The availability of HAART since 1996 has had a dramatic effect on the face of AIDS. HAART is a customized combination of different classes of medications that a physician prescribes based on such factors as the patient’s viral load, CD4+ lymphocyte count, and clinical symptoms. CD4+ lymphocytes are white blood cells that HIV infects and kills, leading to a weakened immune system and AIDS. HAART is not a cure, it controls viral load, which helps to delay the symptoms and ultmately survive longer with HIV AIDS.

With HAART the medical implications that HIV has have been changed. New diagnoses of HIV-associated infections and some neurological complications, such as HIV dementia, have decreased since its introduction. Other neurological problems associated with long term use of this therapy include nerve damage. HAART is reported to have an effect to increase lipid (fat) levels in the blood, changed glucose metabolism and other complications.

Potential interactions between HAART and medications used to treat drug addiction may decrease the effectiveness of either or both treatments. For example, methadone blood concentration drops as a result of the components in HAART therapy. There is currently research to determineif buprenorphine which is a treatment for opioid addictions has similar problems.

One of the challenges for patients treated with HAART is adhering to the medication routine needed for maximum benefit from this therapy. Staying to the regimen can be hard for drug user’s lifestyles, due to their chaotic life styles. In addition, because HAART reduces viral load, some patients mistakenly believe that they do not need to adhere to the HIV AIDS treatment regimen or that reduced viral load means elimination of the risk of transmitting HIV. This belief can, in turn, lead to complacency about risk behaviors and resumption of unsafe sex and injection practices. Research has improved HIV/AIDS outcomes amoung IDU and has advanced discoveries for long term treatment of HIV/AIDS.

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