Is Atripla imunity booster or Viral load reducer?

[metekrop]

I just want to know what the magic Atripla is doing.  I was taking both the Atripla and bacterium.  Atripla daily and continuously but bacterium for about two week.  If I correctly remember my doctor prescribed me bacterium to reduce my VL.  But at the same time both my CD increased and my VL became undetectable.  What effects which one? am just curious.  

[Rev. Moon]

If I correctly remember my doctor prescribed me bacterium to reduce my VL.

The Bactrim is not taken to reduce your viral load; it would have been prescribed due to your low CD4 (under 200) in order to prevent pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP).

The improvement that you have experienced has been thanks to the HAART, and I must say that you have indeed responded quite nicely.  Keep it going.

[leatherman]

HAART (Atripla in your case) destroys HIV, hence reducing the viral load. No meds affect your cd4s per se, they are what they are (and they fluctuate throughout not only the month, but hour to hour). However, when the viral load of HIV is reduced and quits killing off the cd4s (by hijacking them to reproduce itself), those immune system cells have a chance to recover and you see the cd4 rise (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot)

The Rev is correct. Bactrim is an antibiotic, not an antiretroviral, and is used to prevent PCP when your tcells are so low (<200) that your own immune system cannot keep the in check the fungus, commonly found in healthy lungs, that causes PCP

[Boo Radley]

HAART (Atripla in your case) destroys HIV, hence reducing the viral load...

I thought HAART worked by disabling parts of the virus used to invade many of the cells it invades.  The decrease in blood vl reflects HIV's inability to infect cells and multiply, not the literal destruction of the virus.   The blood vl also doesn't necessarily reflect vl in other parts of the body.  

P.S.  Atripla is also a great dessert topping...

[J.R.E.]

I thought HAART worked by disabling parts of the virus used to invade many of the cells it invades.  

That's the way I always understood it.   To the original poster, here's a short video explaining the actions of NNRTI's.  In this case,  Viramune ( Nevirapine)  You may want to smoke a joint first !

Atripla contain Sustiva (NNRTI) and two NRTI's ( Viread and Emtriva)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUUyd5bE9vQ


Ray

[Rev. Moon]

That's the way I always understood it.   To the original poster, here's a short video explaining the actions of NNRTI's.  In this case,  Viramune ( Nevirapine)  You may want to smoke a joint first !

Atripla contain Sustiva (NNRTI) and two NRTI's ( Viread and Emtriva)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUUyd5bE9vQ


Ray

Correct.  If you wiki the meaning of HAART you get a brief (though perhaps confusing to the average reader) description of what the different classes (of meds) do in order to prevent viral replication:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haart

Illustration of (1) the virus entering the cell, (2) conversion of viral RNA to DNA using the reverse transcriptase enzyme, (3) incorporation of the viral genome into the DNA of the host cell, (4) viral proteins cleaved by protease for assembly of new viral particles, and (5) new virus particles budding from the surface of the host cell. It also shows the steps in the viral life cycle that are interrupted by (A) fusion inhibitors (B) reverse transcriptase inhibitors and (C) protease inhibitors. Source: National Institutes of Health.