Journal of Gastrointestinal & Digestive System
Open Access

Research Article

Influence of Nevirapine on Gastrointestinal Function

Umoren EB^*, Obembe AO and Osim EE

Department of Physiology, College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author:

Umoren EB
Research Student, University of Calabar
Physiology 4 Etta-AGbor Street, Calabar
Cross River State 540001, Nigeria
Tel: +234-806-770-9327
E-mail: lizzyumoren@yahoo.com

Received date: July 30, 2015 Accepted date: August 08, 2015 Published date: August 17, 2015

Citation: Umoren EB, Obembe AO, Osim EE (2015) Influence of Nevirapine on Gastrointestinal Function. J Gastrointest Dig Syst 5:326. doi: 10.4172/2161-069X.1000326

Copyright: © 2015 Umoren EB, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License; which permits unrestricted use; distribution; and reproduction in any medium; provided the original author and source are credited.

In recent times there has been a growing research interest in Nevirapine an antiretroviral medication that prevents human immunodeficiency virus cells from multiplying in the blood. Nevirapine comes as tablet and a suspension (liquid) often taken by mouth, it is taken with or without once a day for 2 weeks and twice a day after the first 2 weeks. It is best to swallow nevirapine with liquids such as water, milk or soda. Feeding experiments in various animal species and humans have highlighted the beneficial role of nevirapine on health. These benefits include significant reduction in acquired immune deficiency syndrome-related morbidity and mortality. However, nevirapine hypersensitivity reaction can lead to morbidity through treatment interruption, inconvenience and loss of productivity. Additionally, nevirapine has an excellent bioavailability and a long half-life. This increases the risk of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor resistance when patients discontinue all the other antiretroviral drugs in the regimen at the same time. Thus, this can lead to decreased therapeutic options if nevirapine resistance develops. The gastrointestinal tract is a major portal of entry of nutrients into the body and nevirapine first make contact with the gastrointestinal tract. The health of an individual is dependent on the nutrient absorbed and hence functional integrity of the gastrointestinal tract. Studies have revealed that the interaction with drug have led to disruption of gastrointestinal function.

Keywords