Afework MekbebTaye Amsalu2022-06-302023-11-292022-06-302023-11-292013-02http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/32197Birth defects are a global problem. This impact is particularly severe in middle and low income countries where more than 94 percent of the births with serious birth defects and 95 percent of the deaths of these children occur. The aim of this project is to review and present outcomes of antiretroviral drugs exposed pregnancy. Antiretroviral compounds differ from most other new pharmaceutical agents in that they have become widely prescribed in pregnancy in the absence of proof of safety. In this paper antiretroviral agents used in pregnant women infected with human immunodeficiency virus and their effects on the infants are reviewed. This review gives an overview about in vivo and in vitro developmental toxicity and teratogenicity of the anti-AIDS drugs (antiretrovirals), in experimental animals and humans. Animal embryos exposed in vivo to antiretrovirals exhibited significantly increased pregnancy losses, drugs incorporation into the DNA of fetal organs, external abnormalities, skeletal defects, developmental toxicity, carcinogenicity, reduced weight, anemia, deaths and significant mitochondrial damage. The in vitro antiretrovirals exposure of animal cells or organs resulted in cytotoxicity, growth retardation, chromosomal aberrations, mutations, sister chromatid exchange and other genotoxic effects. In earlier human studies, management of AIDS positive pregnant women with antiretrovirals revealed exposure of their infants to such drugs with evidence of adverse events. However, recent publications present conflicting data about the associations between antiretrovirals and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Because of the increasingly frequent use of highly active antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy, ongoing efforts are needed to monitor any long-term effects of in utero exposure to the multiple antiretroviral agents used. Key words: Birth defects, ARV Drugs, HIV, Pregnancyen-USBirth defects, ARV Drugs, HIV, Pregnancy.Thesis