Advantages of Alternate Biomarkers in the Management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus with Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy

The disease burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is substantially more prevalent among residents of the sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The availability and affordability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) have significantly reduced the mortality among HIV-1 infected population, increase their life expectancy and quality of life. However, the poor financial conditions and lack of costly infrastructure in the developing countries hinder regular monitoring of HIV-1 RNA (viral load) and CD4+ T-lymphocyte cell count (TCD4+ cell count). Under these circumstances, there is an increasing need for alternate biomarkers for monitoring the progression of the disease and patient management. Albumin, hemoglobin (Hb), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), red blood cell (RBC) count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), plasma highly-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), hematocrit (Hct), total lymphocyte count (TLC) are some of the alternate biomarkers with proven utility in the assessment of disease progression.