AIDS Drugs: What about side effects?

by National Press Foundation 0 comments

This is a guest post by Kenny Goldberg, health reporter for KPBS News in San Diego. He is a former J2J fellow.

The results of three new studies about the effectiveness of daily use of the medication tenofovir, Truvada and other drugs to prevent transmission of HIV are impressive. The idea that a pill could act as a prophylactic against the spread of the virus has been a longtime dream.

But as anyone who’s been covering the epidemic knows, when it comes to antiretroviral drugs, there is no free lunch. All medications have side effects. As journalists responsible for reporting on advances in the field, we need to communicate those risks and put them in their proper context.

For example, Truvada (http://www.aidsmeds.com/archive/Truvada_1584.shtml) contains two drugs: tenofovir and FTC. Tenofovir can cause kidney and liver problems, bone loss, and like other HIV drugs, can lead to changes in body shape. Some of the side effects of FTC include nausea, diarrhea, and sleeping problems.

(Another helpful site is www.clinicalcareoptions.com; a free registration is required.)

Doctors say Truvada is generally well tolerated. And it may be that daily use of Truvada for those at risk of HIV infection, especially in the countries hardest hit by the epidemic, may be a wise choice. The jury is still out on the long-term risks of daily use, in part because so many of these drugs are so new. As journalists we must always be pointing out this kind of so sobering information.