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Evid Based Med 17:95-96 doi:10.1136/ebmed.2011.100278
  • Therapeutics
  • Randomised controlled trial

Antiretroviral combination therapy markedly reduces risk of heterosexual HIV-1 transmission

  1. Eric S Rosenberg2
  1. 1Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  2. 2Department of Medicine and Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  1. Correspondence to Eric S Rosenberg
    Department of Medicine and Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Gray J-504, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA; erosenberg1{at}partners.org

Commentary on: Cohen MS, Chen YQ, McCauley M, et al. Prevention of HIV-1 infection with early antiretroviral therapy. N Engl J Med 2011;365:493–505.

Context

The reduction of HIV-1 transmission remains one of the highest global health priorities. The use of established antiretroviral drugs for preventing HIV-1 transmission was first considered in 1994, after an observational clinical study showed reduced HIV-1 infection rates in partners of HIV-1 infected persons treated with zidovudine monotherapy.1 In 2007, the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) initiated a randomised-controlled clinical trial (HPTN 052) in which the effect of antiretroviral combination therapy on heterosexual transmission of HIV-1 was evaluated; the results have recently been reported.

Methods

HPTN 052 is a phase III, randomised-controlled clinical trial designed to determine if early initiation of antiretroviral therapy could reduce transmission of HIV-1 in …

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