What Are the Treatments for AIDS?
Antiretroviral drugs are the primary treatment for AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. There are five groups of antiretroviral drugs. While they don't offer a cure, the drugs can suppress symptoms and slow down the progression of the disease, possibly for several years.
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Drug Treatment
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Treatment for AIDS includes a regimen of antiretroviral medications. AIDS patients follow a regimen specifically tailored for them; drug combination therapies vary between patients.
NRTI Drug Treatment
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Nucleoside/Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors NRTIs were first approved for HIV/AIDS treatment in 1987. These drugs attempt to block the replication of a specific HIV protein called reverse transcriptase.
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NNRTI Drug Treatment
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Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors were introduced in 1997. These drugs work in a similar fashion as the NRTIs by trying to interfere with reverse transcriptase.
PI Drug Treatment
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Protease inhibitors (PIs) are a group of drugs that may interfere with the replication of the enzyme known as protease. Protease inhibitor drugs include saquinavir (Invirase) and nelfinavir (Viracept).
Fusion or Entry Inhibitors Drug Treatment
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Fusion or entry inhibitors are used if an HIV/AIDS patient develops resistance to other forms of antiretroviral drug treatments. Fusion inhibitors are often used in combination with other antiretroviral drugs.
Integrase Inhibitors Drug Treatment
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Integrase inhibitors were first introduced as an AIDS treatment in 2007. The drugs seek to block the enzyme integrase; they are used along with other antiretroviral drug combinations.
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References
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