AIDS Medicines (Print Version)

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

Start Here

HIV and Its Treatment: What You Should Know(AIDSinfo) - http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/HIVandItsTreatment_cbrochure_en.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/ContentFiles/ElVIHYSuTratamientoQueDebeSaberUsted_FS_sp.pdf
HIV: How to Take Your Medicines for HIV(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/sexinfections/hiv/812.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/sexinfections/hiv/812.printerview.html
HIV: Medicines for People Who Are HIV-Positive(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/sexinfections/hiv/123.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/sexinfections/hiv/123.printerview.html

Overviews

AIDSinfo Drug Database(AIDSinfo) - http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/DrugsNew/Default.aspx?MenuItem=Drugs
Also available in Spanish http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/drugsNew/DefaultSP.aspx
HIV and AIDS: Medicines to Help You(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/womens/medicinecharts/hiv.html
Medications to Fight HIV(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://aidsinfonet.org/categories/view/5
Strategies for HIV Therapy: Information to Consider When Deciding to Use Therapy(Project Inform) - http://www.projectinform.org/info/avs/index.shtml
Treatment of HIV Infection(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/treat-hiv.htm

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) - http://www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2008/nida-06.htm
HIV Drug Might Spur Resistant Strains of Virus(08/05/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_67802.html
Once-Daily Combo Works for New HIV Patients(08/04/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_67682.html
New HIV/AIDS Guidelines Suggest Earlier Treatment(08/03/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_67696.html
More News on AIDS Medicines http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_a.html#aidsmedicines

Alternative Therapy

Alternative and Complementary Therapies(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/700?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/700?lang=spa

Specific Conditions

Drugs Used in the Treatment of HIV Infection(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/oashi/aids/virals.html
Drugs Used to Treat Complications of HIV/AIDS(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/oashi/aids/stat_app.html
Generic Drugs Used in the Treatment of HIV Infection(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/oashi/aids/viralsgeneric.html
Medical Devices Approved for Use in the Treatment of Complications Related to HIV/AIDS(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/oashi/aids/devices.html

Related Issues

Adherence(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/405?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/405?lang=spa
Body Composition Tests(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/128?lang=eng
Changing My HIV Treatment Regimen(AIDSinfo) - Links to PDF - http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/ContentFiles/ChangingMyHIVTreatmentRegimen_FS_en.pdf
Drug Interactions(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/407?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/407?lang=spa
HIV Resistance Testing(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - In English and Spanish - http://aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/126?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/126?lang=spa
HIV Treatment Regimen Failure(AIDSinfo) - Links to PDF - http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/ContentFiles/HIVTreatmentRegimenFailure_FS_en.pdf
Mitochondrial Toxicity(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/556?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/556?lang=spa
Recommended HIV Treatment Regimens(AIDSinfo) - Links to PDF - http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/RecommendedHIVTreatmentRegimens_FS_en.pdf
Recreational Drugs and HIV(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/494?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/494?lang=spa
Side Effects of Anti-HIV Medications(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/550?lang=eng
Starting Anti-HIV Medications(AIDSinfo) - Links to PDF - http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/StartingAnti-HIVMeds_FS_en.pdf
Therapeutic HIV Vaccines(AIDSinfo) - Links to PDF - http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/ContentFiles/Therapeutic_HIV_Vaccines_FS_en.pdf
Treatment Interruptions(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/406?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/406?lang=spa

Financial Issues

AIDS Patient Assistance Programs(AIDS Treatment Data Network) - http://www.atdn.org/access/pa.html
List of HIV-Related Resources(Project Inform) - http://www.projectinform.org/info/state/

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Anti-HIV Agents(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/term=HIV+%5BCONDITION%5D+AND+((anti-hiv+OR+antiretroviral)+AND+medicines)+%5BTREATMENT%5D
ClinicalTrials.gov: Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/intervention=%22Antiretroviral+Therapy,+Highly+Active%22+OR+HAART

Research

Immune Therapies in Development(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/480?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/480?lang=spa
Other Antiviral Drugs in Development(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/470?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/470?lang=spa

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: An HIV vaccine--challenges and prospects. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18753644&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Opt-out testing for human immunodeficiency virus in the United States:... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18728268&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Four years later, roadblocks to AIDS drugs overcome. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18725612&tool=MedlinePlus
AIDS Medicines -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=(hiv+infections[majr]+AND+complementary+therapies[majr])+OR+hiv+infections/therapy[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+randomized+controlled+trial[pt]+OR+guideline[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Dictionaries/Glossaries

Glossary of HIV/AIDS-Related Terms(AIDSinfo) - http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/Glossary/GlossaryDefaultCenterPage.aspx?MenuItem=AIDSinfoTools
Also available in Spanish http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/ContentFiles/SpanishGlossary_sp.PDF

Organizations

AIDSinfo(Dept. of Health and Human Services) - http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/infoSIDA/
NIAID Division of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/about/organization/daids/

Children

Drugs Used in the Treatment of Pediatric HIV Infection(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/oashi/aids/pedlbl.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

AIDS - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/aids.html
Drug Therapy - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drugtherapy.html
Immune System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/immunesystem.html

The primary NIH organization for research on AIDS Medicines is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/