Dolutegravir 50mg

Dolutegravir 50 mg falls within the group of medications called integrase inhibitors (INs) and should be used as part of combination HIV treatment. The common dose of Dolutegravir is 50 mg once a day. This medication can be taken irrespective of the mealtime, in the morning or before sleep. Dolutegravir proved to be well tolerated in clinical researches, and the adverse effects (if any) were usually mild and transient.

The medication acts by impeding the activity of retroviral integrase. Taking Dolutegravir 50 mg as part of combination treatment decreases HIV’s ability to damage cells and replicate.
In antiretroviral-experienced patients without previous HIV-1 integrase inhibitor resistance, Dolutegravir caused higher level of viral suppression compared to Raltegravir. Moreover, Dolutegravir proved effective in suppressing viremia in patients resistant to Raltegravir.
The common dosage is 50 mg once a day for patients who are using HIV therapy for the first time and/or patients without integrase resistance.

The patients using Dolutegravir 50 mg together with efavirenz, ritonavir, nevirapine or rifampicin and those resistant to this drug (or other integrase inhibitors) should take 50 mg twice a day.
Most patients can take Dolutegravir irrespective of the mealtime. However, people suffering from integrase drug resistance should take it during the meal to enhance the medication levels.

How should the patients with HIV use Dolutegravir?

Dolutegravir 50 mg is used together with some other antiretroviral agents, generally nucleoside analogues, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and other medications (for instance, protease inhibitors). Such combinations are known an antiretroviral treatment (ART).
Possible adverse effects

The use of Dolutegravir 50 mg can cause adverse effects. Most adverse effects caused by HIV drugs, including sickness or vertigo, are easy to manage. However, some of them can be severe. Thus, Dolutegravir can cause allergic responses and liver failure.

Dolutegravir is just the second separate integrase inhibitor, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (apart from Elvitegravir). Integrase inhibitors act by impeding a crucial stage of the virus infects the human cells. By preventing this important step, Dolutegravir and other INIs allow to suppress viral reproduction and control HIV in the organism.