Intensification of antiretroviral therapy with raltegravir or addition of hyperimmune bovine colostrum in HIV-infected patients with suboptimal CD4 ⁺ T-cell response: A randomized controlled trial

Background.Despite virally suppressive combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), some HIV-infected patients exhibit suboptimal CD4 ⁺ T-cell recovery. This study aimed to determine the effect of intensification of cART with raltegravir or addition of hyperimmune bovine colostrum (HIBC) on CD4 ⁺ T-cell count in such patients.Methods.We randomized 75 patients to 4 treatment groups to receive raltegravir, HIBC, placebo, or both raltegravir and HIBC in a factorial, double-blind study. The primary endpoint was time-weighted mean change in CD4 ⁺ T-cell count from baseline to week 24. T-cell activation (CD38 ⁺ and HLA-DR ⁺), plasma markers of microbial translocation (lipopolysaccharide, 16S rDNA), monocyte activation (soluble (s) CD14), and HIV-RNA (lowest level of detection 4 copies/mL) were monitored. Analysis was performed using linear regression methods.Results. Compared with placebo, the addition of neither raltegravir nor HIBC to cART for 24 weeks resulted in a significant change in CD4 ⁺ T-cell count (mean difference, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.09 cells/μL, -14.27; 20.45, P =. 724 and 9.43 cells/μL, -7.81; 26.68, P =. 279, respectively, intention to treat). There was no significant interaction between HIBC and raltegravir (P =. 275). No correlation was found between CD4 ⁺ T-cell count and plasma lipopolysaccharide, 16S rDNA, sCD14, or HIV-RNA.Conclusion.The determinants of poor CD4 ⁺ T-cell recovery following cART require further investigation.