Diseases STDs

The various attempts to move closer to a cure for HIV have led scientists and researchers toward inventive new ways to approach the problem. The use of zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) is one of those things. ZFNs disrupt the CCR5 receptor on the surface of CD4 cells. This receptor is what HIV uses to infect its host. Through the use of ZFNs, the current study attempts to answer the following hypothesis: could genetically altering a patient’s CD4 cells using ZFNs result in making a patient’s cells resistant to HIV? This is a breakthrough in HIV research and if successful, puts scientists one step closer to finding a functional cure for HIV.

There are actually people who are resistant to being infected with HIV, albeit a small percentage. It is a genetic mutation, called delta32, in the CCR5 receptor. A previous study discovered this mutation, and a CCR5 blocking drug called Maraviroc went into production. The current research goes even further than this: blocking HIV from entering CD4 cells entirely. An HIV-infected patient stricken with leukemia was given a stem cell transplant using a donor who had been born with delta32 mutation. The subsequent results were a huge discovery, to say the least. Continue reading ‘Gene Therapy In HIV Infection’ »

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HIV infection may not be on the tips of tongues as once it was. Your HIV test results are no longer first date conversation. Red ribbons hardly adorn lapels at awards shows these days. Other illnesses with different colored ribbons have taken their place. But while this is a good sign, one that we have educated our society to the ills of HIV/AIDS, it is a double-edged sword. It is too easy to become complacent with many people consciously, or unconsciously, figuring what’s out of sight out is out of mind. One thing is for sure, HIV has not disappeared from the world stage and knowing your test results is still very important to anyone who takes their health seriously.

In all the listed regions below an institutionalized HIV test would go far as to alerting people of their status. Putting the power back into the hands of the people. This is one result of administering a test to all who request one. The following numbers suggest we have a long way to go before a program like this is adapted worldwide.

Asia
Current estimates say that there are approximately 5 million people living in Asia with HIV/AIDS. Let us not forget that Asia is the world’s most populated continent, so relatively speaking this number is not as devastating as it first appears. In the majority of Asian countries the percentage of infection is less than 1% of the population. Continue reading ‘The Rise of HIV in the Wider World And Truth Through Test Results’ »

AIDS is the advanced stage of HIV infection. The criteria of AIDS include HIV infection with fewer than 200 CD4 positive T cells per cubic millimeter of blood (norm is more than 1,000), and two dozens of opportunistic infections, which rarely affect normal people. Opportunistic means that the infection took opportunity of the weakened immune system. AIDS-related infections are often very severe and caused by unusual bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.

Continue reading ‘What are the Symptoms of AIDS?’ »

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AIDS primarily came to public awareness in 1981 with files from Los Angeles that some young homosexual men had exterminated from a formerly rare kind of pneumonia. These men have felt a ruthless deteriorating of the immune system that generally fights infectious disease. Shortly, these cases were linked with an odd number of occurrences of a rare form of cancer, Kaposi’s sarcoma, amid young homosexual males. Comparable boosts in such uncommon diseases were established among hemophiliacs and IV drug users.

Continue reading ‘HIV Incidents That the Medical Researchers Are in Depth of Investigating Further’ »

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At present, for most of the world, the only practical means of control is by minimizing transmission. This requires education programs to promote the use of condoms as well as discouraging sexual promiscuity. Also, getting regular and routine STD check-ups at STD clinics can help prevent the spread. In high-income countries, the availability of medication has made HIV infection no longer a certain death sentence. Unfortunately, improvements in managing HIV infection have resulted in a relaxed attitude toward safe sex practices.

Continue reading ‘The Progress of AIDS Research’ »

One of the most common misconceptions is that HIV infection is synonymous with AIDS but AIDS denotes only the final stage of a long infection. HIV first occurred in Africa and spread to the Caribbean Islands. It was first reported in the USA in 1981 and cases were soon described in other countries. This sexually transmitted infection spread so rapidly that is soon occurred in epidemic proportion in several countries of the world and it is currently pandemic. The causative agent is retrovirus human T-cell lymphotropic virus 3 (HTLV-3). The modes of transmission include sexual contact, blood transfusion, contaminated syringes, needles, nipper, or razor blades. And also direct contact of open wound or mucous membrane with contaminated blood, body fluids, semen, and vaginal discharges. The incubation period is variable; although the point from infection to development of visible antibodies is usually one to three months, the point from HIV contagion to AIDS diagnosis has an observed range of less than one year to 15 years or more.

Continue reading ‘HIV Cases Concludes the Status of the Infection’ »

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Worldwide, HIV is beginning to separate into distinctive groups called clades or subtypes. Viruses may vary by 15 to 20% within a clade; between clades, they may vary by 30% or more. Currently, HIV-1, the most common major type of HIV, has 11 such clades. In the United States, about 90% of the cases are caused by HIV-1, clade B. Generally, this clade is also the most common elsewhere in the developed Western world. In sub-Saharan Africa, the predominant clade is C; in the Far East and Asia, clade E is the most common.

Continue reading ‘HIV Infectiveness – Facts on Severity and Contagiousness’ »