darunavir + ritonavir + dolutegravir + tenofovir alafenamide

This four-drug antiretroviral regimen, consisting of darunavir, ritonavir, dolutegravir, and tenofovir alafenamide, is being investigated by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The therapy aims to suppress the expression of Human Endogenous Retrovirus-K (HERV-K), a retroelement that has been found to be activated in the brains and spinal cords of a subset of ALS patients and is hypothesized to contribute to neurodegeneration. In this combination, darunavir serves as a protease inhibitor, dolutegravir as an integrase inhibitor, and tenofovir alafenamide as a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, while ritonavir is utilized as a pharmacokinetic booster to increase the systemic exposure of darunavir by inhibiting the CYP3A4 enzyme.

Other names

Antiretroviral therapy for HERV-K suppression in ALSHERV-K suppression regimen