A mathematical model for the therapy of the HIV infection (Q2467932)

The authors suggest an adaptive model describing the dynamics of the HIV infection for patients that undergo chemotherapy. The novelty of the model lays in the attempt to relate the ability of viruses to infect the target cells to the number of contacts between viruses and T-cells that have been inhibited by the drug. Different combinations of the three antiviral drugs (reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors) are analyzed through numerical experiments which demonstrate possibility of long latency periods where the viral load falls below detectable levels. Numerical experiments indicate possibilities for estimation of parameters governing the dynamics of the infection which may help to evaluate the latency period.