Should antiretroviral therapy be started earlier?

Current treatment guidelines recommend that antiretroviral therapy be deferred until the CD4 count has fallen into the 200 to 350 cells/mm(3) range. However, treatment has become simpler, less toxic, and more forgiving of missed doses. Longer-term follow-up data from clinical cohorts are now showing better outcomes when therapy is started at higher CD4 cell counts. Therapy initiated early has better virologic and immunologic responses, is better tolerated, and is cost-effective. Recent developments and clinical data support a return to earlier initiation of therapy.