Foreword

It is over three decades since man started battling the human immunodeficiency virus and the diseases associated with it. Although HIV has caused millions of deaths especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, no fully reliable cure or prevention of the viral transmission has been identified. Drugs that suppress viral replication (antiretrovirals) remain the only hope for millions of persons infected with the virus. Since the approval of the first antiretroviral agent in 1985, over 30 such products have been registered. Treatment regimens changed from single drug therapies to combinations with highly active antiretroviral drugs, and those combinations also keep changing with new information and therapies. Consolidated updates on data and evidence of effectiveness of these drugs need to be availed to scientists and clinical practitioners. The ever increasing information motivated the writing of a comprehensive book containing consolidated information on the different available and upcoming antiretroviral agents. This book, edited by Prof. Gene Morse and Dr. Sarah Nanzigu provides these materials with considerations of approaches by experts from developed and developing settings. We highly appreciate these experts for their valued input.

This book with updated information on therapies used in HIV management is carefully relayed under respective classes of drugs including Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (RTIs), Protease Inhibitors (PI), Integrase Strand Inhibitors (INSTI), and Entry Inhibitors. Clinically relevant information regarding activity of these agents in different populations is also presented, including comparison of treatment options between resource-limited and resource-rich settings, together with its implications. The book is carefully constructed to become a very valuable asset for scientists and clinicians at different levels of understanding of these drugs. We will highly appreciate feedback from our esteemed readers.