Physical Description of AIDS

AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is the final stage of human immunodeficiency virus, HIV. AIDS is a condition that attacks the immune system, leaving the person with AIDS susceptible to pathogen-based infections. These pathogen-based infections do not pose a threat to people with healthy immune systems, so the presence of them is used to diagnose AIDS. AIDS is contracted through direct contact with a bodily fluid which is infected with AIDS or HIV through the mucous membrane or the bloodstream.

Progression from HIV to AIDS

• AIDS arises as HIV rapidly accelerates its damage of T cells, which are responsible for protecting the immune system. If no measures are taken to slow the effects of HIV, such as the use of antiretroviral therapy, HIV can progress into AIDS within nine to 10 years. However, the use of antiretroviral therapy can significantly slow this process. Antiretroviral therapy uses an array of medicines that mainly inhibit certain phases in the life cycle of the retrovirus. Another factor that can slow down or speed up the progression from HIV to AIDS is genetic predisposition. If somebody is genetically predisposed to resist certain strands of HIV, the infection will take much longer to progress.

Transmission

• HIV/AIDS is transmitted through bodily fluids--sexual secretions, blood and breast milk. During sexual activity, the infection can be transmitted through the sexual secretions of one partner into the mucus membranes in the rectal, genital or oral areas of the other. Exposure through the bloodstream mainly affects intravenous drug users and those who receive blood transfusions. For intravenous drug users, if a needle is being reused and has the blood of someone infected with the virus, there is a very high chance that the person using the dirty needle will contract the virus. As of 2010, there is a very low chance of someone contracting the virus through blood transfusions, due to improved donor screening. The virus can also be passed from mother to child through breast milk.

Pathophysiology

• AIDS destroys a person's T cells--specifically, the CD4+ T cells. These cells help the immune system fight infection and cancerous cells. Without them, the person is susceptible to opportunistic infections and cancer. While the symptoms of AIDS may not appear for years, the bulk of destruction of CD4+ T cells occurs within the first few weeks of the presence of the AIDS virus. The virus also affects cells in the central nervous system and the endothelium, which is the layer of cells lining the interior of the blood vessels.

Symptoms

• The symptoms of AIDS occur in the presence of infections that would not affect a person with a normal, healthy immune system. These infections affect the neurological functions, eyes, lungs, skin and gastrointestinal functions. Neurological functions are affected through meningitis and an array of metabolic issues causing neurological impairments. The lungs are affected through pneumocystis pneumonia and tuberculosis. Tumors and malignancies occur often in someone with AIDS. The most common cancer to affect people with AIDS is Kaposi's sarcoma, a rare skin cancer. Gastrointestinal functions are compromised through fungal, viral and bacterial infections.

Diagnosis

• HIV can be diagnosed through a blood test. Lab technicians will use screening tests to detect the presence of anti-HIV antibodies. Anti-HIV antibodies are evidence that the person is infected with HIV. Once the person is diagnosed with HIV, the progression to AIDS is diagnosed through a four-stage system derived by the World Health Organization. Each stage demonstrates a progression of symptoms characteristic of AIDS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has a classification system for AIDS.