Though HIV is an incurable disease, several medications slow its progression. Many of these medications work by preventing the HIV virus from producing more copies of itself. Several classes of HIV antiretroviral medications have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, these include NNRTIs, NRTIs, protease inhibitors and entry/fusion inhibitors, and fixed dose combinations.
Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
NNRTIs (non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors) work by binding to and disabling reverse transcriptase. Reverse transcriptase is a protein HIV requires to produce more copies of itself. Common NNRTIs are delavirdine (Rescriptor), efavirenz (Sustiva), etravirine (Intelence) and nevirapine (Viramune). Delavirdine, one of the earliest NNRTIs, was approved by the FDA in 1997 as an antiretroviral medication.
Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
NRTIs (nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors) work by presenting the HIV virus with a faulty version of the building blocks it needs to reproduce. Medications that fall under this category are abacavir (Ziagen), didanosine (Videx), emtricitabine (Emtriva or Coviracil) and many others. Once the HIV virus latches onto the NRTI, its reproduction is halted.
Protease Inhibitors
Protease inhibitors (PIs) disable protease. Protease is another protein HIV needs in order to reproduce. Some medications containing PIs are ritonavir (Norvir), saquinavir (Invirase) and tipranavir (Aptivus), though there are others. Ritonavir, for example, is approved with other medications in treating children older than 1 month. Taking ritonavir may boost other PIs, which means taking less of them. It comes in tablet, liquid and capsule forms.
Entry/Fusion Inhibitors
Entry/fusion inhibitors block HIV from entering cells. The two medications approved by the FDA are enfuvirtide (Fuzeon) and maravirox (Selzentry or Celsentri). Entry inhibitors are very different from most other HIV medications. These go to work before HIV has infected the cell by attaching to proteins on the surface of cells or HIV viruses. This prevents the HIV virus from binding to healthy CD4 (T-cells).
Fixed-Dose Combinations
Fixed-dose combinations contain several anti-HIV medicines. These can be from the same drug class or different classes. According to Drugs.com, the drug Atripla (a combination of the generic drugs efavirenz, emtricitabine and tenofovir) is designed to prevent HIV from reproducing. Atripla is taken once daily, preferably just before bedtime. It shouldn't be taken with food. According to AIDSmeds.com, Atripla is a one-pill-daily regimen against HIV. At the beginning stages of HIV treatment, this is the only pill many people need to take.
