ART giving longer life to young HIV sufferers
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LIFE expectancy for young HIV-positive adults has risen by 10 years in the United States and Europe thanks to improvements in AIDS drugs known as antiretroviral therapy, a study has revealed.
The study published in The Lancet medical journal said the improvements were down to the transition of less toxic medicine combinations and with more drug options for those infected with drug-resistant HIV strains.
“Our research illustrates a success story of how improved HIV treatments coupled with screening, prevention and treatment of health problems associated with HIV infection can extend the lifespan,” said Adam Trickey, who led the research at Britain’s University of Bristol.
Antiretroviral therapy, or ART, first became widely used in the mid 1990s. It involves a combination of three or more drugs that block the HIV virus’ replication.
This helps prevent and repair damage to the immune system caused by the HIV, and also prevents any onward spread of the disease.
Researchers analyzed 18 European and North American studies involving 88,504 people with HIV who started ART between 1996 and 2010.
Fewer people who started treatment between 2008-2010 died during their first three years than those who started treatment between 1996-2007.
Trickey’s team looked at deaths due to AIDS and concluded the number declined between 1996 and 2010 because modern drugs were more effective in restoring the immune system. Researchers said between 1996 and 2013, life expectancy of 20-year-olds increased by 9 years for women and 10 years for men.
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