Health experts in the United States and across the world now recommend that people start
antiretroviral therapy as soon as they test positive for HIV.
"While most patients living with HIV can be successfully treated using a combination of two or more
antiretroviral drugs, a small percentage of patients who have taken many HIV drugs in the past have multidrug-resistant HIV, limiting their treatment options," Jeff Murray, M.D., deputy director of the FDA's Division of Antiviral Products, said in a statement.
These oral lesions are strongly associated to low CD4+ count and high viral load.2
Antiretroviral therapy is given to HIV/AIDS patients that usually consists of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) alongwith non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) or protease inhibitor (PI).3
Antiretroviral therapy reduces the viral load by inhibiting the viral replication and results in the reconstitution of the immune system alongwith the increase in CD4+ lymphocyte count.4 Frequency of oral lesions has been reported to be decreased after
antiretroviral therapy (ART) especially in case of oral candidiasis, oral hairy leukoplakia, necrotizing periodontal conditions and various AIDS related malignancies like Kaposi sarcoma.5
A higher proportion of participants in the home group than in the facility group initiated
antiretroviral therapy (2.2% vs.
As of 2012, 9.7 million people in low- and middle-income countries were on
antiretroviral therapy, with the biggest increase recorded in 2012.
The infant was discharged from the hospital at one week old and placed on liquid
antiretroviral therapy.
Investigators wanted to get a clearer understanding of the impact of starting
antiretroviral therapy on the risk of TB.
The
antiretroviral drug tenofovir, for example, is known to be associated with decreased bone mineral density.
With the rapid scaleup of
antiretroviral therapy in India both in the public and private sectors, more patients are benefited.
Much is unknown regarding
antiretroviral coverage in South Africa.
(1.) The
Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration, Life expectancy of individuals on combination
antiretroviral therapy in high-income countries: a collaborative analysis of 14 cohort studies, Lancet, 372(9635):293-299.