As an illustration of women's representation in clinical research, a comprehensive literature review of HIV/AIDS-related neuropsychological research was conducted. The goals of this study were to document whether women have been included in (a) HIV-related neurological and neuropsychological research studies; (b) percentages comparable to their representation in the population of persons with HIV/AIDS; (c) studies using numbers sufficient to allow data analyses by sex (N ≥ 30); and (d) data analyses conducted to examine sex differences. Women were included in half of the studies investigating neurological and neuropsychological manifestations of HIV between 1988 and 1997 (236 studies). However, their representation was inadequate to determine whether there were reliable sex differences in these complications. It is not simply enough to include more women; researchers must also strive to increase the quality of studies to ensure that women's contribution is clinically and empirically relevant.

Adherence to HIV treatment regimens during pregnancy may affect efforts to eliminate vertical transmission and influence the emergence of drug-resistant HIV strains that can affect maternal health and the risk of vertically-transmitted resistant strains. Study objectives were to document patterns of adherence to zidovudine (ZDV) during the perinatal period. Pregnant women with HIV who were seen at public clinics, taking ZDV, and willing to use Medication Event Monitoring Systems (MEMS) caps participated in this adherence substudy. Fifty-three women were included in prenatal analyses; however, 19 women were excluded from postnatal analyses because medical records failed to confirm a postpartum maternal prescription for ZDV. Adherence to ZDV, defined as doses per day taken/prescribed during the last 3 weeks of pregnancy, was extremely low (mean = 50.0%), and declined significantly 3 weeks postpartum (mean = 34.1%) (p =.004). Clinical emphasis must be placed on enhancing adherence during and particularly after pregnancy when ZDV is continued for a mother's own care.

No abstract