'Positive results' on AIDS therapy

MEXICO CITY: The early results of a clinical trial to test the efficacy of "second-line" treatments for people suffering from full-blown AIDS have been positive, a senior Chinese health official said at last week's 2008 International AIDS Conference.

More than 100 Chinese are currently taking part in the scheme, which was launched in December in Hubei and Anhui provinces, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Ma Ye, a specialist with the Chinese Center of Disease Control and Prevention and head of the scheme, said.

Its aim is to determine the best course of treatment for about 8,000 Chinese people whose condition has reached the severe symptomatic or full-blown phase, she said.