HIV Cocktail Cuts Death Rates by Half

Studies have long proved that combination therapy vastly improves immune function in HIV-positive individuals, but a new study is also proving the AIDS cocktail is saving lives.

Specifically, a study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston found that a cocktail of powerful AIDS drugs cut the average death rate by half in a group of HIV-positive people studied for three years. The findings were detailed in the latest issue of the journal AIDS.

The investigators noted that the cocktail, "halved the [death] rate of HIV-infected invdividuals in developed countries, and ... the absolute reduction in [death] was stronger in those with worse prognosis at the start of follow-up."

Yahoo! News reports that the team concluded that the cocktail "demonstrates the benefits of being treated even at the most advanced stages of [disease]."