The Role of Hydroxyurea in the Treatment of HIV Infection
Pablo Barreiro 1, Franco Lori 2
1 Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Carlos III-La Paz University Hospital. Madrid, Spain; 2 NULL
*Correspondence: Franco Lori, Email not available
Abstract
Hydroxyurea (HU) seems to be a unique agent helping current antiretroviral regimens to control HIV replication. On the one hand, it increases the antiviral activity of nucleoside analogues, and on the other hand, it reduces the number of activated CD4 T lymphocytes needed for HIV replication. HU is easy to administer, broadly distributed to different body compartments, relatively well tolerated, and its activity does not select for resistant viruses. Clinical trials have demonstrated substantial and sustained reductions in viral load in patients with primary and chronic HIV infection receiving HU added to regimens containing didanosine. Several studies are currently exploring the role of HU-containing regimens as part of both salvage and simplification strategies. There is also a growing interest in the properties of HU in preserving or eliciting HIV-specific T lymphocyte responses.
