AIDS and HIV Medications: Expanding Options

Today, HIV-positive people have many options for AIDS and HIV medication. These options include:

• Anti-HIV medications that treat HIV infection
• Drugs that treat side effects of the disease or HIV treatment
• Drugs that treat opportunistic infections that result from a weakened immune system

Researchers are continuing to develop many new types of AIDS and HIV medications.

Anti-HIV Medications

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved more than 25 antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV infection. They can help in these ways:

• Lower your viral load
• Fight infections
• Improve your quality of life

Even when these anti-HIV medications are effective, however, you can still transmit HIV to others. They are not a cure for HIV.

A group of HIV specialists has developed guidelines for the use of these anti-HIV medications. The current goals are to:

• Control the growth of the virus
• Suppress symptoms
• Produce as few side effects as possible

To do this, doctors recommend that you take a combination of anti-HIV medications from at least two of the main classes. This combination is called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). It helps combat new resistant strains of the virus that emerge as HIV makes copies of itself. HAART also decreases the rate of opportunistic infections.

If you are HIV-positive, you should begin HAART:

• If you have symptoms of HIV.
• If your CD4 cell count falls below 350, whether or not you have symptoms. CD4 cells are a type of immune system cell.

These are the three main classes of anti-HIV medications.

1. Reverse transcriptase (RT)inhibitors help block an important step in the HIV life cycle. There are two types of RT inhibitors.

Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) bind to the RT protein. This disables it, keeping HIV from making copies of itself.

The FDA has approved these NNRTIs:

 

Brand Name	Generic Name	Abbreviation
Rescriptor	delavirdine	DLV
Sustiva	efavirenz	EFV
Viramune	nevirapine	NVP

 

Non-nucleoside RT inhibitors (NRTIs) stall reproduction of HIV. They force HIV to use faulty versions of building blocks.

The FDA has approved these NRTIs:

 

Brand Name	Generic Name	Abbreviation
Combivir	zidovudine + lamivudine	AZT + 3TC
Emtriva	emtricitabine	FTC
Epivir	lamivudine	3TC
Epzicom	Abacavir + lamivudine	ABC + 3TC
Hivid	zalcitabine	ddC
Retrovir	zidovudine	AZT or ZDV
Trizivir	abacavir + zidovudine + lamivudine	ABC + AZT + 3TC
Truvada	tenofovir DF + emtricitabine	TDF + FTC
Videx	didanosine: buffered versions	ddl
Videx EC	didanosine: delayed-release capsules	ddl
Viread	tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (DF)	TDF or Bis (POC) PMPA
Zerit	stavudine	d4T
Ziagen	abacavir	ABC

 

In July 2006, the FDA also approved the first one-pill, once-a-day product to treat HIV. Called Atripla, it combines three different RT inhibitors (efavirenz + tenovir DF + emtricitabine).

2. Protease inhibitors (PI) interfere with an enzyme that HIV uses to create infectious viral particles.

The FDA has approved these protease inhibitors:

 

Brand Name	Generic Name	Abbreviation
Agenerase	amprenavir	APV
Aptivus	tipranavir	TPV
Crixivan	indinavir	IDV
Invirase	saquinavir	SQV
Kaletra	lopinavir + ritonavir	LPV
Lexiva	fosamprenavir	FPV
Norvir	ritonavir	RTV
Prezista	darunavir	DRV
Reyataz	atazanavir	ATZ
Viracept	nelfinavir	NFV

 

3. Entry orfusion inhibitors help block HIV's entry into healthy cells. At this time, Fuzeon (enfuvirtide), ENF, is the only one the FDA has approved.