Your Health: Jul. 13, 1998

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BAD NEWS ON AIDS

It was only a matter of time before HIV found a way to thwart protease inhibitors, the key to combination therapy. Researchers reported the first case of transmission of a strain of the virus that is resistant to all four protease inhibitors. At the moment, combination therapy begun soon after hiv infection is the best hope for keeping HIV at bay.

GOOD NEWS ON AIDS

Scientists report evidence that the immune system of HIV-infected patients might take over where drug therapies leave off. In a study of 303 patients, the number of disease-fighting T cells increased during therapy in 80% of cases--suggesting that with treatment, an HIV-ravaged immune system could repair itself.

BAD NEWS ON CHOLESTEROL

A healthy diet may not be enough to ward off heart disease. In a study of those at risk, LDL, or "bad," cholesterol levels fell 13% in men and 9% in women who combined a low-fat diet with exercise. But for those who only changed their diet, LDLs fell by only half of those percentages.

GOOD NEWS ON MIGRAINES

What faster relief from the pain of migraine headaches than a pill that melts in your mouth? Maxalt-MLT, just approved by the FDA, does exactly that, allowing sufferers to avoid the nausea that often comes with washing down pills with water. Unfortunately, like other migraine drugs, it is still unsafe for those with heart problems.

--By Dara Horn

Sources: World AIDS Conference (1 and 2); Merck; New England Journal of Medicine