Chapter 1: HIV vs AIDS
Many do not know the difference between HIV and AIDS
and often use the two terms interchangeably.
So let’s define them quickly.
HIV, which stands for human immunodeficiency virus,
is a retrovirus that attacks the body’s immune system
ultimately, increasing the likelihood of frequent and severe infections.
However, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS is the result of untreated HIV infection.
Chapter 2: How Does HIV infection Lead to AIDS?
When the human immunodeficiency virus enters our body,
it targets our white blood cells and releases its proteins and genetic information into the cell.
With the help of a reverse transcriptase that comes with the virus itself,
this viral protein converts the viral genes into double-stranded DNA that human cells can recognize.
The viral proteins then integrate the newly converted viral DNA into the DNA of our white blood cells.
Following integration into our genes, the viral DNA instructs our white blood cells
to make the viral proteins needed to form new HIV particles.
These new viral particles can exit the infected cell, travel elsewhere, and continue infecting other white blood cells.
Eventually, our white blood cells get exhausted from continuously making new virus proteins and die off.
Now if this HIV infection is left untreated, the number of white blood cells will keep decreasing
while the level of HIV in the blood keeps rising.
If the white blood cell count falls below a certain point and the viral load keeps growing in numbers,
then we say that the HIV infection has progressed to its more severe stage, AIDS.
At this stage, the body’s immune system cannot defend itself from common infections and even cancerous cells.
Now that we know how HIV infection leads to AIDS, we should ask ourselves:
“Is there any way to prevent or treat this disease?” Fortunately, the answer is yes, you can PReP!
Chapter 3: PrEP
Pre-exposure prophylaxis medication, also known as the PrEP pill, is an antiretroviral drug used by people who
are HIV-negative and who are at a high risk for HIV exposure.
According to the CDC, PrEP is able to reduce the risk of HIV infection from sex by 99% and from needle stick exposure by 74%.
You may be wondering how pre-exposure prevention is able to do this. Well, let’s go back to our model of how HIV works when it enters the body.
HIV enters the body and attacks white blood cells using the replication mechanisms to convert its RNA into DNA.
It then integrates itself into our DNA to create new viral particles.
PrEP is able to reduce the likelihood of HIV replication by getting in the way of the first step in this pathway.
It accomplishes this by creating fortified “barriers'' around the targeted white blood cells.
These barriers can effectively prevent HIV from entering the immune cell and releasing its contents,
and this inhibits the development of AIDS in an individual.
But that’s not all! Scientists have also found a way to help prevent AIDS following confirmed HIV infection.
Chapter 4: PEP
PEP is a combination of three antiretroviral drugs which should be taken after a positive HIV test.
Unlike PrEP which is taken in preparation of HIV exposure, PEP treatment must be administered in emergency situations within 72 hours after exposure,
and again for at least 28 days.
The most commonly used PEP regimen is Truvada which comes in one pill and another pill of either DTG or RAL.
Truvada contains two separate medical ingredients that act together within an HIV-infected cell.
As we’ve mentioned before, HIV uses its reverse transcriptase protein in an infected cell to convert viral RNA into DNA
and to insert itself into our white blood cells’ genome.
Both of its components try to outcompete deoxynucleoside triphosphates (or dNTPs),
which make up our DNA, to prevent the viral DNA from being formed and to stop the replication process.
In successfully interrupting the bonding of dNTPs,
the conversion of HIV RNA to DNA is blocked and the viral load is managed as a result.
The second part of this regimen, which could either be DTG or RAL, is a type of HIV integrase inhibitor,
and its job is to speci fically prevent the integration of HIV into our white blood cells’ DNA.
Thanks to this inhibitor, viral replication and the infection of new cells are limited.
they are the best tools we have to help prevent HIV infection in both adolescents
and adults who might be at a higher risk of exposure to HIV or who have come in contact with HIV.
For more information, please consult with your physician or a local pharmacist to learn more about ways you can protect yourself from AIDS!
So, don’t forget to PrEP, like, comment, share and subscribe!