What is a Non-Progressor?
A non-progressor is someone who has been infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) for seven to 12 years without developing full-blown AIDS. Researchers estimate that around one in 100 HIV patients is a non-progressor, and an even smaller number of people are “elite controllers” capable of suppressing their viral loads for extended periods of time. A great deal of research has been conducted on long-term non-progressors and elite controllers, with the goal of understanding why the disease does not progress in these individuals, and if non-progressors could hold a key to a treatment or cure for HIV/AIDS. In order to be considered a non-progressor, someone must have stable CD4 counts within a normal range, and he or she must have no HIV/AIDS-related infections. Non-progressors have also never been treated with antiretroviral therapy in an attempt to suppress the disease. Some researchers consider a patient to be a non-progressor after seven years, while others prefer to wait 1
