Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
HIV is the cause of the spectrum of disease known as HIV/AIDS. HIV is a retrovirus that primarily infects components of the human immune system such as CD4 + T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. It directly and indirectly destroys CD4 + T cells. [88] HIV is a member of the genus Lentivirus, [89] part of the family Retroviridae. [90]
After the virus enters the body there is a period of rapid viral replication, leading to an abundance of virus in the peripheral blood. During primary infection, the level of HIV may reach several million virus particles per milliliter of blood. [2] This response is accompanied by a marked drop in the numbers of circulating CD4 + T cells.
Two types of HIV have been characterized: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is the virus that was initially discovered and termed both lymphadenopathy associated virus (LAV) and human T-lymphotropic virus 3 (HTLV-III). HIV-1 is more virulent and more infective than HIV-2, [20] and is the cause of the majority of HIV infections globally. The lower ...
What makes HIV so tricky is that once it finds its way into your body, it takes hold. HIV is a retrovirus, which means it can integrate its genetic material into your cells’ DNA.
The within-host dynamics of HIV infection include the spread of the virus in vivo, the establishment of latency, the effects of immune response on the virus, etc. [6] [7] Early studies used simple models and only considered the cell-free spreading of HIV, in which virus particles bud from an infected T cell, enter the blood/extracellular fluid ...
HIV is a major cause of cardiomyopathy (problems with the heart muscle that reduce the efficiency with which the heart pumps blood). The most common type of HIV induced cardiomyopathy is dilated cardiomyopathy also known as eccentric ventricular hypertrophy which leads to impaired contraction of the ventricles due to volume overload.
A small proportion of humans show partial or apparently complete innate resistance to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. [1] The main mechanism is a mutation of the gene encoding CCR5, which acts as a co-receptor for HIV. It is estimated that the proportion of people with some form of resistance to HIV is under 10%. [2]
HIV/AIDS denialism is the belief, despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). [1] [2] [3] Some of its proponents reject the existence of HIV, while others accept that HIV exists but argue that it is a harmless passenger virus and not the ...