Initial Treatment for HIV Infection — An Embarrassment of Riches

Abstract

Drugs that are used to treat patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are classified according to their target. The first ones to be developed were nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), which lead to premature termination of the nascent DNA chain, and nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), which bind and inhibit reverse transcriptase. The viral protease inhibitors were next. NRTIs, NNRTIs, and protease inhibitors remain the staples of highly active antiretroviral therapy, but other targets, such as the CCR5 receptor, the fusion peptide, and viral integrase, have recently yielded promising molecules. At this time, eradication of HIV is impossible. Rebound inevitably follows . . .