Taking certain medications within 72 hours of exposure to HIV may prevent the onset of diseases such as AIDS, according to a recent study by the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
A 28-day regimen of medications is taken shortly after possible HIV exposure. The medication is a standard workplace safety procedure for those who are regularly exposed to blood and body fluids potentially infected with HIV, according to the recently published journal, Psychological and Socio-medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV.
Steven Shoptaw, a UCLA professor in the department of family medicine and psychiatry, and other scientists at the School of Medicine are trying to make this medication, known as non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis, more widely available. It is a mixture of medications that treat infections by viruses such as HIV for people who are likely to be exposed through drugs or sex, Shoptaw said.
The report in Shoptaw’s journal said its study showed a strong demand for publicly available medications in the gay and bisexual male community of Los Angeles County. It also concluded that the patients’ intent not to engage in future unsafe sex decreased while retention dropped rapidly after the first week.
Shoptaw, along with other doctors at UCLA, evaluated the feasibility of providing the medication within 72 hours of potential exposure to HIV following high-risk sex or drug use. The results show that there is a high demand of public availability of the medication for at-risk communities.
The study, which aimed to test the safety and feasibility of the medication, included male and female participants over 18 years old who reported potential HIV exposures within 72 hours after sex with people known or suspected to be HIV-infected.
“The program was actually well-received by at-risk communities,” Shoptaw said. “The majority of the people who start the medications complete (it) within 22 days.”
AIDS derives from the growth of HIV, Shoptaw said. An AIDS patient has a low count of CD4 white blood cells, which are responsible for killing infectious agents in the body.
According to Cape Gateway, a South African government informational organization, HIV infects cells of the immune system and turns the cells into virus factories. A virus can replicate, using the body’s own cells for this purpose. HIV targets CD4 cells, which form an important part of the immune system.
It is expensive to treat people who think they are infected with HIV and also HIV-positive people, who would also need to seek a behavior-risk counselor and doctor, Shoptaw said.
If HIV in the body is not taken care of immediately, it can result in AIDS.
In recent years, HIV has become more prevalent in people of color, Shoptaw said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 38,709 people were diagnosed with AIDS in the U.S. in 2001. In 2005, AIDS was diagnosed in 40,608 people.
However, recent medical findings have prolonged the life of AIDS patients.
According to an AIDS Institution Conference in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, the life expectancy of an HIV/AIDS patient is the same as others who are not affected, Shoptaw said.
“HIV mutates regularly and rapidly within people and new therapies,” Shoptaw said. “That’s why it’s so important that new therapies are developed so that as the population of people infected with HIV/AIDS becomes resistant to existing therapies, new ones are being developed to help the body to keep the virus in check,” Shoptaw said.
Currently, over 25 different drugs are approved for treatment to slow the progression of AIDS, such as the integrase inhibitor, which inhibits HIV during different points of its life cycle, said Judy Currier, a professor of medicine and the associate director of clinical AIDS research and education at the David Geffen School of Medicine.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies and scientists around the world are working to develop novel ways of using medical strategies to stop HIV from replicating in the body for everybody. Many are also trying to publicize HIV medications and make them more accessible, Shoptaw said.
According to AVERT, an international HIV and AIDS charity based in the United Kingdom, the drugs can improve the quality of life for those infected with HIV, helping them to stay well much longer than they otherwise would as it slows down the replication of HIV.
“(Medications) should be available to people who think they’re at risk,” Shoptaw said. “It is a social justice issue.”