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Published on: May 9, 2025
Drug-resistant human immunodefiency virus
1Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University, School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Connecticut Health Care Systems, New Haven, CT, USA. michael.kozal@yale.edu
Summary
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug resistance reduces treatment effectiveness and increases mortality. New detection methods and therapies are crucial for combating resistant HIV strains.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly reduced HIV-related mortality.
- HIV drug resistance is an emerging public health concern, impacting treatment efficacy.
- Current resistance assays have limitations in detecting low-frequency resistant variants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the epidemiology and biological mechanisms of HIV drug resistance.
- To discuss challenges in current HIV drug resistance detection.
- To explore novel therapeutic strategies for multidrug-resistant HIV.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of HIV drug resistance.
- Analysis of current diagnostic limitations for resistance detection.
- Examination of emerging antiretroviral drug classes and mechanisms.
Main Results:
- HIV drug resistance is prevalent and can lead to therapy failure.
- Low-frequency resistant variants (1%) are clinically significant but often undetected.
- New antiretroviral drugs offer potential for treating multidrug-resistant HIV.
Conclusions:
- Combating HIV drug resistance requires improved detection methods and innovative therapies.
- Understanding resistance mechanisms is key to developing effective treatment strategies.
- Continued research into novel antiretrovirals is essential for managing multidrug-resistant HIV.
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