PHA 3112 Chapter Notes - Chapter 93: Shingles, Pegylated Interferon, Hepatitis B Vaccine
Document Summary
Chapter 93: antiviral agents i: drugs for non-hiv viral infections. Ability to treat viral infections is limited due to process of viral replication; viruses are intracellular parasites that use biochemical machinery of host cells to reproduce = difficult to suppress viral replication w/o harm to host. Drugs for infection with herpes simplex viruses (hsv) and varicella-zoster virus (vzv): Hsv cause genitalia, mouth & face infections caused by varicella (chickenpox) & herpes zoster (shingles: acyclovir. 1st doc for most hsv & vzv infections; administered topically, orally, & intravenously. Acyclovir inhibits viral replication by suppressing synthesis of viral dna. Selectivity based on hsvs ability to activate the drug. Herpes viruses develop resistance; rare in immunocompetent patients; common transplant & aids. Vzv reaction dormant decades in sensory nerve roots. Valacyclovir and famciclovir: prodrug of acyclovir; zoster (shingles), herpes simplex genitalis, herpes labialis (cold sores) Member of herpesvirus group (herpes simplex types 1 & 2, varicella-zoster virus, & epstein-barr virus)