HIV and AIDS

Definition

AIDS is characterized by progressive immunodeficiency. It's characterized by progressive destruction of cell-mediated immunity and it also affects humoral immunity, and even auto immunity because of the central role of CD4 + T cells in immune reactions. Transmission of HIV occurs by contact with infected blood or body fluids and it is associated with identifiable high-risk behaviors. As a result, HIV incidence is disproportionately high in I. V. drug users, homosexual and bisexual men, neonates of HIV-infected women, recipients of contaminated blood or blood products, and heterosexual partners of people in the former groups. Thus, the number of women with HIV and AIDS is rising steadily, and HIV infection is now the third leading cause of death among women ages 25 to 44.

Causes of HIV and AIDS

AIDS may be occur from infection with HIV. In which strikes cells bearing the CD4 antigen, the latter serves as a receptor for the retrovirus and lets it enter the cell. HIV infection leads to profound pathology either directly, through destruction of CD4 + cells, other immune cells, and neuroglial cells, or indirectly, through the secondary effects of CD4 + T-cell dysfunction and resultant immunosuppression.The infection process takes three forms:

• Immunodeficiency
• Autoimmunity
• Neurologic dysfunction. HIV is transmitted by direct inoculation during intimate sexual contact, especially associated with the mucosal trauma of receptive rectal intercourse, transfusion of contaminated blood or blood products, sharing of contaminated needles, or transplacental or postpartum transmission from infected mother to fetus. For women, transmission through heterosexual intimate contact is the leading cause of transmission.

Symptoms of HIV and AIDS

HIV and AIDS have various symptoms. When symptoms appear, they may take many forms, such as persistent generalized adenopathy.

Nonspecific signs and symptoms may include:

• Weight loss
• Fatigue
• Night sweats, and fevers

Neurologic symptoms resulting from HIV encephalopathy, an opportunistic infection, or cancer.

In addition to the symptoms common to men and women, women also experience HIV-gynecologic problems, such as:

• Recurrent vaginal yeast infections
• Other vaginal infections
• Severe herpes simplex virus ulcers
• Idiopathic genital ulcers
• Human papillomavirus infections
• Pelvic inflammatory disease and menstrual irregularities

Treatment of HIV and AIDS

There's no known cure for AIDS. Treatment for HIV infection can be divided into four categories such as prevention and therapy for opportunistic infections and malignancies, antiretroviral treatment, and hematopoietic stimulating factors.

• Nucleoside analogues sometimes known as reverse transcriptase inhibitors. These drugs, which include zidovudine, lamivudine, didanosine, stavudine, abacavir, and zaldtabine, interfere with viral reverse transcriptase, which impairs HIV's ability to turn its ribonucleic add into deoxyribonucleic add for insertion into the host cell.
• You can us the Antiretroviral therapy treatment for this disease, in which it typically begins when the patient's CD4+ T-cell count drops to less than 350/ul or when the patient develops an opportunistic infection. The drug combinations and dosages are then altered, depending on the patient's response.