SAN FRANCISCO, Apr 2, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A European study suggests that
patients who take the popular AIDS drug abacavir nearly doubled their risk of
heart attack.
The findings, published in the journal Lancet, have prompted a U.S. Food and
Drug Administration review of the anti-viral medication, the San Francisco
Chronicle said Wednesday.
The University of Copenhagen study of more than 33,000 HIV-infected patients in
North America, Europe and Australia showed that patients taking abacavir had a
90 percent greater chance of developing a heart attack. The risk of heart attack
increased by 49 percent in patients taking the drug didanosine.
The FDA said an effort is under way to evaluate the overall risks and benefits
of abacavir and didanosine.
"Until this evaluation is complete, healthcare providers should evaluate the
potential risks and benefits of each HIV-1 anti-retroviral drug their patients
are taking, including abacavir and didanosine," the agency said in an online
statement.
A federal panel this year recommended that abacavir, combined with the
anti-viral 3TC and sold as Epzicom, be considered a preferred choice for
patients taking AIDS drugs for the first time, the newspaper said.
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International