Journal of
AIDS and HIV Research

  • Abbreviation: J. AIDS HIV Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-2359
  • DOI: 10.5897/JAHR
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 298

Full Length Research Paper

Impact of low dose naltrexone (LDN) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) treated HIV+ adults in Mali: A single blind randomized clinical trial

Abdel K. TRAORE
  • Abdel K. TRAORE
  • Centre National d’Appui à la lutte contre la Maladie (CNAM), Bamako, Mali.Hôpital National du Point G (HNPG), Service de Médecine Interne, Bamako, Mali.
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Oumar THIERO
  • Oumar THIERO
  • Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Appliquée (LBMA), Mali.Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Otondo- Stomatology (FMPOS), Department of Research in Public Health (DER SP), University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali.
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Sounkalo DAO
  • Sounkalo DAO
  • Hôpital National du Point G (HNPG), Service de Maladies Infectieuses, Service de Pneumo-phtisiologie, Bamako, Mali.
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Fadia F. C. KOUNDE
  • Fadia F. C. KOUNDE
  • Hôpital National du Point G (HNPG), Service de Maladies Infectieuses, Service de Pneumo-phtisiologie, Bamako, Mali.
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Ousmane FAYE
  • Ousmane FAYE
  • Centre National d’Appui à la lutte contre la Maladie (CNAM), Bamako, Mali.
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Mamadou CISSE
  • Mamadou CISSE
  • Centre de soins, d’animation et de conseil pour les PVVIH (CESAC).
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Jaquelyn B. McCANDLESS
  • Jaquelyn B. McCANDLESS
  • The Ojai Foundation, California, USA.
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Jack M. ZIMMERMAN
  • Jack M. ZIMMERMAN
  • The Ojai Foundation, California, USA.
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Karim COULIBALY
  • Karim COULIBALY
  • Centre National d’Appui à la lutte contre la Maladie (CNAM), Bamako, Mali.
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Ayouba DIARRA
  • Ayouba DIARRA
  • Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Appliquée (LBMA), Mali.
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Mamadou S. KEITA
  • Mamadou S. KEITA
  • Centre National d’Appui à la lutte contre la Maladie (CNAM), Bamako, Mali.
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Souleymane DIALLO
  • Souleymane DIALLO
  • Hôpital National du Point G (HNPG), Service de Maladies Infectieuses, Service de Pneumo-phtisiologie, Bamako, Mali.
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Ibrahima G. Traore
  • Ibrahima G. Traore
  • Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Appliquée (LBMA), Mali.
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Ousmane KOITA
  • Ousmane KOITA
  • Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Appliquée (LBMA), Mali.Faculté des Sciences et Techniques (FAST), Université de Bamako, Bamako, Mali.
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  •  Accepted: 29 August 2011
  •  Published: 31 October 2011

Abstract

To implement an immuno-regulatory approach for reducing or preventing the onset of AIDS symptoms in HIV+ individuals we conducted a single blind nine-month randomized clinical trial to evaluate the impact of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) on asymptomatic HIV+ Mali adults undergoing antiretro virial (ART) treatment with CD4 counts below 350 cell/mm3. We measured differences between groups in CD4 count, CD4%, hemoglobin, viral load, interferon alpha, and standard chemistry panel five times during the clinical period. The random mixed model and restricted maximum likelihood method for estimating slopes for repeated measures on subjects were used to predict CD4 counts and CD4%. The improvement in CD4 count in the treatment group (51 subjects) was significantly greater than the control group (49 subjects) at 6 months (p = 0.041) and marginally at 9 months (p = 0.067). Improvement in CD4% in the treatment group also was observed throughout the clinical period but these increases were not significant relative to the control group. Since, for this period of time, the combination of LDN + ART appears to be more effective in increasing CD4 count, and since LDN is inexpensive, easy to administer and without side effects, further exploration of LDN together with ARV treatment is recommended.

 

Key words: HIV+, LDN, CD4-count, CD4%, immuno-enhancement, ART.

Copyright © 2024 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.

This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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