HIV Treatment Options

Unfortunately, there is still no cure or effective vaccine to treat HIV infection. However, treatment has significantly improved since the start of combination therapy in 1996. Today, there are quite a few medication options for treating HIV including combination therapies, also known as HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy).

Types of Medication
There are five different classes of HIV drugs approved for use in the United States. These are:

• Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs)
• Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs)
• Protease Inhibitors (PIs)
• Entry Inhibitors
• Integrase Inhibitors

Each type of HIV drug fights the virus in its own way by interfering with the production of new virus within the body. NRTIs and NNRTIs prevent the production of reverse transcriptase, a protein necessary for virus replication. Protease inhibitors prevent HIV's use of an enzyme critical to its replication. Entry inhibitors are HIV drugs that interfere with the virus' attempts to enter healthy CD4+ cells. Integrase inhibitors block the integration of HIV genetic material (viral DNA) into the genetic material of the body's own cells.

Combination Therapy
Because each of these HIV drugs attacks the virus at different stages of its lifecycle, they are often used in combination. This approach is known as "highly active antiretroviral therapy" (HAART) and combines three or more drugs from among the different classes (e.g., two NRTIs and one PI). Some drugs are combined in one pill, allowing HIV-positive people to take fewer pills than they once needed.

Beyond Medication
Drug treatment is only one part of maintaining a strong immune system. Complementary medicine (e.g., holistic or natural remedies), nutrition, exercise, and your mental health are also important parts of addressing your well-being. Be sure to work with your healthcare provider to determine a course of disease management that is appropriate.

* "Undetectable" is defined as a viral load that is too low to be picked up by a particular test. Typically, it is a viral load of less than 400 or 50 copies/mL (depending on test used).