Drug Discovery and Development for HIV/AIDS - Research Paper Example

Uncontrolled division of cells produce a malignant tumour, and the adjacent tissues get damaged as the cancer spreads. Complications like pneumonia, Tuberculosis, Cytomegalovirus, and Cryptosporidiosis are AIDS related experiences. By 2007, the United Nations determined that 33,000,000 people worldwide were infected by HIV with 50% of them women. 70% of those infected got HIV “through sexual contact” (Farlex 2011). In the USA, those found infected with HIV were homosexual or bisexual. Less than 20% of those infected in America were women.

Most HIV positive cases came from Africa and Southeast Asia. The Mayo Clinic (2010a) says it can spread through “infected blood, or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or breast-feeding”. CD4 cells are the white blood cells that are supposed to protect the body against various diseases. HIV kills CD4 and exposes people to AIDS after some years of no symptoms. Mayo Clinic (2010a) clarified that in order to be infected, a person’s body would have to receive it from “infected blood, semen, or vaginal secretions”.

The virus will not infect through other physical contact like kissing, shaking hands, or even hugging. HIV is not transferrable via insect bites, water, or air. But it can be received through sex or an open wound, blood transfusions, syringe needles used with an infected patient and shared, or through birth of a child from an infected mother. To test whether or not a patient is HIV positive, doctors take blood samples and/or saliva. They will determine the count of CD4 (white blood) cells or antibodies.

At the time of the test, it is common to discover no HIV infection, because it takes between 12 weeks to 6 months for the body to respond to HIV. And it can take years before AIDS is finally discovered when the CD4 count falls below 200. Thus, HIV tests should be done during annual checkups. People found to have less than 500 counts of CD4 should undergo more frequent tests and should start taking preventive medications so that AIDS will not develop. According to Douglas F. Nixon (2000, p. 13), there are three main factors that can affect the progress of HIV towards AIDS.

These are: (1) the virus load, (2) genetics, and (3) the immune system. A.2 The likely sources of compounds would have to be from a combination of “at least three drugs from two different classes to avoid creating strains of HIV that are immune to single drugs” based on Mayo Clinic (2010c) recommendation. Five classes of anti-HIV drugs were identified. These are the NNRTIs, NRTIs, PIs, Entry of Fusion Inhibitors, and Integrase Inhibitors. What are these ? NNRTIs stand for Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors.

Efavirenz, also known as Sustiva, or Etravirine, also known as Intelence, and Nevirapine, also known as Viramune – these compounds serve as examples of NNRTIs. They prevent HIV by turning a protein needed by the virus