Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy for treatment of HIV/AIDS patients: Current status and future prospects and the Indian scenario

As the menace of HIV/AIDS continues to rise, effective drug treatments are required to reach the infected masses. HAART provides durable control of virus replication, however, it is not devoid of unwanted side effects, especially in persons undergoing long-term treatment. The current therapy finds its limitations in the emergence of multidrug resistance, transmission of drug-resistant HIV strains, and a life-long treatment. Moreover, to improve patient adherence and to simplify the treatments, effective fixed dose combinations (FDCs) are needed. The picture of HIV/AIDS in India shows that HIV/AIDS is declining through the country and perhaps through proper measures HIV can be eradicated. Thus, finding novel drug targets and new drugs is the need of the hour to treat the infected persons and to reach HIV reservoirs in the body, like brain, lymph nodes, etc. to achieve the ultimate goal, i.e., the complete eradication of the dreaded virus – HIV, the causative agent for AIDS.