Preface

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is responsible for AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) that negatively affects the immune system so that the ability to fight infections and diseases gets weakened. This opens the way for many other life-threatening infectious diseases to affect to the host simultaneously. Currently, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS but treatments have evolved over the years which are much more effective and could improve patients' health conditions considerably. Volume 2 of the book series Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research-HIV presents important recent developments in the form of cutting edge reviews written by experts in the field.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) uses multiple drugs that can act on special viral targets which in turn maintain the functions of the immune system. Chapter 1 by Vieira dos Santos and Rodrigues Tavares Pina reviews the connections between demographic, economical and attitudinal factors associated with HIV/AIDS. They also discuss the role of antiretroviral therapy to target various stages of the disease in both adults and adolescents.

The genitourinary mucosa is considered as the most common route of HIV transmission. Baum et al. in chapter 2 discuss the tropical microbicides that could be directly administered into vagina for HIV-1 prevention and an overview is presented of the classes of microbicides currently under current investigation. The dosage forms of these drugs along with their associated challenges are also discussed in this review. The authors also discuss the key role of interaction of the microbiome with the host in topical HIV-1 prophylaxis.

HIV-integrase is a striking target for the development of new anti-HIV drugs and has potent antiviral activity. Shengxi Chen in Chapter 4 describes the structure, function, mechanism, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and clinical use of integrase inhibitors. The author emphasizes on the development of three FDA approved HIV-1 integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs); raltegravir, elvitegravir and dolutegravir.

Long-acting antiretroviral (ARV) drugs offer a more convenient option for HIV maintenance therapy and are accountable for better adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The developing ARV candidates are GSK744 - an Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitor and TMC278 -a Non-nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor. In chapter 5, written by Iacob et al., the results of trials, advantages and disadvantages of these emerging candidates are reviewed.

The 2nd volume of the book series represents the results of a significant amount of work by many eminent researchers and it should prove to be a valuable contribution for researchers who wish to keep up to date with important recent developments in this field. I wish to express my gratitude to the editorial staff, particularly Mr. Mahmood Alam (Director Publication), Mr. Shehzad Naqvi (Senior Manager Publications) and Ms. Fariya Zulfiqar (Assistant Manager Publications) for their hard work and persistent efforts.