[procaare] Oral Drug Treats Eye Illness in AIDS Patients

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"Oral Drug Treats Eye Illness in AIDS Patients"
Reuters Health (04.11.02)
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Oral treatment with the drug Valcyte (valganciclovir) appears to be as effective as its
cousin ganciclovir, which is administered intravenously, for delaying the progression of
cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in AIDS patients. Valcyte is the first orally administered
therapy approved for CMV retinitis and is converted to ganciclovir in the body.

CMV is a member of the herpesvirus family that in the immunocompromised patient can affect
not only the retina of the eye, but also the colon, where it causes diarrhea, and the
esophagus, where it impairs the patient's ability to swallow. Currently, patients newly
diagnosed with CMV retinitis are generally treated with injectable therapies, including
ganciclovir, which require long infusions that carry the risk of causing the
life-threatening condition sepsis.

CMV retinitis remains the leading cause of blindness in AIDS patients, notes lead author
Dr. Daniel F. Martin, of Emory University School of Medicine, and colleagues in this
week's New England Journal of Medicine (346;15:1119-1126). To compare the effectiveness of
the two medications, Martin's team split 160 AIDS patients newly diagnosed with CMV
retinitis into two groups. One group received oral doses of Valcyte, while the other was
treated with intravenous ganciclovir. A total of seven patients in each group had
progression of the disease in the first 4 weeks of treatment. A satisfactory response to
treatment was noted in 77 percent of the ganciclovir group, and about 72 percent of those
treated with the newer drug. "Orally administered valganciclovir appears to be as
effective as intravenous
ganciclovir for ...treatment and is convenient and effective for long-term management of
CMV retinitis in patients with AIDS," Martin and colleagues conclude.

Source: [AEGiS] CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update 04/12/02

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