In a recently released study, researchers found that the risk of developing AIDS-related complications for people with HIV drops significantly six months after achieving viral suppression, even for people who have poor CD4 cell count recovery. However, the study did find people with poor CD4 recovery are at higher risk of AIDS-related illnesses during this time.

The researchers concluded that since the overall occurrence of AIDS-defining illnesses was low once viral suppression was reached, even in people with poor CD4 (white blood cell) recovery, the primary goal for health care…

Results of a small study suggest that switching to a regimen containing Kaletra may result in greater immune system improvement in HIV-positive patients whose immune systems do not recover after starting antiretroviral therapy.

Typically, people experience a recovery of their immune system, including an increase in CD4 (white blood cell) count, after starting highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). This usually occurs once HAART successfully decreases the amount of virus in the blood (viral load).

However, this is not always the case. In around 10 to 25 percent of patients, CD4…

Results of a new study suggest that people with HIV who begin antiretroviral therapy soon after infection may better retain the ability to fight off other infectious diseases than people who begin treatment later.

“Our work…suggest[s] that more clinical trials should be aimed at comparing early-treated and chronic-treated patients by a variety of different immunologic parameters,” said Dr. Susan Moir, lead author of the study, in correspondence with The AIDS Beacon.

The findings shed light on a group of immune cells called B cells and how early initiation of antiretroviral…

A recent study in Public Library of Science Pathogens finds that HIV employs various methods in order to mutate and escape from the body’s natural immune response. The study is of great importance in the development of potential vaccines that will work to help the immune system fight HIV infection.

Most HIV infected individuals develop neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) within the first few weeks of infection. NAbs are proteins manufactured by the body’s immune system, which create an immune response to fight infection of such a virus.

NAbs may…