Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

AIDS Definition:

AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It occurs when the CD4 count is below 200/mL and is characterized by gradual destruction of T-cell immunity. The term t-cell is the popular name of a cell in the immune system. A better term of t-cell is CD4 because there are several flavors of t-cells. In the starting,It is transmitted by exposure to contaminated body fluids, especially blood and semen.This syndrome was first described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1981.

AIDS is caused by a virus known as the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. It is a 'Retrovirus'. Retroviruses consist of Ribonucleic Acid (RNA). The virus can remain in a person's body for many years without causing serious health problems. HIV replicates in and kills the helper T cells, which are the body's main defense against illness.

HIV is mainly spread through by :

• Sexual contact
• Direct innoculation of the virus
• Contaminated blood products
• An infected mother

AIDS Causes

Mostly, HIV infection is spread by having sex with an infected partner. HIV also spreads through contact with infected blood through a transfusion of contaminated blood. HIV infection leads to profound pathology. The virus is ravaging agriculture, with the areas of cultivated land. HIV is not present in sufficient numbers in the blood of 'infected' victims to explain the damage done and there is no proper test to unequivocally prove infection with HIV.

AIDS in Africa may be caused by malnutrition and by opportunistic diseases. In the Gambia, the HIV spreads through mother-to-child is gradually increasing. About 10 per cent of HIV transmissions are from mother to child. Although initially AIDS cases occurred primarily in homosexual males in the United States,

This infection process takes three forms:

• immunodeficiency
• autoimmunity
• neuroligic dysfunction

AIDS Symptoms

HIV/Aids is also called the "silent epidemic" because a person can be infected for many years without showing any symptoms. In this latent stage, the sign of HIV infection is laboratory evidence of seroconversion. Children show all of the opportunistic infections observed in adults. Many children do not gain weight or grow normally. HIV mainly enters the body in adults, or within two years in children born. In women, the symptoms of exposure to the HIV virus are frequent or severe vaginal infections, abnormal PAP smears and these are difficult to treat.

The symptoms, which can occur within days or weeks of infection from HIV virus are:

• fever
• tiredness
• headache
• swollen lymph nodes
• sore throat
• lack of energy
• weight loss
• frequent fevers and sweats
• persistent skin rashes or flaky skin
• short-term memory loss

AIDS Treatment

Combination of several drugs called highly active antiretroviral therapy is used to treat people with HIV. This treatment is not a cure. The virus still persists in various body sites, such as in the lymph glands.

HIV antiretroviral treatment may stop people from becoming ill for many years. Antiretroviral treatment for HIV infection consists of drugs which work against HIV infection.

HIV infection includes three different types of antiretroviral agents:

• protease inhibitors (PIs)
• nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs)
• non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs)

These agents are designed to inhibit HIV viral replication.