DALLAS - January 24, 2000 - A new $4 million grant will allow UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researchers to offer the latest and most advanced treatments under investigation to people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.
The five-year grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a component of the National Institutes of Health, provides the funding for UT Southwestern to join the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (AACTG). The national consortium of 33 academic medical centers studies anti-viral interventions, methods to reconstitute the immune system damaged by HIV, and the treatment and prevention of opportunistic diseases and other HIV-related complications.
About 14,000 Dallas-area residents have HIV, and offering those patients the most advanced treatments is a priority for UT Southwestern's AIDS specialists.
Dr. Richard Koup, chief of infectious diseases, will oversee UT Southwestern's participation in the national AIDS clinical trials network.
"This grant allows us to bring cutting-edge treatment options to our patients," said Koup, the Jay P. Sanford Professor in Infectious Diseases. "The AIDS field is moving so fast that often the approved therapies are already outdated. We need to be able to participate in advanced clinical trials to get our patients the best care possible."
The goal of the national network is to take laboratory discoveries about HIV and AIDS to patients as quickly as possible. From its start in 1987, the AACTG has developed therapies that are now the standard of care for AIDS patients, including the current multidrug "cocktails" that make up anti-retroviral therapy.
Dr. Philip Keiser, medical director of the AIDS clinic at Parkland Health & Hospital System, the primary adult teaching hospital for UT Southwestern, said the clinic treats about 3,500 Dallas-area residents infected with HIV.
"Patients will now have access to new medications and clinical trials only offered at a few places in the country," said Keiser, associate professor of internal medicine. "I believe the awarding of this grant recognizes the quality of research and clinical care for AIDS patients at UT Southwestern."
The clinical trials will begin in March. For more information, call 214-590-0414.