All HIV-positive patients should take the drugs, even if blood tests reveal that their immune system is healthy, according to the revised guidelines, which were presented Sunday at the International AIDS Conference in Washington D.C., and published in the July 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Over the last 25 years, antiretroviral drugs have become stronger, easier to tolerate and simpler to take, the authors of the report explained. "New trial data and drug regimens that have become available in the last two years warrant an update to guidelines for antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected adults in resource-rich settings," Dr. Melanie Thompson and her 2012 International Antiviral Society-USA Panel colleagues said in the report.
While medications don't rid the body of HIV -- the virus that causes AIDS -- they can prevent the virus from replicating and have allowed millions of people to live for years with a greatly reduced threat of developing AIDS, experts have noted.
However, not every person infected with HIV takes the medications. In some cases, doctors prefer to wait until a patient's immune system begins to show signs that the virus is becoming stronger.
The reasons why doctors sometimes wait to prescribe antiretroviral medications may be because the drugs can cause side effects, and there's also the challenge that patients must keep taking them or take the risk that the virus will rebound.
Commenting on the report, Rowena Johnston, director of research with the Foundation for AIDS Research in New York City, explained, "We can't lose sight of the fact that this is a big commitment. Once you start, you can't stop."
The report recommends that initial treatment include two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (tenofovir/emtricitabine
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