Question

The idea behind multidrug therapy for HIV is to increase the number of mutations required for resistance and thus reduce genetic variation in the viral population for survival in the presence of drugs. Could we achieve the same effect by using antiretroviral drugs in sequence instead of simultaneously? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Using antiretroviral drugs in sequence instead of simultaneously would not achieve the same effect as using them simultaneously. When drugs are used in sequence, the virus has the opportunity to develop resistance to each drug individually.

Step-by-step explanation:

When antiretroviral drugs are used individually, the high mutation rate of the HIV virus allows it to rapidly develop resistance to the drug, limiting its effectiveness. The breakthrough in HIV treatment was the development of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which involves a combination of different drugs, sometimes called a drug 'cocktail.' By attacking the virus at different stages of its replication cycle, it becomes much more difficult for the virus to develop resistance to multiple drugs at the same time.

Using antiretroviral drugs in sequence instead of simultaneously would not achieve the same effect as using them simultaneously. When drugs are used in sequence, the virus has the opportunity to develop resistance to each drug individually. This would allow the virus to still survive in the presence of the drugs, as it would have developed mutations against each drug separately. Therefore, using the drugs simultaneously in a combination therapy is more effective in reducing genetic variation and resistance in the viral population.