STUDY: EARLY AZT DOESN'T PROLONG LIFE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 13, 1992                   TAG: 9202130075
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON                                LENGTH: Short
STUDY: EARLY AZT DOESN'T PROLONG LIFE
People with HIV who receive the drug AZT early in their infections postpone the development of AIDS, but die just as soon as those who start the medicine later, a study concludes.
The study was intended to settle the question of when people infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, should start taking AZT. But it failed to provide a clear answer.
During 2 1/2 years of follow-up, it found that those with early treatment reduced the development of full-blown AIDS by nearly half. But once AIDS developed, they tended to go downhill faster. And their survival at the end of the study was 77 percent, slightly worse than those who began treatment later.
The study, directed by Dr. John D. Hamilton, was conducted at Veterans Affairs medical centers in eight cities. It appears in today's New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers said they were uncertain how doctors should use AZT, also known as zidovudine. They said early treatment "is an option that warrants consideration." On the other hand, "we also believe that one may consider delaying the initiation of zidovudine therapy in patients whose condition is stable" and whose blood count is still relatively high.
The study was conducted on 238 patients who had early symptoms of HIV infection but had not progressed to AIDS. Half started AZT while their helper cells - a primary target of the AIDS virus - were still above 200 per cubic millimeter. The rest began therapy after the cells fell below this level.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB