Teenagers living with HIV who switched from daily pills to injections every eight weeks were far less likely to see the virus return, according to a randomized trial published in The Lancet. After 96 weeks, two adolescents on injections (1%) had confirmed viral rebound, compared with 15 (6%) who stayed on daily tablets. The researchers found the injections were more effective at keeping the virus suppressed, and a trial physician said they were well tolerated.
The LATA trial enrolled 476 young people ages 12 to 19 at five clinics in Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Every participant already had an undetectable viral load, had taken pills for more than a year, and had never experienced treatment failure. Almost all were born with HIV, a detail that shapes how widely the findings apply.
