CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC-AGENTS FOR HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS INFECTION - MECHANISM OF ACTION, PHARMACOKINETICS, METABOLISM AND ADVERSE REACTIONS

Since the mid-1980s, four new nucleoside reverse transcriptase (RT) in hibitors (zalcitabine, didanosine, stavudine, and lamivudine), two non nucleoside RT inhibitors (nevirapine and delavirdine), and four new pr otease inhibitors (saquinavir, ritonavir, indinavir, and nelfinavir) h ave been approved by the: US Food and Drug Administration for the trea tment of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The driving force behind the development of these new agents has been the increas ing need for more potent agents with reduced or modified toxicity prof iles, The purpose of this article is to review the absorption, distrib ution, metabolism, elimination, toxicities, adverse reactions, and mec hanism of action of the currently available drugs.