Important note: Information in this article was accurate in March 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, March 26, 2001
Michael Greer, staff medical writer
Clinical trials have confirmed the extensive HIV inhibiting ability of chloroquine and its derivatives, A. Savarino and colleagues reported in the Journal of Clinical Virology. Because these drugs have already seen extensive use, their toxicity profiles are well known. HIV inhibition was found at doses well within the safe range, the researchers added.
Multiple HIV strains are susceptible to chloroquine inhibition, according to their report, including X4, R5, and combination strains. The drug and its derivatives are equally effective versus macrophage- and T-cell-tropic strains.
Although the mechanisms of chloroquine's effects are not entirely clear, it appears to block the post-transcriptional effects of the HIV coat protein gp120 ("The anti-HIV-1 activity of chloroquine," J Clin Virol 2001 Feb;20(3):131-5.
This novel site of action may make chloroquine especially useful in combination with antiretroviral drugs, the researchers noted.
"Combining these drugs with other anti-HIV-01 agents ... may be an interesting option for the treatment [of] HIV-1 infected individuals in the developing world," Savarino and colleagues concluded.
The corresponding author for this report is J.R. Boelaert, Algemeen Ziekenhuis St. Jan, Renal and Infectious Diseases Unit, Ruddershovelaan 10, B-8000 Brugge, Belgium.
A search at www.NewsRx.net using the term "AIDS and HIV therapy" yielded over 1,000 articles in five specialized reports.
Key points reported in this study include:
This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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