anti-viral drug

Examples of anti-viral drug in the following topics:

• Vaccines and Anti-Viral Drugs for Treatment

  • Vaccines and anti-viral drugs can be used to inhibit the virus and reduce symptoms in individuals suffering from viral infections.
  • Anti-HIV drugs have been able to control viral replication to the point that individuals receiving these drugs survive for a significantly longer time than the untreated.
  • Anti-HIV drugs inhibit viral replication at many different phases of the HIV replicative cycle .
  • The breakthrough in the treatment of HIV was the development of HAART, highly-active anti-retroviral therapy, which involves a mixture of different drugs, sometimes called a drug "cocktail."
  • Thus, new anti-HIV drugs are constantly being developed with the hope of continuing the battle against this highly fatal virus.

• Synthetic Antimicrobial Drugs

  • Antimicrobial drugs either kill microbes (microbiocidal) or prevent the growth of microbes (microbiostatic).
  • Synthetic agents include: sulphonamides, cotrimoxazole, quinolones, anti-virals, anti-fungals, anti-cancer drugs, anti-malarials, anti-tuberculosis drugs, anti-leprotics, and anti-protozoals.
  • Sulfonamide or sulphonamide is the basis of several groups of drugs.
  • The original antibacterial sulfonamides (sometimes called sulfa drugs or sulpha drugs) are synthetic antimicrobial agents that contain the sulfonamide group.
  • Recall the synthetic antimicrobial drugs that are sulfonamide and sulphonamide based

• Cytomegalovirus Infections

  • Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a viral genus of the viral family known as Herpesviridae or herpesviruses.
  • CMV persists in the host because the viral genome encodes multiple proteins that interfere with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I presentation of viral antigens.
  • There are currently three licensed anti-HCMV drugs target the viral DNA polymerase, pUL54.
  • The second drug, Cidofovir (CDV), is a nucleotide analogue, which is already phosphorylated and thus active.
  • HCMV drugs have been designed to target the virus' DNA polymerase (pUL54), protein kinase (pUL97), and cellular kinases.

• Antiviral Agents that Prevent Virus Uncoating or Release

  • A viral infection starts with entry of the virus into the cell.
  • Examples include anti-receptor antibodies or natural ligands that can bind to the receptor.
  • These include anti-virus antibodies (with specificity against the viral structure that binds to the receptor) or synthetic molecules that mimic the receptor.
  • Another drug target is the uncoating step during viral infection.
  • The ion channel has an important role in disintegrating the viral capsid.

• Treatment of Animal Viral Infections

  • Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used specifically for treating viral infections.
  • Like antibiotics for bacteria, antiviral drugs are usually specific for a particular virus.
  • One of the best-known of this class of drugs are interferons, which inhibit viral synthesis in infected cells.
  • These proteins rapidly induce an "anti-viral state" in cells that surround infected cells.
  • In order to survive, viruses have evolved multiple strategies to evade the anti-viral effects of IFNs.

• Protease Inhibitors

  • Protease inhibitors target viral proteases which are key enzymes for the completion of viral maturation.
  • This allows the completion of the assembly step in the viral life cycle where the proteins and the viral RNA come together to form virion particles ready to exit the cell.
  • These drugs are an inseparable part of an HIV therapy.
  • One such drug is Nelfinavir.
  • The drug is ritonavir depicted here with a white molecule in the middle of the enzyme structure.

• Analgesia: Relief from Pain

  • An analgesic is a drug used to relieve pain (to achieve analgesia).
  • Examples of analgesics include paracetamol (known in the U.S. as acetaminophen), the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as the salicylates, and opioid drugs such as morphine.
  • Analgesic drugs act in various ways on the peripheral and central nervous systems; they include paracetamol (para-acetylaminophenol, also known in the U.S. as acetaminophen), the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as the salicylates (such as aspirin, shown in ), and opioid drugs such as morphine and opium.
  • Aspirin and the other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit cyclooxygenases, leading to a decrease in prostaglandin production.
  • The use of aspirin in children under 16 suffering from viral illness has been linked to Reye's syndrome, a rare but severe liver disorder.

• Antiviral DNA Synthesis Inhibitors

  • Inhibiting DNA synthesis during viral replication is another key approach in battling viral infections.
  • Inhibiting DNA synthesis during viral replication is another approach to battle viral infections.
  • The drug has very low cytotoxicity and there is low resistance to it.
  • Another type of drug that is a DNA synthesis inhibitor is foscarnet.
  • Hydroxycarbamide can be used an antiretroviral drug against HIV/AIDS.

• Steps of Virus Infections

  • Viral infection involves the incorporation of viral DNA into a host cell, replication of that material, and the release of the new viruses.
  • The viral mRNA directs the host cell to synthesize viral enzymes and capsid proteins, and to assemble new virions.
  • The fact that HIV produces some of its own enzymes not found in the host has allowed researchers to develop drugs that inhibit these enzymes.
  • These drugs, including the reverse transcriptase inhibitor AZT, inhibit HIV replication by reducing the activity of the enzyme without affecting the host's metabolism.
  • This approach has led to the development of a variety of drugs used to treat HIV and has been effective at reducing the number of infectious virions (copies of viral RNA) in the blood to non-detectable levels in many HIV-infected individuals.

• Aspirin and Thrombolytic Agents

  • Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid, is a salicylate drug often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, an antipyretic to reduce fever, and an anti-inflammatory medication.
  • Aspirin is part of a group of medications called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), but differs in mechanism of action.
  • Though aspirin and other salicylates have similar effects (antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic) to other NSAIDs, inhibiting the same enzyme cyclooxygenase, only aspirin does so in an irreversible manner and, aslo unlike other salicylates, affects the COX-1 variant more than the COX-2 variant of the enzyme.
  • In children and adolescents, aspirin is no longer indicated to control flu-like symptoms, or the symptoms of chickenpox or other viral illnesses because of the risk of Reye's syndrome.