1 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: Ask Anything Wednesday - Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology
Kind of a paradox considering HIV attacks your immune system, but are HIV patients on antiretrovial therapy less susceptible to viral infections than the general populace?
Would the hardcore antiviral drugs that HIV patients constantly take provide protection against other viruses?
Comment by CrateDane at 12/03/2025 at 17:29 UTC
9 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Retroviruses are different from other kinds of viruses, which means most antiretroviral medications don't affect other viruses. Since only a few retroviruses cause disease in humans, the protection against other viruses is relatively minor.
But a few antiretrovirals have been used against specific other viruses, so it can in principle have an effect sometimes.
Comment by CocktailChemist at 12/03/2025 at 18:48 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
What you have to look at are the exact targets of HIV antiviral cocktails and whether those targets are shared with any other viruses. Both of the current drugs in PrEP are reverse transcriptase inhibitors. As noted in the other comment that enzyme is not particularly common, but it is also found in HepB. However, if you’re already immunized against HepB that’s unlikely to be a major concern.