ARVs 'do boost lifespan'

Many experts have said HIV is not a death sentence and now a new study has provided the proof.

The research, by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/Aids, and Canada's University of British Columbia, is the first of its kind in Africa.

It found that, by merely receiving antiretroviral treatment, a patient can "expect to live a near normal [life]".

The "landmark" study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine yesterday.

One of the authors, Jean Nachega, is a professor of medicine and director of the Centre for Infectious Diseases at Stellenbosch University.

The study involved more than 22300 people with HIV/Aids aged 14 and older. They had all received combination ("cocktail") antiretroviral therapy at Aids-support clinics in Uganda between 2000 and 2009.

In Uganda, life expectancy at birth is 55 years. The study found that HIV-positive 20-year-old patients receiving therapy could live for another 26.7 years, whereas 35-year-olds could live for an additional 27.9 years.

Nachega said there had been similar studies in Europe and North America.

"But it was impossible to extrapolate their findings and apply [them] to Africa. This is why this study was so important. It highlights the importance of ARV treatment.

"There are those who have discredited ARVs but, after this study, that will be difficult to do," he said.

The study focused on patients receiving therapy and did not take their diet into account.

Nachega said the results applied only to people who had a healthy lifestyle and used their medication as prescribed.

"Our findings are further evidence that the global investment in HIV and Aids programming is clearly working," said Georgetown University's Mark Dybulone, who co-authored the study.

"Healthcare organisations - even in resource-poor settings - are providing services and therapies that offer important, life-saving benefits to people suffering from HIV," he said.

The study found that women had a significantly higher life expectancy than men.

This was because men sought treatment only when the disease was at an advanced stage.

Nachega said there were several parallels between South Africa and Uganda in respect of the epidemic.

One of the most important was that, when the study was made, both countries were administering the same ARV cocktail to HIV/Aids patients.