zalcitabine

9.9

A drug used to treat HIV infection, now rarely used because of side effects

noun
/zælˈsɪtəˌbiːn/

Archaic

: zalcitabina

Due to side effects, zalcitabine is now rarely used in modern HIV treatment protocols.

Examples

The doctor prescribed zalcitabine as part of a combination therapy for his HIV-positive patients.
Researchers studied the long-term effects of zalcitabine on immune system function.
Doctors prescribed zalcitabine for the patient's HIV treatment.
Many patients have used zalcitabine in their antiretroviral therapy.
The doctor prescribed zalcitabine to help manage the patient's HIV infection.
Many researchers are investigating the effectiveness of zalcitabine in HIV treatment.
Although zalcitabine was common in the past, its use has declined in favor of newer medications.

Synonyms

DDC

vszalcitabine

Archaic

1 9.3

A medicine that fights viruses used with other drugs to treat HIV

is described as formerly used in antiretroviral therapy

nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor

vszalcitabine

Specialized

1 6.6

An HIV drug that joins viral DNA and stops the enzyme that copies the virus

is a single drug not the whole class of inhibitors

dideoxycytosine

vszalcitabine

Specialized

9.9

A medicine used to treat HIV that stops the virus from making more copies

is the same specific drug but noted as formerly used in therapy

Surface Forms

zalcitabine singular

zalcitabines plural

Etymology

Zalcitabine is a name you can remember by the part -citabine, which links to cyto- meaning 'cell', so it sounds like a medicine that works at the 'cell' level. That's why zalcitabine is an antiviral drug used against HIV, because it works inside cells to stop the virus copying itself.