AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome which is the final stage of HIV infection. It is not necessary that every HIV infection will lead to AIDS. If at HIV stage proper treatment is taken such that the viral load remains less then, this stage will not proceed to AIDS and the person can have normal life. If the count of CD4+ T cells gets reduced to level of 200µl/ml then the HIV infection is termed as AIDS. In AIDS the immune system is badly damaged and so the person is at risk of opportunistic pathogens.
There is no treatment of AIDS till now and the combination of drugs called highly acute antiretroviral therapy can only prolong the life of the patient but cannot completely cure it. Highly acute antiretroviral therapy includes various drugs combination. The doses of the drugs should be taken regular otherwise if a dose a missed then the patient has to start the whole course again. But with time the drugs has to be changed regular because the virus become resistant to the drugs. This occurs because the mutation rate of the HIV virus is very high. Hence various research is been carried out to find a treatment for AIDS. One treatment is under process that includes modifying the receptors present on CD4 cells so that the virus no longer recognizes it.
Last date updated on April, 2024
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