Effectiveness of AIDS Treatments

Patients who receive AIDS treatments live longer than those who are left untreated. Within the last fifteen years, due to technological advances of medicine and treatment for AIDS, individuals afflicted with the disease, have had an increase of thirteen years to their life.

HAART

• According to the World Health Organization, people who are treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (or HAART), generally have an increased survival rate. Quality of life is either good, or better than what it was before as a result of treatment.

NRTIs

• Nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors help to stop the growth of enyzmes known as reverse transcriptase. Essentially, the drug tries to prevent the enzyme from changing the virus into a form of DNA, and using it to attack your body.

Protease Inhibitors

• Protease inhibitors try to stop HIV replication. Protease inhibitors will interfere with the disease by rendering the virus structurally disorganized.

NtRTIs

• Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors are used to try to stop the replication of the virus and to stop the virus from implanting its genetic make-up into cells. These types of drugs are also helpful in individuals who have become resistant to nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors, such as Retrovir.

Fusion Inhibitors

• Fusion inhibitors are an important aspect in AIDS treatments due to the fact that many AIDS patients may develop a resistance to some form of therapy. However, by using fusion inhibitors, such as Fuzeon, these types of drugs are able to combat resistant forms of HIV by stopping the virus from replicating at all.

Integrase Inhibitors

• When AIDS patients have become resistant to other forms of treatments, integrase inhibitors are used in combination with other drugs in order to block the replication of HIV enzymes.