Predicting HIV treatment response

New computer models that predict how a patient will respond to HIV drug therapy without the need for HIV genotype also work well for cases in Africa

New computer models described in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy predict how patients whose HIV therapy is failing will respond to any new combination of drugs, without the need for an HIV genotype: a test used in wealthy countries to read the genetic code of the virus and help select drugs to which the virus is sensitive. The HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative (RDI) developed these latest models specifically for use in the many settings where genotyping is unaffordable. They estimate the probability that any combination of HIV drugs will reduce the amount of virus to undetectable levels in patients whose current therapy is failing. They were trained with data from tens of thousands of patients in clinics all over the world, including for the first time, patients from Southern Africa. The Pan-African Studies to Evaluate Resistance (PASER) network collaborated on the study and contributed data (aighd.org/projects/paser). The new models are now available to be used by healthcare professionals as part of the RDI’s HIV Treatment Response Prediction System (HIV-TRePS), which is freely available online at hivrdi.org/treps.

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