After long years of waiting, a new breakthrough has been made in the fight against HIV and AIDS. With the creation of the quad pill, researchers are positive the new medication will help improve the condition of patients infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

The quad pill is called as such because it contains four antiretroviral drugs combined into one. It is recommended to be taken once a day unlike the previous treatments that required the intake of multiple drugs several times a day to control the virus.

The problem with past treatments, however, was that patients given multiple drugs up to 40 of them sometimes forgot to religiously take their medications which did not help in effectively treating the virus. Researchers emphasized that missing doses can cause the virus to become resistant to medication. With the new pill to be taken only once a day, though, there is a great chance that patients will not miss out on their medication and improve their condition.

A U.S. study published in the Lancet revealed this four-in-one pill has proven that the new medication is safe and effective. Some 700 HIV patients in North America were involved in the study spearheaded by Harvard Medical School researchers. They were divided into two groups with one taking the Quad pill and the other group taking the Atripla, another effective HIV drug. Compared to those taking Atripla, 88 percent of those Quad takers experienced suppression of the virus.

With these new findings, experts expressed satisfaction that a simple treatment has finally been discovered to treat HIV patients resistant to the virus. This development, they agree, will allow more patients to live longer and lead a healthy life while keeping the virus under control.

The FDA advisory committee first reviewed the quad pill in May and members voted for its approval. They’re expected to come out with a final decision any time this summer.

As of 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said more than 1.1 million Americans were suffering from HIV.

Image by hivandhepatitis

Originally posted on July 10, 2012 @ 4:08 pm