HIV/AIDS research includes all medical research that attempts to prevent, treat, or cure HIV/AIDS, as well as fundamental research about the nature of HIV as an infectious agent and AIDS as the disease caused by HIV. HIV binds to immune cell surface receptors, including CD 4 and CXCR4 or CD4 and CCR5. The binding causes conformation changes and results in the membrane fusion between HIV and cell membrane. Active infection occurs in most cells, while latent infection occurs in much fewer cells 1, 2 and at very early stages of HIV infection. 9, 35 In active infection, HIV pro virus is active and HIV virus particles are actively replicated; and the infected cells continuously release viral progeny; while in latent infection, HIV pro virus is transcriptionally silenced and no viral progeny is produced.
Research to improve current treatments includes decreasing side effects of current drugs, further simplifying drug regimens to improve adherence, and determining better sequences of regimens to manage drug resistance. There are variations in the health community in recommendations on what treatment doctors should recommend for people with HIV. One question, for example, is determining when a doctor should recommend that a patient take antiretroviral drugs and what drugs a doctor may recommend. This field also includes the development of antiretroviral drugs