HIV
Protein HIV Used to Hijack Human Genes
8 years ago
Four years ago, it was estimated that 1.2 million people living in the United States had HIV. Add to that an average of 50,000 new cases per year, and the results are staggering. As the disease progresses into AIDS, the outlook is bleak. One estimate put the number of patients with the advanced stages of HIV at over 26,000. While it is true that therapy can give a person who is HIV-positive a promising future, these treatments are lifelong, and the effects of the infection still manifest themselves in different ways as a patient ages.
A Protein Called Tat
In order to better understand how this wily virus is able to get such a strong hold on its host, experts meticulously performed experiments and studies. The results have brought to light how HIV uses a tiny protein, called Tat, to shut down certain human genes. HIV (a retrovirus) does not have many of its own genes, which is why it searches out and eventually takes over a host cell’s genes. Here is where the small protein, Tat, comes in. Once the command center of the cell has been overtaken, Tat manipulates the genes in order to create a more appealing environment for the virus. Studies show that nearly 400 human genes bind with Tat—and then shut down. When the scientists compared the symptoms of an HIV infection to the genes that were shut down, the two were compatible.
What this tiny protein is able to accomplish is astounding. It does provide useful knowledge that could be applied to halt infection and keep the disease from progressing to AIDS. One European country has already begun working on a vaccine which inhibits Tat in order to try and stop HIV. The results have been promising. However, it will take some more time for anything concrete to be established. In the meantime, more information is being gathered and used to come up with even more effective ways to treat, prevent, and hopefully completely eradicate HIV in the future.
HIV Treatment Leads to a Stronger Immune System and Better Prognosis
Healthcare providers want the best possible outcome for each patient. Careful consideration is given to treatment plans when it comes to HIV-positive patients. This diligence increases the potential for a good prognosis and a long and relatively healthy life. Management of such therapies is crucial. However, it is noted that nearly half of HIV-positive patients fail to show up for their scheduled HIV treatment. Instead, the tendency is to put it off. When they do arrive, they are usually immunocompromised. This term describes the drastically reduced number of key immune cells within the body. Fewer immune cells means fewer possibilities for survival.
What this Trend Means
Researchers worry that this trend of delaying treatment is greatly increasing morbidity rates among those with HIV. HIV therapy does more than just attempt to reduce the viral load within the body. Treatment is also crucial to rebuilding the immune system. Because HIV attacks CD 4 T-cells, the number of those cells usually found in an HIV-positive patient is dangerously low before treatment. Once a regimen has been started, adhering to the schedule can help the immune cells mount a comeback. Without this, disease progression, AIDS, and death rates begin to rise.
The Importance of the Immune System
When the immune system is restored, and the viral count kept low, life expectancy increases dramatically. Repairing the immune system is the greater concern, because patients can live with a higher viral load if immunological levels are increased. This emphasizes the need for regular treatment and testing. When immune response numbers increase, patients fare better. Of course, lowering the viral load is still important, but newer research is proving that the immune recovery is most critical.
Prompt diagnosis for HIV treatment is vital when it comes to this voracious virus. The good news is, disease progression can now be halted, even in severe cases, when the proper action is taken. For patients undergoing treatment, don’t skip your appointments! Boosting your immune system gives you the fighting chance you need to combat and slow down HIV. The only way to see those results is to honor your treatment schedule.
Finding Safer HIV Treatments for Children
8 years ago
HIV treatments for children is different from treating adults – particularly, for those under three years of age. Doctors have little in the way of guidelines for such treatment. Studies focus on determining which treatments are the most beneficial, with the least long term damage.
Often HIV positive women who are pregnant are given the pharmaceutical drug nevirapine to protect the fetus from transmission. Unfortunately, the drug prevents HIV transmission by only 50%. However, in the event the child does contract HIV, research indicates that, once born, these children can transition from the common treatment for infants to the drug used to treat adults. The drug used for adults is efavirenz, and is not usually administered to persons under the age of three. For infants, a completely different class of drug is used as HIV therapy. Lopinavir/ritonavir is the recommended choice, thus far, for HIV-positive children under three. However, when little ones– those who had exposure to nevirapine in the womb– were given efavirenz, research yielded favorable results.
