Can ARV drugs cause immune deficiency and AIDS-like symptoms?
Yes, they can. ARV drugs pose the risk of drug-induced immune deficiency. As explained above, ARVs are known to damage the bone marrow and impair the formation of immune cells. This can further weaken the immune system and aggravate immune deficiency and produce AIDS-like symptoms. In this context, the above-mentioned WHO-report from 2001 is important (see above). It can be calculated from that report that the worldwide death (mortality) rate for all HIV positive people (among them a minority who took ARV drugs) was 1.4% per year (assuming that all who developed AIDS died during the same year). About the same time, two uncontrolled surveys (Palella et al New Engl J Med (1998) 338: 853-860; Hogg et al JAMA (2001); 286:2568-2577) from the US and Canada about the death rate of HIV positive persons taking ARV drugs were published. The results of these large scale studies showed that the death rate of HIV-positive persons taking ARVs were between 6.7 and 8.8% per year. This means that the m
