Focus on quality of life in HIV infection

Abstract

A s more effective treatments for HIV infection are developed, physicians will need to turn their attention towards improving patients’ quality of life. The dramatic effects of antiretroviral combination therapy on CD4+ cell counts and viral load in recent trials has encouraged researchers to propose that AIDS will soon be viewed as a chronic, rather than a fatal, disease. This implies that patients’ lifespans will be prolonged by many years; thus, it will be important to develop therapies that can overcome the nonfatal effects of AIDS and that can alleviate the toxicities of antiretroviral treatment. Experts in AIDS research presented data on ways to improve quality of life, with special emphasis on the use of cytokines, at the Cedar Sinai Medical Center’s satellite symposium at the 11th International Conference on AIDS [ Vancouver, Canada; July 1996 ].