Be aware about HIV Symptoms

The letters HIV stand for Human Immuno-defiency Virus. This virus infects cells of the human immune system and either arrests or destroys them. Someone whose immune system has been damaged by HIV is vulnerable to all types of infections. AIDS is the acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Someone with HIV does not have AIDS unless his or her immune system has been severely weakened. To the question what are the symptoms, medical experts opine that are no decisive early symptoms of HIV.In the absence of symptoms of HIV and AIDS, the only way to diagnose whether a person is infected with HIV is to have an HIV test. Once HIV has broken down the body's defences, symptoms of HIV infection like serious fever and symptoms/swollen glands can affect the person. But many illnesses have flu-like symptoms or cause swollen glands. Therefore, they can not by themselves be interpreted as definite signs of HIV infection or AIDS.There is a popular misconception that HIV oral sex carries little or no risk. In fact, some consider oral sex as a safer sex alternative. But the truth is, like any other sexual activity, oral sex also carries a risk of transmitting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. It's always better to gain a first-hand knowledge of any disease and if the talk is about HIV, it really becomes essential to be aware. All you need to have is a little precaution with alertness against the disease. link....

Structure of HIV genome 'decoded'

The team hope their work will pave the way to new treatments.

Scientists say they have decoded the entire genetic structure of HIV-1 - the main cause of Aids in humans.

They hope this will pave the way to a greater understanding of how the virus operates, and potentially accelerate the development of drug treatments.HIV carries its genetic information in more complicated structures than some other viruses.The US research, published in Nature, may allow scientists the chance to look at the information buried inside.HIV, like the viruses which cause influenza, hepatitis C and polio, carries its genetic information as single-stranded RNA rather than double-stranded DNA.The information enclosed in DNA is encoded in a relatively simple way, but in RNA this is more complex.RNA is able to fold into intricate patterns and structures. Therefore decoding a full genome opens up genetic information that was not previously accessible, and may hold answers to why the virus acts as it does.The team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said they planned to use the information to see if they could make tiny changes to the virus.
"If it doesn't grow as well when you disrupt the virus with mutations, then you know you've mutated or affected something that was important to the virus," says Ron Swanstrom, professor of microbiology and immunology."We are also beginning to understand tricks the genome uses to help the virus escape detection by the human host."
Deep inside
Dr David Robertson from the University of Manchester welcomed this "definitive analysis".
"What this may reveal is some of the proteins operating at a level below the structures, which may have all sorts of functions within the virus."More generally, if we can unpick the structures then we can compare the systems of different viruses and gain new understanding of how they work."Keith Alcorn of the HIV information service NAM added: "Encouraging the virus to mutate is not a new idea, but it is one of a number of options on the table."How important this information will be for the development of new drugs remains to be seen, but it is a useful addition to what we know." link....