Without antiretroviral drugs, it takes, on average, about 10 years for HIV infection to progress from its initial stages to full-blown AIDS. Thankfully, the medications we now have at our disposal can prevent this from happening for quite some time. But even without medication, some people can live with HIV for over 20 years without any signs of progression. Though they make up only a tiny minority of those living with HIV, these long-term non-progressors (LTNPs) can teach us a great deal about how to successfully fight the virus.