HIV / AIDS Treatment and HIV / AIDS Medications

HIV / AIDS Treatment

Over the past years, several drugs have become available to fight both HIV infection and its associated infections and cancers. These drugs are called highly active antiretroviral theraphy and have substantially reduced HIV-related complications and deaths. However, medications do not cured HIV / AIDS. In one case, a patient treated for cancer apparently was cured of HIV through use of a stem cell transplant, but this "stem cell cure" is not recommented for HIV due to high risk of mortality and uncertain chances of success. Theraphy is initiated and individualized under the supervision of a physician who is an expert in the case of HIV-infected patients. A combination of a least three drugs is recommented to suppress the virus from replicating and boost the immune system.

• Reverse transcriptase inhibitors: These drug inhibit the ability of the virus to make copies of itself. The following are examples:

• Nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRITs). These include medications such as ZIDOVUDINE (AZT/Retrovir), didanosine (ddl/Videx), Zalcitabine (ddl/Hivid), Stavudine (d4T/Zerit), Lamivudine(3TC/Epivir), Abacavir (ABC/Ziagen), Emtriccitabine (FTC/Emtriva), and tenofovir (Viread).
• Non-nucleoside reverse trancriptase inhibitors (NNRTIS) are commonly used in combination with NTIs to help keep the virus from multiplying. Examples of NRRTIs are Efavirenz (Sustiva), Nevirapine (Viramune), Delavirdine( Rescriptor), and Etravirine ( Intelence). was approved by the U.S FDA in may 2011.

Antiretriviral viral drugs stop viral replication and delay the development of Aids. However, they also have side eefects that can be severe. They include decreased levels of red or white blood cells, inflammation of the pancrease, liver toxicity, rash, gastrointestinal problems, elevated cholesterol level, diabetes, abnormal body-fat distribution, and painful nerve damage. An expert in infectious diseases should be consulted if the patient needs concomitant treatment for diseasea such as cancer or hepatitis C.


Follow-up

People with HIV infection should be under the care of a physician who is experienced in treating the infection. All people with HIV should be counseled about avoiding the spread of the disease. Infected individuals are also educated about the disease process, and attempts are made to improve the quality of their life.