| AIDS is the advanced stage of HIV infection. The | | | | gives more than 5 years of live. PCP (Pneumocystis |
| criteria of AIDS include HIV infection with fewer than | | | | carinii (jiroveci) pneumonia) is a common cause of |
| 200 CD4 positive T cells per cubic millimeter of blood | | | | death in AIDS.Tuberculosis (TB) in AIDS is often |
| (norm is more than 1,000), and two dozens of | | | | multi-drug resistant. Tuberculosis in AIDS may affect |
| opportunistic infections, which rarely affect normal | | | | bone marrow, bone, kidney, bladder, guts, liver, |
| people. Opportunistic means that the infection took | | | | lymph nodes, brain and spine. It is also more severe |
| opportunity of the weakened immune system. | | | | in lungs than usual.Oesophagitis (inflammation of |
| AIDS-related infections are often very severe and | | | | esophagus) is common. Chronic diarrhea in HIV |
| caused by unusual bacteria, viruses, fungi, and | | | | infection is caused by Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria, |
| parasites.Symptoms of AIDS include:* Weight loss | | | | Campylobacter Escherichia coli, parasites, which |
| * Energy loss | | | | happen in normal people.Cryptosporidiosis, |
| * Diarrhea | | | | Microsporidiosis, Mycobacterium avium complex and |
| * Persistent fever | | | | cytomegalovirus are rarely if ever seen in healthy |
| * Cough | | | | people. However they are common in HIV. Diarrhea |
| * Shortness of breath | | | | also explains significant body wasting in AIDS. Neural |
| * Seizures | | | | system is often affected by parasite Toxoplasma |
| * Painful swallowing | | | | gondii. It infects brain, eyes and lungs.JC virus causes |
| * Confusion | | | | progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy that leads |
| * Forgetfulness | | | | to destruction of brain cell connections. It happens |
| * Vision problems | | | | only in severely weakened immune deficiency. HIV |
| * Persistent headaches | | | | Infected brain macrophages produce neurotoxins that |
| * Children have severe forms of typically childhood | | | | lead to dementia and encephalopathy.Cryptococcus is |
| infections of eyes, ears and throat.AIDS patients | | | | an opportunistic parasite that causes meningitis |
| often develop Kaposi's sarcoma (round brown, | | | | (inflammation of brain covering tissue). Fevers, |
| reddish, or purple blots on skin) and cervical cancer (in | | | | headache, fatigue, vomiting, seizures and confusion |
| women).Lymphoma is also a common condition. | | | | often develop.Citomegalovirus may cause colitis |
| Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus, human | | | | (bowel inflammation) and retinitis (an eye layer |
| papillomavirus and Epstein -Barr virus are the | | | | inflammation) that leads to blindness. Penicillium fungi |
| causative agents. Without antiretroviral therapy, AIDS | | | | also cause opportunistic infections especially in |
| patent die in a year commonly.Antiretroviral therapy | | | | Asia.Aleksandr Kavokin, MD, PhD. |