Research: India

Vellore, INDIA

While the widespread rollout of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is awaited in India, HIV-infected patients continue to experience a high burden of wasting, respiratory disease, and diarrheal diseases. Nutritional interventions may be an effective way to help delay progression of disease. We are investigating these issues with colleagues at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, with the support of the Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the Fogarty Training Grant.

Current studies include:

• A study of nutritional supplementation in patients co-infected with HIV and TB or with TB alone, looking at changes in nutritional status and the rate at which they clear TB from their sputum
• A study of mother and child pairs, examining the outcomes of normal growth and development in the children, for three groups: HIV-infected mother and child, HIV-infected mother and HIV-negative child, and HIV-negative mother and child
• A study of the impact of diarrheal disease and intestinal function on nutritional status in HIV-infected patients