HIV Antiviral Drug Shows Positive Metabolic Effects

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) shows positive metabolic effects in a new study.

The study consisted of 251 patients taking TDF/FTC therapy and 247 patients taking placebo who were enrolled in a metabolic subcohort during a blinded PrEP trial.

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Participants underwent fasting lipid panels, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans, and pharmacologic testing of drug metabolites at baseline and at week 24, 48, and 72.

After analyzing the data, the researchers found that TDF/FTC therapy did not affect lean body mass, regional fat accumulation, or triglycerides. However, treatment did reduce cholesterol compared with placebo.

At week 24, the net percent difference between treatment and control was –0.8% for total mass, +0.3% for lean mass, and –3.8% for fat mass.

Body weight increased in both treatment and control groups, but patients taking TDF/FTC had lower body weight through week 72, presumably due to the lower fat accumulation associated with treatment.

“TDF/FTC for PrEP showed cholesterol reductions and appeared to transiently suppress the accumulation of weight and body fat compared [with] placebo,” the researchers write. “There was no evidence of altered fat distribution or lipodystrophy during daily oral TDF/FTC PrEP.”

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Glidden DV, Mulligan K, McMahan V, et al. Metabolic effects of preexposure prophylaxis with coformulated tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine. Clin Infect Dis. 2018;67(3):411-418. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciy083.

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