New drugs increase HIV survival rate

Friday, 17 October 2003 12:00 AM

Researchers have found that the latest combined treatments for HIV are allowing patients to survive for at least 10 years.

Death rates in Europe have fallen by 80 per cent since 1997 when the new Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) drug regime was first introduced, the Medical Research Council has found.

Anti-retroviral drugs work by attacking the HIV virus, slowing the progression of the disease and prolonging life.

HAART is the name given to anti-retroviral combination treatments that include three or more drugs.

The latest figures come from 22 different studies across Europe, Australia and Canada. Dr Kholoud Porter, who led the analysis said that now people treated with combinations of drugs can almost all expect to live at least ten years after diagnosis, regardless of their age at infection.

However he added: 'Our findings do point to the importance of an early diagnosis so that people can access the best treatments at the right time.

'We also need to continue to explore what happens when therapy starts to fail, for example due to resistance to anti-retroviral drugs, if we are to maintain improved life expectancy for people living with HIV.'

More than 50,000 people in the UK and 40 million worldwide are infected with the HIV virus which leads to AIDS.

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