Current therapy for human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Abstract

Antiretroviral treatments with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) have shown remarkable progress in the past decade and resulted in impressive improvements in life expectancy and quality of life for patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1). Despite the clinical benefits, the management of HIV infection faces many problems. Although HAART is able to suppress the viral load in the plasma, it is unable to eradicate it, and once HAART is initiated, treatment needs to be continued over a lifetime. The side effects of long-term HAART, such as lipodystrophy, lactic acidosis, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia, are negative impacts for patients who receive HAART. In addition, patients need to demonstrate high adherence to the therapy to achieve viral suppression and prevent the development of a drug-resistant virus. This review discusses currently recommended antiretroviral treatment strategies, the difficulties with antiretroviral treatments, and current issues regarding HIV management.