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Abacavir Research Paper

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ACAVIR The most important adverse effect of abacavir is a unique and potentially fatal hypersensitivity syndrome. Abacavir hypersensitivity occurs in 2-9% of patients The cause is a genetically mediated immune response linked to both the HLA-B*5701 locus and the M493T allele in the heat-shock locus Hsp70-Hom41 . This is one of the strongest pharmacogenetic associations ever described. In one white population, the combination of these two markers occurred in 94.4% of cases and 100 cells/ml, hematologic effects occur in 2%–14% of patients; however, the incidence is much greater among patients with CD4+ cell counts 250 cells/mm3, especially during pregnancy. Liver problems can occur at any time during treatment, but the risk is highest during the first 18 weeks of treatment50. A study done in United states reported that individuals with a higher CD4+ cell count …show more content…

Dizziness, drowsiness, insomnia,nightmares, and headache tend to diminish with continued therapy; dosing at bedtime may also be helpful. Psychiatric symptoms such as depression, mania, and psychosis have been observed and may necessitate discontinuation. Skin rash has also been reported early in therapy in up to 28% of patients; the rash is usually mild to moderate in severity and typically resolves despite continuation. Rarely, rash has been severe or life-threatening. Other potential adverse reactions are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, crystalluria, elevated liver enzymes, and an increase in total serum cholesterol by 10–20%.High rates of fetal abnormalities, such as neural tube defects, occurred in pregnant monkeys exposed to efavirenz in doses roughly equivalent to the human dosage; several cases of congenital anomalies have been reported in humans. So efavirenz should be avoided in pregnant women, particularly in the first trimester. Adverse reactions associated with Protease inhibitors

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