Re: Another fine Republican Evangelist



John Larkin wrote:
On Sun, 05 Nov 2006 13:58:49 GMT, Fred Bloggs <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:



Reminds me, Fred, have your HIV test results come back yet ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

I am immune to it. But you would probably benefit from knowing about the testing available in the privacy of your own home:-)
http://www.fda.gov/CbER/infosheets/hiv-home.htm


How do you develop immunity? The standard way, have a mild case ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

There is no such thing as a "mild case" of HIV infection, so that would not work too well.


Some people who have HIV remain asymptomatic without drugs, and some
have only mild symptoms. Google "hiv longterm survivors."

These people are better known as long term non-progressors and it is due to a genetic defect that prevents them from developing a CCR5 membrane receptor on their CD4 Th cells. That particular receptor is necessary for the HIV virus to gain entry to the cell for replication, which process also destroys the cell. They are infected, the virus obviously replicates and maintains a population in other types of cells, but the CD4 count remains high and their immune system is not compromised. Eventually, the virus will mutate, fuse with and destroy the CD4 cells. The western European population was selected for this CCR5 expression defect by the bubonic plague of the 14th century; the modern day frequency of incidence is down to 7% or something IIRC, still high but way less than 700 years ago when it was 30%, actually 100% in some locales, or something like that.



The trick is to expose your immune system to a simulated virus forcing it to go through through the process of innate detection, presentation of the various viral MHC (major histocompatibility complexes) to the appropriate lymphocytes, followed by cytokine activation and proliferation of all the various defense mechanisms: phagocytes, NKs, and T- an B-lymphocytes. This will create an immune system "memory" of the virus, *possibly* giving the individual the ability to neutralize the real thing when and if a true exposure occurs; and the means by which this is done is called an immunizing vaccination.


Have you been immunized against HIV?

John


No. All attempts to date at developing an immunizing vaccine have been failures. Many attempts have also been made at developing therapeutic vaccines, these are vaccines usually based upon a harmless viral vector to stimulate T-lymphocyte activation against the virus in a way that bypasses the normal activation pathway, also known as DNA vaccines. The therapeutics do not aim to prevent infection, their purpose is to induce the immune system to keep the virus population in check after infection. AFAIK these too have all been failures.

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