title: Antiretroviral therapy: current drugs.
abstract: The rapid advances in drug discovery and the development of antiretroviral therapy is unprecedented in the history of modern medicine. The administration of chronic combination antiretroviral therapy targeting different stages of the human immunodeficiency virus' replicative life cycle allows for durable and maximal suppression of plasma viremia. This suppression has resulted in dramatic improvement of patient survival. This article reviews the history of antiretroviral drug development and discusses the clinical pharmacology, efficacy, and toxicities of the antiretroviral agents most commonly used in clinical practice to date.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Room 11C103 (MSC 1880), Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: apau@niaid.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Alice K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Pau
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, 600 South 43rd Street, GH-108K, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Jomy M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: George
mesh_terms: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods*; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000639:trends; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents
keywords: Antiretroviral therapy; CCR5 antagonist; Fusion inhibitor; HIV; Integrase strand transfer inhibitors; Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors; Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors; Protease inhibitors