Antiviral Strategies (Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology (189))

A crucial issue for antiviral therapy is the fact that all antiviral substances rapidly select for resistance; thus, monitoring and overcoming resistance has become a most important clinical paradigm of antiviral therapy. This calls for cautious use of antiviral drugs and implementation of combination therapies. In parallel, efforts in drug discovery have to be continued to develop compounds with novel mode-of-action and activity against resistant strains. This book reviews the current status of antiviral therapy, from the roads to development of new compounds to their clinical use and cost effectiveness. Individual chapters address in more detail all available drug classes and outline new approaches currently under development. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Antiviral Strategies....Pages 1-24 Approaches for the Development of Antiviral Compounds: The Case of Hepatitis C Virus....Pages 25-51 Antiviral Agents Acting as DNA or RNA Chain Terminators....Pages 53-84 Viral Protease Inhibitors....Pages 85-110 Anti-Influenza Drugs: The Development of Sialidase Inhibitors....Pages 111-154 Other Inhibitors of Viral Enzymes and Functions....Pages 155-176 Inhibitors of Viral Entry....Pages 177-202 Interferons and Their Use in Persistent Viral Infections....Pages 203-241 Nucleic Acids-Based Therapeutics in the Battle Against Pathogenic Viruses....Pages 243-263 Antiviral Gene Therapy....Pages 265-297 Antiviral Resistance and Impact on Viral Replication Capacity: Evolution of Viruses Under Antiviral Pressure Occurs in Three Phases....Pages 299-320 Antiviral Combination Therapy for Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection....Pages 321-346 Socio-Economic Impact of Antiviral Intervention....Pages 347-374 Back Matter....Pages 375-379 All antiviral substances rapidly select for resistance; thus, monitoring and overcoming resistance has become an important clinical paradigm of antiviral therapy. This book reviews the current status of antiviral therapy, from the roads to development of new compounds to their clinical use and cost effectiveness