AIDS Drug Sold In Clubs With Viagra, Ecstasy

BALTIMORE -- Clubbers who buy an AIDS drug thinking they can prevent the virus may be buying into a risky proposition.

Some health officials have concerns over what they said is a growing trend in dance clubs, particularly gay establishments, reported WBAL-TV in Baltimore.

The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that people are selling a combination of the AIDS drug tenofovir with other drugs, including Viagra and Ecstasy. Health officials said those "Taking a T," as it's known, may actually buy into a misconception that the drugs will protect them from HIV and AIDS.

Health officials in California said the recent club trend concerns them because scientific evidence does not support any sort of claims that the drug prevents against HIV transmission.

According to the Times report, AIDS experts discovered that people bought the drug combination and practiced unsafe sex.

In San Francisco, the Times reported, AIDS workers first encountered usage of the drug about a year ago in clubs and parties known for sex. The Times reported the drug was combined with Ecstasy and methamphetamines and sold for $100.

Madeleine Shey, the acting deputy director of the Maryland AIDS Administration, said that although there haven't been any cases reported in her area, officials are concerned about the risks of such behavior.

"In partying crowds, you've got some people that try things, so it didn't surprise me, but a lot of HIV medications have side effects," Shey said.

Dr. Patrick McLeroth, the director of HIV medicine at Baltimore's Chase-Brexton Health Services, said the drug combinations pose a potentially dangerous situation.

"What they're doing is they're putting themselves at risk for HIV infection," he said. "Viagra, when combined with nitrates -- poppers, for example -- you can get dangerously low blood pressure."

Health experts also fear that recreational use of tenofovir could build up a person's resistance to the drug, which could result in less effective treatment options if a person contracts HIV.

"If you've got resistance to that, your options become far more limited and more toxic," McLeroth said. "If you did get the infection, we have no way of knowing if you would still be able to respond to (tenofovir), which is one of our best HIV drugs."

McLeroth said some strains of HIV have already become resistant to tenofovir. Health experts also have concerns over how those selling the drug combinations have obtained tenofovir.

What Is Tenofovir?

Tenofovir -- a prescription drug also known by its brand name, "Viread" -- is a commonly used medication used in a conjunction with other drugs to treat HIV/AIDS.

The Times reported tenofovir blocks an enzyme that the virus needs to replicate, and researchers have called it promising at reducing the risk of transmission. According to the National Library of Medicine, tenofovir does not prevent the spread of the HIV virus to other people.

McLeroth explained that scientists working on a large international trial are trying to determine the drug's safety and effectiveness.

Their work thus far, based on an animal study, indicates that tenofovir protects from HIV infection by multiple routes, but the protection is not complete.

"One of the animals developed HIV with repeated exposure," McLeroth said. "Data shows repeated exposure will overcome a medication."

When combined with other medications, McLeroth said doctors don't yet know the potential side effects. He said researchers have yet to compile usable data in humans and that concern remains unanswered.

"If this proves in trials to be a good strategy, wonderful. I think we should use it. But at this time, it's really dangerous," McLeroth said.

The drug does come with side effects. McLeroth said tenofovir has been shown, in rare instances, to cause serious liver damage. He said some patients have reported rashes after taking the medication.

Drug Combination Sheds Light On Prevention Efforts

"We're failing in our prevention efforts, we really need something new and different," McLeroth said.

The Times reported that a survey compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that as many as 7 percent of uninfected men in four cities had taken AIDS drugs before having unprotected sex.

The newspaper reported that HIV experts hope to push more education about condom use as an effective means of prevention.

"Stop immediately. Use condoms," McLeroth said. "This is extremely premature and foolhardy."