[Recent advances in the treatment of HIV infection/AIDS]

Following the introduction of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), which uses a combination of chemotherapeutic agents including protease inhibitors a striking reduction in overall HIV mortality and morbidity has been observed. In Japan ten anti-retroviral agents (five nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors, one non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor and four protease inhibitors) have been approved and tentative guidelines for the use of these agents were proposed by some groups of investigators. After the introduction of HAART, however, new problems such as the emergence of mutants that are resistant to any available drugs and the long-term adverse effects of some antivirals have appeared. Further investigation into the new therapeutic strategies including immunotherapy, as well as the efforts to develop antiretroviral agents that overcome resistance, are urgently needed.