AIDS is caused by the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which damages the body’s defense system. People infected with HIV usually live for years without any signs of the disease. They may look and feel healthy, but they can still pass on the virus to others. HIV is a retrovirus with two primary types: HIV-1 and [...]
Both men and women benefit from highly active combination antiretroviral therapy, or HAART. It can decrease incidences of opportunistic infections, delay the onset of AIDS, and increase lifespan. There is little doubt that HAART therapy is beneficial for those with HIV. There are however many unanswered questions on HAART. This is especially true for women [...]
As medical understanding about how the virus invades the body and multiplies within cells has increased, drugs to inhibit its growth and slow its spread have been developed. Drug treatment for HIV/AIDS is complicated and expensive, but highly effective in slowing the replication (reproduction) of the virus and preventing or reducing some effects of the [...]