About AIDS

What's HIV Got to Do With It?: A New Understanding

In 1984 what we now know as HIV was identified as a disease-causing organism. Since then more time has been devoted to the study of HIV than to any other virus in human history.

However, there is still much about the human immune system that is a mystery, and viruses aren't well understood either. When you add this to the reality that HIV disease takes different courses in different people for different reasons, affecting people in different ways, you can begin to understand why there's no sure-fire formula for dealing with HIV infection.

In the last two years, in an effort to "know the enemy," researchers have worked to learn more about HIV itself, to develop a better understanding of HIV's activity in the body and about the immune system's response to HIV. The knowledge they gained has contributed to more effective treatment and management of HIV infection. By early 1995, there had emerged a new understanding of HIV, which has implications for people that are symptomatic and re-focuses attention on early care.

HIV primarily targets T-cells (CD4 cells). It uses the CD4 cell as a virus factory so that it can grow and multiply. The CD4 cells are the army generals of the immune system because they direct the activities of other cells that fight germs. So from the point of infection, the human body is a battlefield.

Most people with HIV infection have a symptom-free period of 10 years or more. Until recently, scientists believed that HIV was inactive or not replicating during this period, and that very few cells were infected. In reality, huge amounts of virus are produced daily even during the earliest stages of infection. In response, the immune system mounts a powerful, sustained "counter assault," which contains HIV for years. It appears that for years the levels of HIV and CD4 cells produced and destroyed remains balanced. Researchers had not expected to learn that the immune system has such a remarkable ability to replenish itself!

Over time, however, it appears that the immune system's ability to keep pace declines -- CD4 levels fall, HIV gains strength and numbers, and other parts of the immune system network stop working properly. According to medical scientists, all this activity at the cellular level means that as CD4 levels drop and HIV levels go up, the stage is set for symptomatic and opportunistic disease.

When asked what all this means for disease management, researchers report that the message here is that keeping viral levels low, from the very earliest stages with combination antiviral therapy and immune support, is critical to preserving immune function.

For people living with HIV disease, their discoveries mean more treatment options and more decisions and more opportunities for taking life-supporting action.

For more information on ASA Wellness programs or consultation, call 406-6162. -- Sylvia J. Lopez, M.S., ASA Wellness Services Program