Safety and Efficacy of Lamivudine-Zidovudine Combination Therapy in Zidovudine-Experienced Patients

Randomised trial of addition of lamivudine or lamivudine plus loviride to zidovudine-containing regimens for patients with HIV-1 infection: the CAESAR trial

“…This conclusion is supported by earlier studies of lamivudine, which demonstrated greater and more durable responses to lamivudine plus zidovudine in terms of CD4-count increases and viral-load decreases in patients who had received no previous antiretroviral treatment, than in patients who had received previous zidovudine therapy. [5][6][7][8] These data together support the conclusion that a combination of lamivudine plus zidovudine will provide the greatest clinical benefit to patients who have not previously received other antiretroviral therapies.…”

“…[1][2][3][4] Combination treatment with lamivudine (Glaxo Wellcome) plus zidovudine (Glaxo Wellcome) caused pronounced and sustained increases in CD4-cell counts and reductions in HIV-1 viral load in four separate studies, done in both previously antiretroviral untreated and pretreated HIV-1-positive patients. [5][6][7][8] Meta-analysis of these four studies showed that these treatment-induced changes in CD4 count and viral load were associated with a reduction in disease progression. 9 Because these studies were done in relatively healthy patients (CD4 range 100-500/µL) the majority of clinical events included in this meta-analysis were the development of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Stage B (CDC B) AIDSrelated complex events in patients who were symptom free at baseline.…”

Effect of Lamivudine in HIV-Infected Persons with Prior Exposure to Zidovudine/Didanosine or Zidovudine/Zalcitabine

“…ZDV/3TC combination therapy exhibited both greater and more durable increases in CD4 1 cell counts and achieved greater reductions in viral loads compared with ZDV monotherapy or ZDV/ddC. [7][8][9][10][11][12] The ACTG 303 trial, a rollover study from the earlier ACTG 175 trial, was implemented in advance of later studies conducted with NNRTI-and PI-containing regimens, and was designed to evaluate the short-term and long-term virologic responses in subjects previously treated with either ZDV/ddI or ZDV/ddC to changes in their nucleoside-based regimens. Three hundred and twenty-five subjects who remained on combination ZDV/ddI and ZDV/ddC therapy when ACTG 175 was completed were subsequently randomized to one of three treatment regimens: (1) continuation of their ACTG 175 therapy, (2) addition of 3TC to their original ACTG 175 therapy, or (3) a switch to ZDV/3TC therapy.…”

The ALBI Trial: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Stavudine Plus Didanosine with Zidovudine Plus Lamivudine and a Regimen Alternating Both Combinations in Previously Untreated Patients Infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus

“…We compared the antiretroviral efficacy and safety of 3 different dual-nucleoside treatments in patients with HIV infection who had received no prior antiretroviral therapy: stavudine plus didanosine, zidovudine plus lamivudine, and an alternating regimen of stavudine plus didanosine followed by zidovudine plus lamivudine. The combination of zidovudine plus lamivudine is widely used in daily practice and is currently considered to be one of the first-choice nucleoside analogue combinations in antiretroviral regimens [12][13][14][15]. Preliminary results on the use of the combination of stavudine and didanosine have shown a sustained increase in CD4 cell counts and reduction in viral load, with a good safety profile [16][17].…”