title: Can treatment during primary HIV infection lead to control of disease without drugs?
abstract: Initiating antiretroviral treatment during PHI, particularly in the acute phase (before seroconversion), appears to interrupt the natural history of HIV infection in the host. Although all the parameters of such an interruption are not understood, what remains clear is that a condition can be induced where the host is better able to control viremia in the absence of therapy. Structured treatment interruptions, therapeutic vaccines, and other novel mechanisms may further enhance HIV-specific immunity and viral suppression. The duration of such effects, their outcome on survival, and how they apply to chronic infection are not known. However, just as the study of long-term nonprogressors has provided valuable information about host-virus interactions, so too may the study of induced host control of viremia lead to improved therapeutic approaches and perhaps one day a functional cure.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gegeny
mesh_terms: D016915:AIDS Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D016915:AIDS Vaccines; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents