[CLINICAL AND PHARMACOECONOMIC RESULTS OF THE USAGE OF VARIOUS HIV REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE INHIBITORS IN THE SCHEMES OF ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY OF PATIENT RECEIVING THERAPY FOR THE CHRONIC HEPATITIS C VIRUS].

Efficacy, safety, and economical aspects of treatment with abacavir, zidovudine, stavudine, and phosphazide in the schemes of antiretroviral therapy of the HIV-infected patients receiving therapy for hepatitis C virus were tested. Clinical, immunological, and virologic efficacy of treatment and dynamics of hemoglobin, thrombocytes, and alanine aminotransferase as markers of common adverse events recorded at the start of the antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis C and after 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 weeks of the treatment were evaluated. The usage of these drugs in the schemes of antiretroviral therapy exhibited efficacy, high tolerability and safety for all HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

[Results of a comparative study of the efficacy of once daily darunavir/atazanavir in treatment-naïve patients with HIV infection].

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of boosted darunavir and atazanavir used in antiretroviral therapy (ARVT) regimens for treatment-naïve HIV-infected patients with low baseline immune parameters and a high viral load. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The investigators evaluated the clinical, immunological, and virological efficiency of treatment: the time course of changes in CD4+ lymphocyte levels and viral load at the beginning and at 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 weeks of antiviral therapy, as well as adverse reactions. RESULTS: The virological effect of once daily darunavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg was highly competitive with that of atazanavir/ritonavir: at 96 weeks of treatment, HIV RNA <120 copies/ml was achieved in 95% of the patients in both treatment groups. A combination of once daily darunavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg ensured a more marked immunological improvement: a difference in the increment (77.1 in 1 µl) of CD4+ lymphocyte count in patients who took darunavir (362.2 in µl) and in those who used atazanavir (285.1 in µl). In the patients who received darunavir, diarrhea, nausea, and headache were observed at the same frequency as in those who had atazanavir. CONCLUSION: The use of the test agents used in the ARVT has shown their efficacy and good tolerability.

[The prevention of HIV infection and other blood-contact diseases among intravenous narcotic users in Nizhniy Novgorod within the framework of the Harm Reduction program]. / Profilaktika VICh-infektsii i drugikh gemokontaktnykh zabolevanii sredi potrebitelei vnutrivennykh narkotikov Nizhnego Novgoroda v ramkakh programmy "Snizhenie vreda".

The results of the development and realization principles of the project on the decrease of harm, envisaging work in three directions (the determination of the technology of using drugs, the exchange of syringes/needles and other accessories, as well as laboratory examination for the presence of antibodies to HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses and consultations of narcologists). 1075 injecting drug users took part in this project. Out of 611 participants filling-in the questionnaires, 338 persons underwent tests for HIV and 3 of them were found to be HIV-infected; out of 305 persons screened for the presence of markers of hepatitis B virus, positive results were obtained in 98 (32% of cases); in 218 (65%) out of 335 persons antibodies to hepatitis C virus were found (49 persons, i.e. 14%, had hepatitis C registered in the medical history and in the rest antibodies were detected for the first time). The preventive program of the decrease of harm was assessed as effective.

[New experience in informational and educational work]. / Novyi opyt informatsionno-prosvetitel'skoi raboty.

During the World Day of AIDS Control (December 1, 1999) the global action "General Class Hour" was conducted in Nizhny Novgorod in all general-education and specialized secondary schools, colleges and professional schools. 197,600 students of 169 general-education schools and 28 specialized schools, as well as 6,200 teachers and 300 volunteers conducting "General Class Hour", took part in the action.

[Molecular-epidemiological characteristics of basic foci of the HIV epidemic among substance abusers in Russia]. / Molekuliarno-épidemiologicheskaia kharakteristika osnovnykh ochagov épidemii VICh-infektsii sredi narkomanov v Rossii.

A serological test has been developed, allowing a rapid and reliable differentiation between envA and envB genotypes in the sera from HIV-1-infected IDUs and their sexual partners. We analyzed 556 specimens from HIV-1-seropositive IDUs and their sexual partners. The sera were collected in five regions of Russia with the greatest number of HIV-1-infected IDUs. High homogeneity of HIV-1 in each of the regions was observed. In Tver, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, and Krasnodar 100% sera tested belonged to the env subtype A. All the patients from the Kalinigrad region were infected with the env subtype B virus, which is apparently a recombinant.

[The prevalence of the intravenous use of psychoactive preparations in Nizhegorod Province and the possible ways to prevent HIV infection among the users]. / O rasprostranennosti vnutrivennogo potrebleniia psikoaktivnykh preparatov v Nizhegorodskoi oblasti i vozmozhnykh putiakh profilaktiki VICh-infektsii sredi potrebitelei.

The number of users of intravenous drugs (UID), altogether from 35,000 to 25,000 persons, was determined by the method of coefficients. The analysis of 130 anonymous questionnaires, including 75 street questionnaires (61%) and 51 questionnaires (39%) distributed among UID in narcological and infectious hospitals showed that out of 130 respondents 60% underwent hospital treatment. The study revealed that most of the questioned users used crudely made opiates, 48 (37%) out of 130 persons made injections with used syringes and needles (in younger age groups the proportion of such UID amounted to 63%). 70% of the respondents used individual injection instruments (in a group of persons older than 25 years they amounted to 90%). The conclusion was made on the necessity of introducing a school program on the healthy mode of life and information programs on the prevention of the spread of infection among UID with due regard to different age groups, as well as training outreach workers for disseminating information on the prophylaxis of HIV infection among UID.