부산대학교 도서관

The concentrations of lopinavir and ritonavir in seminal and blood plasma and the seminal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viral load were quantified by HPLC and the Nuclisens®assay, respectively, in a cross-sectional study of 16 HIV-1–infected Brazilian men under stable treatment with a lopinavirritonavir containing antiretroviral regimen. Semen and blood samples were collected on 2 occasions at 6 to 60 minutes before (“trough”), and 5 to 6 hours after (“peak”) ingestion of regular doses of lopinavirritonavir. Median seminal lopinavir levels were 120.6 ngmL (range, <20–1481.8 ngmL) and 233.1 ngmL (range, 48.4–1133.4 ngmL) at trough and peak points, respectively. The corresponding values for ritonavir were 9.2 ngmL (range, <5–47 ngmL) and 17.1 ngmL (range, 6.6–66.7 ngmL). The median concentrations of lopinavir and ritonavir in semen were, respectively, 1.9 to 3 and 3.7 to 4.4 of those measured in blood plasma samples collected within 30 minutes. HIV-1 viral load was detectable in the semen of 2 and in the blood of 6 of 16 patients. These results may have implications for drug-resistant HIV-1 evolution and transmission.