How HIV Causes AIDS

A Fact Sheet from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

HIV and Other Lentiviruses

Horses, sheep, goats, cows, and cats each suffer from viruses similar to HIV. (NIAID< 1995)

The Fusin Protein

The mechanics of cell infection (GMHC, 1995)

 

Elsewhere on the Internet

Surviving AIDS

This is an awesome web site from the NOVA TV series that includes several simple multimedia explanations of the virus. (WGBH/PBS, 1999)

The Age of AIDS

On the 25th anniversary of the first diagnosed cases of AIDS, FRONTLINE examines one of the worst pandemics the world has ever known in "The Age of AIDS." After a quarter century of political denial and social stigma, of stunning scientific breakthroughs, bitter policy battles and inadequate prevention campaigns, HIV/AIDS continues to spread rapidly throughout much of the world, particularly in developing nations. To date, some 30 million people worldwide have already died of AIDS.

All About Immune Cells

An overview of the normal physiological role of CD4 cells, and also describes how they interact with other components of the immune system, such as CD8 cells, B cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. (STEP, 1993)

Innate Immunity

(AIDSWeekly, 1996)

All about Cytokines

Cytokines are chemicals (such as the interferons and interleukins) that are made by the immune system. The immune system releases certain cytokines to help recruit cells and manage the fight against infections. Once the infection is cured other cytokines are released which help to 'turn off' the response against the infection. (CATIE, 1995)

 

Elsewhere on the Internet

Immunology Collection

Science Magazine

How Non-nucleoside Analogue Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors Work

(ATU, 1996)

How Protease Inhibitors Work

(GMHC, 1994)

Intro To Chemokine Receptors

In addition to protease inhibitors and drugs like AZT, chemokine-based therapies would be directed against a different point in the life cycle of HIV. These new therapies may actually prevent the virus from infecting cells and limit the transmission of HIV. (STEP, 1997)

Other Chemokine Receptors Information at AEGIS

HIV Tat Disrupts Accessory-Cell Function

AIDSWeekly, 1998)

All About Integrase Inhibitors

(GMHC, 1995)

Viral Resistance

Viral Resistance Overview

(ATN, 1998)

Other Resistance Information at AEGIS

 

Vaccines

Searching for a Vaccine

(NIAID, 1997)

Transcript: June 1994 NIH AIDS Research Advisory Committee meeting

PDF Format

WordPerfect Format

Other Vaccine Information at AEGIS

Theory AIDS came from contaminated polio vaccine is false: study

An international team of scientists says it has refuted a theory that AIDS originated in a contaminated oral polio vaccine used in the then Belgian Congo in the 1950s. (Agence France Presse, 2004)

Contaminated polio vaccine theory NOT refuted

[Edward Hooper's response to the latest brief communication in Nature by Michael Worobey, Beatrice Hahn and colleagues, entitled "Contaminated Polio Vaccine Theory Refuted". Nature; 2004; 428; 820.]

One AIDS Form Jumped to Humans by 1940

One form of the virus that causes AIDS made the jump from animals to people by 1940, a new analysis indicates. (Associated Press, 2003)

Tests trace HIV's origin to chimps

After analyzing the genetic makeup of a similar virus that infects chimpanzees, scientists from the University of Alabama at Birmingham say that one subspecies of chimpanzee harbors a virus that gave rise to the current epidemic. (Dallas Morning News, 1999)

Study of HIV's history could offer look at future

Knowing the epidemic's history satisfies more than academic curiosity. The past behavior of the disease may provide a glimpse of the future that can help the development of a vaccine and guide prevention efforts. (Dallas Morning News, 1999)

 

Elsewhere on the Internet

Sailors and star-bursts, and the arrival of HIV

Tracking the origins and early history of a newly recognized disease is more than just an academic exercise. Learning about the origins of a disease may help us to control it and also to prevent similar diseases arising in the future.

AIDS Origins

Edward Hooper's site devoted to the origin of AIDS.