Could the AIDs virus be viewed as a natural way to stabilize population growth?

Recently I was given this title to write an article for HIV and the stabilization of population growth. I think it is the most unheard of assignment, but this is what I had to say.

Just ask someone who died from AIDS, ask a family member who lost a love one to this devastating disease. Travel to Africa. Was the epidemic created to stabilize the population growth in Africa? I think not. I believe this horrible disease is only benefiting one group of professionals - pharmaceutical companies. Do you know how expensive HIV medication cost? The latest drug developed the one dose Atripela is selling for $1100 for a one month supply. And who pays for it? If you live in Illinois the state can help low-income families pay for their medication.

I believe no one is profiting from this horrible disease, except those who work in the medical profession. Another popular drug for HIV is Truvada which runs about $880 for a one month supply. So was AIDS created to stabilize the population growth? No. It was created to fatten the pockets of the medical industry, and the pharmaceutical companies.

Viramune is another popular drug although it is less expensive at a whopping $442 for a month's supply. To me it is proof in the putting. In urban communities of course individuals cannot buy these drugs. That's why programs such as ADAP was created which is an acronyms for AIDS Drug Assistance Program. And the State of Illinois always complaint about a deficit in the budget.

And the issue of becoming co-infected. Co-infection is a term used when AIDS patients become infected with another infectious disease such as Hepatitis A, B or C. Hepatitis is spread by close personal contact. The A form is spread through food, or water containing the virus.

Hep B and C is also a virus that attacks the liver. It is spread differently through sexual contact with an infected person. Many people who are infected with HIV or have AIDS do encounter being co-infected with a form a Hepatitis.

Again I say no; it is not a matter of population control, it's an economic issue developed for government officials, and the FDA to benefit. Have you ever wondered why there's still no cure, but yet plenty of drugs to control the disease? A cure would mean no more profits-but more medications equals more dollars.

Now you decide, was the disease created to control population?

HIV & Nutrition

HIV: Nutrition and Exercise When You Have HIV

Even though you have HIV, you don't have to lose weight. Good nutrition and exercise can improve your health and slow down your HIV infection.
What problems could make it hard for me to eat a healthy diet?
You might have trouble eating if you have sores in your mouth, diarrhea, nausea or just a poor appetite. If you have trouble eating or exercising, talk to your doctor.

What are some good tips for eating right?
A few simple steps can help you make sure your food is healthy and safe:
Wash your hands with soap and water before you eat so you won't get an infection from germs on your hands.

Wash fruits and vegetables before you eat them or cook them.

Wash your hands with soap and water after you touch raw fish, chicken or meat so you won't get an infection.

Be sure that meat, eggs and fish are well cooked before you eat them.
Here are some ways to put good nutrition into your diet:

Have high-calorie protein drinks or shakes. Adding powdered milk can increase the nutrition in other drinks.

Drink 8 to 10 glasses of filtered water each day.
Keep nutritious snacks on hand.

Eat high-calorie foods if you're losing weight.

Call your doctor if you lose 5 pounds or more when you didn't want to.
Talk to your doctor about taking a multivitamin every day. Take your multivitamin with a meal so your stomach won't get upset.

Infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is serious. But the outlook for people with HIV and AIDS is improving. If you are infected with HIV, there are many things you can do to help ensure you have a longer, healthier life. One important thing is to take your medicines. Make sure you have a health care provider who knows how to treat HIV. You may want to join a support group. Learn as much as you can about your disease and its treatment. And eat healthy foods and exercise regularly - things that everyone should try to do.

AIDS Drugs Sales Seen Topping $10 Billion by 2015

By Ben Hirschler

The launch of new drugs and an increase in the number of people diagnosed with HIV is set to make AIDS medicine a $10.6 billion market by 2015, according to a report on Thursday which was released.

Drugmakers may be under pressure to cut prices in the developing world but selling HIV drugs in the West remains a lucrative and fast-growing business.

Independent market research firm Datamonitor said the HIV/AIDS market was set to undergo significant changes over the next 10 years as drugs that work through novel mechanisms and next-generation versions of existing drugs are launched.

Sales, as a result, should rise significantly from about $7.1 billion in 2005, benefiting a clutch of companies with promising new products, including Merck & Co Inc., Pfizer Inc., Gilead Sciences Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.

Most cases of HIV/AIDS occur in sub-Saharan Africa, where lack of funding means treatment is restricted and prices are under pressure, resulting in little if any profit for multinational drug firms.

Just this week Abbott Laboratories Inc., widely criticised for aggressive pricing of its AIDS medicines, agreed to slash the price of its Kaletra AIDS drug by more than half in more than 40 poor countries.

But at the same time the disease is also increasing in the developed world, with an estimated 2.1 million people in North America and Western Europe living with HIV in 2006, up from 1.9 million in 2004.

"Advances in antiretroviral therapy have turned HIV from a universally feared death sentence into a chronic disease with an average life expectancy similar to that of Type 2 diabetes," Datamonitor analyst Mansi Shah said.

"Because of this, attitudes towards HIV have become relatively blase amongst some groups."

Notable new types of drugs include Pfizer's maraviroc, a CCR5 inhibitor, and Merck's raltegravir, an integrase inhibitor, which are expected to be launched in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

They will complement new generation forms of existing drug classes, such as Johnson & Johnson's recently approved Prezista, a protease inhibitor.

Such products offer new treatment options for the growing number of patients whose disease no longer responds to existing drugs.

At the same time, other companies are developing improved fixed-dose drug combinations, including Atripla from Gilead, which combines the components of current drug cocktails into a single pill that can be taken once a day.

Atripla was launched in the United States last year and is expected to take market share from its two components Truvada and Sustiva, as well as competitor drugs such as GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Combivir, Datamonitor said.

The global market for all pharmaceuticals grew 7 percent last year to $643 billion, according to estimates from another market research company, IMS Health, released last month.

One Pill, Once Daily

On July 12, 2006, the FDA approved the first one-pill, once-daily regimen for HIV treatment, a coformulated tablet containing tenofovir, FTC, and efavirenz. Sold under the brand name Atripla, the coformulation represents a major advance in HIV treatment for several reasons:

The regimen contained in the tablet is one of the most effective antiretroviral combinations currently available for treatment-naive patients, as evidenced by its inclusion as a "preferred NNRTI-based regimen" in the latest DHHS treatment guidelines. Results from a recent randomized trial confirmed the regimen’s superiority over AZT/3TC + efavirenz (ACC Feb 1 2006).


Patient surveys repeatedly show a strong preference for fewer pills per day.


The tablet is the result of a cooperative effort between two pharmaceutical companies. Such collaboration is unprecedented in HIV treatment and will hopefully be a harbinger for more development along these lines.


The 30-day cost of tenofovir/FTC/efavirenz (US$1150) is comparable to the cost of purchasing tenofovir/FTC and efavirenz separately. In addition, many insurance companies may charge only one co-pay, as they have done for other coformulated HIV treatments such as lopinavir/ritonavir, tenofovir/FTC, abacavir/3TC, AZT/3TC, and AZT/3TC/abacavir.


Given these advantages, tenofovir/FTC/efavirenz should be strongly considered for treatment-naive patients beginning their first regimen. Depending on treatment history, it is also a potential switch option for some treatment-experienced patients who are interested in a lower pill burden. However, the coformulation will not be appropriate for certain patients who have relative or absolute contraindications to individual components of the tablet. These patients include women who might become pregnant (efavirenz is a Pregnancy Category D drug), patients with renal insufficiency (tenofovir has potentially nephrotoxic effects), and patients with NNRTI resistance as a result of prior treatment or acquisition of resistant virus.

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