NURS 306 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Reverse-Transcriptase Inhibitor, Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor, Aids
Document Summary
Pathophysiology of hiv: characteristics: a retrovirus, uses reverse transcriptase to replicate target cells, cd4 t cells role in antibou production of b cells release factors that promote delayed-type hypersensitivity. Particpate in the activation of cytolytic t cells. ** essential for an effective immune response: macrophages and microglial cells structure of hiv. Massive replication during the initial phase of infection very high viral load (10 million virions/ml) Patients experience flu like acute retroviral syndrome replication rate slows as the immune system mounts its attack: steady state levels 1000-10,000 virions/ml can be asymptomatic up to 10 years. Mutates rapidly- reverse transcriptase is error phone with high probability of base pair errors when it transcribes hiv rna into dna easily mutates to drug resistant forms. Probability of devleoping resistance is directly related to viral load. Middle phase: prolonged clinical latency (average duration 10 years, blood levels of hiv are low, patients are asymptomatic, hiv continues to replicate, cd4 cells decline.