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AZT study finds no evidence of cardiac damage in infants
Kaiser Daily HIV report
2000-09-15

Despite concerns that zidovudine, or AZT, may be associated with cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction in infants when the drug is used to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, research based on data from NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute found no evidence of such cardiac dysfunction in infants exposed to the drug in the perinatal period.

Despite concerns that zidovudine, or AZT, may be associated with cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction in infants when the drug is used to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, research based on data from NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute found no evidence of such cardiac dysfunction in infants exposed to the drug in the perinatal period.

The study, led by Dr. Steven Lipshultz and published in the Sept. 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, monitored a group of infants born to HIV-infected women from birth to age five, performing echocardiographic studies every four to six months. Echocardiograms were used to detect certain abnormalities in the left ventricle, which would indicate mitochondrial cardiomyopathy, the condition previous studies found to be present among infants exposed to AZT.

The team does acknowledge weaknesses in their own study, however, saying "the samples in our study are too small to provide an accurate estimate of the frequency of an uncommon toxic effect. Also, the small number of infants exposed to [AZT] who were followed after 14 months of age is likely to be inadequate for us to detect late-emerging events." Researchers conclude that "the benefits of [AZT] during pregnancy in reducing vertical transmission of HIV outweigh the reported cardiac risks. ... Any decision not to initiate [AZT] therapy, or to stop it, should be made with great caution."
(Source: Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS report, 14/9/00)

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