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HIV Prevention And HIV Vaccine

What is in the future for HIV Vaccine?

Early advances in preventing HIV transmission resulted from educational programs describing how transmission occurs and providing barrier protection for those exposed to genital secretions and new needles or bleach to those exposed to blood by sharing needles. Despite these efforts, new infection in both the developed and developing worlds has continued at high rates.

Historically, the greatest success in preventing viral transmission has resulted from the development of preventative vaccines. Unfortunately, decades of research to develop an HIV vaccine has led to little hope for success. While the vaccine which has been developed demonstrated only limited evidence of protection, research is under way to further explore what can be learned for future vaccine development from this modest success. Continue reading →

HIV Treatment Drugs

Initial therapy for HIV

Guidelines for using antiviral therapy have been developed and are updated on a regular basis by an expert panel assembled by the DHHS, the IAS-USA panel, and others. The DHHS guidelines are available at http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov. The most recent IAS-USA guidelines were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in the summer of 2010.

Antiviral treatment options have primarily included combinations of two nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI), often referred to as “nucs,” and one PI, typically with a low dose of Ritonavir, a PI used at low doses to increase the level of the principle PI being used, so called “boosting.”

Alternative, options include the use of two NRTIs with a nonnucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), the latter often called “non-nucs.” These NNRTI-containing combinations generally are easier to take than PI-containing combinations and tend to have different side effects. Recently, NRTIs were combined with the integrase inhibitor raltegravir with very good viral suppression and tolerability. This novel combination has now been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as another treatment option for those initiating therapy for the first time and is considered along with NNRTIs and PIs as one of the preferred options. Continue reading →

HIV AIDS

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What is HIV AIDS?

HIV stands for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus. It is responsible for causing AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome) in humans. HIV belongs to the group of retrovirus. As this virus enters into the body, it starts destroying the cells of the immune system. In the meantime, the immune system tries to make new cells but gradually HIV destroys the capability of the body to fight infection and new cells formation. Without treatment, the immune system will become too weak to fight off illness and a person with HIV may develop rare infections or cancers. When these are particularly serious, the person is said to have AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

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