Notes On The Fight Against Retroviruses - 1779 Words

Antiretrovirals Have New Found Eses in the Fight Against Retroviruses Diana Bilow 22 October 2014 Retroviruses are a specific type of virus that carry their genetic blueprint in the form of RNA as opposed to DNA like all other cellular organisms and viruses. They contain a unique enzyme known as reverse transcriptase that reverses the process of DNA transcription by turning RNA into DNA and the reverse transcriptase allows it to disguise itself permanently into the DNA genome of an infected cell (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). Retroviruses are responsible for certain strains of leukemia, HIV, multiple sclerosis, one strain of Hepatitis in humans, and even the common cold all. The retroviruses multiply and then attack the immune system†¦show more content†¦The inhibitors used in HIV are reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors, protease inhibitors, fusion inhibitors, and integrase inhibitors (2014, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease). Biologists and pharmacists have gotten the combination of these antiretrovirals down to a science and they are currently helping thousands of people live with HIV. We are at a point with science that antiretroviral drugs take a key role in the global effort to control the symptoms of HIV (Karim Karim 2012). However there is new research that shows that antiretrovirals may not only help donate towards the cure of retroviruses but can be used to prevent them in the first place, particularly in cases of heterosexual partners and mother to child transmission. Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV is a main focus of many scientists when researching and testing antiretrovirals, largely because of the 25 million people it has killed since 1981. HIV is transmitted through certain bodily fluids like semen, blood, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. The average of people infected with HIV is upwards of 50,000 every year (AIDS.gov, 2012). It is most often contracted by sex with someone who already has HIV and sharing needles, but can also be transmitted through occupational hazards and even through organ transplants. There are currently 33.4 million people in the world living with HIV, according to the World