Untitled Essay, Research Paper

The AIDS virus is one of the most deathly and most broad spread diseases in

the modern epoch. The disease was foremost found in 1981 as physicians around the

United States began to describe groups of immature, homosexual work forces developing

a rare pneumonia caused by an being called Penumocystis carini. These

patients so went on to develop many other new and rare complications that

had antecedently been seen merely in patients with badly damaged immune systems.

The Center for Disease Control in the United States named this new epidemic

the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and defined it by a specific set of

symptoms. In 1983, research workers eventually identified the virus that caused AIDS.

They named the virus the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. AIDS causes

the immune system of the septic patient to go much less efficient until

it stops working wholly. The first drug that was approved

by the American Food and Drug disposal for usage in handling the AIDS

virus is called AZT, which stands for azido-thymidine. AZT was released under

the trade name name of Retrovir and it & # 8217 ; s chemical name is Zidovudine, or ZDV.

The structural name of AZT is 3 & # 8242 ; -azido-3 & # 8242 ; – deoxythymidine. AZT plants by

suppressing the procedure of copying DNA in cells. More specifically, AZT, inhibits

the contrary RNA polymerase enzyme, which is involved in the Deoxyribonucleic acid reproduction

procedure. When Deoxyribonucleic acid is retroflexing in a cell, there is a specific enzyme that

plants along one side of the original DNA strand as the Deoxyribonucleic acid is split into

two strands, copying each single nucleotide. This enzyme is merely able

to work in one way along the nucleotide twine, hence a different

enzyme, or instead a series of different enzymes is required to work in the

opposite way. Rearward RNA polymerase is one of the enzymes that is required

to work in the opposite way. AZT works by adhering to the contrary

RNA polymerase enzyme, thereby doing it unable to bond with the base

twine and doing it unable to carry through it & # 8217 ; s function. This whole procedure is used

by the HIV virus to retroflex itself so that it can go on to infect more

cells. AZT was originally developed over 20 old ages ago

for the intervention of lukemia. The construct behind this was that the AZT was

supposed to end the Deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in the turning lukemia lymph cells,

thereby halting the disease. AZT was rejected at this point because it failed

to lengthen the lives of trial animate beings. The job with

the AZT drug is that it is non perfect. First of all, AZT will non bond to

each and every contrary RNA polymerase enzyme in the organic structure, and therefore it

can non close down the HIV production wholly. The ground for this is because

to set adequate AZT in the patient to wholly close down the HIV production

would likely kill the patient. The 2nd, and most serious job with

AZT is that it besides goes into normal, healthy cells and will suppress their

contrary RNA polymerase enzyme and will therefore suppress their ability to

bring forth new, healthy cells. However, AZT does hold an ability to specifically

mark HIV infected cells to a certain grade so that it does non kill each

and every cell it gets into. However, it does kill a high proportion of the

cells that it gets into, thereby giving it a high toxicity degree.

The expression for AZT is C H N O. The molar mass of AZT

is 267.24 gms per mole. AZT & # 8217 ; s runing point is between 106 C and 112 C.

AZT is soluble in H2O, which is of import so that it may fade out into

the human blood and be distributed to the cells. AZT is normally taken in

a pill format, but it is absorbed by the tegument, which can do it unsafe

for people managing the drug. There is rather a spot of

contention about the effectivity of AZT. Most experts agree that AZT holds

the patterned advance of HIV disease ; the drug may besides protract the disease-free

survival period. However, many physicians still disagree with utilizing AZT as a

intervention for AIDS. Peter Duesberg, a professor of molecular biological science at the

university of California, Berkley, says that & # 8220 ; In position of this, [ the cytotoxicity

degree of AZT ] there is no rational account of how AZT could be good

to AIDS patients, even if HIV were proven to do AIDS. & # 8221 ; This remark stems

from the fact that AZT has a really high cytotoxicity degree, which means that

while it kills the septic cells, it will besides kill absolutely healthy cells.

Harmonizing to Dr. Duesberg, AZT will kill about nine hundred and 90

nine healthy cells for each infected cell that it kills. Most of this resistance

to AZT stems from the fact that the initial testing for the drug had terrible

jobs associated with it. These initial trials were performed with two

groups of AI

Darmstadtium patients. The volunteering patients were in secret divided

into two groups utilizing a double-blind system, where neither the patients nor

the physicians are cognizant of who is in the placebo, or control group, and who

is in the AZT group. These trials were performed by the FDA at twelve medical

centres throughout the United States. The survey really became unblinded

about instantly as some patients discovered a difference in gustatory sensation between

the placebo and AZT caplets and other patients took the capsules to chemists

to hold them analyzed. The physicians found out the differences between AZT

patients and the placebo patients by really obvious differences in blood profiles.

