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An HIV antibody test usually detects the HIV antibodies within two to eight weeks, but can have a valid negative result for a long as 2 to 6 months after initial infection. Viral load tests can also be used to diagnose HIV infection, especially in children under 18 months born to mothers with HIV, where the presence of maternal antibodies ...
The endometrial biopsy is a medical procedure that involves taking a tissue sample of the lining of the uterus. The tissue subsequently undergoes a histologic evaluation which aids the physician in forming a diagnosis.
The eclipse period is a variable period starting from HIV exposure in which no existing test can detect HIV. The median duration of the eclipse period in one study was 11.5 days. The window period is the time between HIV exposure and when an antibody or antigen test can detect HIV. The median window period for antibody/antigen testing is 18 days.
The window period for HIV may be up to three months, depending on the test method and other factors. RNA based HIV tests has the lowest window period. Modern and accurate testing abilities can cut this period to 25 days, 16 days, or even as low as 12 days, again, depending on the type of test and the quality of its administration and interpretation.
HIV latency and the resulting viral reservoir in CD4 + T cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages is the main barrier to eradication of the virus. [19] [123] While HIV is highly virulent, transmission through sexual contact does not occur when an HIV-positive individual maintains a consistently undetectable viral load (<50 copies/ml) due to ...
The higher the viral load at the set point, the faster the virus will progress to AIDS; the lower the viral load at the set point, the longer the patient will remain in clinical latency, the next stage of the infection. The asymptomatic or clinical latency phase is marked by slow replication of the HIV virus, followed by steady depletion of CD4 ...
Importantly, the virus can remain inactive (latent) in these productively infected cells for long periods [citation needed]. CD4 T-cell depletion and chronic inflammation are the two signature events that drive HIV pathogenesis and progression to AIDS.
The genome and proteins of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) have been the subject of extensive research since the discovery of the virus in 1983. [1] [2] "In the search for the causative agent, it was initially believed that the virus was a form of the Human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV), which was known at the time to affect the human immune system and cause certain leukemias.