Antiretrovirals Information

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How does antiretroviral therapy work?

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a combination of medications used to treat HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). It works by stopping HIV from reproducing. It can reduce your levels of HIV and keep your immune system healthy. It’s not a cure, but many people reach undetectable levels of HIV.

What is antiretroviral therapy?

Antiretroviral therapy is HIV treatment that involves two or more drugs. While it does not cure the condition, it can reduce the amount of virus in the body to undetectable levels. At this point, the virus cannot pass to other people. This treatment also boosts the immune system and reduces the risk that HIV will progress.

What is antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV?

Using HIV medicines for treatment is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). This form of therapy is recommended for all patients with HIV by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This daily treatment of multiple HIV medications is an HIV regimen.

Why are antiretrovirals called HIV?

Antiretrovirals are so named because HIV is a type of virus known as a retrovirus. Retroviruses work by "hijacking" the genetic machinery of an infected cell and turning it into a virus-producing factory. HIV is only one of two known retroviruses in humans. The other is the human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV).

What is standard antiretroviral therapy (ART)?

Standard antiretroviral therapy (ART) consists of the combination of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to maximally suppress the HIV virus and stop the progression of HIV disease. ART also prevents onward transmission of HIV.

How are antiretroviral medications used to treat HIV infection?

Several classes of antiretroviral medications are used together to treat HIV infection. These medications block HIV from entering human cells or block the activity of one of the enzymes HIV needs to replicate inside human cells and/or integrate its genetic material into human DNA.

How many classes of antiretrovirals are used in art?

Multiple classes of antiretrovirals are used in ART. Two classes inhibit HIV entry, and the others inhibit one of the 3 HIV enzymes needed to replicate inside human cells; 3 classes inhibit reverse transcriptase by blocking its RNA-dependent and DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity.

What Is Antiretrovirals

1. https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-are-antiretrovirals-and-how-do-they-work-49639
2. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/hiv-and-aids-medicines
3. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/antiretroviral-therapy
4. https://hivinfo.nih.gov/understanding-hiv/fact-sheets/hiv-treatment-basics
5. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/infectious-diseases/human-immunodeficiency-virus-hiv/antiretroviral-treatment-of-hiv-infection
6. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323897
7. https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/staying-in-hiv-care/hiv-treatment/hiv-treatment-overview
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513308/
9. https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/infections/human-immunodeficiency-virus-hiv-infection/drug-treatment-of-human-immunodeficiency-virus-hiv-infection

Antiretrovirals Information

1. https://hivmanagement.ashm.org.au/antiretroviral-drugs/
2. https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789241549684
3. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/livingwithhiv/treatment.html