HIV Drugs Getting Better (CME/CE)

HIV Drugs Getting Better (CME/CE)

The efficacy of HIV drugs in clinical trials has increased markedly over time, according to a meta-analysis of 144 studies with more than 40,000 participants.

Efficacy -- defined as the proportion of patients able to suppress HIV to undetectable levels -- was about 47% in trials conducted before 2000, according to Frederick Lee, MD, of the St. Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, in Australia.

2 New Alzheimer's Drugs Show Promise in Early Studies

2 New Alzheimer's Drugs Show Promise in Early Studies

Researchers say two new drugs for Alzheimer's disease have shown promise in early experiments and will likely progress to the next round of clinical trials.
One drug, called a BACE inhibitor, has been in development for more than 10 years. In very early tests, it dramatically reduced levels of beta amyloid, a sticky protein that forms plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
The second drug is thought to reduce damaging inflammation. Patients with mild mental impairment who took the drug for over a year saw significant improvements in some measures of memory and thinking.

Lab Notes: BP Drugs Cut Brain Amyloid

Antihypertensive agents from different classes significantly reduced beta-amyloid protein plaques in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Also this week: a master gene for autoimmune disease.

Antihypertensives for Alzheimer's?

Certain antihypertensives have the unintended side effect of reducing the accumulation of beta-amyloid in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease, researchers found.