Kaletra in the treatment of HIV infection

HIV infection is a disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, an anthroponotic infectious chronic disease characterized by a specific lesion of the immune system, leading to its slow destruction before the formation of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (hereinafter referred to as AIDS), accompanied by the development of opportunistic infections and secondary malignant neoplasms. According to statistics from the AIDS Control Center, 71.1% of those infected in Russia are economically active citizens 30-49 years old, and the main way of HIV transmission is through heterosexual contacts: This is how 67.8% of all patients become infected, and often we are talking about spouses who are in a registered marriage. HIV infection has no specific symptoms. All clinical manifestations can relate to other infectious and non-communicable diseases, as well as to manifestations of secondary diseases that develop against the background of immunodeficiency. However, only the main symptoms of acute HIV infection can be distinguished, which manifest themselves in the first three weeks to three months from the moment of infection: enlargement of the lymph nodes (most often cervical and axillary), fever (the temperature with HIV is more often subfebrile – from 37.1°C to 38.0°C), rash, inflammation of the palatine tonsils and, as a result, sore throat, weakness, insomnia, headaches. One of the ways to treat this infection is the use of antiviral drugs. The most well—studied drug in this category is kaletra, the properties and mechanism of action of which I will consider in this article.