Toxic Effects Of Zidovudine

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Get the Facts

Zidovudine (Retrovir, AZT)

What Is Zidovudine? Who Should Take Zidovudine? What About Drug Resistance? How Is Zidovudine Taken? What Are the Side Effects? How Does Zidovudine React With Other Drugs? What Is Zidovudine? Zidovudine (Retrovir) is a drug used for antiretroviral therapy (ART). It was first manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. It is manufactured by ViiV Healthcare. The patent on zidovudine expired in 2005 and several generic versions have been...

Ask the Experts

mitochondrial toxicity

I've been hearing a lot lately about mitochondrial toxicity and I know one of the most common signs of MT is muscle weakness. I'm 52 and have been positive for around 10 years. My viral load is 15,000 and my t-cell count 450. I'm not...

Response from Thomas N. Kakuda, Pharm.D.

University of Minnesota

Gary,Dysfunctional mitochondria in the muscles can lead to a condition known as "mitochondrial myopathy" which manifests itself as muscle weakness and fatigue. The famous cyclist Greg LeMond retired in 1994 due to this disease.... Read more »

Can anaemic person use Combavir (lamivudine/zidovudine)?

The patient's CD4 count is unknown (machine broken) but hemoglobin level is 11.6 The doctors here in Tanzania have immediately started her on ARV treatment because of her HB count: Combavir and Efavirenz. Our concern is that the literature...

Response from David Wohl, M.D.

University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

It is correct that the zidovudine (AZT) in Combivir could cause anemia or worsen it. The issue is whether there is an alternative. Stavudine (d4T) remains in wide use in Africa despite a host of other toxicities including neuropathy, and can be... Read more »

atripla and zidovudine

if somebody becomes resistant to atripla components would he necessarily become resistant to zidovudine as well? i hope not because in a paper i saw point mutations caused by 3 components of atripla are absolutely different from that caused by...

Response from Benjamin Young, M.D., Ph.D.

Rocky Mountain CARES

Hello and thanks for posting.There is a potential for cross resistance among the components of treatment. This means that prolonged treatment failure of one NRTI regimen has the potential to cause significant cross resistant to other medications of... Read more »

Switch from Zidovudine

My wife with a baseline CD4 of 83 (12.8%), and viral load of 2071 is on Zidovudine, Lamivudine, and Nevirapine for 6 weeks. She is also taking Bactrim DS for 2 weeks. While she has tolerated the drugs, she has recently reported a decline in white...

Response from Brian Conway, M.D.

University of British Columbia

You ask a very analytical question. Your doctor is right in that the combination of Bactrim and zidovudine may be particularly bad for the white blood cells, especially in someone who is deficient in folate. Sometimes, before making any changes in... Read more »

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Toxicity: Your Experiences

Posted by Anonymous

Ok.

I recently tested positive and even though my viral load under 2,000 i have a 389 CD4.

I have been investigating epivir/ziagen and viread..they might be available in a new study on a once daily dosing schedule.

My question is, what do u think about... Read more »

Is gay culture toxic?

Posted by Anonymous, 3 Replies

Everywhere you turn you see images of young, clean shaven, hairless, "buffed" boys gracing the gay mags and movies. Who actually looks like most of these people? All we are given to watch on tv is Will and Grace. They represent like 5% of the entire... Read more »

A Toxic Combination

Posted by Choosing2Liv, 9 Replies

If my dilemma was:

- just dealing with the virus; or

- just suffering with the guilt of cheating on my wife; or

- just the feelings of rejections by those who said they loved me; or

- just the constant blaming, belittlement and bursts of rage from my... Read more »

save your sanity

Posted by Anonymous, 2 Replies

why test and get a poz result ?
why not wait and in a few years
if you are poz there will be better
meds for HIV.

If you test + now you will get on drugs that
are toxic and I just heard on the news that
scientist are working on a less Toxic HIV drug.

Maybe... Read more »

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