[01] Ana Carolina Kogawa, Department of Drugs and Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” - UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil. [02] Hérida Regina Nunes Salgado, Department of Drugs and Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” - UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil.

AIDS is the final stage of the disease caused by HIV. It attacks the defense cells of the body, leaving the body vulnerable to all kinds of diseases. Therapeutic agents are divided according to their mechanism of action, nucleoside or nucleotide transcriptase inhibitor, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, fusion inhibitor, entry inhibitor and integrase inhibitor. AIDS is diagnosed through different phases. Each with different characteristics. Selection of mutations in HIV genome conferring cross resistance to different compounds of each class is unfortunately a not infrequent occurrence. Drug resistance due to mutations and sub-inhibitory antiretroviral drug concentrations provide treatment failure. Currently, treatment of HIV infection relies on the so-called “Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy” which proposes the combination of several drugs in a daily regimen. The reduction in the incidence of HIV infection has been a priority for the control of AIDS in the world with an initial prevention strategy based on behavior change. Around the world there are campaigning to mobilize people about prophylaxis of the disease. and 1st of December is celebrated the “International day of fight against AIDS”. All this global involvement is remarkable, since the number of deaths and new infections has been falling. AIDS still has no cure, but HIV patients have a treatment to prolong survival and improve quality of life by reducing the viral load and immune system reconstitution.

AIDS, Antiretroviral Drugs, Diagnosis, HIV, Prophylaxis, Treatment

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