An FDA meeting was convened and the determination was made to maintain all of the

useless informations, and hence the bad information was thrown in with the good informations

and it ended up doing all of the informations virtually useless. In fact, harmonizing

to some beginnings, AZT ended up shortening the lifetimes of many of the patients

taking it. AZT is besides thought to be a possible carcinogen, although it has

non been around long plenty for any conclusive consequences to be obtained. After

AZT was approved for usage, mortality statistics were taken, they showed a

mortality rate of 10 % after 17 hebdomads, with the original figure of patients

being 4805. The FDA trials, with their skewed statistics, showed merely a 1 %

mortality rate. AZT besides had some unusual side-effects that were reported

with it & # 8217 ; s usage, such as raising the IQs of 21 kids who took the drug by

15 points, 5 of the kids died. The newest interventions

with AZT are uniting AZT with other drugs, such as dideoxyinosine. These trials were

being performed, one time once more in the double-blind format, merely like the original

FDA trials. Three different groups were tested, 1s taking merely AZT, 1s

taking lone dideoxyinosine and 1s taking a combination of both dideoxyinosine and AZT. The Data

Safety Monitoring Board ( DSMB ) , and organisation that proctors all proving

in the United States in secret unblinded the trial, as they do with all

double-blind trials, and found that the AZT patients had a much higher mortality

rate than those in the consecutive dideoxyinosine and the dideoxyinosine and AZT trials. The DSMB found

the difference in the trials to be high plenty to halt the tests early.

In August of 1994, the FDA approved AZT for usage by pregnant,

AIDS infected adult females. Once once more it was conducted in a double-blind method

and was placebo controlled. The therapy was begun 14-34 hebdomads after gestation.

However, in this proving it was found that in the AZT female parents, the AIDS

transmittal rate to the babes was approximately 8.3 % while the placebo group was

approximately 25.5 % . Therefore the AZT was cut downing the AIDS transmittal by two

tierces. It is still non clear as to the effectivity

of AZT to halt or impede the advancement of the AIDS virus. Most experts today

see AZT to be a valid manner to handle AIDS and HIV infection, but they

are invariably experimenting with new combinations of different drugs such

as dideoxyinosine and AZT to seek to better dainty AIDS patients. The monolithic administrative

mistakes in the initial testing have set the AZT research back and have fostered

unlooked for antipathy. As the interventions go more sound and more dependable,

AZT will happen it & # 8217 ; s topographic point in AIDS interventions. EndNotes Lauritsen, John. Poison

by Prescription & # 8211 ; The AZT Story. New York ; Aesculapiuss

Publication, 1990. pg.7. Lauritsen, John. Poison by Prescription & # 8211 ; The AZT

Story. New York ; Asklepios Publishing, 1990. pg.7.

Lauritsen, John. Poison by Prescription & # 8211 ; The AZT Story. New York ; Aesculapiuss

Publication, 1990. pg.23. Lauritsen, John. Poison

by Prescription & # 8211 ; The AZT Story. New York ; Aesculapiuss

Publication, 1990. pg.49. Whitmore, Arthur. AZT Approved for Preventing

Maternal-Fetal HIV Transmission. Internet:

hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hivpositive.com/f-DrugAdvisories/II- FDA/4.htm.

August 8, 1994. Bibliography Lauritsen, John. Poison by Prescription & # 8211 ; The

AZT Story. New York: Aesculapiuss Printing, 1990.

Pinsky, Laura. Douglas, Paul Harding. Metroka, Craig. The Essential HIV Treatment

Fact Book. New York: Simon & A ; Schuster Inc. ,

1992. Kaiser, Jon D. Immune Power & # 8211 ; A Comprehensive Treatment Program for

HIV. New York: St.Martin & # 8217 ; s Press, 1993. Whitmore,

Arthur. AZT Approved For Preventing Maternal-Fetal HIV Transmission.

Internet:

hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hivpositive.com/f-DrugAdvisories/II-FDA/4.htm, August

8, 1994. Whitmore, Arthur. FDA Grants Accelerated

Approval For 3TC With AZT To Treat AIDS. Internet:

hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hivpositive.com/f-DrugAdvisories/II-FDA/17.htm,

November 20, 1995. Clark, Martina. AZT: Pediatric

Study Changed. Internet:

hypertext transfer protocol: //www.out.org/HIV/AZT_pediatric_study_changed.htm, & # 8220 ; W.O.R.L.D. –

A Newsletter about Women & A ; HIV & # 8221 ; April 22, 1995.