What are the side effects of the new ARV?
Other side effects from antiretroviral drugs can include:
- hypersensitivity or allergic reactions, with symptoms such as fever, nausea, and vomiting.
- bleeding.
- bone loss.
- heart disease.
- high blood sugar and diabetes.
- lactic acidosis (high lactic acid levels in the blood)
- kidney, liver, or pancreas damage.
Do Arvs make you gain weight?
When people started highly effective antiretroviral treatment, they gained weight. This is called a ‘return to health’ effect of treatment and is still seen today in people with very advanced HIV who lost weight before starting treatment.
How long does it take for Arvs to work?
Most people living with HIV who start taking antiretroviral therapy daily as prescribed achieve an undetectable viral load within one to six months after beginning treatment.
Can someone on ARVs test negative?
The World Health Organization already recommends that people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy refrain from performing self-tests due to the risk of obtaining false-negative results.
Are there any new ARV drugs for AIDS?
Rising drug resistance to HIV means people need more expensive‚ new ARV drugs or they die from Aids. If people contract drug-resistant HIV‚ they are also unresponsive to treatment from day one. Venter’s trial showed new drugs‚ including Dolutegravir‚ worked as well as the current ARVs used in SA.
How often do you have to take ARV medication?
ARV therapy requires taking three drugs a day, every day, for life, but treatment is made easier when all the drugs are combined into one pill – an FDC. He said that current treatment based on the drug efavirenz had side-effects that can be severe and make the medication difficult to take for patients.
When is ARV going to be available in South Africa?
Initially planned to enter the South African market in October next year, Pillay said that the timing would depend on when suppliers register the fixed-dose-combination (FDC) version with the Medicines Control Council. “During this conference, I’ve been meeting all the suppliers to find out when they will register.
Why are new antiretroviral drugs important for HIV patients?
“The availability of new classes of antiretroviral drugs is critical for heavily treatment-experienced patients living with multidrug resistant HIV infection—helping people living with hard-to-treat HIV who are at greater risk for HIV-related complications, to potentially live longer, healthier lives.”