How Hiv Affects the Body

How does HIV affect the body?

HIV attacks and kills crucial immune system cells, known as T-helper cells. Without T-helper cells (which kill cells that have been infected with germs) many other immune system cells cannot not work properly, including B-cells that make antibodies. A person infected with HIV may not show any symptoms for years. But untreated, the number of T-helper cells steadily drops. Eventually, the numbers fall so low that the risk of infection greatly increases, and the symptoms of AIDS appear.

What is Viread? •Viread is an HIV medication. It is in a category of HIV medicines called nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Viread prevents HIV from altering the genetic material of healthy CD4 cells. This prevents the cells from producing new virus and decreases the amount of virus in the body.

•Nucleotide analogues, such as Viread, are very similar to nucleoside analogues [e.g., Retrovir (AZT), Ziagen (abacavir) and Emtriva (emtricitabine)]. The only difference is that nucleotide analogues, unlike nucleoside analogues, are chemically preactivated and thus require less processing in the body for them to become active.

•Viread, manufactured by Gilead Sciences, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of HIV in 2001.

•Viread is available in pharmacies as a single drug, which is always combined with other HIV drugs, or in the fixed-dose combination tablets Truvada (Viread and Emtriva), Atripla (Viread, Emtriva, and Sustiva [efavirenz]), and Stribild (Viread, Emtriva, elvitegravir and cobicistat).

•Viread is also active against the hepatitis B virus (HBV), the virus responsible for hepatitis B. Although it has not been approved by the FDA for the treatment of hepatitis B, some doctors prescribe it to treat both hepatitis B and HIV. See What is known about side effects? below for more important information regarding Viread and hepatitis B.

•Gilead has established a patient assistance...