HIV Treatments
Since the introduction of HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapies) in the mid ninties, HIV positive people have been living longer, healthier lives. Antiretroviral treatments aim to reduce the amount of HIV in the body to the lowest possible level by preventing the virus from replicating.
There are now five classes of antiretroviral drugs:
It is standard practice to have patients on a combination of at least three drugs, usually from at least two of the available classes. The most "standard combination" includes two Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors in combination with either a Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors or a Protease Inhibitors. Remember, HIV treatment is a rapidly changing area and there are always advances being made in medical research and treatment.
To comprehend how the antiretroviral drugs work, you need to know something about of the lifecycle of HIV. This will help you understand what stage of virus replication, the antiretrovirals are targeting.
1
Free Virus - virus travelling freely around the body
2
Fusion, Binding and Infection: The virus binds to and penetrates the cell where it's contents are emptied into the cell.
3
Reverse Transcription: Single strands of viral RNA are converted into double stranded DNA by the reverse transcriptase enzyme.
4
Integration:Viral DNA is combined with the cell's own DNA
5
Transcription and Assembly: When the infected cell divides, the viral DNA is 'read' and long chains of proteins are made and then come together.
6
Budding: Immature virus pushes out of the cell
7
Immature virus breaks free of the infected cell
8
Maturation: Protein chains in the new viral particle are cut by the protease enzyme into individual proteins that combine to make a working virus