Mumbai News| Mumbai News
MUMBAI – Dolutegravir (DTG) is the new wonder drug, which was recently added to our arsenal of medicines to treat. HIV According to some users, the drug is causing weight gain, diabetes and sleep disorders in the country. Although the drug is being praised for having fewer side-effects than other regimens, some younger patients are experiencing dropouts due to its after-effects.
Nandini (23) of Ghatkopar started DTG seven months ago. She is worried about her rapidly increasing body weight. The college graduate has gone up from 45kg to 53kg with no significant change in her eating habits. TOI was told by Nandini’s mother, also HIV-positive. She said that Nandini has stopped taking insulin on several days to avoid becoming overweight. “We are counseling her to continue it,” said her mother. She also stated that she had to start diabetes medication after Nandini started the new drug.
WHO recommended Dolutegravir-based regimens in 2016 as first- and second-line treatments due to their superior tolerability and efficacy in suppressing HIV. Dolutegravir was first introduced in India in 2020 as a combination of Tenofovir, Lamivudine and Tenofovir. Dolutegravir is also administered in combination with Tenofovir and Lamivudine to select HIV-TB coinfected individuals. Most patients need to take one daily dose of TLD.
Vijay Nayar of NGO Udaan agreed that the drug had caused metabolic problems and that the patient community has been raising these concerns for some time. Nayar, who was once borderline diabetic, said that he has experienced high sugar levels and has gained eight kilos. He said that it is crucial that all antiretroviral (ART) centers are made aware of these metabolic issues.
Doctors at the forefront in HIV care in Mumbai aren’t overly concerned. Sion Hospital’s chief of medicine Dr Niteen Karanik said dolutegravir was an effective drug with manageable side-effects. He said that while many previous ART medications caused kidney disease and neurological complications, DTG has not been associated with such severe side effects. DTG doesn’t cause diabetes, but interacts well with other drugs, which could impact their effectiveness in controlling diabetes.
Nearly 4,500 HIV patients are currently on DTG at the JJ Hospital, a state-run referral centre for HIV patients. “We now perform three monthly blood sugar and hypertension tests on patients. We also offer treatment of metabolic diseases under one roof,” said Dr Vidya Nag, JJ Hospital’s head of medicine. She plans to conduct a study about the side-effects DTG, as the drug is close to completion of the two-year national program. Sources say that DTG is used in India by approximately a million people. Sources say that many patients have raised concerns about sugar and BP, which were communicated to the National Aids Control Organisation.
Nandini (23) of Ghatkopar started DTG seven months ago. She is worried about her rapidly increasing body weight. The college graduate has gone up from 45kg to 53kg with no significant change in her eating habits. TOI was told by Nandini’s mother, also HIV-positive. She said that Nandini has stopped taking insulin on several days to avoid becoming overweight. “We are counseling her to continue it,” said her mother. She also stated that she had to start diabetes medication after Nandini started the new drug.
WHO recommended Dolutegravir-based regimens in 2016 as first- and second-line treatments due to their superior tolerability and efficacy in suppressing HIV. Dolutegravir was first introduced in India in 2020 as a combination of Tenofovir, Lamivudine and Tenofovir. Dolutegravir is also administered in combination with Tenofovir and Lamivudine to select HIV-TB coinfected individuals. Most patients need to take one daily dose of TLD.
Vijay Nayar of NGO Udaan agreed that the drug had caused metabolic problems and that the patient community has been raising these concerns for some time. Nayar, who was once borderline diabetic, said that he has experienced high sugar levels and has gained eight kilos. He said that it is crucial that all antiretroviral (ART) centers are made aware of these metabolic issues.
Doctors at the forefront in HIV care in Mumbai aren’t overly concerned. Sion Hospital’s chief of medicine Dr Niteen Karanik said dolutegravir was an effective drug with manageable side-effects. He said that while many previous ART medications caused kidney disease and neurological complications, DTG has not been associated with such severe side effects. DTG doesn’t cause diabetes, but interacts well with other drugs, which could impact their effectiveness in controlling diabetes.
Nearly 4,500 HIV patients are currently on DTG at the JJ Hospital, a state-run referral centre for HIV patients. “We now perform three monthly blood sugar and hypertension tests on patients. We also offer treatment of metabolic diseases under one roof,” said Dr Vidya Nag, JJ Hospital’s head of medicine. She plans to conduct a study about the side-effects DTG, as the drug is close to completion of the two-year national program. Sources say that DTG is used in India by approximately a million people. Sources say that many patients have raised concerns about sugar and BP, which were communicated to the National Aids Control Organisation.