Chime School

Posts Tagged ‘HIV medication’

The availability of HAART since 1996 has had a dramatic effect on the face of HIV/AIDS. HAART is a customized combination of different classes of medications that a physician prescribes based on such factors as the patient’s viral load, CD4⁺ lymphocyte count, and clinical symptoms. CD4⁺ lymphocytes are white blood cells that HIV infects and kills, leading to a weakened immune system and AIDS. Though not a cure, HAART controls viral load, helping to delay the onset of symptoms and achieve prolonged survival in people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

HAART has helped to reduce the health implications of HIV. Diagnoses of HIV OI’s and other complications have decreased sigificantly since its introduction. Other neurological problems associated with long term use of this therapy include nerve damage. HAART is reported to have an effect to increase lipid (fat) levels in the blood, changed glucose metabolism and other complications.

Interactions with HAART and other medications used in the treatment of addiction may hurt both treatments. For example, methadone blood concentration drops as a result of the components in HAART therapy. Research is under way to determine if buprenorphine, a newer medication for the treatment of opioid addictions, has similar liabilities.

One issue for people treated with HAART is sticking to the medication regimen which is needed to benefit from HAART. Adherence to HIV regimens can be hard for drug users with chaotic lifestyles, which can prevent them from following prescribe regimens. In addition, because HAART reduces viral load, some patients mistakenly believe that they do not need to adhere to the HIV/AIDS treatment regimen or that reduced viral load means elimination of the risk of transmitting HIV. This sometimes will lead to a complacency, where risky behaviors are resumed. Research has improved HIV/AIDS outcomes amoung IDU and has advanced discoveries for long term treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir are approved individually by the FDA for the treatment of HIV infection in adults. In addition Efavirenz and Emtricitabine are approved for use in children who are infected with HIV.  These three medicines are frequently prescribed together, the manufacturers have combined them into one tablet. Atripla (Tenovir/Emtricitabine/Efavirenz) came onto the market in July of 2006 as a FDA approved treatment for HIV. Atripla may be used as a complete regimen or in combination with other anti retroviral.

As a result Atripla has become a leading medication in the fight against HIV/AIDS and has helped people living with HIV a great deal. This helps to make dealing with HIV simplier and the drug regimens more effective because it reduces forgotten doses. This reduces the number of drug resistant mutations that can occur.

Atripla (Viraday) does not cure or prevent HIV infection or HIV and does not reduce the risk of passing the virus to other people. Atripla can causes a number of unwanted side effects. More serious side effects of Efavirenz are confusion, depression, abnormal thinking, hallucinations, memory loss, thoughts of suicide, and paranoid thinking. Some people can develop a bad rash. The NRTIs in Atripla can cause a sometimes fatal lactic acidosis and liver disease as well as blood problems or muscle weakness. You should tell your doctor if while taking Atripla you suffer from pain in your joints, muscles, stomach and weakness, trouble with breathing, nausea, a feeling of cold, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, jaundice, dark urine and loss of appetite. Patients should notify their doctor if they have any of the side effects listed. Side effects that are not as severe can lessen or disappear with continued use. Patients should notify their doctor if side effects continue or worsen. If you have hepatitis B you should pay attention if you stop taking Atripla because this may cause a adverse reaction.