Antiretroviral therapy has changed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection from a near-certainly fatal illness to one that can be managed chronically. More patients are taking antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for longer periods of time, which naturally results in more observed toxicity. Overdose with ARVs is not commonly reported. The most serious overdose outcomes have been reported in neonates who were inadvertently administered supratherapeutic doses of HIV prophylaxis medications. Typical ARV regimens include a "backbone" of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) and a "base" of either a protease inhibitor (PI) or nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. New classes of drugs called entry inhibitors and integrase inhibitors have also emerged. Older NRTIs were associated with mitochondrial toxicity, but this is less common in the newer drugs, emtricitabine, lamivudine, and tenofovir. Mitochondrial toxicity results from NRTI inhibition of a mitochondrial DNA polymerase. Mitochondrial toxicity manifests as myopathy, neuropathy, hepatic failure, and lactic acidosis. Routine lactate assessment in asymptomatic patients is not indicated. Lactate concentration should be obtained in patients taking NRTIs who have fatigue, nausea, vomiting, or vague abdominal pain. Mitochondrial toxicity can be fatal and is treated by supportive care and discontinuing NRTIs. Metabolic cofactors like thiamine, carnitine, and riboflavin may be helpful in managing mitochondrial toxicity. Lipodystrophy describes changes in fat distribution and lipid metabolism that have been attributed to both PIs and NRTIs. Lipodystrophy consists of loss of fat around the face (lipoatrophy), increase in truncal fat, and hypertriglyceridemia. There is no specific treatment of lipodystrophy. Clinicians should be able to recognize effects of chronic toxicity of ARVs, especially mitochondrial toxicity.

For many patients today, HIV has become a chronic disease. For those patients who have access to and adhere to lifelong antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, the potential for drugdrug interactions has become a real and life-threatening concern. It is known that most ARV drug interactions occur through the cytochrome P450 (CYP) pathway. Medications for comorbid medical conditions, holistic supplements, and illicit drugs can be affected by CYP inhibitors and inducers and have the potential to cause harm and toxicity. Protease inhibitors (PIs) tend to inhibit CYP3A4, while most nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) tend to induce the enzyme. As such, failure to adjust the dose of coadministered medications, such as statins and steroids, may lead to serious complications including rhabdomyolysis and hypercortisolism, respectively. Similarly, gastric acid blockers can decrease several ARV absorption, and warfarin doses may need to be adjusted to maintain therapeutic concentrations. Illicit drugs such as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy") in combination with PIs lead to increased toxicity, while the concomitant administration of sedative drugs such as midazolam and alprazolam in patients taking PIs can result in prolonged sedation, delayed recovery, and increased length of stay. Even supplements like St. John's Wort can alter PI concentrations. In theory, any drug that is metabolized by CYP has potential for a pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction with all PIs, cobicistat, and most NNRTIs. When adding a new medication to an ARV regimen, use of a drug-drug interaction software and/or consultation with a clinical pharmacist/pharmacologist or HIV specialist is recommended.

The polyphenolic compounds curcumin and quercetin increased sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells (CAOV3 and SKOV3) to cisplatin. The effect was obtained when the compounds were added simultaneously with cisplatin, as well as when they were added 24 h before. High serum levels of certain cytokines, for example interleukin-6 (IL-6), have been associated with poor prognosis and cisplatin resistance in various forms of cancer. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that cytokines may increase proliferation, metastasis, and stimulate production of detoxification enzymes and multi-drug resistant proteins. Curcumin inhibits the production of many cytokines. The two ovarian cell lines differ significantly in IL-6 production, and correspondingly the high producer, CAOV3, was less susceptible to cisplatin. Curcumin inhibited the production of IL-6 in this cell suggesting that one of the mechanisms for synergy between cisplatin and curcumin was by reducing the autologous production of IL-6. However, the synergy was also observed in the low IL-6 producer, SKOV3, indicating that the action was most probably a result of multiple targeting. In sum, this study suggests that the compounds, curcumin and quercetin, potentially may be useful for enhancing drug sensitivity in certain cancer.