It is the third drug licensed specifically for treatment of human immunodeficiency virus. Zalcitabine has been rapidly developed, tested and reviewed through the cooperative efforts of scientists in the National Institutes of Health and FDA, academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Specifically, dideoxynucleoside analogs inhibit reverse transcriptase by terminating replication. Inflammation of the nerves is called peripheral neuropathy and is a serious side effect. Symptoms include a burning or numbing in he hands or feet.
Severity can vary from mild symptoms to a serious pain that makes walking hard.
This condition usually vanishes when Zalcitabine is no longer taken. Antidepressants seem to alleviate peripheral neuropathy. Alternative medicine, such as acupuncture, also seems to help some. Adults take 2.25 mg a day total. This is taken in three doses that should be divided evenly and spaced evenly throughout the day.