Zidovudine (
Retrovir®) is a prescription medication used to treat
HIV infection and
AIDS. It is approved to treat HIV and to help prevent pregnant women with the virus from spreading it to their babies. Zidovudine was the first HIV medication to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is also known as azidothymidine (AZT for short) or ZDV.
Zidovudine is made by GlaxoSmithKline.
How Does Zidovudine Work?
Zidovudine is part of a group of HIV medications known as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). These medicines work by blocking a process that the HIV virus needs in order to multiply.
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS. Like other viruses, it must use a host's own cells to reproduce. However, HIV is a little different from other viruses because it must first convert its genetic material from RNA to DNA. It is the DNA genes that allow HIV to multiply.
HIV converts its genetic material by using a special protein called the reverse transcriptase enzyme. To create DNA, this enzyme uses several different protein building-blocks.
Zidovudine works by tricking reverse transcriptase into thinking it is one of these protein building-blocks. However, it is just different enough that when used to create DNA, zidovudine actually stops the DNA from being made. Without DNA, HIV cannot multiply.
Zidovudine is not a cure for HIV or AIDS. It can help stop HIV from infecting healthy cells in the body, but it does not help cells that have already been infected with the virus.
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