AIDS is one of the most disastrous diseases of our current and last centuries, and HIV is the virus that causes the potentially lethal immune disorder. Severely damaging the immune and nervous system, AIDS leaves the body prone to developing a series of other conditions and vulnerable to an immense number of infections. Fortunately, medicine has advanced and now HIV infected patients have a significantly increased lifespan, if they undergo treatment.

Recent studies have shown that the infected patients who start the treatment early on have a better chance to outlive those who delay the beginning of the treatment, and also have a considerably better quality of life. The conclusion seems fairly obvious, but amateurs are unaware that so far, the treatment had a number of dangerous side effects, one of them being an increased risk of developing heart diseases.

However, since the first development of the antiviral “cocktail” in 1996, medicine has continued to advance and the benefits of early starting the treatment now outweigh the risks.

Doctors recommended starting the treatment when the patients’ number of CD4 cell reached 350 per milliliter of blood. The new research development has doctors now strongly recommending starting the treatment when CD4 levels are at 450 or even 500.
An estimate of 1.1 million U.S. citizens is infected with HIV, and at least 250,000 are unaware that they are infected.

The new CD4 level recommendations clearly ask for a nationwide testing campaign, which will help patients extend their life expectancy and lead a normal life. Worldwide, the number of people infected with HIV reaches 33 million, of which only 3 million are currently under treatment, including those in the U.S. Although the findings of the study are significant, they do not indicate an unquestionably optimal time to start treatment for the HIV virus.