From AIDSMEDS.com…
The immune recovery benefits conferred by starting antiretrovirals (ARVs) for HIV shortly after infection are lost if treatment is later interrupted, aidsmap reports. In a recent study, there was no difference in terms of immune reconstitution between those who started treatment immediately and later interrupted it for a time and those who waited to start treatment. Publishing their findings in the journal AIDS, French researchers measured the CD4 to CD8 cell counts, and determined the ratio between them, among 727 HIV-positive people in the PRIMO cohort study.
CD4 cells are also known as “T-helper” cells, and are key to instigating the body’s immune response to an infection. CD8, or “T-suppressor,” immune cells are involved in killing off infected cells. Healthy HIV-negative people HIV typically have more CD4s than CD8s, meaning their CD4 to CD8 ratio is greater than 1.0—usually between 1.0 and 2.0. The ratio for an HIV-positive person is typically below 1.0.
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Read the study abstract here.
HIV Prevention and Care Project 