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The Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials
Group is the preeminent global organization for evaluating
treatments for HIV-infected children and adolescents and for
preventing vertical (mother-to-infant) transmission. The PACTG
is a joint effort of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
and the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD).
Since 1991, the PACTG has evolved from five
pediatric subunits funded through the Adult AIDS Clinical
Trials Group (AACTG) to its current structure, which includes
21 Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Units (PACTUs) funded by
NIAID and 27 sites funded by NICHD.
The PACTG performs the same functions for
HIV-infected pregnant women, infants, children, and adolescents
as other government organizations and pharmaceutical companies
conduct for adults. These functions include:
- Controlled clinical
trials of new drugs, drug combinations, and other treatment
strategies
- Long-term follow-up
programs for mothers and infants participating in perinatal
studies
- Treatment of
HIV infection.
- Treatment and
prevention of opportunistic
infections in HIV-infected children
- Development
of immune-based therapy.
The PACTG has 3 primary goals:
- Decrease mother-to-infant
transmission of HIV to less than 2%.
- Achieve a 90%
10-year survival for children infected with HIV during birth.
- Develop novel
strategies for early treatment of newly infected infants
and adolescents.
Pregnant women, infants, children,
and adolescents infected with HIV all benefit from PACTG studies
and treatments. These patients represent diverse racial, ethnic,
and economic backgrounds. Without the existence of a strong
PACTG, clinical studies in these patient groups would be severely
limited and perhaps nonexistent.
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