PHILADELPHIA, June 28 (UPI) -- U.S. medical researchers have developed a new method of screening for
drug-resistant forms of the human immunodeficiency virus.

An increasing number of drug-resistant strains of HIV are threatening the effectiveness of current
treatments and existing methods of detecting such strains are expensive, time consuming, and often
ineffective.

But researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have developed a drug resistance
screening method they say analyzes multiple HIV variants at the same time, while also saving time and
money.

Professor Frederic Bushman and colleagues combined two genetic tests to rapidly obtain gene sequences
from multiple drug-resistant HIV samples simultaneously.

Bushman said the new technique could open opportunities for improved drug-resistance screening around
the world.

The research that included co-authors Christian Hoffmann, Nana Minkah, Jeremy Leipzig and Pablo Tebas
appeared online in the journal Nucleic Acids Research.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/health_medicine/