A recent multicenter trial shows a natural factor that encourages nerve growth may bring relief from one of the more common effects of HIV infection: sensory neuropathy. The study, led by Johns Hopkins researchers, is supported by the AIDS Clinical Trials Group at the National Institutes of Health.

While not life-threatening, sensory neuropathy brings misery to thousands of HIV patients by producing burning, aching or tingling feelings as a result of injury to small sensation-bearing nerves. The injury comes from either the viral infection itself or the toxic effects of specific antiviral treatments. "Nearly a third of people with AIDS have these neuropathies, most often affecting the legs and feet," says neurologist Justin McArthur, MBBS, M.P.H., "Patients may be in constant pain and many have difficulty walking. It's quite a problem."

This spring, McArthur and a research team reported on a multicenter trial of 271 patients with HIV-related sensory neuropathy to evaluate genetically engineered nerve growth factor as a treatment. Nerve growth factor (NGF), found naturally in the body, is a small, potent molecule that helps maintain certain nerve cells. It also prods those nerve cells to grow and to communicate with other cells.

In the study, presented at this year's International AIDS Conference in Geneva, the patients got injections of either a moderate dose of lab-created NGF, a higher dose or a placebo. Throughout the 18-week trial, the team asked patients about improvements, had them rate their pain and took other neurological measures. The result, says McArthur, was that "patients said the intensity of pain was significantly lessened, and neurological exams showed improved sensation."

One offshoot of the study is that the researchers have verified precisely which nerves are involved in the injury -- something not done before. With a punch biopsy, a relatively painless technique littl
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Contact: Marjorie Centofanti
mcentofanti@jhmi.edu
(410) 955-8725
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
10-Sep-1998