zidovudine
Meaning of zidovudine: Zidovudine, known as AZT, was the first antiretroviral drug approved to treat HIV infection by blocking viral replication.
Definition of zidovudine
Zidovudine, commonly known by the abbreviation AZT, is an antiretroviral medication used in the treatment of infection with human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes AIDS. It belongs to a class of drugs called nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, which work by interfering with an enzyme the virus needs to copy its genetic material inside human cells, slowing the virus's ability to replicate.
Zidovudine was the first antiretroviral drug approved for treating HIV infection and remains part of the same drug class used in combination antiretroviral therapy today, in which several drugs with different mechanisms are given together to suppress the virus more effectively and reduce the chance of resistance developing.
Zidovudine is also used to lower the risk of a pregnant person with HIV passing the virus to the infant during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, given as part of a broader prevention strategy alongside other measures.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Zidovudine was included in the antiretroviral regimen prescribed to manage the patient's HIV infection.
Good to know
Zidovudine is now used mainly in combination with other antiretroviral drugs rather than alone, since combination therapy suppresses HIV replication more effectively and reduces the chance that the virus develops resistance.