Effect of one-year highly active antiretroviral therapy on HIV/AIDS immune reconstruction

Objective To investigate the impact of one-year highly active antiretroviral therapy(HAART) on antiviral effect and immune reconstruction in HIV/AIDS patients.Methods Thirty-five HIV/AIDS patients were initially treated with HAART when CD4+T cells were 350/μL,blood samples were taken at the HAART time point 0,6,12 months,the virus load was tested by RT-PCR,CD4+T cells,CD8+T cells,CD4+ naive cells,CD4+ memory cells and CD8+ activated cells were detected by flow-cytometry.Results The average virus load of 35 patients was(4.62±1.09)×106 copies/mL before HAART,and was lower than the lower limit of detection value after HAART for 6 months and 12 months.The levels of CD4+ T cells,CD4+ naive cells and CD4+ memory cells were(312±109.22) /μL,(150±57.34)/μL and(212±48.06)/μL respectively after HAART for 12 months,while they were(183±83.73)/μL,(73±20.40)/μL and(119±30.42)/μL respectively at the baseline(P0.01),but they were still lower than healthy control group([768±146.41]/μL,[424±87.06]/μL and [442±61.40]/μL,respectively)(P0.05);the level of CD8+ T cells were(427±99.79)/μL after HAART,which decreased significantly compared with(597±111.43)/μL of the baseline(P0.05),but still higher than(208±37.39)/μL of healthy control group(P0.05).Conclusion HAART can both inhibit virus replication rapidly and reconstruct HIV/AIDS patients' immunity partially.