[thenightwriterblog] The Night Writer: Good news you probably haven't heard

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Posted by The Night Writer:
Good news you probably haven't heard
http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1168558546.shtml


   It's Friday, which often means postings are more frivolous. I don't
   have anything like that today, but I thought it would be fun to offer
   some good news.
   In my day job I have come across some very heartening information
   about treatment for HIV/AIDS. One of the top HIV researchers in the
   world (and someone who has been in the front lines of this research
   since the early 1980s) recently summarized some of the tremendous
   advances and breakthroughs that have been achieved after 25 years of
   research and treatment. That article isn't available for linking, but
   many of the details are generally available in the published research,
   and I'd like to share some of these here.
   My purpose isn't just to share the good news about what is happening
   in this particular area, but also as an "antidote" to so much of what
   appears in the media today that focuses on "impossible" situations,
   worst case scenarios and "it'll never happen" doom and gloom (whether
   for political gain or out of sheer ignorance).
   Anyone who has paid attention to HIV treatment over the last 25 years
   is probably familiar with some of the treatment challenges that
   originally arose: most treatments were only marginally effective; many
   treatments had debilitating side-effects nearly as devastating as the
   disease; and treatment regimens were complex and depended on perfect
   timing. Additionally, the cost and complexity of the drug regimens
   raised the possibility that patients who began but couldn't maintain
   the schedule would lead to further mutations of the virus resistant to
   the drugs. Here's what is happening now:
     * Effectiveness: An HIV patient that starts therapy today has a
       nearly 100% chance of suppressing the virus and restoring immune
       function (this does not mean eliminating the virus, however). HIV
       therapy today can almost always restore a patient's T-cell count
       (the key measure of the strength of the immune system) to normal
       levels. This has dramatically reduced the occurence of common
       infections such as pneumonia, retinitis and cryptococcal
       meningitis, and Kaposi's sarcoma (a once trademark affliction of
       HIV-infected) is now rare, as are the cancers that HIV patients
       were susceptible to. HIV infection today is now more predictably
       responsive to treatment than common diseases such as hypertension
       or diabetes.
     * The cure doesn't kill: Many of the early drug treatments and their
       applications were toxic and often disfiguring for the people who
       received them. Nausea, anemia, diarrhea, confusion, kidney stones
       and the loss of fatty tissue in the face and extremities were
       common. Today the drugs have been improved and the dosages refined
       so that side-effects, while still present, are less common and
       much less severe.
     * Treatment is less complicated: Earlier treatment required handfuls
       of pills that had to be taken according to complex schedules. Some
       medications had to be taken on an empty stomach, others had to be
       taken on a full stomach. Today most treatment (antiretroviral)
       regimens are combined into just one or two pills, taken as little
       as once a day. It's not only easier buy less expensive for
       patients because the combined pills reduce the amount of their
       co-pays. This also makes it easier to stick to the treatment plan,
       which in turn reduces the possibility of flare ups or the virus
       developing a resistance to the medication.
     * Growing availability: Advances in treating HIV in the U.S. gives
       hope to other countries that have much higher infection rates. The
       developments already described here make treatment in other
       countries more practical and realistic. Additionally a miraculous
       combination of political will, philanthropy and social pressure
       are making treatment available in places where, until recently, it
       was thought to be impossible. HIV medicines are being provided
       mainly through two efforts: the U.S.-based President's Emergency
       Plan for AIDS Relief and the Geneva-based Global Fund for HIV, TB
       and Malaria. These programs are supported by deeply discounted or
       generic antiretroviral drugs and are being used to treat hundreds
       of thousands of people in Africa, the Caribbean and Asia. That's
       still just a small percentage of the global need, but it is
       significant progress.

   With so much bad news reported (and celebrated) these days, I find it
   encouraging and inspiring that progress and breakthroughs can and do
   happen -- even when a situation is said to be impossible and hopeless.
   Nothing happens overnight, but vision, integrity and focus -- even by
   those "evil" pharmaceutical companies -- are still making a better
   world. Happy Friday!