title: The clinical significance of viral fitness.
abstract: Increasing evidence indicates that antiretroviral drug resistance is associated with impaired viral fitness and that this impairment can translate, at least transiently, into a virological and immunological benefit. The optimal strategies for exploiting the fitness cost associated with drug resistance remain to be determined. For highly drug-experienced patients receiving salvage therapy with a detectable viral load and with limited or no remaining drug options, continuing the current regimen may be a useful strategy to delay disease progression. In this context, it remains controversial whether it is preferable to continue failing therapy with nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors or both.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London NW3 2QG, UK.
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Geretti
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D024882:Drug Resistance, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors