Antiviral Drugs Important Notes
1. Antiviral drugs
- Amantadine
- Acyclovir
- Vidarabine
- Zidovudine
- Idoxuridine
2. Classification of anti-retroviral drugs
- Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors
- Zidovudine
- Didanosine
- Lamivudine
- Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors
- Nevirapine
- Efavirenz
- Protease inhibitors
- Ritonavir
- Saquinavir
Read And Learn More: Pharmacology Question and Answers
3. Acyclovir
- It is available as IV, oral, and topical application
- Used in the treatment of
- Genital herpes
- Herpes zoster infection
4. Zidovudine and Didanosine
- Used in the treatment of AIDS
- They block the action of reverse transcriptase in HIV infection 5
Antiviral drugs questions and answers
Antiviral Drugs Short Essays
Question 1. Antiviral drugs.
Answer:
Viruses are intracellular parasites that depend on the host cells for their food, growth, and multiplication.
- Antiviral drugs interfere with the steps of the viral reproduction cycle within host cells.
Antiviral Drugs Classification:
1. Anti-herpesvirus.
- Idoxuridine, acyclovir, valacyclovir.
2. Anti-retrovirus.
- Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.
- Zidovudine, Didanosie, abacavir
- Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.
- Nevirapine, efavirenz.
- Protease inhibitors.
- Ritonavir, indinavir, nelfinavir.
3. Anti-influenza virus.
- Amantadine, rimantadine.
4. Nonselective antiviral drugs.
- Ribavirin, lamivudine.
Antiviral Drugs Short Question And Answers
Question 1. Acyclovir.
Answer:
Acyclovir is an antiviral agent.
The spectrum of activity:
- Herpes simplex virus – type 1 and type 2.
- Varicella zoster virus.
- Epstein-Barr virus.
Mechanism of action:
Acyclovir Uses:
- Mucocutaneous herpes simplex type I
- Genital herpes.
- H. Simplex encephalitis.
- H. Simplex keratitis.
- Herpes zoster.
- Chickenpox.
Pharmacology of antiviral drugs
Acyclovir Adverse effects:
1. Oral use.
- Headache, nausea, malaise, diarrhoea.
2. Topical use.
- Stinging and burning sensation.
3. Intravenous use.
- Rashes, sweating, emesis, fall in BP
Question 2. Zidovueline.
Answer:
- It is the first drug to be used in the treatment of HIV infection.
Zidovueline Mechanism of Action:
Classification of antiviral drugs
Zidovueline Uses:
- Used in HIV – infected patients along with other antiretroviral drugs.
- Its effects are
- Reduces HIV – RNA titre.
- Increases CD4 count
- Improves immune status.
- Reduces the chances of opportunistic infections.
Zidovueline Adverse effects:
- Bone marrow depression – anaemia neutropenia.
- Headache.
- Nausea.
- Myalgia, fatigue.
- Insomnia.
- Myopathy.
- Neurotoxicity.
Question 3. Mention the drugs used in Typhoid fever.
Answer:
- First choice of drugs
- Ciprofloxacin
- Ceftriaxone
- Alternative drugs
- Chloramphenicol
- Ampicillin
- Cotrimoxazole