Experts Advise Against Interrupting AIDS Therapy

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A technique in which AIDS patients are taken off their medications for brief periods to ease debilitating side effects and cut costs does not work, a panel of experts on AIDS care said on Wednesday.

Previous studies of ``structured intermittent therapy,'' a treatment strategy in which patients are repeatedly given a break from their medications for a week or longer, has shown poor results, Bruce Walker of Harvard University said.

``People have gotten sick again. There have even been some deaths,'' said Renslow Steerer, a doctor at Cook County Hospital in Chicago.

There was increasing interest in strategies to stop therapy either permanently or temporarily when the virus that causes AIDS is at bay, Steerer said.

About 50 experts on AIDS treatment gathered in Chicago for a two-day forum sponsored by the International Association of Physicians on AIDS Care.

AIDS drug ``cocktails'' can produce debilitating side effects such as heart disease, unsightly fat deposits on the neck and back, gauntness in the face and painful sensations in the limbs.

``You're trying to reduce toxicity,'' according to Gregory Thompson, a spokesman for the forum's sponsoring organization. ''We know people who have been taking the medicines for an extended period of time are having tremendous problems. None of these medicines are like take an aspirin and call me in the morning.''

Another goal of intermittent therapy is to reduce the cost of the expensive medications, which in the United States require a yearly outlay of at least $10,000.

Research has shown many AIDS treatment questions remain unanswered and that more clinical trials are needed, Thompson said.