HIV Treatment in Germany
HIV infection is a slowly progressing disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus. Once it enters the body, it stays there for life. At the current stage of medical science HIV infection is incurable. However, antiretroviral therapy extends life by many years, slows the weakening of the immune system and blocks the development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is in most cases the cause of death.
Diagnosis
As with other types of infection, early detection of HIV and an early start of treatment are extremely important. Diagnosis is complicated by the fact that the pathogen produces no specific clinical signs that clearly point to the disease. Laboratory tests are therefore used that can detect antibodies or fragments of the viral DNA in the blood:
- screening enzyme immunoassay (ELISA), to detect the antibodies that appear in the blood in response to the infection; it has low specificity, however, and may be positive in people with autoimmune diseases, so if the result is positive the test should be repeated after 2-3 months;
- immunoblotting (Western blot) to confirm that infection has occurred; it detects antibodies to individual HIV protein structures. It must be borne in mind that in 90% of those infected the antibodies appear in the blood only 3 months after infection;
- PCR testing, which can detect the presence of viral DNA in the blood as early as 1-2 weeks after infection.
Therapy
Doctors recommend starting treatment for HIV as early as possible after the diagnosis is made. Recent studies show that with medication the risk of transmitting the infection, as well as the risk of its progression, falls by 90%.
AIDS is treated in Germany with antiretroviral drugs that suppress replication of the virus. Although many such drugs exist, it is German manufacturing quality and precision of use that deliver the maximum therapeutic effect. Medication alone is not enough, however, which is why German specialists always prescribe a comprehensive regimen that acts on the virus and its mutations from every angle and prevents complications from developing.
Drugs for HIV infection have to be taken continuously. In that case people living with HIV can lead a normal life, with a life expectancy comparable to that of people without the infection.
The HIV treatment methods used in Germany in recent years mean access to highly qualified, effective care based on the principles of evidence-based medicine. The result is a longer life expectancy for people living with HIV and a better quality of life.
This is precisely why Germany attracts thousands of people with HIV from abroad who, for one reason or another, cannot obtain medical care in their own country. The chances of success depend on how quickly HIV treatment is started: antiretroviral therapy begun within ten weeks of infection makes it possible to trigger the immune system’s own control over replication (multiplication) of the virus. Further drug treatment then becomes unnecessary for an average of seven years, until the next course of therapy. If treatment cannot be started that early, a correctly chosen combination regimen effectively suppresses replication of the viral genome, slows progression of the disease, effectively relieves symptoms and stabilises the immune system. To avoid dangerous complications later on, medication is indicated for life.
Pharmaceutical research does not stand still: innovative drugs constantly appear on the market and are put through trials, and new methods of fighting HIV infection are being developed. The prospect that the HIV pathogen will finally be defeated therefore remains entirely realistic. For every patient, doctors select an effective combination therapy individually in order to reduce the viral load. The aim of therapy is to give the person their quality of life back and to help them return to their professional and social life. Patients who have undergone special preparation are able to have children naturally.
In the treatment of people living with HIV it is combination highly active antiretroviral therapy that prevents the virus from mutating. Patients with HIV are as a rule more susceptible than others to serious diseases such as hepatitis B and C. HIV itself causes AIDS, which in turn causes pneumocystis pneumonia, sarcoma, tumours and skin lesions, inflammation of the lymph nodes and more.
Treatment of concomitant diseases is therefore a crucial part of HIV therapy, aimed at preventing such diseases and stopping dangerous stages from developing.
Care for people living with HIV means confidentiality, a high level of professionalism and tact on the part of the doctors, quality standards and evidence-based medical protocols, guaranteed drug quality, the possibility of family planning and the safe birth of children, and a multidisciplinary approach to patient treatment.
Medicines for HIV treatment
More than twenty medicines are currently used to treat HIV in Germany, and a number of others are in development. Without treatment, the immunodeficiency virus drives its “host cells” to produce more and more new viruses. Depending on the stage of this process at which they act, the medicines are divided into several groups:
- entry inhibitors, which prevent HIV from penetrating the cell;
- NRTIs – nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, which use protein elements that resemble but do not match those of the virus to “confuse” its transmission of pathogenic genetic information;
- NNRTIs - non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, which act at the same stage but more directly, simply blocking the enzymes that in this case are the tools for transferring the viral genome;
- integrase inhibitors, which prevent the viral DNA from being inserted into the DNA of the host cell;
- protease inhibitors, which suppress this viral enzyme at the final stage of virus production.
