Antiretroviral drugs do not cure HIV infection or AIDS

Antiretroviral drugs do not cure HIV infection or AIDS and can have severe side effects:

AZT may cause:

• red or white blood cell depletion, especially when taken in the later stages of the disease

If the loss of blood cells is severe:

• treatment with AZT must be discontinued

DdI can cause:

• diarrhea

• gastrointestinal disorders associated with protease inhibitors

• nausea

• painful nerve damage

• pancreas inflammation

Protease inhibitors can interact with other drugs resulting in serious side effects such as:

• abnormal redistribution of body fat among some individuals receiving protease inhibitors

Drugs available to treat opportunistic infections include:

• Foscarne

• Ganciclovir

used to treat cytomegalovirus eye infections

• Fluconazole

used to treat yeast and other fungal infections

• Pentamidine

• TMP/SMX

used to treat Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP)

Adults with HIV whose CD4+ T-cell counts drop below 200 are given treatment to prevent the occurrence of PCP. Children are given PCP preventive therapy when their CD4+ T-cell counts drop to levels considered below normal for their age group.

Research

It is unsure whether anti viral drugs given after exposure to HIV can prevent infection. There are trials going on in most large cities to treat people exposed to HIV referred to as "post-exposure prophylaxis."

In carefully controlled experiments doctors are trying to determine if the immune system, the body's natural defense mechanism, can keep the virus under control after drug therapy is stopped.

Results show that persons who are treated with potent anti- viral drugs (often referred to as HAART - highly active antiretroviral therapy) develop strong responses to the virus as soon as they become infected, possibly strong enough to successfully control the virus.

About 1 in 100 HIV infected persons is a so-called long-term non-progressor, meaning that they have been infected for up to 20 years and still have a normal CD4 count and low viral load, showing the virus has caused little damage so far.

A number of different methods are being tried to make an effective AIDS vaccine. Since anti viral drugs are extremely expensive, the only hope for worldwide control of HIV is the development of an effective vaccine. Clinical trials of AIDS treatments involve comparing the effects of one treatment compared to another.