How Long Can You Live with HIV

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In the 1980s, the AIDS epidemic [swept the world](https://www.history.com/topics/1980s/history-of-aids), and since then, scientists have been trying to find a way to overcome HIV. Many patients either were too scared and did not want to know the diagnosis or misused medication, so HIV progressed rapidly. Can you imagine that earlier people had to use up to 12-16 tablets per day - it is about 500 tablets per month. Psychologically, it was hard to endure. However, even such a quantity of drugs did not make it possible to extend the life of patients significantly. However, science is developing, and scientists around the world have made tremendous progress over the past 2 decades. In 2019, the number of drugs has decreased to 1-2 tablets per day, and patients have a chance to live a normal life, just like any other person. What influenced such events and made such big progress? We will talk about it in this article. My name is Logan Morris, and my specialty is HIV/AIDS issues. Let me tell you about the latest news in this sphere and answer one of the biggest questions — “How long can you live with HIV?”

Does HIV Life Expectancy Improve

Today, there is a number of drugs that can fight the human immunodeficiency virus, and they have even been combined into a separate class of medications. Now we use the term “[highly active antiretroviral therapy](https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/highly-active-antiretroviral-therapy),” which means that it effectively combats HIV. When HIV multiplies, it goes through seven main stages of its life cycle, from entering the blood and attaching to a healthy cell to killing this cell and splitting into lots of new copies of the virus. Most of them are mutated: they are slightly different from their “parent”. If only one ARV drug is used, it’s easier for the virus to survive; two drugs cannot also stop it. Nevertheless, if you use three drugs, especially if they attack HIV at different stages of its life cycle, it will not be able to replicate. Medications do not kill the virus but [block its development](https://medlineplus.gov/hivaidsmedicines.html). ARV drugs are divided into several types, and each deals with a certain enzyme. The first class is nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. They block the stage 3 of the development of the virus when the genetic material of HIV is transformed from RNA to DNA. This class includes such drugs: - AZT (ZDV, Zidovudine, Retrovir); - 3TC (Lamivudine, Epivir); - abacavir (Ziagen); - tenofovir (Viread); - emtricitabine (FTC, Emtriva). The second class blocks the same stage of development but has a slightly different mechanism of action. Such drugs are called non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and here are the examples: - nevirapine (NVP, Viramune); - efavirenz (EFV, Sustiva); - delavirdine (DLV, Rescriptor). Another type of antiretroviral drugs inhibits the last stage, when the material for creating new HIV cells is split into parts with the help of protease enzyme: - ritonavir (RTV, Norvir); - nelfinavir (NFV, Viracept); - darunavir (TMC114, Prezista); - amprenavir (APV, Ageneras); - lopinavir (LPV, Kaletra). There are also fusion inhibitors such as enfuvirtide, which does not let HIV attach to a cell, and integrase inhibitors such as dolutegravir (DTG, Tivicay). The latter stops the stage 4 of the HIV life cycle, when it integrates its genetic material into our DNA.Many modern tablets contain several active ingredients. Among them, proven “doctors” are the following: - Combivir (a combination of AZT and 3TC); - Trizivir (a combination of AZT / 3TC / abacavir); - Truvada (tenofovir + emtricitabine); - Kivexa (a 3TC / abacavir combination); - Kaletra, which includes lopinavir and ritonavir; - Atripla (a combination of efavirenz, emtricitabine and TDF). The creation of new drugs continues in all types. In addition, researchers are trying to develop new medications that would block the virus at other stages of its lifecycle. As for the functions of antiretroviral therapy, it has four main goals: - virological — The main task is to stop the reproduction of the virus in the body. An indicator of virological effectiveness is the reduction in viral load to an undetectable level; immunological — the restoration of the immune system. When the viral load decreases, the body gets the opportunity to gradually restore immunity; - clinical — to increase the duration and quality of life of HIV-positive people. In most cases, taking therapy prevents the development of AIDS, and, therefore, prevents opportunistic diseases that could worsen their life and even lead to death; - anti-epidemic — which means "treatment as prevention”; people with the undetectable viral load simply do not infect others. Scientists have found one more use for ARV drugs — pre-exposure prophylaxis. You can use it to eliminate the risk to get infected. However, [PrEP is dangerous for HIV-positive](https://hivprep.org/can-you-take-prep-if-you-have-hiv/) patients since these drugs do not help when used incorrectly, and the virus can develop a tolerance to them. Therefore, such prevention should be used exclusively for the intended purpose and only by HIV-negative people. So, does ART or does it not help people with HIV prolong their lives? Yes, it does. Taking these meds, you cannot get rid of the virus itself, but you do not let it reproduce itself and kill your immune cells. Thanks to new drugs, the life expectancy of HIV-positive people is really increasing. In the 1990s, an average young man infected in his twenties would not live longer than 40 years. In the early 2010s, he could become a grandpa, living up to 70 years old. Nowadays, if someone gets tested for HIV soon enough after contagion and starts taking pills, they live as long as a healthy person.

Don’t Forget About Other Factors

Do not forget that the positive effect of antiretroviral therapy on life expectancy can be either enhanced by favorable factors or decreased due to the influence of negative ones. The latter are divided into two types: those that we can influence and those that are statistical and inevitable. The brightest example of the first group is drug, alcohol, or cigarette addiction. If you want to live better and longer, simply get rid of these habits. The example of the type 2 factors is the fact that HIV-infected people from poor societies with low living and healthcare standards live almost 9 years less than white Americans. Your initial [CD4 count](https://www.hiv.va.gov/patient/diagnosis/labs-CD4-count.asp) also plays a great role, and that is why I always say that everyone should be tested for HIV every six months. If you detect the virus at the very beginning, you’ll live much longer. In addition to external factors, factors that are directly caused by HIV are distinguished. For example, if you have a weak cardiovascular system, HIV can cause heart diseases, which significantly shortens life. Oddly enough, a large percentage of HIV-positives suffer from diseases that are not directly HIV-related.

What Are Long-Term Perspectives of HIV Treatment?

Medical scientists do not stop working and look for new ways to overcome the virus. What are the perspectives for treating HIV in the world? I see three main goals: - developments aimed at the complete cure of HIV-infected people, as was with hepatitis C; - development of supportive drugs that act on the infection by different mechanisms at different stages. Particular attention is paid to the development of special combinations of meds that have minimal side effects and make it possible to control the virus; - prevention of HIV infection for healthy people who belong to the “risk group”: gay men, sex workers or those who lead a promiscuous life, people who inject drugs, etc. Special efforts are being made to stop the transmission of the virus from HIV-positive women to babies. Progress is underway, but there are still damages from the virus and drugs. Antiretroviral treatment has a number of side effects: - diarrhea; - anemia; - headache; - liver and kidney problems; - lactic acidosis; - ailments of the central nervous system. Getting rid of these side effects is also under development.

Few Last Thoughts

If you encounter this virus and are fortunate enough to detect HIV in the early stages, then proceed to antiretroviral therapy. Preparations will help facilitate and prolong your life for decades. Although it is now 2019, the 21st century of technology, even this therapy can have some drawbacks. But the process is on, progress is visible. And we hope that in the near future, the world will be able not only to get rid of side effects but also to eradicate this disease forever.
Originally posted here: https://steemit.com/health/@loganmorris/how-long-can-you-live-with-hiv