Maladaptive and Physiological Responses to Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Systematic Lupus E

Maladaptive and Physiological Responses to Immune Disorders
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Maladaptive and Physiological Responses to Immune Disorders
Maladaptive and Physiological Response to HIV
Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a blood-borne disease transmitted via sexual intercourse with an infected person, blood mix in case of accidents or mother to child transmission during childbirth. The retrovirus acts by destroying the human body’s immune system. The virus suppresses the CD4 T cells secreted by the T lymphocytes and the thymus gland. CD4 T cells are essential as they form the body’s defense mechanisms against antigens. In the course of taking over CD 4 T cells, the retrovirus attaches to the surface of the T cells, fuses itself and then enters the cells. As such, the CD 4 cells are deprived of their primary function, which is an immune regulatory function and becomes inefficient and functionally defective. Once inside the cell, the virus RNA incorporates into the T cells DNA and uses the cells to replicate large amounts of human retrovirus before releasing it into the blood for circulation (Pooler, 2009).
Three phases are involved in weakening the body’s immune system. The first phase is called acute primary infection. It occurs three to four weeks after the infection. At this point, the body starts to experience flu-like symptoms that include swelling of glands, sore throats, headache and body rash. These symptoms are evident, as body antibodies try to fight the virus. The process is called seroconversion, and usually takes about forty-five days. The second phase is chronic HIV infection, which happens immediately after the seroconversion process. Here, the initial flu-like symptoms disappear, and the body behaves normally even though the virus still multiplies in the body. The final stage is the called the symptomatic HIV infection stage, during which the body’s immune system has been almost completely destroyed. The body CD4 count at this level is usually less than 200 cells/mm3, and it is at this point that opportunistic diseases and malignancy start to take advantage of the body’s ...