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Medications used in HIV infection include :
(1) Medications for treatment & prophylaxis of opportunistic infections & tumours.
(2) Medications for general management.
(3) Medications for immunorestorative measures.
(4) Medications as specific anti HIV agents.
(5) Medications to avoid transmission of HIV.
Prompt diagnosis & appropriate treatment of opportunistic infections & tumours in the early stage of AIDS is very useful as it helps the patient to resume normal life between episodes of illness.
General management of the patient requires the understanding & cooperation of the health staff in the hospital & of relatives at home. Groundless fears about imaginary risks have to be allayed & reassurance given that the patient can be kept at home or treated in the hospital without danger to contacts, if proper precautions are taken.
Medications used for immunorestorative measures include interleukin-2, thymic factors, leucocyte transfusion & bone marrow transplantation but the results are not encouraging.
The specific anti HIV agents used are antagonists of reverse transcriptase, unique to HIV virus. So far various events in the HIV life-cycle have been identified as potential targets for antiretroviral therapy. But antagonists of reverse transcriptase are so far the most developed. The most widely used anti HIV agent is Zidovudine ( 3-Azido-3-Deoxythymidine,AZT) which is an analogue of thymidine & inhibits reverse transcriptase & also acts as a DNA chain terminator. It is mostly used in the developed world in patients with symptomatic HIV disease & is found to slow the progression of HIV infection & there is also a reduction in opportunistic infections. However, survival is only prolonged by one to few years, but cure does not occur. Moreover, zidovudine does not protect individuals from contracting HIV infection even if started soon after inoculation & hence cannot be used as a prophylactic for health care workers & others who may accidentally be exposed to the virus. Dideoxyinosine (DDI) & Dideoxycytidine (DDC) are also inhibitors of reverse transcriptase. But they are less well evaluated than AZT & as a result may be used as second line therapy in patients who cannot tolerate AZT. Other drugs include non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors & agents that act at other sites in the HIV replication cycle. These compounds are currently undergoing therapeutic trials but are not yet commercially available. Drugs used in combinations are also being evaluated.
(1) Medications for treatment & prophylaxis of opportunistic infections & tumours.
(2) Medications for general management.
(3) Medications for immunorestorative measures.
(4) Medications as specific anti HIV agents.
(5) Medications to avoid transmission of HIV.
Prompt diagnosis & appropriate treatment of opportunistic infections & tumours in the early stage of AIDS is very useful as it helps the patient to resume normal life between episodes of illness.
General management of the patient requires the understanding & cooperation of the health staff in the hospital & of relatives at home. Groundless fears about imaginary risks have to be allayed & reassurance given that the patient can be kept at home or treated in the hospital without danger to contacts, if proper precautions are taken.
Medications used for immunorestorative measures include interleukin-2, thymic factors, leucocyte transfusion & bone marrow transplantation but the results are not encouraging.
The specific anti HIV agents used are antagonists of reverse transcriptase, unique to HIV virus. So far various events in the HIV life-cycle have been identified as potential targets for antiretroviral therapy. But antagonists of reverse transcriptase are so far the most developed. The most widely used anti HIV agent is Zidovudine ( 3-Azido-3-Deoxythymidine,AZT) which is an analogue of thymidine & inhibits reverse transcriptase & also acts as a DNA chain terminator. It is mostly used in the developed world in patients with symptomatic HIV disease & is found to slow the progression of HIV infection & there is also a reduction in opportunistic infections. However, survival is only prolonged by one to few years, but cure does not occur. Moreover, zidovudine does not protect individuals from contracting HIV infection even if started soon after inoculation & hence cannot be used as a prophylactic for health care workers & others who may accidentally be exposed to the virus. Dideoxyinosine (DDI) & Dideoxycytidine (DDC) are also inhibitors of reverse transcriptase. But they are less well evaluated than AZT & as a result may be used as second line therapy in patients who cannot tolerate AZT. Other drugs include non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors & agents that act at other sites in the HIV replication cycle. These compounds are currently undergoing therapeutic trials but are not yet commercially available. Drugs used in combinations are also being evaluated.
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