ART significantly extends the likelihood of surviving for several decades, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. If untreated, HIV-positive persons typically live in clinical latency for around 10 years. Individuals on ART are not likely to have their HIV infection reach the AIDS stage. If the viral infection progresses to that stage, survival is estimated at around three years.
Key concepts: A hydrogen bond is formed by the interaction of a hydrogen atom that is covalently bonded to an electronegative atom (donor) with another electronegative atom (acceptor). Hydrogen bonding confers rigidity to the protein structure and specificity to intermolecular interactions.
Covalent bonds are the strongest chemical bonds contributing to protein structure. Covalent bonds arise when two atoms share electrons. In addition to the covalent bonds that connect the atoms of a single amino acid and the covalent peptide bond that links amino acids in a protein chain, covalent bonds between cysteine side chains can be important determinants of protein structure. Cysteine is the sole amino acid whose side chain can form covalent bonds, yielding disulfide bridges with other cysteine side chains: --CH 2-S-S-CH 2-- .