Nanosystems Applied to HIV Infection: Prevention and Treatments

MACCHIONE, MICAELA A.; ARISTIZABAL BEDOYA, DARIANA; FIGUEROA, FRANCISCO N.; MUÑOZ-FERNÁNDEZ, MARÍA ÁNGELES; STRUMIA, MIRIAM C.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES

MOLECULAR DIVERSITY PRESERVATION INTERNATIONAL-MDPI

Año: 2020 vol. 21

1422-0067

exually-transmitted infections (STIs) are a global health concern worldwide as they cause acute diseases, infertility, and significant mortality. Among the bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens that can be sexually transmitted, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has caused one of the most important pandemic diseases, which is acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). 32.7 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic. Moreover, in 2019, 38 million people were living with HIV worldwide. The need to deal with this viral infection becomes more obvious, because it represents not only a problem for public health, but also a substantial economic problem. In this context, it is necessary to focus efforts on developing methods for prevention, detection and treatment of HIV infections that significantly reduce the number of newly infected people and provide a better quality of life for patients. For several decades, biomedical research has been deve