Understanding AIDS Treatment: Antiretroviral Therapies & Management

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.

Drug Treatment

• 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

• 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.

NNRTI Drug Treatment

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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.