ANOTHER IMPRESIVE STEP TOWARDS THE CURE TO HIV/AIDS

AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease caused by a virus called HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The illness alters the immune system, making people much more vulnerable to infections and diseases. This susceptibility worsens as the disease progresses.

HIV is found in the body fluids of an infected person (could be semen and vaginal fluids, blood and breast milk). The virus is passed from one person to another through blood-to-blood and sexual contact.
 In addition, infected pregnant women can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy, delivering the baby during childbirth, and through breast feeding.

HIV can be transmitted in many ways, such as vaginal, oral sex, anal sex, blood transfusion, and contaminated hypodermic needles.
Both the virus and the disease are often referred to together as HIV/AIDS. People with HIV have what is called HIV infection. As a result, some will then develop AIDS. The development of numerous opportunistic infections in an AIDS patient can ultimately lead to death.

                                         

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HIV AND AIDS.

HIV is the virus which attacks the T-cells in the immune system.

AIDS is the syndrome which appears in advanced stages of HIV infection.

HIV is a virus.

AIDS is a medical condition.


STAGES OF HIV

ACUTE INFECTION

This acute infection occurs within two to four weeks after infection with HIV. The symptoms of the acute infection are similar to a bad flu or, as AIDS.gov describes it, "the worst flu ever." During the acute infection phase, a large amounts of virus are being produced in the body, attacking CD4 T cells, which are one type of cell that makes up the immune system. Eventually the body brings the virus back down to low levels, and the CD4 T cell count increases.

CLINICAL LATENCY

The next stage of HIV infection is clinical latency, a period that may extend for several years, where the infected person feels no symptoms.The only clue that a person is infected with HIV is that he would test positive in an HIV test. Additionally, he may have larger-than-normal lymph nodes.  this stage can persist for a period of nine years or longer.

EARLY STAGE

Early stage AIDS occurs when the body's immune system is compromised enough to be susceptible to some mild bacterial, viral and fungal infections. In early stages of AIDS, the person may experience mild symptoms such as skin rashes, fatigue, night sweats, slight weight loss and fungal skin and nail infections.

MIDDLE STAGE

The middle stage of AIDS is characterized, as an increase in severity of infections. The person may experience troublesome fungal infections of the mouth or vagina called thrush, which manifests as a white or yellow film that may cause irritation. Thebody.com reports that other symptoms characteristic of middle-stage AIDS include: herpes infection of the mouth and genitals (cold sores), diarrhea, more dramatic weight loss and persistent fevers.

LATE STAGE

In late-stage AIDS, infections may make the infected person consistently and often severely sick. Thebody.com reports that these infections include Mycobacterium avium complex disease (caused by a fungus) Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (caused by a bacteria), and cytomegalovirus (caused by a virus). The NIAID reports that chronic severe diarrhea, intense night sweats, memory loss, depression and other disorders of the brain may occur in late-stage AIDS. Furthermore, the person may develop type of cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma that causes red, brown or purple blotches on the skin of the face.          

SUGGESTION TOWARDS THE CURE: 

First, the researchers set out to see how the body's natural immune response impacts the virulence of HIV, or its ability to progress to AIDS.
In particular, the team investigated blood proteins called human leukocyte antigens (HLA). These proteins allow the immune system to distinguish between friendly and harmful proteins. The researchers explain that some people have a gene that expresses a protein called HLA-B*57, which is known to have a "protective effect" against HIV.

The researchers found, however, that in some cases HIV has evolved to become resistant to the protective effects of HLA-B*57 - particularly among women in Botswana. But they also found that this evolution has impaired the ability of HIV to replicate, meaning its progression to AIDS is being slowed.

As HIV evolves to adapt to the human immune system,  its virulence may be slowing.

According to the researchers, the way HIV is evolving to resist protective gene variants is hampering the virulence of transmitted HIV. This means that HIV is playing a part in its own eradication.

Commenting on this finding, Prof. Goulder says:

"This research highlights the fact that HIV adaptation to the most effective immune responses we can make against it comes at a significant cost to its ability to replicate. Anything we can do to increase the pressure on HIV in this way may allow scientists to reduce the destructive power of HIV over time

 MY SUGGESTION

  ^{Since CD4 count is  500-1500cells/mm3 , a drug should be produced to boost up the immune system after a person is been exposed to HIV. this is because since HIV attacks the immune system directly} 

^{-binds to the immune system}

^{-become a family of the immune system}

^{-And so keeps replicating whenever the immune system try to fight against the virus.}

^{- This CD4 cells are T-heper cells or T-cells which are found on the surface of the immune system.}

^{-their major function is to fight against any foreign material invading into the body.}

 ^{so therefore, a drug should be produced to increase or rather boost the immune system so that the T-cells can over-ride the virus and also suppress for which can be an advantage to increase the life sperm of an individual been expose to HIV to live more than expected.}

 

^{Another suggestion is}  

 

As prof.Goulder says.

 

 That a protective protein HLA-B*57 which is particularly found among women in botwana slows down the replication of HIV from getting to the complex stage AIDS.

- Since HLA-B*57 has the ability of doing this, I think the components of this protein should be taken into consideration thereby bringing this components together also adding few things to it and testing it on animals expose to HIV to see if this can suppress the virus or maybe eradicate it if possible.

And also preventing replicating and allowing the immune system(T-cells) to perform their work.

- AS THESE COULD BE ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS THE CURE TO HIV/AIDS.