Hiv - Aids

Hiv stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and leads to the amelioration of Acquired Immune scantness Syndrome or Aids. Aids is not a disease itself but a failure of the immune theory which leads to a variety of rare, life-threatening opportunistic infection.

Since Aids was first recognised on 1st December 1981 it is estimated to have killed 25million people. Hiv/Aids is now pandemic which means it has spread over whole continents and in this case the world. It is concept that at the moment there are 40million people worldwide, living with Hiv, 70% of them living in sub-Saharan Africa. Although Hiv and Aids are a major qoute in developing countries and a important cause of death it still has a heavy impact here in the Uk: about 63,500 people are now living with Hiv.

Hiv Antiretroviral Drugs

Hiv is a pathogen which is an organism that causes infectious disease; more specifically it is a retrovirus which means it breaks down Dna in cells and reassembles it in order to make copies of itself. Hiv is such a qoute for a number of reasons: firstly it can mutate undoubtedly so it is difficult for the body to recognise and it is difficult to institute a vaccine, secondly it attacks T-helper lymphocyte cells which are a vital part of the body's immune system.

Hiv is transferred straight through the direct change of:

* Blood
* Semen
* Vaginal fluid
* Pre-ejaculate
* Breast milk

It can be transmitted by:

* Unprotected sexual intercourse
* Contaminated needles
* Breast milk
* Vertical transmission (from the mom to the baby at birth)
* Blood transfusions or blood products

Hiv can't survive outside the body or be carried in a vector so it is only transferred straight through direct contact. However, it is present in corporeal fluids as both a free virus and within infected immune cells. Saliva, sweat and urine do consist of Hiv if the someone is infected but not in a high enough quantity to change the infection.

Symptoms of Hiv:

* Fever
* Swollen glands
* Sore throat
* Rash
* Painful muscles and joints
* Headache
* Nausea and vomiting
* Ulcers
* Flu-like symptoms.
*

There are 4 stages in Hiv infection, these are:

1. The Incubation Phase:

This stage is often asymptomatic and normally lasts 2-4 weeks.

2. Acute Hiv Infection:

In this stage you institute an influenza-like illness with symptoms such as fever, weight loss, thrush and neurological symptoms. These symptoms are very non-specific so it is often not recognised as an Hiv infection and can be diagnosed incorrectly as a more common infection with similar symptoms. The virus replicates rapidly and there is a marked drop in the number of T-helper lymphocytes. This stage lasts for at least a week and more normally a month.

3. Latency Stage:

The body's natural, strong immune defence reduces the number of viral particles in the blood and the infection seems to clear. This stage can last any time between 2 weeks and 20 years.

4. Aids:

The T-helper lymphocytes decline in number so cell-mediated immunity is lost. This allows opportunistic infections to occur such as tumours, tuberculosis and pneumonia and it is these infections that undoubtedly kill the person.

Replication Cycle of Hiv:

Hiv has outside receptors called glycoprotein 120 and glycoprotein 41. Glycoprotein 120 attaches to the Cd4 antigen receptors on the host cell. The virus releases an enzyme called lysozyme which digests part of the membrane, the viral envelope and the host's cell membrane fuse together. The virus' genetic material, Rna, is injected into the host cell along with the enzymes reverse transcriptase, protease, integrase and ribonuclease. In the cytoplasm reverse transcriptase makes a complimentary seashore of Dna from the virus' Rna genome; it then makes a second complementary seashore of Dna to form a double seashore of Dna. Mutations often occur while transcription. The new Dna is portable to the cell nucleus and integrated into the host's Dna. When the cell replicates it also replicates the viral Dna which codes for the output of proteins to make new viruses. It can lie dormant in the host's cell Dna or it can be activated by the host. When it is activated Rna is made from Dna to make the viral Rna genome. The Rna is translated to make viral enzymes and proteins, some functional proteins are formed by using the enzyme protease to adhere or cut a long polypeptide chain. Newly formed glycoproteins 120 and 41 are inserted into the host's cell membrane, the structural proteins surround the viral Rna forming a core and the virus is released from the cell by budding off. The rate of replication is fast, and therefore so is the rate of mutation. This means that there are many separate strands of Hiv manufacture it difficult for the body to recognise and fight them and it is also difficult to institute an productive vaccine.

