In HIV treatment programs across the countryA

In HIV treatment programs across the country, specialists are trying to outsmart HIV. Since the advent of protease inhibitors and other classes of HIV drugs, doctors have had the formidable task of finding the right combination of medicines that keep the virus at bay. But with every successful regimen, there are failures. In fact studies now show that while drug "cocktails" suppress HIV in 60 to 90 percent of cases, 30 to 60 percent of those patients end up being considered treatment failures eventually because of rebounding levels of the HIV.

The common thought was that over time the virus becomes resistant to medications allowing the virus to replicate. Two studies published in the January 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), looked at treatment failure mechanisms, and adherence and drug potency. Data from these studies indicate that rebounding levels of HIV are not always a result of resistance. While researches are are certain resistance plays a major role in drug regimen failures, they also know that other factors contribute. While studies show the development of resistant strains of HIV in those patients who have had viral rebound, others factors were found to play a role, namely poor adherence to drug regimens and poor drug potency at the cellular level.