Clinical Trials

Abstract

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has had a great impact on people’s health worldwide. Research in this field is critical if we are to develop preventive measures and efficient and affordable therapy, thereby decreasing transmission of the infection and increasing the life span and quality of life of those who are infected. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the United States support the largest HIV/AIDS research program in the whole world; this research program is coordinated by the Office of AIDS Research (OAR). There are other NIH institutes that fund research in the HIV/AIDS field such as: the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). The best known HIV/AIDS clinical trial networks are represented by the following: the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group (IMPAACT), the Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS (CPCRA), the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), Microbiocide Trials Network (MTN), International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT), and the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN). ACTG, which is the largest therapeutic clinical trial group worldwide, includes low-income countries. There are currently more than 5,200 HIV studies listed on the US Clinical Trials Web page, a service of the NIH. Approximately 1,200 of these trials are open studies.