The Immune Response and T-helper Lymphocytes:

T lymphocytes are a definite type of white blood cell which are produced in the bone marrow and mature in the thymus. Mature lymphocytes circulate in the blood. T cells have definite outside receptors, similar to antibodies, which are definite to one antigen (a substance that is foreign to the body). This means that they are able to recognise a singular virus or bacterium etc. There are many T cells and separate ones will have separate receptors that recognise a separate antigen. When the cells encounter an antigen in touch with a host cell they become activated. Activated T-helper cells release cytokines, (these are similar to hormones and are complicated in cellular communication,) which stimulate an additional one type of lymphocyte called B lymphocytes. These cells furnish definite antibodies for the antigen, which whether attract other immune cells to the site so that they can kill them or they help break up the antigen themselves. Cytokines can also stimulate a third type of immune cell, called macrophages, to kill the foreign particles. As well as secreting cytokines T-helper cells also divide to form memory cells so that if the someone is infected by the same antigen the immune response will be quicker and more effective. . So although T-helper cells don't fight the antigens themselves they play a key role in recognition and stimulating attacks and when their numbers are low the body is unable to defend itself properly.

Hiv infects and destroys cells which express a outside protein known as Cd4. This includes primarily T-helper cells, but also macrophages and dendritic cells (other immune cells). The number of Cd4+ T-helper cells drops meaning that the full range of antigens that could be detected aren't recognised. This is the core indication of illness of Aids: pathogens that would normally be detected by T cells leave recognition allowing opportunistic infections to attack.

Prevention and Treatment:

At the moment there isn't a cure or a vaccine for whether Hiv or Aids. This is generally because the virus facilely mutates so there are many separate strands and although there might be a vaccine for one seashore there will be other strands that are unyielding and can continue to replicate and infect people. Therefore the best defense against Hiv is arresting and avoiding exposure to the virus.

This can be done in a number of ways:

* Using condoms and not having unprotected sexual intercourse.
* Not breast-feeding your children if you are Hiv+.
* Not sharing needles or other drug paraphernalia.
* Using sterile equipment, for example those used in surgery, tattooing and body piercing.

People at high risk are:

* Male homosexuals
* Prostitutes
* Injecting drug users
* Sexual partners of infected people.

In industrialized countries blood and blood products, such as organs, from donors are screened for Hiv and heat-treated to kill any infections before they are used. However, this is not widely practised in the developing world and anyone undergoing an execution or blood transfusion in these countries is often asked to use their own blood for the operation.

Blood tests can be used to detect antibodies for Hiv to identify infected people and to rule whether someone is Hiv+ (infected). Any way antibodies to Hiv can take up to three months to appear in the blood after infection, so you may test as negative but still be infected with Hiv, also testing negative doesn't mean that you can't be infected by Hiv.

It is difficult to operate the spread of the Hiv infection because it has a long latent stage between being infected and developing Aids, also Hiv can be asymptomatic so people may be unaware that they are infected. In the Uk touch tracing is used where people diagnosed with Hiv, if they want to or are able to, identify people they may have put at risk or may have infected them so that those people can be offered Hiv tests.

Drug therapy has also been industrialized to slow the onset of Aids, but it doesn't cure you or stop you from infecting other people. The drugs are high-priced and have side effects such as: rashes, headaches and diarrhoea which are mild and temporary as well as nerve damage and abnormal fat distribution which are severe and permanent. Other side effects consist of insulin resistance, growth in the risk of cardiovascular disease and birth defects. Since they are high-priced many infected people especially those in developing countries, do not have entrance to them. At the moment antiretroviral treatments are used and should be given as soon as inherent after exposure to sacrifice the risk of infection.

The main medicine is extremely Active Antiretroviral Therapy or Haart which is a compound of at least three drugs. If used correctly and started at the right time it may growth the life expectancy by an mean of 32 years from the time of infection. Without Haart the progression of Hiv to Aids is about 9-10 years, and the survival expectancy after developing Aids is about 9.2months. However, in some circumstances Haart is productive in less then 50% of patients. This is generally due to non-adherence and non-persistence; Haart involves a complex, exact regime with a number of drugs such as how many pills to take and when. It may also be due to medication intolerance, side effects or infection by drug unyielding strains.

Haart prevents the virus from replicating and allows the immune theory to recover so the number of viral particles in the blood is reduced. The drugs used are similar to Dna nucleotides, which are the bases that make up the sequence of the genetic code. The drugs bind to the viral enzyme reverse transcriptase and block its performance so that the viral genetic material can't replicate and the number of lymphocytes increases.

The drugs that are used for Haart are from several separate classes. They include:

1. Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (Nrti): These forestall Hiv from copying its' genetic material and therefore stops it multiplying.

2. Protease Inhibitors: These forestall the virus from assembling its' protective protein coat as it stops protease from cleaving the long polypeptide chain into functional proteins so it isn't fully formed and can't operate.

3. Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (Nnrti): These are similar to Nrtis.

4. Hiv-fusion inhibitors: these stop Hiv from fusing to the host's cells so it can't enter and convert the genetic material.

Hiv - Aids

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