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With improvements in HIV therapy, several studies now estimate that patients on treatment in high-income countries can expect a normal life expectancy. [ 69 ] [ 70 ] This means that a higher proportion of people living with HIV are now older and research is ongoing into the unique aspects of HIV infection in the older adult.
The infection progresses to AIDS when the count falls below 200 CD4 T cells/μL, at which point opportunistic infections can be lethal. At this stage, an infected person has 2-3 years of life expectancy. The use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) can greatly slow the progression of the virus to AIDS.
Following infection with HIV, the rate of clinical disease progression varies enormously between individuals. Many factors such as host susceptibility and immune function, [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] health care and co-infections, [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] as well as factors relating to the viral strain [ 8 ] [ 9 ] may affect the rate of clinical disease ...
Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), [1] [2] a condition in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive. [3] Without treatment, the average survival time after infection with HIV is estimated to be 9 to 11 years, depending on the HIV subtype. [4]
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is defined as an HIV infection with either a CD4 + T cell count below 200 cells per μL or the occurrence of specific diseases associated with HIV infection. [32] In the absence of specific treatment, around half of people infected with HIV develop AIDS within ten years. [32]
HIV seeks out and destroys CCR5 expressing CD4 + cells during acute infection. A vigorous immune response eventually controls the infection and initiates the clinically latent phase. However, CD4 + T cells in mucosal tissues remain depleted throughout the infection, although enough remain to initially ward off life-threatening infections.
Following infection with HIV-1, the rate of clinical disease progression varies between individuals.Factors such as host susceptibility, genetics and immune function, [1] health care and co-infections [2] as well as viral genetic variability [3] may affect the rate of progression to the point of needing to take medication in order not to develop AIDS.
Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) is a condition seen in some cases of HIV/AIDS or immunosuppression, in which the immune system begins to recover, but then responds to a previously acquired opportunistic infection with an overwhelming inflammatory response that paradoxically makes the symptoms of infection worse.