Prophylactic treatment is treatment that is given to prevent disease. AIDS

Prophylactic treatment is treatment that is given to prevent disease. AIDS patients with a history of Pneumocystis pneumonia; with CD4+ counts below 200

cells/mm³ or 14% of lymphocytes; weight loss; or thrush should be given prophylactic medications. The three drugs given are trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, dapsone, or pentamidine in aerosol form.

ANTI-RETROVIRAL TREATMENT. In recent years researchers have developed drugs that suppress HIV replication, as distinct from treating its effects on the body. These drugs fall into three classes:

• Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). These drugs work by looking very similar to the molecules acted upon by the HIV enzyme reverse transcriptase. Reverse transcriptase binds to these drugs, which in turn stop the viral replication process. These drugs include zidovudine, didanosine (ddi), zalcitabine (ddC), stavudine (d4T), lamivudine (3TC), and abacavir (ABC).
• Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). These drugs de-activate the HIV enzyme reverse transcriptase. This class of drugs includes nevirapine (NVP), delavirdine (DLV), and efavirenz (EFV).

Protease inhibitors. A new class of drugs, protease inhibitors are effective against HIV strains that have developed resistance to nucleoside analogues and are used in combination with them. These compounds include saquinavir (SQV), ritonavir (RJV), indinavir (IDV), nelfinavir (NFV), and amprenavir (APV).

New combinations of therapies are also being developed, primarily to improve adherence. Trizivir for the treatment of HIV in adults and adolescents is a fixeddose