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New Treatments for HIV/AIDS

AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a serious condition that weakens the body's immune system, leaving one vulnerable to opportunistic infection and disease. Although there is no cure for AIDS, which is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), recent advances in treatment can halt, or even reverse, symptoms and progression of the disease.

  1. Goal of Treatment

    • The goal of AIDS treatment is to reduce the viral load, in order to slow or halt progress of the disease. Other treatments directly combat infections or illnesses resulting from AIDS. Left untreated, AIDS will continue to progress as the virus multiplies in the body.

    New Antiretroviral Drugs

    • Antiretroviral drugs are the top line of defense in fighting AIDS. These drugs fall into several different categories of medications, which all work to halt the spread of the virus. One of the newest antiretroviral drug is the CCR5 antagonists, which block the ability of HIV to enter cells and decrease the virus' rate of replication. Integrase inhibitors, another new antiviral drug, block the action of the enzyme that allows HIV to reproduce.

    Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment

    • The highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) regimen involves combining three or more antiretroviral drugs from at least two classes of medications in order to decrease the likelihood of the patient developing resistance to any one drug. The use of three or more of these medications has proved to be highly effective in halting the progress of HIV and actually preventing it from developing into full-blown AIDS. In fact, recent studies at Bristol University found that the use of HAART resulted in decreasing the progression of HIV to AIDS by 86%.

    One-Pill Treatment Option

    • Atripla is a new medication that combines three different antiretroviral drugs in one pill, which simplifies treatment and increases patient compliance. Atripla contains Emtriva, Viread and Sustiva. Studies indicate that the effectiveness rates for patients using Atripla are equal to those of patients who take a regimen of three separate pills. Atripla is taken once a day, and works by reversing a protein that allows the virus to replicate itself. Atripla may be used as a standalone treatment or in conjunction with other medicines.

    Drugs in Development

    • The time line for developing, testing and releasing a new prescription drug can be four to 10 years or more. After a drug has undergone extensive animal and laboratory testing, the pharmaceutical company can recruit patients to participate in human trials for the new medication, which means some patients can get access to the latest AIDS treatments before they are released on the market.

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