Significant advances have been made in understanding the causes of AIDS and in the treatment of the accompanying opportunistic infections. However, while the average survival time after diagnosis has increased, no medical means has been described that actually reverses the underlying immune deficiency.
Recent advances in pharmacology have seen the development of new drugs designed to boost the immune system or antivirals to inhibit the suspect virus. Among the most promising to date are the drugs AZT
(trade name: Retrovir) and Ribavirin.
AZT (5-Azidothymidine) appears to slow the disease's progress by inhibiting the reverse transcriptase capability of the virus and improve the general quality of life of persons with AIDS/ARC. The chief drawbacks of AZT are its highly toxic nature and side effects, its limited availability, and its horrendously expensive price tag—as much as $1400.00 a month—on top of already high medical costs for the person with AIDS or ARC.
Similarly, promising, disease impeding results have been achieved with the antiviral drug Ribavirin. Also, not without its own toxic side effects (reportedly 10 times less than AZT), Ribavirin has yet to be approved for use by the United States FDA and is usually purchased in Mexico at rapidly inflating prices regulated by the Mexican Federal Government. Follow up studies on Ribavirin indicate that, while the drug has been hailed in exaggerated claims by its manufacturers as a veritable panacea to a variety of medical conditions, there is some doubt as to its efficacy.
Unfortunately, while AZT and Ribavirin each inhibit the disease in their specific way, they are antagonistic and can not be used in combination.
A number of other drugs are under development or in clinical testing here in the United States and abroad. Among the most promising are:
• AL-721: an antiviral drug which reportedly prevents the suspect virus from entering the healthy cell. AL-721 has seen evidence of improvement in patients in Israel and in tests in New York.
• Alpligen: an antiviral and immunity booster.
• Dideoxyctidine (DDC): an antiviral that may inhibit reverse transcriptase as effectively as AZT with less toxic side effects. DDC is in early human testing.
• Phosphonoformate (Foscarnet): an antiviral which inhibits reverse transcriptase and is in human testing in Europe. Clinical testing in the U.S. has been delayed due to a conflict between the manufacturer of the drug and the federal government over who will fund the testing.
• HPA-23: this reverse transcriptase inhibiting antiviral is currently in human trials in Europe, but early U.S. test results have been disappointing.
• Interleukin-2: an immunity booster which may enhance the effects of AZT and other drugs.
• Alpha Interferon: an immunity stimulant and antiviral which prevents the cell-produced virus from leaving the cell. Alpha Interferon has been shown to be effective in treating early Kaposi's Sarcoma.
• Isoprinisine: tests are underway with this immunity stimulant for those with ARC and those who have tested HIV positive.
Work on recombinant and synthetic vaccines has progressed and at least one is nearing the stage of human trials. As AIDS is a disease of human beings, there are no suitable animal models for vaccine testing.
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