HIV NRTIs PIs Resistance Glossary
NNRTIs References
Introduction
 

Antiretroviral Drugs in the Treatment of HIVTablets

Antiretroviral drugs (anti-HIV drugs or HIV antiviral drugs) are currently the main weapon in the fight against HIV. Such drugs have to be taken indefinitely, and although not a cure, can prevent the onset of illness for many years. They treat the HIV infection directly, and basically act by slowing down the reproduction of HIV in the body.

A minimum of two, and usually three antiretroviral drugs, are taken in combination. This prolongs the effectiveness of the treatment by reducing the rate at which resistance to the drugs develops.

This website will look at HIV and the three main types of antiretrovirals: Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs), Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs) and Protease Inhibitors (PIs). There are also other classes of drugs and new drugs are constantly being developed.

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This website was created by:
Kirsty Levasseur
School of Chemistry
University of Bristol
UK

University of Bristol

Please feel free to contact me by e-mail: kl0330@bris.ac.uk