AIDS-treatment guidelines revised.A panel of scientists has revised the guidelines that physicians use to prescribe medication for patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus human immunodeficiency virus n. HIV. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) A transmissible retrovirus that causes AIDS in humans. . The new guidelines include starting antiretroviral drugs, which are designed for the class of viruses that include HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. , when a patient's CD4 T cell Noun 1. CD4 T cell - T cell with CD4 receptor that recognizes antigens on the surface of a virus-infected cell and secretes lymphokines that stimulate B cells and killer T cells; helper T cells are infected and killed by the AIDS virus count dips below 350 per cubic millimeter of blood, down from the past standard of 500 T cells/mm [super]3. Even with T cell counts higher than 350 Cells/mm[super]3, patients would still be candidates for therapy if they have 30,000 to 55,000 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood. This is higher than past guidelines, which suggested a range of 10,000 to 20,000 copies as the threshold for prescribing antiretroviral drugs. The new guidelines come from the Panel on Clinical Practices for the Treatment of HV Infection, convened jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services Noun 1. Department of Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Health and Human Services, HHS in Washington, D.C., and the Henry J. Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882—August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Early life Beginning as a cashier in a dry-goods shop in Utica, New York, Kaiser moved many times as he pursued the Foundation of Menlo Park, Calif. --N.S. |
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