Treatment

There is no cure for AIDS at this time. However, several treatments are available that can delay the progression of disease for many years and improve the quality of life of those who have developed symptoms.

Antiviral therapy suppresses the replication of the HIV virus in the body. A combination of several antiretroviral agents, termed Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART), has been highly effective in reducing the number of HIV particles in the blood stream (as measured by a blood test called the viral load). This can help the immune system bounce back for a while and improve T-cell counts.

Although this is not a cure for HIV, and people on HAART with suppressed levels of HIV can still transmit the virus to others through sex or sharing of needles, the treatment shows great promise.

There is good evidence that if the levels of HIV remain suppressed and the CD4 count remains high (>200), that life and quality of life can be significantly prolonged and improved. However, HIV tends to become resistant in patients who do not take their medications every day. Also, certain strains of HIV mutate easily and may become resistant to HAART especially quickly.

Genetic tests are now available to determine whether the virus is resistant to a particular drug -- these may be useful in determining the best drug combination and adjusting it if it starts to fail.

When HIV becomes resistant to HAART, salvage therapy is required to try to suppress the resistant strain of HIV. Different combinations of medications are tried to attempt to reduce viral load. This is often not successful, unfortunately, and the patient will usually develop AIDS and its complications.

Treatment with HAART is not without complications. HAART is a collection of different medications, each with its own side effect profile. Some common side effects are nausea, headache, weakness, malaise, and fat accumulation on your back and abdomen (buffalo hump, lipodystrophy). When used long-term, these medications may increase the risk of heart attack by affecting fat metabolism.

Any doctor prescribing HAART should be carefully following the patient for possible side effects associated with the combination of medications being taken. In addition, routine blood tests measuring CD4 counts and HIV viral load (a blood test that measures how much virus is in the blood) should be taken every three to four months. The goal is to get the CD4 count as close to normal as possible, and to suppress the HIV viral load to an undetectable level.

Other antiviral agents are in investigational stages and many new drugs are in the pipeline. Growth factors that stimulate cell growth, such as Epogen (erthythropoetin) and G-CSF are sometimes used to treat anemia and low white blood cell counts associated with AIDS.

Medications are also used to prevent opportunistic infections (such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia) and can keep AIDS patients healthier for longer periods of time. Opportunistic infections are treated as they occur.

Support Groups

Joining support groups where members share common experiences and problems can often help the emotional stress of devastating illnesses. See AIDS - support group.

Complications

When a patient is infected with HIV, the virus slowly begins to destroy that patient's immune system. How fast this occurs is different in each individual. Treatment with HAART can help slow and even halt the destruction of the immune system.

However, once the immune system is severely destroyed, that patient is said to have developed AIDS, and is now susceptible to infections and cancers that most healthy adults would not get.

Calling your health care provider

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you have any of the risk factors for AIDS, or if symptoms of AIDS are present. By law, AIDS testing must be kept confidential. Your health care provider will review results of your testing with you.