[Antiretroviral treatments and their therapeutical trials]

Efficacity of antiretroviral treatments is limited by the fact that available drugs are only virostatic and by the progressive impairment of the immune system during HIV infection. Antiviral compounds active on the various steps of viral invasion and replication are described. Further progress in the association of several drugs may improve efficiency and reduce the emergence of resistant strains, which would allow treatment at an earlier stage of the disease. In the absence of relevant animal models, additional clinical trials are mandatory. Their methodological quality must not be influenced by the extreme sensitivity of public opinion to AIDS.