Home › Drug Classes › Anti-infectives › Antiviral Agents › Purine Nucleosides
Print Save or Share

Purine nucleosides

A drug may be classified by the chemical type of the active ingredient or by the way it is used to treat a particular condition. Each drug can be classified into one or more drug classes.

Purine nucleosides are antiviral agents that have selective activity against herpes simplex virus types 1 (cold sores) and 2 (genital herpes) and varicella zoster virus (chicken pox).

The purine nucleoside molecule is converted to a monophosphate by viral thymidine kinases. The monophosphate is then converted to diphosphate and then into a triphosphate form by cellular enzymes. The triphosphate form blocks the replication of viral DNA by inhibiting viral DNA polymerase and terminating the growing viral DNA chain.

Purine nucleosides are more potent against the viral enzymes than the host enzymes.

Filter drugs by condition:
Drug Name DownUp( View by: Brand | Generic ) Reviews Avg. Ratings DownUp
Valtrex (Pro, More...)
generic name: valacyclovir 		55 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		9.1
Zovirax (Pro, More...)
generic name: acyclovir 		11 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		8.8
Famvir (Pro, More...)
generic name: famciclovir 		10 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		8.5
Copegus (Pro, More...)
generic name: ribavirin 		1 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		8.0
RibaPak (More...)
generic name: ribavirin 		0 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		1.0
Cytovene (Pro, More...)
generic name: ganciclovir 		0 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		0.0
Rebetol (Pro, More...)
generic name: ribavirin 		0 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		0.0
Ribasphere (Pro, More...)
generic name: ribavirin 		0 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		0.0
RibaTab (More...)
generic name: ribavirin 		0 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		0.0
Valcyte (Pro, More...)
generic name: valganciclovir 		0 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		0.0
Virazole (Pro, More...)
generic name: ribavirin 		0 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		0.0
Vistide (Pro, More...)
generic name: cidofovir 		0 Review(s)
  
Rate It!		0.0

See also

Medical conditions associated with purine nucleosides:

(web4)