14 DAY TRIAL // A new computer modeling system launched today by the UK-based not-for-profit research group HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative (RDI) can predict responses to HIV and AIDS treatments.
This is a truly innovating system, available free of charge over the Internet that will help physicians choose the best treatment for their patients.
It is called the HIV Treatment Response Prediction System (HIV-TRePS) and it basically synthesizes all information from the tens of thousands of patients treated in hospitals all around the world.
Physicians log on to the system over the Internet and they enter the patient's data, waiting a few seconds for the system to predict the way that the patient will react to hundreds of combinations of HIV drugs.
At the end of the analysis, the physician gets a report with the best drug combination for the patients, and that is also most likely to have positive results.
Dr. Julio Montaner, Past President of the International AIDS Society and Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV & AIDS, based in Vancouver, Canada, said that “this is a very exciting development – the system literally puts the experience of treating thousands of different patients at the doctor’s fingertips.
“This has the potential to improve outcomes for people living with HIV and AIDS around the world, particularly where resources and expertise are scarce.”
The new system simplifies the lives of both the patient and the physicaian, as there are currently 25 HIV drugs available, out of which doctors must choose at least three or more to have a chance of suppressing the virus.
Still, if genetic mutations appear, the initial treatment will no longer be effective, so the physician must choose another combination that will overcome the resistant strain.
All this is a waste of time and money and it can also reduce the chances of survival of a patient, and this is another reason for which the new computer system is a major breakthrough.
The system takes into consideration over 80 different variables, including mutations in the viral genetic code, the drugs used to treat the patient in the past, CD4 cell counts (a type of white blood cell that is attacked by HIV) and the amount of virus in the bloodstream.
Every treatment it advises, based on success predictions, comes from all that the system has learned of the previous thousands of real clinical cases, and its overall accuracy during development and testing was of nearly 80%.
Dr Brendan Larder, Scientific Chair of the HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative (RDI) said that they “are really excited about the launch of this system, which is a milestone for us, our research partners around the world and also for the use of bioinformatics in medicine.
“We believe this approach can make a significant difference in a variety of settings and diseases.”
This new approach could be very useful in many other diseases where drug resistance can be a problem, such as for Hepatitis.