How are AIDS-related eye disorders treated?
CMV infection is commonly treated with two drugs, Ganciclovir and Foscarnet. These drugs slow the progress of the disease but do not eliminate it. If only one eye is infected with CMV, drug treatment can prevent infection of the other eye. The drugs used to treat CMV infection are expensive, costing $50,000 or more a year per patient, and they must be taken indefinitely. Results of a 1999 study by the National Eye Institute offer hope for some AIDS patients with CMV retinitis. The study found that a cocktail of drugs called HAART, an acronym for highly active antiretroviral therapy, can rejuvenate the immune system to the point where some patients can stop taking anti-CMV medications and their CMV retinitis does not become worse. The study tracked 14 patients with CMV retinitis taking HAART. After two years of not taking standard anti-CMV medications, none of patients showed any progression of their retinitis. Some patients did experience uveitis and eye inflammation, as the immune sys
