Date : Sunday, 24 May 2015
Time : 21:52
Title : More about HIV and AIDS
Time : 21:52
Title : More about HIV and AIDS
Let’s discuss a tiny bit more on the effects of HIV.
By now, we know that HIV-infected patients have badly compromised immune systems and thus they can prone to many serious infections and illnesses. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the final stage of HIV. At this stage, the immune system is severely weakened, and the risk of contracting opportunistic infections is much greater. Not everyone with HIV will develop AIDS. The effects of HIV shown in the picture below are due to the failure of immune system with progressive HIV and AIDS. Once the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) enters your body, it launches a direct attack on your immune system. It gradually weakens your natural defenses against disease and infection and can affect every part of your body. However, with early anti-retro viral treatment, those effects can be prevented.
Overtime, HIV-positive people may experience symptoms from the infection and side effects from their anti-HIV drugs. One long-term effect that some people experience is a change in the way their bodies handle fats and sugars. In some cases, these changes can increase the chances of the patients getting heart disease and diabetes. Some people have experienced visible changes in body shape and appearance.
Experts aren't sure whether these changes in body fat are due to HIV itself, or to the anti-HIV drugs. There are no proven cures at this time, but there are steps people can take to reduce the effects. These include changes in diet, exercise, medication, even plastic surgery.
There is no functional cure for HIV or AIDS, meaning that there is no procedure or medication which has been scientifically proven to reliably eliminate the virus from a person's body or reverse the damage to the immune system. However, there have been many advances in HIV treatments and therapies in recent years that have dramatically improved the quality of life of people with HIV, and more people are living longer with HIV than we used to think was possible. There are now more than 20 approved antiretroviral drugs which can help to keep HIV in check.
There are also individuals who do not progress to AIDS although they did not receive any treatment. These individuals are called elite controllers, as their own immune system is able to maintain virus levels under 50 copies/ml (the detection limit) and stable CD4+ T cell counts.
When considering that there are millions of people living with HIV, there are individuals who hope that there is a new direction for future research in HIV and AIDS. Despite these encouraging developments, HIV continues to pose an extremely complicated challenge to researchers in their attempts to develop a cure. The immune system alone cannot clear HIV from the body because the virus specifically attacks the immune system and mutates away from it. Traditional vaccines have not worked because HIV mutates too rapidly to mount a targeted immune response.
People receiving ART now have a life expectancy approaching normal life expectancy as defined by the World Health Organisation. With what some see as an adequate solution in place, the risk associated with trying a new strategy for a cure seems unnecessary.
By now, we know that HIV-infected patients have badly compromised immune systems and thus they can prone to many serious infections and illnesses. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the final stage of HIV. At this stage, the immune system is severely weakened, and the risk of contracting opportunistic infections is much greater. Not everyone with HIV will develop AIDS. The effects of HIV shown in the picture below are due to the failure of immune system with progressive HIV and AIDS. Once the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) enters your body, it launches a direct attack on your immune system. It gradually weakens your natural defenses against disease and infection and can affect every part of your body. However, with early anti-retro viral treatment, those effects can be prevented.
Overtime, HIV-positive people may experience symptoms from the infection and side effects from their anti-HIV drugs. One long-term effect that some people experience is a change in the way their bodies handle fats and sugars. In some cases, these changes can increase the chances of the patients getting heart disease and diabetes. Some people have experienced visible changes in body shape and appearance.
Experts aren't sure whether these changes in body fat are due to HIV itself, or to the anti-HIV drugs. There are no proven cures at this time, but there are steps people can take to reduce the effects. These include changes in diet, exercise, medication, even plastic surgery.
There is no functional cure for HIV or AIDS, meaning that there is no procedure or medication which has been scientifically proven to reliably eliminate the virus from a person's body or reverse the damage to the immune system. However, there have been many advances in HIV treatments and therapies in recent years that have dramatically improved the quality of life of people with HIV, and more people are living longer with HIV than we used to think was possible. There are now more than 20 approved antiretroviral drugs which can help to keep HIV in check.
There are also individuals who do not progress to AIDS although they did not receive any treatment. These individuals are called elite controllers, as their own immune system is able to maintain virus levels under 50 copies/ml (the detection limit) and stable CD4+ T cell counts.
When considering that there are millions of people living with HIV, there are individuals who hope that there is a new direction for future research in HIV and AIDS. Despite these encouraging developments, HIV continues to pose an extremely complicated challenge to researchers in their attempts to develop a cure. The immune system alone cannot clear HIV from the body because the virus specifically attacks the immune system and mutates away from it. Traditional vaccines have not worked because HIV mutates too rapidly to mount a targeted immune response.
People receiving ART now have a life expectancy approaching normal life expectancy as defined by the World Health Organisation. With what some see as an adequate solution in place, the risk associated with trying a new strategy for a cure seems unnecessary.