HIV AIDS News [International Conference on AIDS (12th: 1998: Geneva, Switzerland)]

1987: The nucleoside analogue zidovudine (AZT) receives approval for
treatment of HIV -- the beginning of ART.
1988: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implements new
regulations to make promising therapies available sooner for
patients with life-threatening diseases.
1989: Dideoxyinosine (ddl), another nucleoside analogue, receives
approval for treatment in patients intolerant to zidovudine.
1991: Zalcitabine (ddC) becomes the third nucleoside analogue available
to treat HIV-related disease. At this stage, doctors begin to realise
that monotherapy is unlikely to be the solution to treatment of AIDS,
and start investigating combinations of nucleoside analogues.
1992: In June, the FDA approves zalcitabine (ddC) in combination with
zidovudine for the treatment of advanced HIV infection in patients
who show signs of clinical and immunological deterioration. This is
the beginning of combination therapy for HIV.
Stavudine (d4T) becomes the fourth nucleoside analogue available
for treatment of HIV.
Over the next two years, however, it becomes clear that
monotherapy with a nucleoside analogue leads the HIV virus to
develop resistance to the treatment. Even combinations of two
nucleoside analogues are not sufficient to prevent the emergence of
resistance.