MedlinePlus: AIDS Medicines

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National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on AIDS Medicines is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

AIDS Medicines

In the early 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic began, AIDS patients rarely lived longer than a few years. But today, people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, have longer and healthier lives. The main reason is that there are many effective medicines to fight the infection.

Most medicines fall into one of the following three categories

Reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors. These medicines interfere with a critical step during the HIV life cycle and keep the virus from reproducing.

Protease inhibitors. These medicines interfere with a protein that HIV uses to produce infectious viral particles.

Fusion inhibitors. These medicines block the virus from entering the body's cells.

While these medicines help people with HIV, they are not perfect. They do not cure HIV infection or AIDS. People with HIV infection still have the virus in their bodies, so even when they are taking medicines they can transmit HIV to others through unprotected sex and needle sharing.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

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HIV and Its Treatment: What You Should Know(AIDSinfo)
Also available in Spanish
HIV: How to Take Your Medicines for HIV(American Academy of Family Physicians)
Also available in Spanish
HIV: Medicines for People Who Are HIV-Positive(American Academy of Family Physicians)
Also available in Spanish

Basics	Learn More	Multimedia & Cool Tools
Overviews Latest News	Alternative Therapy Specific Conditions Related Issues	No links available
Research	Reference Shelf	For You
Financial Issues Clinical Trials Research Journal Articles	Dictionaries/Glossaries Organizations	Children

Overviews
- AIDSinfo Drug Database(AIDSinfo)
  Also available in Spanish
- HIV and AIDS: Medicines to Help You(Food and Drug Administration)
- Medications to Fight HIV(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)
- Strategies for HIV Therapy: Information to Consider When Deciding to Use Therapy(Project Inform)
- Treatment of HIV Infection(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
Latest News
- Anti-HIV 'Drug Cocktails' Equally Effective in Patients with or without History of Injection Drug Use(08/06/2008, National Institute on Drug Abuse)
- HIV Drug Might Spur Resistant Strains of Virus(08/05/2008, HealthDay)
- Once-Daily Combo Works for New HIV Patients(08/04/2008, HealthDay)
- New HIV/AIDS Guidelines Suggest Earlier Treatment(08/03/2008, HealthDay)
- More News on AIDS Medicines
Alternative Therapy
- Alternative and Complementary Therapies(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)
  Also available in Spanish
Specific Conditions
- Drugs Used in the Treatment of HIV Infection(Food and Drug Administration)
- Drugs Used to Treat Complications of HIV/AIDS(Food and Drug Administration)
- Generic Drugs Used in the Treatment of HIV Infection(Food and Drug Administration)
- Medical Devices Approved for Use in the Treatment of Complications Related to HIV/AIDS(Food and Drug Administration)
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Related Issues
- Adherence(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)
  Also available in Spanish
- Body Composition Tests(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)
- Changing My HIV Treatment Regimen(AIDSinfo) - Links to PDF
- Drug Interactions(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)
  Also available in Spanish
- HIV Resistance Testing(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - In English and Spanish
  Also available in Spanish
- HIV Treatment Regimen Failure(AIDSinfo) - Links to PDF
- Mitochondrial Toxicity(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)
  Also available in Spanish
- Recommended HIV Treatment Regimens(AIDSinfo) - Links to PDF
- Recreational Drugs and HIV(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)
  Also available in Spanish
- Side Effects of Anti-HIV Medications(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)
- Starting Anti-HIV Medications(AIDSinfo) - Links to PDF
- Therapeutic HIV Vaccines(AIDSinfo) - Links to PDF
- Treatment Interruptions(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)
  Also available in Spanish
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Financial Issues
- AIDS Patient Assistance Programs(AIDS Treatment Data Network)
- List of HIV-Related Resources(Project Inform)
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Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Anti-HIV Agents(National Institutes of Health)
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active(National Institutes of Health)
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Research
- Immune Therapies in Development(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)
  Also available in Spanish
- Other Antiviral Drugs in Development(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center)
  Also available in Spanish
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
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Dictionaries/Glossaries
- Glossary of HIV/AIDS-Related Terms(AIDSinfo)
  Also available in Spanish
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Organizations
- AIDSinfo(Dept. of Health and Human Services)
  Also available in Spanish
- NIAID Division of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
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Children
- Drugs Used in the Treatment of Pediatric HIV Infection(Food and Drug Administration)
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