A large multinational study published in medical journal The Lancet in 2008, found that people taking HIV treatments can expect to live into their 60s and older.
Treatment with antiretroviral drugs of people infected with HIV-1 has improved significantly since the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy in 1996 when they were first introduced.
Clinical trials and studies have shown huge reductions in death rates in patients infected with HIV, due to combination antiretroviral therapy.
The study concluded that life expectancy in HIV-infected patients treated with combination antiretroviral therapy increased between 1996 and 2005, although there is a lot of variability.
Combination therapy
Combination therapy is the group of drugs (usually three) that doctors prescribe to HIV patients to slow down the spread of HIV, thereby slowing down the damage it does to their immune system. It is not a cure.
Combination therapy is also called: treatments, anti-HIV treatments or HAART (Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy). For more information see the guide to treatment choice for people with HIV under Further information.
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