The academician named drugs to prevent HIV infection

Special injections of lenacapavir can prevent infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This was announced on May 18 by Vadim Pokrovsky, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), head of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention of AIDS at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor.

"This drug has become famous not as a treatment for HIV patients, but as a means to prevent infection in those who have not yet been infected with HIV. When lenacapavir was administered subcutaneously to girls and women in Africa, unlike women who received placebo, none of them became infected with HIV within a year. And most importantly, this drug was administered only once every six months. And now another form of the drug is being studied with intramuscular injection once a year. But its widespread adoption, of course, strongly depends on its future price," he shared in an interview with Gazeta.Ru».

The expert clarified that the widespread introduction of the drug strongly depends on its future value, which is currently unknown. In addition, it is unclear whether he will be registered in Russia. Pokrovsky noted that a competitor of this drug for intramuscular injection has already been registered in the Russian Federation. He recommended consulting with a specialist before using it.

According to the current classification, there are five stages of HIV infection development. In the first stage, the virus spreads in the body and does not manifest itself, and antibodies are also absent at this stage of the disease development.

The second stage implies the clinical manifestation of an acute infection, fever, sore throat, stool disorders, rash, and enlarged lymph nodes may occur. According to Pokrovsky, at this stage the body is already fighting the virus. At the latent stage, the active work of antibodies begins, while a decrease in the number of the most important cells of the immune system, CD4 cells, is observed. He stressed that this is the main target of HIV.

"He kills them, but in response there are even more cells. On average, 11 years after infection, the virus still overcomes the body, the entire supply of CD4 cells is depleted, and they become less complete. At this point, protection against infections and tumors decreases," the expert said.

According to him, at this stage, HIV gradually begins to cause more severe lesions. He stressed that in the case of a threat to human life caused by diseases, we can talk about AIDS.

During this period, according to him, the virus gradually causes more and more severe lesions. Pokrovsky noted that with the threat of infectious diseases to human life, one can start talking about AIDS. He noted that when the first diseases associated with weakened immunity appear, stage 4A begins.

"Non—life-threatening diseases appear, we do not classify them as AIDS, for example, recurrent candidiasis of the oral cavity. It's not AIDS yet, but it's already an obvious immune disorder. And then, when the internal organs are already involved, stage 4B is set, and when the lesion is severe, stage 4B is set. Stages 4B and 4B are comparable to AIDS," the specialist concluded.

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Igor Pchelin, Chairman of the Steps Foundation for the Prevention of Socially significant Diseases, announced on April 8 that HIV infection had no specific symptoms. According to him, a person can carry the virus asymptomatically. The expert stressed that any worries are an unnecessary reason to take the test.