1. Abrams called the lower viral levels in the marijuana patients intriguing, but said it was not statistically significant. 2. But his stubborn viral levels in the face of treatment mean the HIV in his system has mutated into a resistant form. 3. But scientists at the University of California at San Francisco say illness has struck surprisingly few of those whose viral levels have risen again. 4. Last week Ward saw a patient whose viral level was unchanged after he took a drug combination. 5. Six of eight patients still had viral levels below where they started. 6. The MGH researchers are encouraged not only by the viral levels in these patients, but by their rebounding immune responses to HIV. 7. The study, reported at the Fourth Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, is apparently the first to find divergent viral levels in blood and semen. 8. With the recent dramatic reports on protease inhibitors, we know that we can even reduce viral levels in patients, in some cases, to undetectable levels. 9. And there are no guarantees that their viral levels will not increase again. 10. Either their viral levels never got that low or they rebounded after a promising start. |