The AIDS virus is extreamly small and is only visble using an electron microscope. The AIDS virus attacks the T cell causing the humans body to be susceptible to infections it might otherwise fight off. In this case the sufferer may die from the infection, not the disease itself.

Infections that take advantage of weakness in the immune defenses are called "opportunistic". HIV disease becomes AIDS when your immune system is seriously damaged and a opportunistic infection infects it. The most co

Gene Therapy is also used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. HIV enters the body and takes on a host cell, inside which it makes copies of itself killing the host cell. The copies then find new cells to make their host cells and repeat this process. These HIV-infected host cells produce viral proteins which assemble into new viruses. These new viruses are what kill the host cell. Scientists have identified these proteins. One of these is the enzymes reverse transcriptase.

mmon opportunistic infection’s are:

The gene that has been added to the CTLs serves only one purpose: a safety precaution. If the patient is unable to tolerate such a massive introduction of CTLs, the implanted gene allows the researchers to kill off all the new cells and save the patient. If the gene is successfully expressed in the reimplanted cells, it confirms the validity of this approach. Once scientists learn if gene therapy can be used to alter CTLs, more powerful CTLs can be produced which do not need to be extracted from the patient.” - The Gay Men's Health Crisis Newsletter of Experimental AIDS Therapies - Volume 7, Number 4 - May 1993

Gene theropy already has its advantages, by implanting the mechanism that fights against the disease into our genetic code, the treatment would last as long as the host cell. If it is posable that scientists are able to insert therapeutic genes into stem cell every single blood cell could be immunized against HIV infection. Gene therapy allows scientists to alter patients genetic material to fight or prevent disease. Gene therapy is still experimental. Instead of giving a patient a drug, doctors attempt to correct the problem by altering the genetic makeup of some of the patient's cells. By stimulating immune system cells you are able to make them resistant to HIV.

AIDS is different in every infected person. Some people die soon after getting infected, while others live fairly normal lives for many years, even after they have developed AIDS.

An example of the use of gene therapy is at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. A docter named Dr. Phil Greenburg is conducting a trial on patients with lymphoma (cancer of the lymph system) who are HIV infected. Hoping to further the knowledge of gene therapy and explores options for people with terminal lymphoma.

· A fungal infection which causes thrush or infections in your throat or vagina called Candida.

Some topics in this essay:
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