1. Humaira Shoukat 2. Ghazal Mansur 3. Nusrat Tariq 4. Arif Malik 5. Abdul Manan 

6. Mahmood Husain Qazi

1. Asstt. Prof. of Physiology, Akhtar Saeed Medical and Dental College, Lahore 2,3. Asstt. Profs. of Physiology,

Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore 4. Assoc. Prof. of Biochemistry, Institute of Molecular Biology and

Biotechnology (IMBB), The University of Lahore 5. Demonstrator of Biochemistry, The University of Lahore 

6. Director, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine (CRiMM), The University of Lahore, Lahore

ABSTRACT

Objective: Purpose of current study was to evaluate the effect of antiretroviral drugs (Three regimen) Ziduvodine, Lamivudine and Niverapine to HIV patients presented in D.G. Khan Zone in regard to CD4 level and viral loads before start of drugs and after one year treatment. 

Study Design: Comparative study

Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, and Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine, The University of Lahore-Pakistan from April 2013 to June 2014. Materials and methods: Seventy five (75) patients suffering from HIV and thirteen (13) control individuals were selected for the study. Rapid testing and ELISA screening were performed for identification of presence/absence of virus and antibodies respectively. Viral load and CD4+ absolute count were also evaluated by PCR and Multiset software respectively. All the analytical work was performed at the Institute of molecular biology and biotechnology (IMBB), and Centre for research in molecular medicine (CRiMM), The University of Lahore-Pakistan.  

Results: Statistically highly significant difference (P=.000) was observed regarding viral load before and after the treatment in HIV patients receiving combination therapy, ART (antiretroviral therapy). The viral load in control and HIV patients before and after the treatment was (0.00, 3.23x10⁴) and (0.00, 1.45x10²) respectively. Levels of CD4+ cells were increased and a highly significant difference was recorded among control and ART treated  patients. Inverse correlation was recorded between viral loads (After) and CD4+ levels (After), (Viral Load Vs CD4+, r = -.678**). 

Conclusion: It can be concluded that ART is highly effective in AIDS patients with minimal adverse effects, makes the life of AIDS patients less miserable and improve the quality of life. 

Key Words: Antiretroviral drugs, ART,  Ziduvodine, Lamivudine, Niverapine, ELISA, CD4+, PCR, viral load, HIV