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Exposure to HIV doesn't always lead to infection, and
some people who have been repeatedly exposed over years
remain uninfected. Moreover, many infected people have
remained well for over a decade. Without benefit of
current drug treatments, a person infected with HIV
had a 1 to 2 percent chance of developing AIDS in the
first several years after infection; the chance continued
at about 5 percent each year thereafter. Around half
of the HIV-infected would progress to AIDS in 10 years'
time if without treatment. An estimated 95 to 100 percent
of infected people will eventually develop AIDS, but
the long-term effects of newly developed drugs used
in combination may improve this outlook.
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The first drugs used to treat HIV, such as AZT
(zidovudine) and ddI (didanosine), have reduced
the numbers of opportunistic infections and increased
the life expectancy of people with AIDS, and combinations
of these drugs produce even better results. Newer
nucleoside drugs, such as d4T and 3TC, and HIV
protease inhibitors (such as indinavir, saquinavir,
ritonavir) and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase
inhibitor (such as efavirenz, nevirapine) are
even more potent. In some, with effective combination
treatment, the amount of virus in the blood (viral
load) will decrease even to an undetectable level.
Cures, however, have not been proven.
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Early in the AIDS epidemic, many people with
AIDS had a rapid decline in their quality of life
after their first hospitalization, often spending
a large portion of their remaining time in the
hospital. Most people died within 2 years of developing
AIDS. With the development of new antiviral drugs
and improved methods to treat and prevent opportunistic
infections, many people retain their physical
and mental abilities for years after the diagnosis
of AIDS. Thus, AIDS has
become a treatable, if not yet curable, disease.
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