Do HIV Drugs Do Other Things, to help the body heal itself?

[TheRoof]

The lifesaving HAART drugs have been an innovation, which of course comes with many side-effects in itself.

All though I was interested in hearing. Do HIV Drugs such as; Entry inhibitors, NRTI, NTRTI, NNRTI, Protease/Intergrase/Maturation inhibitors.

For example I heard Protease Inhibitors have ability to lower breast cancer.

Has anyone heard of anything else these drugs could "reduce" The risk of?
I would be interesting to know if there are any upsides (Perhaps for future research)

[Jeff G]

inhibitors.

For example I heard Protease Inhibitors have ability to lower breast cancer.

Has anyone heard of anything else these drugs could "reduce" The risk of?

Constipation for sure . One of the best examples I can give is that some HIV drugs are highly active against hepatitis B . I am a chronic carrier of Hep B but have achieved complete remission due to the drug Truvada , a componet in the drug Atripla  . I haven't had a detectable viral load for Hep B in over 10 years .

[mecch]

My ID doctor said that he thinks HAART is active against the mysterious retroviruses that may cause Chronic Fatigue.

[onemoretime]

i was thinking the hep B    i have been undectable on that for 7 years since starting truvada sustive then atripla

[Ann]

Tenofovir is the drug in Truvada that is effective against hep B. It's also available on its own and marketed as Viread.

Emtricitabine (aka FTC) is also effective against hep B and it's also found in Truvada. It's available on it's own too and marketed as Emtriva.




AZT was originally formulated in 1964 as a possible anti-cancer drug, but it proved ineffective and was shelved.

In September (1986) there was dramatic progress in the provision of medical treatment for AIDS, when early results of clinical tests showed that a drug called azidothymidine (AZT) slowed down the attack of HIV. AZT was first synthesised in 1964 as a possible anticancer drug but had proved ineffective.

The AZT clinical trial divided patients into two groups: one received AZT and the other received a placebo. At the end of six months, only one patient in the AZT group had died, whilst there were 19 deaths among the placebo group. The clinical trial was stopped early, because it was thought to be unethical to deny the patients of the placebo groups a better chance of survival. (source)




The following information is taken directly from our meds information pages. Click on the drug name to read more.

Proleukin:

    The drug is only approved for the treatment of certain types of cancer. It is still considered an experimental drug for HIV-related therapy and it has not yet been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in people living with the virus.

Interleukin-7 (IL-7):

    IL-7 is being studied as a treatment for HIV, viral hepatitis and cancer.

Droxia:

    Hydroxyurea is approved as an antineoplastic. Antineoplastics are used to treat cancer. Hydroxyurea is used to treat melanoma (a type of skin cancer), chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML), cancer of the ovary, and primary squamous cell (skin) cancer of the head and neck.
 
    Hydroxyurea has also been studied as a potential treatment for HIV infection. Although it is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for this purpose, some HIV-positive people do use it, usually in combination with approved anti-HIV drugs.

Aralen:

    Aralen is an anti-parasitic drug used to treat malaria. It is a generic drug manufactured widely.
     
    Aralen also exerts an effect on the immune system, reducing cellular activation and overall system inflammation. Cellular activation has been linked to faster HIV disease progression and poorer CD4 cell recovery after initiating antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. Inflammation has been linked to worsening HIV disease, and to non-HIV-related conditions that include cardiovascular disease, liver disease and certain cancers.
     
    Currently, Aralen is in early-state testing to determine its potency at reducing HIV-specific cellular activation and to potentially delay the need for a person to begin ARV therapy.

Plaquenil:

    Plaquenil is an anti-parasitic drug used to treat malaria. It is also used as an anti-inflammatory drug to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. It is a generic drug manufactured widely.
     
    Plaquenil also exerts an effect on the immune system, reducing cellular activation and overall system inflammation. Cellular activation has been linked to faster HIV disease progression and poorer CD4 cell recovery after initiating antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. Inflammation has been linked to worsening HIV disease, and to non-HIV-related conditions that include cardiovascular disease, liver disease and certain cancers.
     
    Currently, Plaquenil is in early-state testing to determine its potency at reducing HIV-specific cellular activation and to potentially delay the need for a person to begin ARV therapy.




That's it as far as I'm aware.



edited to add Emtriva info

[Ann]

Basically, hiv meds help the body heal simply by doing their primary function - stopping hiv's life cycle at various points in that cycle. Different classes of meds stop hiv replication at different points in the cycle. It's all explained in the Lesson I linked to above.

When the meds are taking care of hiv, your body can then focus on other things rather than fighting (a losing) battle against hiv 24/7. That's what leads to the healing.

[newt]

Well said Ann - matt