Questions & Answers about Multi-Drug Resistant HIV

AIDS Meds

In the ten years since effective antiretroviral medications became available, it has become undeniably evident that successful therapy depends on achieving complete virus suppression. If antiretroviral therapy is inadequate and virus is able to replicate, then drug resistance can develop. Once drug resistance develops, available medications have a much reduced chance of efficacy.

How HIV medications work.
HIV medications act to disrupt the HIV life cycle to help prevent HIV from reproducing. These medications work in different stages of the HIV life cycle to cover several bases and are used in combination with each other.

These are the different classes of HIV meds that are currently available:

  • Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs) These medications attach themselves to the reverse transcriptase enzyme so that RNA cannot make DNA. Sustiva, Viramune and Rescriptor are NNRTIs.
  • Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs) These medications replace natural building blocks normally used by HIV to make copies of itself so that RNA cannot make DNA. Combivir, Emtriva, Epivir, Hivid, Retrovir, Trizivir, Videx, Videx EC, Zerit and Ziagen are NRTIs.
  • Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NtRTIs) NtRTIs are similar to NRTIs but are chemically pre-activated, allowing them to enter the HIV's DNA more rapidly than NRTIs. Viread is a NtRTI.
  • Protease Inhibitors (PIs) PIs can stop the protease enzyme from cutting protein chains to smaller pieces that are needed to coat the new viral DNA. As a result, these small pieces are incomplete and cannot infect any other CD-4 cells. Agenerase, Crixivan, Fortovase, Kaletra, Lexiva, Norvir, Reyataz, and Viracept are PIs.
  • Fusion Inhibitors (FIs) FIs work by blocking HIV from entering the CD-4 cell. They work outside the cell and inhibit the HIV virus from joining (fusing) with the CD-4 cell. Fuzeon is a FI.
  • Integrase Inhibitors (IIs) These are a new class of drug that are becoming more common and will be much used soon. They work by blocking an enzyme needed to allow the HIV genetic material being integrated into the human DNA.


BACK

 
  This site contains HIV prevention messages that may not be appropriate for all audiences. If you are not seeking such information, or may be offended by such materials, please exit this website.