Contents:
- Medical Video: HIV Treatment Options
- What is the function of an HIV drug if it cannot cure?
- What drugs are used in HIV treatment?
Medical Video: HIV Treatment Options
Treatment with HIV drugs is recommended for all people who live with HIV. HIV is treated by using a combination of drugs to fight HIV infection. This treatment is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART includes the consumption of a combination of HIV drugs (referred to as HIV regimens) every day, just as prescribed. ART does not cure, but can control the virus so you can live longer, healthier, and reduce the risk of HIV transmission to others.
What is the function of an HIV drug if it cannot cure?
HIV drugs prevent HIV from multiplying, so anti-viral drugs reduce the amount of HIV in the body. Therefore, ART reduces viral load. Reducing the amount of HIV in the body provides an opportunity for the immune system to recover and fight infections and cancer. Even though there is HIV in the body, the body's immune system is strong enough to fight infection and cancer.
By reducing the amount of HIV in the body, HIV drugs also reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to other people.
ART is recommended for all people who have HIV, regardless of how long they have had the virus or how healthy they are. If not treated, HIV will attack the immune system and eventually develop into AIDS.
READ ALSO: Why HIV Patients Cannot Forget to Take Medication?
What drugs are used in HIV treatment?
The main types of antiretroviral drugs used in HIV treatment include:
- Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) such as zidovudine (Retrovir), abacavir (Ziagen), and emtricitabine (Emtriva), which blocks one of the enzymes that HIV needs to replicate in cells.
- Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) such as efavirenz (Sustiva), etravirine (Intelence), and nevirapine (Viramune), which target the same enzymes as NRTIs, but with different chemical structures.
- Protease inhibitors (PIs) such as atazanavir (Reyataz), ritonavir (Norvir), and tipranavir (Aptivus), which stops the production of one component of HIV.
- Entry inhibitors, which blocks the entry of HIV into CD4 cells. This type of drug includes 2 small divisions: the first is the CCR5 antagonist (also called entry inhibitors), such as maraviroc (Selzentry) which blocks CCR5, a protein receptor on the surface of CD4 cells (immune system cells) that are bound by a virus to enter the cell. The second is fusion inhibitors, such as enfuvirtide (Fuzeon) which also blocks the ability of HIV to enter CD4 cells.
- Integrase inhibitors such as dolutegravir (Tivicay), elvitegravir (Vitekta), and raltegravir (Isentress), which blocks HIV from inserting viral DNA into host cells.
READ ALSO: HIV Treatment Turns Out to Increase the Risk of Heart Attack
Most HIV treatment regimens consist of three different drugs, which can often be combined into a daily pill unit. The combination of antiretrovirus therapy attacks the HIV virus at different points in its life cycle. These drugs create a synergistic effect in suppressing a virus that is greater than the number of its parts.
AIDS is caused by HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, which damages the immune system. Antiretroviral therapy drugs for HIV can reduce the risk of transmission in all types of exposure. However, this is not always successful. Consult your doctor for more information.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
