Even HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) patients with relatively high CD4 counts are at an increased risk of death compared to people in the general population, according to a new EU-funded study published in the journal The Lancet. Although the increased risk is relatively small, the findings underline the importance of carrying out further studies into the risks and benefits of starting anti-retroviral therapy (ART) at higher cell counts.

EU support for the work came from the NEAT ('European AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) treatment network') project, which was funded under the 'Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

CD4 cells are white blood cells that represent an important component of the immune system, playing a role in the body's efforts to fight infection. In healthy, HIV negative people, there are usually between 600 and 1,200 CD4 cells per microlitre of blood.

In people with HIV, the virus breaks into CD4 cells and destroys them, thereby weakening the immune system. Clinicians therefore routinely check the levels of CD4 cells in the blood of HIV positive people. Currently, guidelines suggest that patients start taking ART when their CD4 count falls below 350 cells per microlitre.

However, some studies have suggested that it may be beneficial for patients to start taking antiviral drugs while their CD4 counts are higher. The question of when to start treatment is far from simple, as the drugs used to treat HIV are highly toxic; therefore, giving them to patients that do not need them could be harmful.

Read the full article on cordis.europa.eu.