The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that it has approved a new once-daily 400 mg extended release Viramune tablet for HIV-positive adults, called Viramune XR.

The approval is based on clinical trial results showing that the new tablet is as effective as the current 200 mg twice-daily immediate release Viramune (nevirapine) tablet and does not increase the risk of side effects.

Patients starting the new extended release tablet who are not currently taking Viramune must take the 200 mg immediate release Viramune tablets once daily for at least…

The National Institutes of Health announced this week that Kaletra may be more effective at treating HIV-positive children than Viramune. A recent review of data from a clinical trial in India and Africa found that twice as many children taking Viramune failed to adequately respond to treatment or stopped taking their medications.

The trial organizers recommended that parents of children taking a Viramune (nevirapine)-based antiretroviral therapy regimen consult with their health care providers about the best treatment for their children.

“Children currently on antiretroviral therapy who are doing well may…

Two separate studies published this month show strong evidence that Kaletra-based antiretroviral therapy is more effective than Viramune-based therapy in HIV-positive women and children with previous exposure to single-dose Viramune. Both studies were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Based on the studies, the World Health Organization (WHO) has revised its recommendations on how to prevent mother-to-child transmission. The WHO now recommends that Kaletra (ritonavir/lopinavir)-based treatment be used for women and children with previous exposure to single-dose Viramune (nevirapine).

The results are geared primarily toward women in developing…

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has released an updated version of its “Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Pediatric HIV Infection.”

The guidelines contain updated recommendations in several areas, including diagnosis of HIV in infants, start of antiretroviral therapy, selection of antiretrovirals, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy in children and teenagers.

The guidelines now also include a rating system to indicate the strength of each recommendation, and formatting changes have been implemented to improve readability. For example, a section on drug side effects in…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released new guidelines last week regarding treatment for pregnant HIV-positive women and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

The guidelines include updates on preferred regimens for prevention of HIV transmission during pregnancy.

According to the report, fewer than 200 children are now born with HIV in the United States each year, as a result of efforts to limit mother-to-child transmission.

Transmission of HIV from a pregnant woman to her baby can occur during pregnancy, labor, or while breastfeeding after the baby is born. To…