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Treatment
After measuring plasma HIV RNA (to check the level
of active HIV infection) and CD4 cell counts (to
determine the amount of immune system damage),
your doctor may choose a combination of antiretroviral
drugs to fight HIV infection. By using several
drugs simultaneously, your doctor hopes to increase
the effectiveness of AIDS treatment by attacking
HIV at multiple points in its manufacturing cycle.
Drug combinations also limit the risk that drug-resistant
HIV will develop. The ultimate goal is to suppress
HIV RNA to undetectable levels on follow-up blood
tests. Currently available antiretroviral drugs
include:
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Nucleoside analogs include zidovudine (Retrovir,
AZT), didanosine (Videx, ddI), zalcitabine (HIVID,
ddC), stavudine (Zerit, d4T) and lamivudine (Epivir,
3TC). There is also a combination pill called
Combivir, which contains both lamivudine and zidovudine.
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Protease inhibitors include saquinavir (Invirase,
Fortovase), ritonavir (Norvir), indinavir (Crixivan)
and nelfinavir (Viracept).
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Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors
include nevirapine (Viramune), delavirdine (Rescriptor)
and efavirenz (Sustiva/Stocrin).
One
common treatment approach is HAART (highly active
antiretroviral therapy) - a combination of three
drugs, which include two nucleoside analogues
and one protease inhibitor, although many variations
of HAART exist.
The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also approved
more than 22 drugs for treating AIDS- related
conditions, including drugs that fight opportunistic
infections and Kaposi's sarcoma. To treat AIDS-related
body wasting, the following may be used: dronabinol
(Marinol), megestrol acetate (Megace) and recombinant
human growth hormone (Serostim).
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