HIV and AIDS are terms often used interchangeably by most of us. However, they both fundamentally refer to different things. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and specifically refers to the virus itself. AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is a disease caused by a prolonged HIV infection. Undoubtedly, almost every Singaporean will remember AIDS affecting our immune system from sex-education classes when they were in school. Somehow, most of us have ended up thinking both terms are synonymous with each other, that both refer to a state of a destroyed immune system and certain death.
How HIV works
Once infected, the HIV begins by primarily targeting cells that make up your immune system, specifically the “helper T” cells which assist white blood cells to fight off foreign viruses and infection. Once cells are infected, the HIV begins replicating itself, at an estimated rate of 10 billion copies of itself a day, within the cell before eventually killing off the cell and spreading to other cells in the bloodstream. This kickstarts the HIV infection which begins killing of the immune system of the patient. The virus however, may replicate but lie dormant within the infected helper-T cells until the infection is triggered into action.
Treatment
As HIV works to infect, spread and kill “helper T” cells to eventually eradicate the immune system, treatment looks to disrupt the virus in its different life stages. Medication for HIV generally falls under the category of antiretroviral drugs to disrupt, slow and control the infection. There are 4 subsections within this category of drugs. These drugs will have to be taken in combination with each other to combat HIV’s extreme adaptiveness.
Reverse transcriptase inhibitor drugs address the reproduction of HIV cells. Simply put, reverse transcriptase inhibitor drugs prevent the virus from binding with our DNA to replicate itself. HIV is unable to copy itself without latching onto our DNA, and so these drugs seek to prevent that from happening.
Protease inhibitors restricts the ability of the enzyme protease to assist the replication of more virus cells, hampering the lifecycle of HIV cells.
Integrase inhibitors are drugs that prevent the virus from infecting the host cell itself, essentially denying it entry from integrating itself into our DNA where it begins replicating.
Fusion inhibitors prevent the HIV from entering the cell’s membranes itself, denying its entry into the cell and preventing its fusion.
As you may have noticed, medication for HIV seeks to prevent the virus from integrating itself into our cells and replicating. Keeping HIV cell numbers down and maintaining white blood cells numerous is the goal of HIV treatment.
Treatment is more effective the earlier medication is administered, therefore you should get a HIV test in Singapore as quickly as possible if you believe there is a risk of infection.
