Care About Your Body and Health

A number of new drugs have dramatically improved the outlook for AIDS patients. But to gain the full benefits, patients must take a combination of drugs. This often entails taking dozens of pills according to a strict schedule. Adhering to the complicated and costly regimens can not only increase survival, but also improve overall health.

Protease Inhibotors. These newest and most effective AIDS drugs work by blocking protease, an enzyme needed by HIV to replicate itself. Protease inhibitors, which include Crixivan (indinavir) , Norvir (ritonavir), and Invirase (saquinavir), are usually taken several times a day along with other AIDS medications. Missing even a few doses of a protease inhibitor can result in the emergence of drug-resistant HIV strains.

Nucleoside Analogs. Drugs in this class include Viramune (nevirapine), Videx (didanosine) and Epivir (lamivadine), stop HIV proliferation by interfering with the transfer of genetic material.

Azidothymidine (AZT). The first AIDS drug, this gained FDA approval in 1987. It works by interfering with replication of the HIV within the T-cells. AZT is usually given with other AIDS drugs, such as the new protease inhibitors. Anemia and other side effects may limit its use.

Dideoxyinosine (DDI). This drugs is similar to AZT, but it has different adverse effects, such as pancreatitis and nerve problems. Thus, DDI may be taken by patients who are unable to tolerate AZT.

Dideoxycytidine (DDC). Used in combination with AZT, this drug helps to prevent the virus from multiplying.

Erythropoietin. This synthetic hormone stimulates bone marrow cells to produce red blood cells and counter anemia caused by AZT.

Interleukin-2. Infusions of this protein appear to increase T-cell production in HIV-positive individuals who do not yet have AIDS.

Pentamidine. This is an aerosol drug that is inhaled periodically to prevent Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, a common infection among AIDS patients.

Trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole. Marketed as Bactrim or Septra, these antibiotics are taken either to prevent or threat pneumocystis pneumonia.

HIV infection follows an unpredictable course; additional treatments depend upon the AIDS-related diseases or infections involved. For example, AIDS increases the risk of developing cancer, notably lymphoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, and cervical cancer. Pneumocystis pneumonia is treated with drugs, as is toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection.

(Acquired immune deficiency syndrome) AIDS, first described in 1981, is caused by a virus that not only damages tissues, but also increases vulnerability to many disorders, especially infections. These result from the progressive destruction of the immune system by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The virus is transmitted when a body fluid of an infected individual-blood, semen, vaginal secretion, or breast milk-is absorbed into the blood-stream of a healthy person. The major exception appears to be saliva, which has never been shown to be a carrier.

When the disease was first discovered in the United States, most cases were transmitted by male homosexual activity, in contrast to the underdeveloped nations, where AIDS was spread mostly through heterosexual intercourse. Now most cases in the U.S. are transmitted by the sharing of hypodermic needles and heterosexual intercourse, with women accounting for a large percentage of new cases. Before development of an HIV screening test in 1986, a number of cases were contracted from contaminated transfusions and the coagulation factors used to treat hemophilia.

Whenever a virus enters the body, a healthy immune system produces a variety of fighter cells, which include the T-cell lymphocytes. HIV invades T-cells and uses their genetic material to multiply itself. The virus eventually destroys the T-cells, producing many new HIV particles in the process. In time, the immune system is over-whelmed by the infection, and the person becomes increasingly susceptible to the infections and other disease that make up the AIDS complex.

It takes an average of 10 years from the time of infection to develop full-blown AIDS, and throughout that entire period, contact with body fluids from the person harboring the virus can spread the infection.