AIDSs

AIDS

1. About AIDS
1. Collection of opportunistic diseases associated with immunodeficiency caused by HIV virus infection
  1. About HIV virus
    1. retrovirus (genetic material is RNA)
    2. infects and destroys cells of the body immune system
      1. decrease T helper lymphocyte
        immune system becomes weak
        body is vulnerable to opportunistic infection
    3. protein core has RNA and two enzymes: protease & reverse transcriptase
    4. viral RNA is converted to DNA & combine with human chromosome inside the whole cell
2. Transmission of HIV
1. sexual intercourse
2. infected blood or blood products
  1. haemophiliacs at higher risk
3. contaminated hypodermic syringes
4. mother to fetus across placenta
5. mother to infant in breast milk
3. Symptoms of
1. HIV infection
  1. flu-like symptoms --> symptomless
2. AIDS
  1. opportunistic infections
    1. pneumonia
    2. tuberculosis
    3. cancer. e.g. skin cancer
  2. weight loss
  3. diarrhoea
  4. fever
  5. dementia (degenerative brain disease)
4. Treating HIV/ AIDS
1. no cure for AIDS & no vaccine for HIV
2. drug therapy - slow down progress of AIDS
  1. ZIdovudine - binds to reverse transcriptase & stop replication of viral genetic material
5. Prevention
1. education
2. barrier methods. e.g. condoms
3. contact tracing - identifying people who are at risk
4. needle exchange schemes
5. heat treated to kill viruses

Resource summary

	Created by jia5006 almost 10 years ago