Quickly, the viral count in her blood dropped and she felt better than she had in years. Now her life expectancy is indefinite. Yet, like many people taking protease inhibitors, she faces a whole new set of problems. Protease inhibitors work by inhibiting one of the enzyme systems of the HIV virus, dramatically cutting the concentration of the virus in the blood. They were hailed as wonder drugs.
People taking the drugs appear healthier and less fatigued.
Fewer people are dying. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that AIDS deaths had dropped 19 percent from 1995 to 1996. The decline is due, in large part, to the use of combination drug therapies, which include protease inhibitors. For all the benefits, though, protease inhibitors have complicated life for people with AIDS . So most people with AIDS have been left unaffected by this breakthrough.