Aids Disease Report

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a condition in which a person experiences a variety of infections due to the rapid destruction of the immune system by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). AIDS represents the end stage of HIV. An individual infected with HIV may be without symptoms for many years, although the virus is actively attacking their immune system. HIV is most effectively transmitted through the exchange of blood or bodily fluids between people. HIV is a very fragile virus; it cannot survive for long outside the human body.

HIV consists of an inner core of ribonucleic acid (RNA) covered by a protein coat, also known as a capsid. HIV is categorized as a retrovirus since its genetic information is carried in RNA instead of DNA. Covering the HIV capsid is an envelope composed of a lipid bilayer that is penetrated by glycoproteins. When a virus infects and enters a host cell, it uses the host cell's enzymes and ribosomes to make thousands of copies of the virus. HIV infection of a host cell begins with the binding of HIV glycoproteins to receptors in the host cell's plasma membrane. As a result, the cell transports the virus into the cytoplasm. Once inside the host cell, KIV sheds its protein coat, and reverse transcriptase reads the viral RNA strand and makes a DNA copy. The viral DNA copy them becomes embedded into the host cell's DNA during normal cell division. The new HIV copies circulate in the blood to infect other cells throughout the body. HIV mainly damages helper T-cells, allowing billions of viral copies to be made each day; as a result of rapid copying, cell lysis eventually occurs. After several years, the body's ability to replace helper T-cells is slowly exhausted and the number of helper T-cells in circulation declines tremendously. HIV destroys enough helper T-cells that most infected people begin to experience symptoms of immunodeficiency. As the immune system collapses, an infected individual becomes more susceptible to infections. AIDS is diagnosed when the helper T-cell counts drop below 200 cells per microliter of blood or when opportunistic infections develop; normally when these infections develop death is usually the inevitable.

Symptoms involved in those infected with HIV are:

1. Enlarged lymph nodes

2. Experience fatigue easily

3. Involuntary weight lost

4. Night sweats

5. Skin rashes

6. Diarrhea

7. Lesions of the mouth and gums

8. Sore throat

9. Joint pain

10. Fever

AIDS can be related back to what we've learned in class in a major way. In an autoimmune