|
A medication prescribed to children living with HIV may cause asthma, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
The study, which relied on data of 2,500 HIV-positive children provided by the National Institutes of Health's Women and Infants Transmission Study, found that children treated with immune-boosting highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) were three times more likely to develop asthma than those not treated with HAART, reports the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI).
HAART is a form of therapy comprised of multiple anti-HIV medications that's meant to improve cellular immunity by slowing down the replication of HIV and allowing the number of T4 cells, the immune system's key defense, to increase. However, increased T4 cells in HIV-positive children may cause airway hypersensitivity and asthma, reports AAAAI.
According to the report, 33 percent of children treated with HAART developed asthma compared to 11 percent who did not receive HAART but developed asthma.
|