What is the target for zidovudine?

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AZT works by selectively inhibiting HIV’s reverse transcriptase, the enzyme that the virus uses to make a DNA copy of its RNA.

Is zidovudine used to treat HIV?

Zidovudine (brand name: Retrovir) is a prescription medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the following uses: To treat HIV infection in adults, children, and infants. When zidovudine is used to treat HIV infection, the medicine is always used in combination with other HIV medicines.

What enzyme does zidovudine inhibit?

Zidovudine is phosphorylated to active metabolites that compete for incorporation into viral DNA. They inhibit the HIV reverse transcriptase enzyme competitively and act as a chain terminator of DNA synthesis.

What is the action of zidovudine?

Zidovudine belongs to a class of drugs known as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors-NRTIs. Zidovudine is used in pregnant women to prevent passing the HIV virus to the unborn baby. This medication is also used in newborns born to mothers infected with HIV to prevent infection in the newborns.

How zidovudine inhibits the propagation of virus?

Zidovudine exhibits preferential activity for active cells. It weakly inhibits cellular DNA polymerase-a and mitochondrial polymerase-g and competitively inhibits thymidylate kinase, reducing levels of thymidine triphosphate. It is active against HIV-1, HIV-2, and human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-1 and-2.

Is zidovudine a competitive inhibitor?

Since AZT is functioning as a competitive inhibitor, increasing thymidine concentrations may be one mechanism to overcome the inhibition and decrease AZT-related toxicity in these tissues.

When is zidovudine given?

Zidovudine is usually given twice each day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Ideally, these times are 12 hours apart, for example some time between 7 and 8 am, and between 7 and 8 pm. You can give zidovudine before, with or after food.

How does zidovudine cause DNA chain termination?

Zidovudine-triphosphate is then included in the terminal fragment of the growing chain of viral DNA by viral reverse transcriptase, thus causing the viral DNA chain to break apart in cells infected with the virus. Zidovudine has been authorized for treating patients with AIDS.

What are the side effects of zidovudine?

Common side effects of Retrovir include:

headache,
nausea,
vomiting,
constipation,
trouble sleeping (insomnia),
loss of appetite,
joint pain, and.
changes in the shape or location of body fat (especially in your arms, legs, face, neck, breasts, and trunk).

How is zidovudine given?

RETROVIR IV (zidovudine injection) Infusion is administered intravenously at a constant rate over 1 hour. Rapid infusion or bolus injection should be avoided.

Is zidovudine still used?

Zidovudine, also known as azidothymidine (AZT), was the first antiviral to be approved for the treatment of HIV. Although no longer a first-line agent, zidovudine is still used in combination with other ARVs for the treatment of HIV [39].

Which of the following is most common side effect of zidovudine?

The most commonly reported adverse reactions were anemia (hemoglobin less than 9.0 g per dL) and neutropenia (less than 1,000 cells per mm³). Anemia occurred in 22% of the neonates who received RETROVIR and in 12% of the neonates who received placebo.