Twenty-five years of translational medicine in antiretroviral therapy: promises to keep.
The year 2010 marks the 25th anniversary of modern antiretroviral drug discovery and development. In the early 1980s, AIDS was almost always a lethal disease with an appalling clinical course characterized by severe opportunistic infections and unusual forms of cancer. Since that time, starting with zidovudine (AZT) and related 2',3'-dideoxynucleosides, the causative retrovirus, now called HIV-1, went from being an untreatable infectious agent to being the target of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). This degree of progress refuted early prophesies of therapeutic futility and represents a striking example of translational medicine. Here I review foundational discoveries and events in HIV-1/AIDS research and explore lessons for future translational medicine efforts.
Broder
Samuel
S
Celera Corporation, 1901 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20850-3180, USA. broderse@celera.com
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history* / Q000523:psychology; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000266:history*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005239:Fear; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends*; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000627:therapeutic use
D015215:Zidovudine