdas J, Finzi D et al. . Long-term follow-up studies confirm the stability of the latent reservoir for HIV-1 in resting CD4+ T cells. Nat Med 2003; 9:727–8. - PubMed
    1. Maldarelli F, Palmer S, King MS et al. . ART suppresses plasma HIV-1 RNA to a stable set point predicted by pretherapy viremia. PLoS Pathog 2007; 3:e46. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Palmer S, Maldarelli F, Wiegand A et al. . Low-level viremia persists for at least 7 years in patients on suppressive antiretroviral therapy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2008; 105:3879–84. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zheng L, Bosch RJ, Chan ES et al. . Predictors of residual viraemia in patients on long-term suppressive antiretroviral therapy. Antivir Ther 2013; 18:39–43. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data

Grants and funding