Researchers were pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness that the changeover brought about. Viral rebound was similar as with the use of the lopinavir/ritonavir. More promising than those results were the CD 4 T-cell counts. These are immune cells that are targeted by the virus. This deadly attack greatly reduces the number of these important immune cells. In children treated with efavirenz, the CD 4 T-cell count was higher than in children provided with the recommended drugs for their age group. In under a year’s time, liver function also proved better than those on the traditionally used medications.
In conclusion, so far, as long as an infant has their infection under control, HIV treatments for children using nevirapine can safely be transitioned to efavirenz. From the studies completed and research gathered, researchers still need further studies to show more results. At this time, the results appear promising though. Experts also plan to investigate long-term effects. In the meantime, finding gentler and more effective ways to treat little ones is high on the priority list.
Hospitals in Europe Test Positive for Poor HIV Screening Practices
Treatment for HIV depends first on an HIV test. Curbing the growing number of patients with HIV requires the aid of healthcare institutions. The European guidelines for HIV testing are clear and ensure that each patient presenting with certain symptoms and diseases must be offered an HIV test. Patient screening is a good way to test and provide early treatment for those who are HIV positive.
To HIV Test or Not
Willingly most patients offered the test will take it. One study puts the acceptance rate at 99%. That is encouraging to health experts. However, when looking into the number of patients who were offered an HIV exam, European hospitals came up short. It was found that in Europe less than half of the patients who qualify were actually offered the test. Hospitals that had the lowest rates were in Northern Europe. Researchers are concerned that the number of those infected with HIV may be much higher than what is being reported.
Certain areas within the hospitals studied were more prone to recommend HIV testing. These wards are generally the ones regularly dealing with certain communicable ailments (like TB and Hepatitis). Therefore, HIV testing makes sense and is routinely offered. Another group of patients regularly asked are pregnant women, because careful testing can prove vital for the fetus as well. While very few fetuses actually test positive for HIV, the screening is offered and frequently accepted.
Why Is the Test so Frequently Not Offered?
One reason tests are sometimes not offered is medical staff discomfort in the area of HIV. Experts are researching other possible reasons for the sporadic or lack of effort to encourage testing in more patients – especially those in high risk categories. The correlation between the hospital ward and the amount of screening performed provides insight on the matter. Certain cases that present in different wards of the hospital may simply not relate to HIV in the minds of the healthcare providers. Changing this view, and encouraging these European hospitals to step up patient screening, could go a long way in helping to slow the scourge of HIV in Europe.
HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder
8 years ago
How HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder Affects the Mind as a Person Ages
Year after year, advancements made in the treatment of HIV are helping many to lead longer and healthier lives. As individuals enter their later years, it is important to know what to expect when living with HIV.
Current Standards for Testing
For example, at least one-third of HIV-positive patients will develop what is termed HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder. The medical community knows of this disorder, and very often tests older adults who are HIV-positive. New information on the cognitive functions of those living with an HIV infection may change how physicians test for the disorder.
Normally, doctors will administer a standard neuropsychology exam. If a patient scores well on this test, he is usually deemed cognitively normal. This standard test seemed to be doing the job—until the matter was further investigated. Researchers examined a group of patients who had passed this test, but then subjected them to different types of testing. The surprising results exposed the need for further probing when looking to diagnose HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder.
What the Research Revealed
Older, HIV-positive adults were asked to perform certain mental tasks on cue. At times, the tasks were changed from one to another. This is where physicians began to notice a lag between healthy participants and those with HIV. This response to switching tasks was significantly slower in the HIV group.
To delve a bit deeper, brain scans were ordered. The scans revealed that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex was reacting differently in the control group than the HIV-positive one. This area of the human brain is linked to both executive and apathetic deficits. These cognitive impairments may come in under the radar with standard testing.
The Latest Developments
At this time, we have no way to treat the disorder. Efficient testing, however, is still vital to patients, as well as their families and caregivers. Understanding that some functions might come a little slower to HIV-positive individuals during their later years is important for those who interact with them daily. Effective testing and education are the keys.
These studies are recent. More study and research are underway.
