HIV/Aids treatment has come a long way Whatever the truth, there is no doubt that those adverts helped to define public understanding of the disease. But watching them again recently, I was struck by how over the top they seem today, with their predictions of a doom-laden future that never materialised. HIV infection is now considered to be a chronic disease, falling into the same category as diabetes and arthritis. A diagnosis is not the death sentence that it once was. This is a wonderful example of how medicine can dramatically improve lives and transform the natural history of a disease's progression. Although there is still no cure, pharmacological therapies have meant that, since the mid-1990s, those who are infected can now expect, on average, a similar life expectancy to those who do not have the virus. That's a better outcome than many other chronic diseases. In fact, with the combination of medications now used to manage HIV, viral load - the amount of virus present in the blood - can drop to levels that are undetectable. This means that the person is, in theory, no longer infectious through sexual contact, some experts have argued. Today in the West, it's the fear of being ostracised socially that is the biggest problem for the newly diagnosed, not the virus itself. Rates of depression in those with HIV are nearly 10 times higher than the general public, mainly because of the stigma still attached to the condition. Sadly, the story of HIV and Aids in developing countries is quite different. The worst affected region is sub-Saharan Africa, where, in some countries, more than one in five adults are infected, rising to one in three in cities. Nearly 2 million people still die from Aids annually around the world - the vast majority of these are in countries where inhabitants do not have ready access to HIV medication. For them, it's like the last 20 years of medical advancement never happened. Paper-pushing is worth more to the NHS than patients So much of what is wrong with the NHS was crystalised in a job advert that a reader sent to me last week. It was for a "head of brand," and the post attracted an eye-watering salary of nearly £100,000. It says so much about what is now valued in the NHS. The job is based in Leeds. A search for other jobs in the NHS in the same region exposes the reason why so many people feel that the NHS is no longer about patients but has become a cash cow for a select few. A mental health support worker is needed: £16-19,000; a senior staff nurse, on a salary of £25,528; a respiratory middle doctor starting on £29,705; a dietician on £21,000. Now compare these salaries to what the paper-pushers get in Leeds. There's an advert for a "corporate and development director" for £112,500; a "director of improvement capability" and an "improvements programme director" for £110,000 each; a "corporate governance manager" on £54,000; a "head of strategic intelligence" starting on £77,000, rising to £97,000. It's an utter disgrace that those who are on the front line are so undervalued compared to paper-pushers who sit behind computer screens drawing pie charts and don't actually do anything to help patients. Of muffins and marathons Fantastic news for all those of us who long for the end of smug health freaks waving sponsorship forms at you in the office as you tuck into a blueberry muffin. US cardiologists have found that over-exerting the heart for long periods of time by doing marathons or triathlons can lead to long-term damage and life-threatening conditions. Writing in the journal Heart, they suggest people should limit themselves to "just one or a few" marathons. Personally, I'm going to play it safe and opt for none at all. Max Pemberton's latest book, 'The Doctor Will See You Now," is published by Hodder. To order a copy, call Telegraph Books on 0844 871 1515