All of these drugs work best in combination, which is precisely why the gold standard in Germany is combination antiretroviral therapy, including the highly active form. No single drug from the groups listed above can cope with the virus on its own, especially because the virus mutates constantly. If only one route of suppression is working, mutations immediately begin to develop particularly intensively, and other agents are then required to fight them.
With monotherapy, resistance to the drugs develops quickly.
Taking three types of medication in parallel, for example, makes it possible to extend that period many times over. Ideally, the production of new viruses and their mutations is blocked for a long time, allowing the immune system to recover properly. Achieving this goal requires targeted therapy prescribed by an experienced specialist with an individual approach to every person living with HIV. This is the essence of the work done by Germany’s specialist centres and clinics.
We can supply you with drugs for the treatment of HIV
Abacavir/ Lamivudin® 600 mg/300 mg AmBisome® 50 mg/vial
Angiletta 2 mg/0,03 mg
Atazanavir® 150 mg; 200 mg; 300 mg; 600 mg
Atripla® 600 mg/200 mg/245 mg
autotest VIH® ratiopharm
Belara® 0,03 mg/2 mg
Bellissima®
Biktarvy® 50 mg/200 mg/25 mg
Bonita AL 0,03 mg/2 mg
Celsentri® 150 mg; 300 mg Chariva® 0,03 mg/2 mg
Chloee® 0,03 mg/2 mg
Combivir® 150 mg/300 mg
Darunavir® 400 mg; 600 mg; 800 mg
Darunasta 600 mg; 800 mg
Delstrigo 100 mg/300 mg/245 mg Darunavir® 800 mg
Descovy® 200 mg/10 mg; 200 mg/25 mg
Dovato® 50 mg/300 mg
Edurant® 25 mg
Efavemten® 600 mg/200 mg/245 mg
Efavirenz/Emtricitabin/Tenofovirdisoproxil® 600 mg/200 mg/245 mg
Efavirenz® 600 mg
Emtriva® 200 mg
Emtenovo® 200 mg/245 mg Emtricitabin/Tenofovirdisoproxil® 200 mg/245 mg
Enriqa® 0,030 mg /2,0 mg Epivir® 150 mg; 300 mg; 240 ml
Eviplera® 200 mg/25 mg/245 mg
Exacto® HIV Selbsttest
Exacto® HIV Selbsttest für Paare
Filgrastim® 48 Mio.E./0,5 ml
Filgrastim® 30 Mio.E./0,5 ml
Genvoya® 150 mg/150 mg/200 mg/10 mg
Isentress® 100 mg; 400 mg; 600 mg; 1000 mg INSTI HIV-Selbsttest
Intelence® 100 mg; 200 mg
Juluca® 50 mg/25 mg Kaletra® 100 mg/25 mg
Kaletra® 200 mg/50 mg
Kivexa 600 mg/300 mg
Lamizido® 150 mg/300 mg
Lamivudin® 150 mg; 300 mg
Lamivudin/Zidovudin® 150 mg/300 mg
Lilia® 0,03 mg/2 mg Lopinavir/Ritonavir® 200 mg/50 mg
Madinette® 30
Madinance® 2,0 mg/ 0,03 mg
Minette® 2 mg/0,03 mg
Mona® 2 mg/ 0,03 mg
Nevirapin® 400 mg Neupogen® 48 Mio.E.
Neupogen® 30 Mio.E. 300 µg/1,0 ml
Nevirapin® 200 mg
Nivestim™ 30 Mio. E./0,5 ml
Norvir® 100 mg
Odefsey® 200 mg/25 mg/25 mg
Pink Luna® 0,03 mg/2 mg
Prezista® 400 mg; 600 mg; 800 mg
Qutenza® 179 mg
Ratiograstim® 30 Mio. I.E./0,5 ml
Retrovir® 100 mg; 250 mg Solera® 2 mg/0,03 mg
Stribild® 150 mg/150 mg/200 mg/245 mg
Sustiva® 100 mg; 200 mg
Symtuza® 800 mg/150 mg/200 mg/10 mg
Tenofovirdisoproxil® 204 mg
Tenofovirdisoproxil® 245 mg
Tivicay® 50 mg, 30 tabs.
Triumeq® 50 mg/600 mg/300 mg Trizivir® 300mg/150 mg/300 mg Truvada® 200 mg/245 mg
Tybost® 150 mg
Ultreon®
Viramune® 100 mg; 200 mg; 400 mg
Viread® 245 mg
Ziagen® 150 ml; 300 mg Zidovudin® 250 mg
To purchase the drugs, please contact us by e-mail or through any of the messengers you can see in the corner of the page.