Front and center in the battle against HIV are antiretroviral therapies that keep the virus from multiplying, thereby extending the life and improving the quality of life of patients with HIV.
Antiretroviral therapy (sometimes called Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART) typically combines three or more antiretroviral drugs that work together to keep HIV from multiplying. Although antiretroviral drugs improve health and delay death, they do not cure HIV/AIDS.
Once the decision is made to initiate antiretroviral therapy, the goals of that treatment (OARAC, 2006) are to:
The decision to initiate therapy should be made by both the patient and the physician, taking into account the patient's willingness and readiness to begin therapy, risk of progression to AIDS (as measured by the patient's viral load and CD4+ cell count), level of immunodeficiency (as measured by the patient's CD4+ cell count), and likelihood of adhering to the medication regimen. The decision also should be informed by an assessment of the risks versus benefits of initiating therapy at that point in time.
Some people choose to put off therapy for as long as it is safely possible. Others decide to begin therapy earlier in the course of their disease. The decision to initiate therapy should weigh the benefits and risks of starting treatment early versus later in the progression of HIV disease (see table below).
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