Dr. Scarsi’s research vital to women living with HIV

Kim Scarsi, Pharm.D., has seen her research project move forward with “a lot of hard work and a great team.”

Dr. Scarsi, associate professor of pharmacy practice, recently received a $1.38 million, five-year research grant to investigate strategies to manage detrimental drug interactions between implantable contraceptive hormones and antiretroviral therapy in women living with HIV.

The goal is to help keep these medicines effective by preventing the HIV therapy from making the contraceptive less potent, which her previous research had confirmed was happening.

But the research is, at its heart, more than a pharmacokinetic issue. Dr. Scarsi sees it as an opportunity to help real women live normal lives and have healthy families.

It is an example of UNMC’s mission to lead the world in transforming lives to create a healthy future.

Dr. Scarsi and her collaborators — from the Infectious Diseases Institute, Makarere University, in Kampala, Uganda — had found that contraceptive hormone concentration levels in patients were approximately 50 percent lower when combined with the most widely used anti-HIV antiretroviral medication, making the contraceptive less effective.

That’s a big deal for the 16 million women worldwide living with HIV, Dr. Scarsi said, because unplanned pregnancies are more likely to result in HIV transmission from mother to child, and increased maternal and child morbidity and mortality.

“Outside of the U.S., childbirth is an important cause of mortality and morbidity,” Dr. Scarsi said.

Given that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends “waiting at least 2-3 years between pregnancies to reduce infant and child mortality, and also to benefit maternal health,” effective contraceptive options combined with life-saving HIV therapy allow women to plan for a safe and healthy pregnancy.

But the last study was merely the first step.

“My job is not just to define a problem but to find a solution,” Dr. Scarsi said.

Now, with this latest National Institutes of Health (NIH) RO1 grant, Dr. Scarsi and her team are busy working to find a drug combination that works, thus positively impacting the lives of women and their families.
“This is a population that needs the research,” she said.

Moreover, through the research, the clinic that Dr. Scarsi works with can increase their staff, strengthening the overall health system.

“This grant,” Dr. Scarsi said, “means we are able to stay together as a team, and keep working to improve the health of HIV-infected women worldwide.”