UNAIR NEWS – Among various countries in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is a country that continues to experience an increase in the number of people with HIV. Thus, research on HIV infection in Indonesia is essential. One of them is research on antiretroviral or ARV drug resistance (drugs are given to people with HIV AIDS, ed).
“This research is important, we are trying to gather information related to drug resistance before clinical symptoms appear in the community, “said Prof. Dr. Nasronudin, Sp.PD., KPTI-FINASIM, as a member of the research team.
The research related to ARV drug resistance took blood samples from HIV AIDS patients. There are two groups of blood samples taken. These are HIV-infected patients who have not received any ARV drugs (naïve patients) and patients who have received ARV drugs for six months or more.
“We both check to determine and predict whether there is resistance. Either those who haven’t or who have already received ARV, “continued the director of hospital Universitas Airlangga hospital, who Prof. Nasron.
Furthermore, the research uses the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, which is a method for DNA replication enzymatically without using organisms and analyzed using DNA sequencing techniques or DNA sequencing.
The results showed that no primary mutations detected while secondary mutations were detected in 5% of the total sample.
“There are mutations but not significant (big, ed) but minor (small, ed). So it was concluded that the mutation is still useful, “he explained.
According to Prof. Nasron, ARV still has the potential to be able to lift the quality of life of patients. Both HIV patients and patients with AIDS.
Besides, Prof. Nasron also explained the management of HIV infection, among others, is the drug given is acceptable to patients, does not cause side effects. Then, the drug has an excellent healing ability so that the patient’s clinical condition improves. In virology (science related to viruses), the number of viruses from time to time decreases.
In stage four, AIDS patients, the average virus in the body is 100 thousand viruses per cc of blood. If you take a combination of ARV regularly for six months, it will become 50 viruses per cc of blood. If it continues for two years, the number of viruses will be five viruses per cc of blood.
However, humans have approximately 5000 cc of blood in their bodies. So although the virus in the blood remains five viruses per cc of blood, the number is still high and remains potentially contagious to other parties.
“Five viruses per cc of blood is much lower than 100 thousand viruses per cc of blood,” concluded Prof. Nasron.
Author: Galuh Mega Kurnia
Editor: Nuri Hermawan
Reference : Kotaki, T. et al., 2014. Detection of Drug Resistance-Associated Mutations in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Integrase Derived from Drug-Naive Individuals in Surabaya, Indonesia. AIDS RESEARCH AND HUMAN RETROVIRUSES, 30(5), pp. 489-492.
Link : https://doi.org/10.1089/AID.2019.0179
