A study published in the Lancet Medical Journal revealed that Life Expectancy of HIV patients is nearing to that of a normal person due to improvements in medicines. The study suggests that a twenty-year-old person who has started Antiretroviral Therapy in 2010 is expected to live for ten years more when compared to individuals who started medications in 1996.

According to experts, early identification and treatment are quite crucial for a healthy living among HIV patients. The Lancet Journal report also highlights the progress made in this study for the past three decades.

The study was led by researchers at the Bristol University, and they believe this progress as a tremendous medical achievement. The team believes that the new finding will encourage HIV-affected people to start treatment as soon as they can so that they can also lead a full life just like normal people. 88500 people across Europe and North America were involved in the study.

HIV is no longer a death sentence

Around three decades back, HIV was considered as a death sentence, as the virus invariably triggered the dreaded disease, AIDS. But now, things have changed, and modern medical science has developed various effective drugs to fight the progress of the disease.

Recent statistics indicate that the life expectancy of HIV-affected people has been increased by nine years for women and ten years for men when compared to the 1990s.

Adam Trickey, the lead author of the study, issued a statement telling that advanced HIV medications have very fewer side effects, involves taking fewer tablets and will also prevent the replication of the virus.

Even though the treatment is now more effective, it is pretty expensive too.

Treating an HIV-infected person throughout the life will cost around $4,00,000, and it is considered to be unassailable for people living under the poverty line.

The example of Jimmy Isaacs

Jimmy Isaacs is now 28, and he was diagnosed HIV three years back.

He is taking three drugs at 06.00 PM every day and is found to be perfectly healthy. In a recent talk with BBC, Jimmy told that he is as fit as a nut, and the disease has not impacted his personal, professional and social lives.

The antiretroviral therapy was first introduced in 1996, and this treatment campaign involves a combination of three or more drugs which prevent the Human Immuno Virus from replication. The World Health Organization recommends victims to start antiretroviral therapy soon after the diagnosis of the disease.

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