A Study of Biological Markers in HIV Disease Progression and Management in yhe Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) Era

Abstract

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the causative agent in AIDS has been a challenge to medical fraternity from the time since it was first discovered in 1983. About 40 million people are living with HIV infection globally and 99% of the infected people are in south East Asia (SEA). With inception of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the quality of life of HIV infected individuals is gradually improving. The number of people contracting new infections has been on decline globally and those having access to HAART are increasing. Close monitoring of HIV infected patients is essential in reducing the morbidity and mortality of HIV patients. Monitoring HIV disease progression, deciding the time to initiate HAART requires evaluation of TCD4+ cell counts and HIV/RNA viral load at regular intervals. Considering the fact that it is the resource restrained developing countries that carry most of the burden of HIV, studies recently have been carried out to evaluate the utility of low cost, easily performed alternate biomarkers that can be used for HIV disease management and response to HAART therapy. Very few studies are available that have demonstrated the role of alternate biomarkers to monitor HIV disease progression and assessing response to HAART.