What about a cure?
ART is really effective but it is not a cure.
Even having an undetectable viral load for many years,= will still leave HIV in some resting cells.
The resting cells are mainly in your lymph nodes. These are the small bumps you can sometimes feel in your neck or armpits or groin. This is where most of your immune cells are made and stay. They are part of a network all over your body.
CD4 cells mainly stay in the lymph nodes until they are needed for a new infection.
These resting cells can wake up at any time. Or then sleep for 20 years. This is why we need to keep taking ART.
Cure research is trying to find a way to reduce the number of resting cells. This includes trying to activate them so that they can be knocked out by ART. The research is exciting but finding a cure might still take many years.
Until then, ART means you can live well into older age.
Routine health checks and monitoring on ART also helps your general health.
Last updated: 1 November 2024.