WEEKLY PILL CAN FIGHT HIV BETTER

London, June 30: A new once-a-day pill which combines four HIV drugs into a single treatment has been found safe and effective, a new study has claimed, raising hopes of millions affected by the deadly virus worldwide.

Clinical trials showed that the new “Quad” pill was fast in acting and has fewer side-effects compared to two widely- used drug regimens.

HIV sufferers have to rigidly adhere to their medication routine because missed doses can quickly lead to the virus becoming resistant to the medication, making them more vulnerable to a pro- gression of their illness.

But, the results from two large international trials, published in The Lancet, revealed that Quad was an “important new treatment option” that could improve compliance with treatment.

“Our results provide an additional highly potent, well-tolerated treatment option and highlight the simplicity of treatment resulting from combining several antiretrovirals in a single pill,” lead study author Paul Sax from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. — PTI