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Side effects of HIV therapy:

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There are many potential side effects associated with antiviral therapies. The most common ones for each class of drug are summarized below.

NRTIs

Most NRTIs can cause mild nausea and loose stools. In general, these symptoms resolve with time.

ZDV has been associated with decreased production of blood cells by the bone marrow, most often causing anemia, and occasionally hyperpigmentation (most often of the nails).

D4T can damage nerves and cause peripheral neuropathy, a neurological condition with numbness and/or tingling of the feet and hands, and inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) that causes nausea, vomiting, and mid upper abdominal pain.

DDI also causes pancreatitis and, to a lesser extent, peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy can become permanent and painful, and pancreatitis can be life-threatening if therapy is not discontinued. The drug ddC also is associated with peripheral neuropathy as well as oral ulcers. Continue reading →

HIV Treatment Drugs

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Initial therapy for HIV

Guidelines for using antiviral therapy have been developed and are updated on a regular basis by an expert panel assembled by the DHHS, the IAS-USA panel, and others. The DHHS guidelines are available at http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov. The most recent IAS-USA guidelines were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in the summer of 2010.

Antiviral treatment options have primarily included combinations of two nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI), often referred to as “nucs,” and one PI, typically with a low dose of Ritonavir, a PI used at low doses to increase the level of the principle PI being used, so called “boosting.”

Alternative, options include the use of two NRTIs with a nonnucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), the latter often called “non-nucs.” These NNRTI-containing combinations generally are easier to take than PI-containing combinations and tend to have different side effects. Recently, NRTIs were combined with the integrase inhibitor raltegravir with very good viral suppression and tolerability. This novel combination has now been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as another treatment option for those initiating therapy for the first time and is considered along with NNRTIs and PIs as one of the preferred options. Continue reading →