Broder S, Fauci A S
Clinical Oncology Program, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Public Health Rep. 1988 May-Jun;103(3):224-9.
The discovery of effective therapies for HIV requires a fundamental knowledge of retroviral infections. Research by the Public Health Service and collaborating organizations on oncogenic viruses, including retroviruses, has provided much of the basic understanding of retroviruses in general and anti-retroviral therapeutic strategies in particular. Early work by the Viral Cancer and Developmental Therapeutic Programs of the National Cancer Institute and the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has contributed much of the current understanding of AIDS and its therapy. This paper describes the progress that has been made in the treatment of AIDS and the programs that have been created to develop future therapies. These programs include efforts to screen existing compounds for activity against HIV, to design new anti-HIV therapies, and to test potential agents in controlled clinical trials. As a result of these activities, researchers have identified one drug, AZT, that has proven effective in prolonging the lives of some patients with AIDS, and are developing several other promising compounds. The key question no longer is whether HIV infection can be treated, but what is the best and fastest way to develop new therapies and improve existing ones.
发现针对艾滋病病毒的有效疗法需要对逆转录病毒感染有基本的了解。公共卫生服务机构以及合作组织针对包括逆转录病毒在内的致癌病毒开展的研究，为人们全面了解逆转录病毒，尤其是抗逆转录病毒治疗策略奠定了基础。美国国立癌症研究所的病毒癌症与发育治疗项目以及美国国立过敏与传染病研究所的内部研究项目早期开展的工作，极大地推动了当前人们对艾滋病及其治疗方法的认识。本文介绍了艾滋病治疗方面取得的进展以及为研发未来治疗方法而设立的项目。这些项目包括筛选现有化合物以检测其抗艾滋病病毒活性、设计新的抗艾滋病病毒疗法，以及在对照临床试验中测试潜在药物。通过这些活动，研究人员已经确定了一种药物——齐多夫定（AZT），事实证明它能有效延长一些艾滋病患者的生命，并且正在研发其他几种有前景的化合物。关键问题不再是艾滋病病毒感染能否得到治疗，而是如何以最佳、最快的方式研发新疗法并改进现有疗法。
