A Study to Monitor Patients With Primary or Early HIV Infection
Data Collection
Collected from today forward - ProspectiveHIV Infections
See all eligibility criteria
Case-Only
Examining characteristics of individuals with a disease in order to identify genetic or environmental factors contributing to the condition.See protocol details
Summary
The purpose of this study is to monitor patients who recently have been infected with HIV in order to learn how their immune systems respond to HIV infection and to study how the virus acts in their bodies. Primary HIV infection occurs within 20 days to 8 weeks following exposure to HIV. The symptoms of primary HIV infection are usually fever, tiredness, headache, or muscle aches. However, symptoms vary greatly from person to person, and some people might not experience any symptoms at all. Because these symptoms also resemble the cold or the flu, it is difficult to identify patients with primary HIV infection. Information gathered from this study will help doctors decide what kind of treatment is best to give patients who recently have been infected. Primary HIV-1 infection is frequently identified as a nonspecific viral syndrome occurring within 20 days to 8 weeks following a documented HIV exposure. However, symptoms vary from person to person, and some people undergo asymptomatic seroconversion. Because of the difficulty identifying patients with either acute HIV infection (within 30 days of initial infection) or early infection (within 12 months of initial infection), no systematic review of viral dynamics or immunodynamics in this patient population has been undertaken. A better understanding of the virologic and immunologic parameters during acute and early HIV infection should provide information relevant to the optimal design of future clinical therapeutic trials. The only patient intervention is obtaining blood, lymph node tissue, CSF, and semen or vaginal secretion specimens at designated intervals according to the schedule of evaluations. Patients are followed for 5 years. Patients may elect to start or discontinue antiretroviral therapy at any time; however, no antiretroviral therapy is administered as part of this study. Descriptive analysis includes tolerance and toxicity, magnitude and durability of RNA suppression, magnitude and durability of immunologic responses (CD4 and CD8 cells), and decay and emergence of resistant virus in tissue reservoirs (CSF, genital secretions, and lymph nodes).
Protocol
This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.Samples from participants are kept, and they can be used to extract DNA in the future. These might include things like blood or frozen tissue. This allows researchers to study genetics and how DNA may relate to the disease.
Other Options for Sample Use
Samples Without DNA: Samples are kept but not usable for DNA analysis.
None Retained: No samples are kept after the study.
Participants are selected without using randomization. They may be chosen based on convenience, access, or willingness to participate. This approach is common when random selection isn’t practical.
Another way to select participants is through a probability sample, where participants are chosen randomly, so everyone has an equal chance to be included.
Researchers start collecting data from the present day forward, following participants over time to observe outcomes. This approach helps identify how exposures or behaviors may lead to health events in the future.Other Ways to Collect Data
Retrospective: These studies use existing medical records or past data.
Cross-sectional: These studies collect data at one single point in time.
Others: Some studies use a mix of approaches or less common designs depending on the research goal.
Eligibility
Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.Conditions
Criteria
