AIDS patients have always been “rejected” by many people, making people regress, for fear that contact with them will spread AIDS. The source of this fear is actually because once infected with AIDS, there is almost no cure. AIDS was first discovered in humans in October 1981, in Spain. But it wasn’t until 2 years later that the human AIDS virus (HIV) was isolated for the first time.
The emergence of this virus has killed more than 40 million people worldwide, and there are still about 38 million people infected with this virus . Compared with other diseases, the scary thing about it may be that despite the discovery of the virus for more than 40 years, there is still no cure for it. A chronic disease, still unable to break through the threshold of curing AIDS.
Why is HIV so difficult to cure?
For the human body, the main function of the immune system is to fight against viruses invading from the outside world. The virus is eliminated by the immune system, and then certain antibodies can also be formed to protect the body from the virus for a period of time. For example, the new coronavirus discovered in recent years can build antibodies through vaccines or autoimmunity, so as to cure the new crown and avoid re-infection within a certain period of time.
But HIV is a relatively special existence, with three characteristics in it, so that curing AIDS has always been a difficult task. conquered topic.
3 features of HIV, or incurable Reasons
First of all,viruses are very “stealth”
After being invaded by a virus, it often quickly triggers abnormal reactions in the body, and begins to aggressively attack cells in the human body, threatening health. But HIV is very cunning. It has a strong concealment. After infecting cells, it enters a dormant state, and the body has no abnormal symptoms, also known as the “latency period”. When the immune system of the human body is weakened, it waits for an opportunity and starts to replicate continuously.
Secondly,the virus is very mutated
HIV mutation occurs faster than other viruses. It’s like a bad guy who quickly “dresses up” and finds a way to “make up” after doing bad things. In this case, it is difficult for the police to accurately identify these disguised villains, and they cannot find them. The same is true for the immune system of the human body. It is more difficult to accurately identify the mutated virus and break down one by one, and it is more prone to health threats. If you want to treat it through vaccines and other methods, it is difficult to have an effective preventive effect against the virus.
The third point is that the virus has a strong attack on the immune system
< p data-track="14">Ordinary viruses tend to hide from the immune system and try to avoid being targeted by the immune system as much as possible. But HIV is different. It is difficult to be recognized by the immune system. In addition, continuous reproduction may further control cell production and infect new cells in the human body with HIV, thereby threatening the production of normal immune cells. increase the number of viruses.
Affected by these three characteristics, AIDS has gradually become a disease that is difficult to overcome worldwide. Once infected, there is almost no cure.
A word is mentioned here, almost. Cases of AIDS patients being cured have been announced on some platforms, why can’t cures be achieved on a large scale?
The world’s first cured AIDS patient received a stem cell transplant in Germany, known as the “Berlin patient”, followed by London An AIDS patient was cured after a stem cell transplant. It can be found that the patients who are currently cured of AIDS are all treated with stem cells.
This therapy stimulates the body’s immune system to fight HIV. However, there are also significant limitations.
The first point is that the stem cell donor must have a CCR5 mutation< /strong>, this gene is resistant to HIV. And only a very small number of people around the world carry the gene, which limits the widespread adoption of HIV stem cell therapy.
The second point is that stem cell therapy itself has certain drawbacks. For people who were originally healthy, after receiving stem cell transplantation, it may stimulate the body’s rejection reaction and induce stem cell cancer. In this process, there is too much uncontrollability, which may have adverse effects on the human body, and also affect the widespread use of stem cell therapy.
For the vast majority of AIDS patients, it is still a worldwide problem to cure AIDS, and people can only use some antiviral drugs to suppress it. The replication of the virus prevents further reproduction of the virus and poses a threat to health. Generally speaking, about half a year after taking antiviral treatment, the viral load can be turned negative, thereby reducing the threat to lymphocytes, thus maintaining the asymptomatic period for a long time, with little impact on lifespan.
Protecting health and preventing HIV infection is also key. Instead of worrying about whether you can be cured of HIV infection, it is better to cut off the risk of infection from the source, try to avoid contracting the virus, and protect your health.
References:
1. A new HIV virus has emerged: destructive Bigger, faster spread · Health Times · 2022-02-05
2. A must read for AIDS! How likely is HIV infection? ·Qilu.com·2015-12-01
3. The way with the lowest probability of HIV infection, why the most people are recruited·Guangming.com·2018-12-19
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4. Foreign media analysis: Why is it so difficult to cure AIDS? ·Reference message ·2021-12-03