title: Advances in detection and monitoring of plasma viremia in HIV-infected individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This review will describe advances in detection and results of monitoring persistent viremia in patients on long-term suppressive therapy. In addition, the review explores the usefulness of these methods in determining the effectiveness of new HIV-1 eradication strategies in purging persistent HIV-1 reservoirs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Quantification of plasma HIV-1 RNA levels remains essential for determining the success of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in treated patients. Recently, several new platforms with improved sensitivity for quantifying HIV-1 RNA have been developed and the application of these assays has revealed that low-level viremia persists in patients on suppressive therapy. In addition, new technological advances such as digital PCR have been proposed to increase the sensitivity of measuring and characterizing persistent HIV-1 viremia. The application of these assays will be important in determining the effectiveness of future HIV-1 eradication strategies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The level of HIV-1 RNA in patient plasma remains an important marker for determining the success of cART. New sensitive assays have found that HIV-1 persists in the plasma of patients on suppressive therapy that may have implications for the clinical management of this disease and strategies for eliminating HIV-1 infection.
authors: Department of Diagnostics and Vaccinology, Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden. sarah.palmer@sydney.edu.au
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Palmer
mesh_terms: D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000379:methods*; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D010949:Plasma / Q000821:virology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019562:Viral Load / Q000379:methods*; D014766:Viremia / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral