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Home / HIV/AIDS Basics / Just Diagnosed with HIV AIDS : Treatment Options : Overview of HIV Treatments

OVERVIEW OF HIV TREATMENTS SUBSCRIBE TRANSLATE TEXT SIZE PRINT

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 Get Tested. Find Services.
Treatment Options
HOW IS HIV TREATED?
HIV is treated using a combination of medicines to fight HIV infection. This is called antiretroviral
First Steps to therapy (ART). ART isnt a cure, but it can control the virus so that you can live a longer, healthier

Treatment life and reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to others.

Overview of HIV ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV regimen) every day, exactly
Treatments as prescribed.

Reasons to Start
These HIV medicines prevent HIV from multiplying (making copies of itself), which reduces the
Treatment
amount of HIV in your body. Having less HIV in your body gives your immune system a chance
Side Effects to recover and fight off infections and cancers. Even though there is still some HIV in the body,

Medication Adherence the immune system is strong enough to fight off infections and cancers.

Drug Resistance By reducing the amount of HIV in your body, HIV medicines also reduce the risk of transmitting

Changing or Stopping the virus to others.

Treatment
ART is recommended for all people with HIV, regardless of how long theyve had the virus or
Clinical Trials how healthy they are. If left untreated, HIV will attack the immune system and eventually

Alternative Therapy progress to AIDS.

HIV DRUG CLASSES

HIV medicines are grouped into six drug classes according to how they fight HIV. The six drug
classes are:

Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs)

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Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs)
Protease inhibitors (PIs)
Fusion inhibitors
CCR5 antagonists (CCR5s) (also called entry inhibitors)
Integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs)
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 The six drug classes include more than 25 HIV medicines that are approved to treat HIV
infection. Some HIV medicines are available in combination (in other words, two or more
different HIV medicines are combined in one pill.)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides guidelines on the use of
HIV medicines to treat HIV infection. The HHS guidelines recommend starting ART with a
regimen of three HIV medicines from at least two different drug classes.

NIH AIDSInfos FDA-Approved Medicines provides a complete list of HIV medicines, grouped by
class, that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of HIV
infection in the United States. In addition, NIAIDs Drugs that Fight HIV (PDF 1.3MB) is a full-
color illustrated guide to approved HIV medications.

CHOOSING AN HIV REGIMEN

The choice of HIV medicines to include in an HIV regimen depends on a persons individual
needs. When choosing an HIV regimen, people with HIV and their health care providers
consider the following factors:

Other diseases or conditions that the person with HIV may have
Possible side effects of HIV medicines
Potential interactions between HIV medicines or between HIV medicines and other
medicines the person with HIV is taking
Results of drug-resistance testing (and other tests). Drug-resistance testing identifies
which, if any, HIV medicines wont be effective against a persons HIV.
Convenience of the regimen. For example, a regimen that includes two or more HIV
medicines combined in one pill is convenient to follow.
Any issues that can make it difficult to follow an HIV regimen, such as a busy schedule that
changes from day to day
Cost of HIV medicines

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 There are several recommended HIV regimens, but selecting the best regimen for a particular
person depends on the factors listed above.

If you are starting HIV treatment for the first time, NIH AIDSInfo shares information about
selecting a first HIV regimen.

WAS THIS PAGE HELPFUL?

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Form Approv ed OMB# 0990-0379 Exp. Date 8/31/2017

RELATED TOPICS ON AIDS.GOV ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

HIV Lifecycle AIDSinfo - Clinical Guidelines Portal
Newly Diagnosed: What You Need AIDSInfo HIV Treatment: The
to Know Basics
Resistance Test AIDSInfo What to Start: Selecting a
Treatment Adherence First HIV Regimen
AIDSInfo FDA-Approved HIV
Medicines
CDC Every Dose. Every Day.
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 Medication Adherence Consumer
Handouts
CDC HIV Treatment Works
Campaign
FDA Antiviral Drugs Used in the
Treatment of HIV Infection
FDA HIV and AIDS: Medicines to
Help You
NIAID - Drugs That Fight HIV
OWH - Managing Your Treatment of
HIV/AIDS
VA: Treatment Decisions
VA: Questions to Ask Your Doctor
About HIV Drugs

Last revised: 08/13/2015

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