Q3. What are: (a) AIDS
(a) AIDS (B) T-lymphocytes?
Answers
Answer:
HIV is a disease in which the original clinical observations of severe opportunistic infections gave the first clues regarding the underlying pathology, namely that HIV is essentially an infection of the immune system. HIV infects and deletes CD4+ T cells that normally coordinate the adaptive T- and B-cell response to defend against intracellular pathogens. The immune defect is immediate and profound: At the time of acute infection with an AIDS virus, typically more than half of the gut-associated CD4+ T cells are depleted, leaving a damaged immune system to contend with a life-long infection.
Answer:
HIV infects a type of white blood cell in the body’s immune system called a T-helper cell (also called a CD4 cell). These vital cells keep us healthy by fighting off infections and diseases.
HIV cannot reproduce on its own. Instead, the virus attaches itself to a T-helper cell and fuses with it (joins together). It then takes control of the cell’s DNA, makes copies of itself inside the cell, and finally releases more HIV into the blood. HIV will continue to multiply and spread throughout the body – a process called the HIV lifecycle.
In this way, HIV weakens the body’s natural defences and over time severely damages the immune system. How quickly the virus develops depends on a person’s general health, how quickly they are diagnosed and start antiretroviral treatment, and how consistently they take their treatment.
Antiretroviral treatment and the HIV lifecycle
Antiretroviral treatment for HIV combines several different types of drugs, each of which targets a different stage in the HIV lifecycle. This means that the replication of HIV is stopped on multiple fronts, making it very effective.
If taken correctly, it keeps the immune system healthy, prevents the symptoms and illnesses associated with AIDS from developing, and means that people can enjoy long and healthy lives.
If someone doesn’t take their treatment correctly or consistently (at the right time every day), the level of HIV in their blood may increase and the drugs may no longer work. This is known as developing drug resistance.