The purpose of this study is to determine the in vivo rate of clearance of HIV-1 plasma virions in antiretroviral naive individuals. To perform apheresis on 3-5 HIV-1 infected individuals who are antiretroviral naive to determine the rate of in vivo virion clearance. The laboratory techniques used to characterize plasma viral activity will include sensitive HIV PCR based assays. Participants will be screened at the first visit and safety laboratory examination will be performed as well as determination of HIV plasma viral load and lymphocyte subsets. Screening will include a thorough physical examination including orthostasis and past medical history. As we are interested in determining virion clearance at different HIV-1 steady state concentrations, we will recruit individuals with various HIV-1 plasma viral loads. To be included in this study, individuals must not have an active AIDS related condition requiring immediate therapy. Individuals must have normal serum electrolytes, liver function tests, baseline electrocardiogram, PT and PTT, negative pregnancy test for women, hematocrit >35 and fibrinogen >150. Individuals must also not have received any medications of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) class. If individuals meet inclusion criteria and agree to participate, they will enter the study after baseline laboratory exminations are completed and analyzed. We estimate that individuals will be able to start study 2 weeks after their screening visit. After intitial screening examination, the study will be conducted in three phases: Determination of HIV-1 steady rate; Apheresis; and Determination of HIV-1 plasma load post-apheresis.
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