1. Running head: TREATMENT OF AIDS 1
Treatment of Aids
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(March 17, 2012)
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2. TREATMENT OF AIDS 2
Treatment of Aids
The HIV drugs are divided into five classes, with over 22 drugs licensed and used for
the treatment of HIV. The drugs are divided depending on how they attach HIV. It’s usually
advisable to at least combine drugs from two different classes of drugs so as to avoid creating
strains of HIV that are immune to single drugs.
The first class is the Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). The drugs in
this class include AZT (zidovudine, Retrovir), ddl (didanosine, Videx), 3TC (lamivudine,
Epivir), d4T (stavudine, Zerit), abacavir (ziagen), and FTC (emtricitabine, Emtriva). There
also exists a nucleotide analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitor called tenofovir (viread).
The AZT and 3TC drugs are available in a combined pill called Combivir and AZT, abacavir
and 3TC are available in a combined form called Trizirvir. There also exist a single pill of
AZT and abacir called kivexa. Also a single pill combing FTC and the nucleotide analogue
tenofovir called Truvada is also available in the markets. A single pill called Sustiva which is
a combination of NNRTI, FTC and tenofovir is also available (Kane, 2008).
The second class is Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI, or non-
Nukes). Drugs in this class include: efavirenz (Sustiva), etravirine (intelence) and nevirapine
(Viramune). It also has some combines which include: Atripla, which is a combination of
NRTI, FTC, tenofovir and the nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor. The third class is the
Protease inhibitors (PIs). The drugs in this class include: atazanavir (Reyataz), darunavir
(Prezista), fosamprenavir (Telzir), indinavir (Crixivan), lopnavir (kaletra), nelfinavir
(Viracept), ritonavir (Norvir), saquinavir (Invirase) and tipranavir (Aptivus). Persons who
take protease inhibitors are recommended to take small dose of ritonavir. The fourth class is
the Fusion, entry. They include: enfuvirtide (Fuzeon) and maraviroc (Selzentry). The last
class is Integrase inhibitor, they include: Raltegravir (Isentress). It works by disabling
integrase, a protein that HIV uses to insert its generic material into CD4 cells (Kane, 2008).

3. TREATMENT OF AIDS 3
The patients should start taking treatments at various stages. One of the reasons you
should start treatment is when there are severe HIV symptoms. Also when the CD4 count is
below 500 treatments should start. For women, when one is pregnant the treatment should
start immediately. Also, if you have HIV-related kidney disease then treatment should
commence. If also diagnosed with hepatitis B treatment should also start.
Before adapting to the drugs there are many difficulties that are associated with the
usage of the drugs. The drugs are taken with multiple pills at specific times every day and this
goes on for the rest of the person life. This comes with many side effects which include:
Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, abnormal heartbeats, shortness of breath, shortness of breath,
skin rash, weakened bones, and bone death, particularly in the hip joints (Mak & Chaddah,
2005).
The response time is usually measured by the viral load and the CD4 counts. At the
start of every treatment the viral load should be tested and every three to four months while
undergoing therapy. The CD4 count on the other hand should be checked every three to six
months. A successful treatment should reduce the viral load to an undetectable level; this
does not necessarily mean that HIV is gone. This means that the test done is not sensitive
enough to detect, and thus one can transmit the virus to others. The treatment also reduces
chances to attack by opportunistic diseases (Mak & Chaddah, 2005).

4. TREATMENT OF AIDS 4
References
Kane, B.M. (2008). HIV/AIDS Treatment Drugs. New York: Infobase Publishing
Mak, T.W., & Chaddah, M.R. (2005). The Immune Response: Basic and Clinical Principles.
New York: Academic Press