Safer HIV and TB treatment and prevention for young children
Mind the gaps: Pharmacokinetic research to advance pediatric HIV/TB cotreatment and TB prevention
This project looks at how the HIV medicine dolutegravir interacts with TB drugs in young children so doctors can find safe, effective doses for treatment and prevention.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11470882 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
As a parent or caregiver, you would be told that researchers will measure drug levels in children to understand how dolutegravir and TB medicines affect one another. The team will run two prospective pharmacokinetic studies: one testing twice-daily dolutegravir when given with standard- and high-dose rifampicin, and another measuring dolutegravir levels during weekly rifapentine plus isoniazid for TB prevention. Children will receive the study medications under close medical supervision and have scheduled blood draws and safety checks to monitor how the drugs behave and whether they are tolerated. The goal is to generate dosing and safety information that can be used to guide HIV/TB cotreatment and short-course TB preventive therapy in young children.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Children living with HIV—especially those under age 6 who need TB treatment or who are candidates for TB preventive therapy—are the intended participants.
Not a fit: Adults, children without HIV, and patients not taking dolutegravir or rifampicin-based TB regimens would not directly benefit from this research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could allow safer, more effective dosing of dolutegravir with TB treatments and support short-course TB prevention for children with HIV.
How similar studies have performed: Related studies in adults have shown promising results for dose adjustments with rifampicin and for short-course TB prevention, but these exact combinations and doses have not been fully tested in young children.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Brigham and Women's Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Rawizza, Holly Elizabeth — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Rawizza, Holly Elizabeth
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.